questions about recommendation letters/committee letters

[MyOdyssey]

My undergrad premed office offers to provide committee letters to prehealth candidates as long as they meet certain deadlines that begin about 6-8 months before the application cycle begins in May/June. Committee letters are said to be optional at my undergrad and are advertised as a way of placing us in the context of our peers.

So onto my questions ....

1. Are committee letters typically given more weight by medical school admissions committees than the individual components on which they are based (individual rec letters, personal statement, GPA, MCAT, etc.)?

2. Do committee letters typically try to soft rank candidates applying from an undergrad institution in a given admissions cycle?

3. Is it considered bad form to ask to see a committee letter before it's sent out?

4. Given my situation, would it "look bad" to admissions committees if I choose not to ask for a committee letter?

5. I expect to get fairly strong individual recommendation letters. Is it considered "bad form" if I send individual letters along with a committee letter (assuming I opt to ask for a committee letter)?

I'd appreciate input from the knowledgeable posters here, especially those with personal experience reading committee letters. Thanks!

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[wontonsoup]

1. Yes
2. Yes, they rank you to everyone in the college, not just your pre-med cohort. Usually stuff like you were in x% of GPA in your major/college.
3. Yes, you can't do that.
4. Yes, if you don't use it, they will want to know why.
5. Most committee letters quote directly from your rec letters and attach them to the back of the committee letter for reference. Think of the committee letter like a summary of your letters + a relatively objective analysis of your app from the perspective of your med school.
6. Some schools don't do the above, in which case med schools may or may not want to see those extra letters. A committee letter by itself is sufficient for the vast majority of med schools.

 

[Catalystik]

My undergrad premed office offers to provide committee letters to prehealth candidates as long as they meet certain deadlines that begin about 6-8 months before the application cycle begins in May/June. Committee letters are said to be optional at my undergrad and are advertised as a way of placing us in the context of our peers.

So onto my questions ....

1. Are committee letters typically given more weight by medical school admissions committees than the individual components on which they are based (individual rec letters, personal statement, GPA, MCAT, etc.)?

2. Do committee letters typically try to soft rank candidates applying from an undergrad institution in a given admissions cycle?

3. Is it considered bad form to ask to see a committee letter before it's sent out?

4. Given my situation, would it "look bad" to admissions committees if I choose not to ask for a committee letter?

5. I expect to get fairly strong individual recommendation letters. Is it considered "bad form" if I send individual letters along with a committee letter (assuming I opt to ask for a committee letter)?

I'd appreciate input from the knowledgeable posters here, especially those with personal experience reading committee letters. Thanks!

A committee letter counts as one letter with AMCAS, no matter how many individual letters are appended to it. Med schools set a limit on the number of LORs you may submit. Some permit as few as three (or, two more than the packet). Most prefer no more than whatever is included in the committee packet. You do not want to exceed the allowable letters at any school.

 

[MyOdyssey]

1. Yes
2. Yes, they rank you to everyone in the college, not just your pre-med cohort. Usually stuff like you were in x% of GPA in your major/college.
3. Yes, you can't do that.
4. Yes, if you don't use it, they will want to know why.
5. Most committee letters quote directly from your rec letters and attach them to the back of the committee letter for reference. Think of the committee letter like a summary of your letters + a relatively objective analysis of your app from the perspective of your med school.
6. Some schools don't do the above, in which case med schools may or may not want to see those extra letters. A committee letter by itself is sufficient for the vast majority of med schools.

Thanks.

Do committee letters typically include soft comparisons such as @MyOdyssey's course rigor is above/below average, @MyOdyssey took the easy/hard orgo section, or @MyOdyssey's interest in medicine seems sincere and well-founded (implying that others are not), etc.?

@Catalystik @gyngyn @LizzyM @Goro @gonnif @Med Ed

 

[Goro]

Thanks.

Do committee letters typically include soft comparisons such as @MyOdyssey's course rigor is above/below average, @MyOdyssey took the easy/hard orgo section, or @MyOdyssey's interest in medicine seems sincere and well-founded (implying that others are not), etc.?

