What to write in a letter of "good standing"

[musicaldna]

So I am a graduate student and some schools require that the Chair/Director of the Graduate Department provide a letter of "good standing" for the applicant.

I asked the Director of my program and he said he can write one. However, he does not know what to write on it and asked me to draft one up.

And I am kind of lost as well....

My contact with him is kind of minimal....except that he taught me a course in second year in which I did not quite do THAT well (missed an A- by 1 %). Though this could never be mentioned in the letter if I choose to.

Any advice?

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[hewmanoid]

I believe what they mean by a letter of "good standing" is that you have been satisfying your graduate school's minimum academic requirements (like you have to maintain a certain GPA during your program..etc) and that you have not been under any disciplinary action by the school. Or maybe your dean can say you're expected to finish your program and get the degree before matriculating in med school because I know many med schools require students in graduate programs to finish the programs before med school. This is pretty much all I can think of.

 

[musicaldna]

I believe what they mean by a letter of "good standing" is that you have been satisfying your graduate school's minimum academic requirements (like you have to maintain a certain GPA during your program..etc) and that you have not been under any disciplinary action by the school. Or maybe your dean can say you're expected to finish your program and get the degree before matriculating in med school because I know many med schools require students in graduate programs to finish the programs before med school. This is pretty much all I can think of.

But that would make quite a short letter....maybe a paragraph?

 

[hewmanoid]

But that would make quite a short letter....maybe a paragraph?

Yes, and that's really all you need! When medical schools say they want a letter of "good standing", they mean exactly what it says. They're not really asking your department chair to evaluate your suitability for a career in medicine. They simply want to make sure you have been a good student in the graduate program, not a troublemaker. This is why med schools require either a premed committee letter or individual faculty letters, IN ADDITION to the letter from your chair. So, you can let your real letters of rec tell all the medical schools out there how good a doctor you will be!