We took a bit of a break as midterms week hit, and hit hard. But we’re back, stronger than ever, and moving on to the application process! Today we’ll be going into something pretty fun - letters of recommendation!
Med schools require letters of evaluation - no surprise there. In particular, they prefer what’s called a Committee Letter. According to the official AMCAS site:
Committee Letter: A Committee Letter is a letter authored by a pre-health committee or pre-health advisor and intended to represent your institution's evaluation of you. A Committee Letter may or may not include additional letters written in support of your application.
Northeastern’s Pre-Health Department does provide committee letter packages, which include all of your individual letters of recommendation bundled with a letter from the Pre-Health department endorsing you as a student and tying the other letters together. Northeastern also has specific requirements for what the individual letters should be:
3 Internal letters from Northeastern faculty
2 should be from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, or Physics professors
1 can be from anywhere, though preferably a non-science professor
1 External Clinical letter from the field you’re applying to (MD if you’re interested in MD, DO if you’re interested in DO, etc.) representing a medical experience in the US in the last 18 months (like shadowing, clinical research, etc.)
Up to 2 additional, optional letters which could be from co-op, volunteering, research, or something similar.Â
That probably sounds like a lot, and it is! But ultimately those are the kind of letters med schools want to see, so it’s you’ll need them one way or another. The deadlines that Northeastern sets to make sure you have everything ready on time makes the application process SIGNIFICANTLY easier.
While you won’t need to ask for letters of recommendation until late in your college career, you should start thinking about it as early as possible. Make connections with professors - go to office hours, ask about their research, and keep visiting once you’re done with the class! Building these connections will not only help you in the class but also give you an excellent resource for any help in the future.Â
For those optional letters of recommendation, there’s a ton of flexibility. A co-op supervisor is usually perfect, as is a research PI. Basically, if you’ve done experiential learning, you will likely have a great cache of mentors to ask for letters of recommendation.Â
When it gets close to the time of application, make sure to ask your letter writers early! Give them plenty of time to write you a good letter. And keep them updated throughout the process - they love to hear about your successes!
That’s it for this week. Next week, we’re going to hit everything you need to know about the actual application process - including the personal statement, secondary essays, and interviews. Stay tuned!