@Catalystik @gyngyn @LizzyM @Goro @gonnif @Med Ed

No
No
Yes

 

[Med Ed]

1. Are committee letters typically given more weight by medical school admissions committees than the individual components on which they are based (individual rec letters, personal statement, GPA, MCAT, etc.)?

Depends. Some committee letters are very helpful in providing a concise, objective assessment of the applicants strengths, weaknesses, and standing. Others are page after page of fluffy garbage.

2. Do committee letters typically try to soft rank candidates applying from an undergrad institution in a given admissions cycle?

Typically, yes, although they employ a lot of different strategies to do this. Some just give semi-coded summative language, others will give you a person's category (outstanding, good, fair, etc.) with associated quantitative data.

3. Is it considered bad form to ask to see a committee letter before it's sent out?

Very bad.

4. Given my situation, would it "look bad" to admissions committees if I choose not to ask for a committee letter?

It depends on how well regarded the premedical committee is at your school. As a general rule of thumb it can raise some eyebrows when applicants forgo the committee letter, but sometimes there is a valid reason.

5. I expect to get fairly strong individual recommendation letters. Is it considered "bad form" if I send individual letters along with a committee letter (assuming I opt to ask for a committee letter)?

We often get both a committee letter and individual letters. It may seem redundant, but sometimes the committee packets are very lengthy, making them rather difficult to sift through via the application portal.

 

[Goro]

As an aside, does anybody know what proportion of applicants get a committee letter vs. individual letters?

overall, I'd say for my interviewees, individual LORs > committee by a small amount.

My schools isn't anal about the committee LOR the way some schools are. The lack of one has never been an issue for us.

We do notice that some committees try to put the most positive amount of spin on thier candidates, even when they given them a 3/5 ranking (like "recommend" instead of "recommend enthusiastically", which isn't saying much). Come to think of it, I have rarely seen a bad committee LOR.

 

[Med Ed]

As an aside, does anybody know what proportion of applicants get a committee letter vs. individual letters?

Couldn't quote you a number, but the large majority of our applicants who come straight from college have committee letters. Those who take gap years use them at a much reduced frequency.

 

[MyOdyssey]

Couldn't quote you a number, but the large majority of our applicants who come straight from college have committee letters. Those who take gap years use them at a much reduced frequency.

In what ways do you find committee letters useful?

 

[Med Ed]

In what ways do you find committee letters useful?

The best committee letters come from schools where we know and trust the premedical advisor. Believe it or not, competent premedical advisors do exist. The letters they produce will compile relevant data and give an accurate portrayal of each applicant. The best ones will assign summative ranks to the students (outstanding, very good, good, fair, etc.), and provide information on how many students received those ranks and the historical success of each category. They will also not just paste the individual rec letters into the packet, but solicit additional quantitative feedback from letter writers so there is another layer of comparative data.

This may all sound intimidating, and it is, but it can be quite helpful. Some premedical advisors try to oversell every applicant, which diminishes the impact of their letters. Others generate letters that seem discordant with the rest of the package, including the interviews.

 

[Unlimited Apps]

The best committee letters come from schools where we know and trust the premedical advisor. Believe it or not, competent premedical advisors do exist. The letters they produce will compile relevant data and give an accurate portrayal of each applicant. The best ones will assign summative ranks to the students (outstanding, very good, good, fair, etc.), and provide information on how many students received those ranks and the historical success of each category. They will also not just paste the individual rec letters into the packet, but solicit additional quantitative feedback from letter writers so there is another layer of comparative data.

This may all sound intimidating, and it is, but it can be quite helpful. Some premedical advisors try to oversell every applicant, which diminishes the impact of their letters. Others generate letters that seem discordant with the rest of the package, including the interviews.

You bring up a good point regarding one aspect of the committee letters and how they can be useful.

What about the other side? Do you ever disregard what a committee letter is saying because it doesn't add up to what you see on the rest of the application? Like say a candidate is ranked "good" or "very good" instead of "outstanding" by the committee (maybe because of a bad interviewer or some disconnect between what the committee collects and the actual AMCAS application), but the application appears to be top notch. Do you trust the committee letter over the application and the individual LoRs?

(This is just my neuroticism and related to how much undergrads at my UG school HATE our committee and its policies).