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Requesting Committee Letters

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A committee letter is a three-to-five-page narrative evaluation of your qualifications for a health profession school. They are widely appreciated by admission committees and, in the case of most medical and dental schools, are expected elements of applications. The committee letter presents a comprehensive picture of your academic record; the Board of Health Professions Advisors’ knowledge of you as an applicant; information in your preapplication form; and individual letters of recommendation (all individual letters are attached in their entirety at the end of the committee letter).

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Eligibility

The Board of Health Professions Advisers does not set grade point averages for applicants to be eligible to receive a committee letter. Applicants are expected to meet all deadlines as stated in the Application Process and Requesting Committee Letters sections of this website. Applicants who fail to meet one or more the deadlines stated below will not be eligible for committee letters.

You should request a committee letter if you are:

1. applying to medical, dental, optometry or podiatry school (postbaccalaureate programs and other health profession schools do not require committee letters and in many cases do not accept them)

2. a current Smith student or an alumna who graduated no more than five years prior to the year when you intend to submit your professional school application. 

Please note: Alumnae who graduated more than five years prior to their intended application year should meet with the HPA Director prior to the month of December in advance of the intended application year, in order to discuss their particular circumstances. In addition, if you have completed a graduate degree or postbaccalaureate program since your graduation from Smith College, it may be to your benefit to request a committee letter from that institution. Please contact us to discuss options.

Medical Schools Outside of the United States

The Board of Health Professions Advisers will provide a committee letter if the school will accept it. Most Caribbean, Canadian and Irish medical schools will accept committee letters; however, those in the United Kingdom do not.

Important Deadlines to Put In Your Calendar

December 16
 Preapplication due for alumnae. Earlier submission is encouraged!
December 22
 Preapplication due for current students. Earlier submission is encouraged!
March 30
 Complete your first preapplication and personal statement review meetings.
April 21
 Complete your required interview with a member of the Board of Health Professions Advisers.
May 25
 All individual letters of recommendation are due in Interfolio.
June 30
 5 p.m. EST: Deadline for primary application (with exam score) submission in order to be eligible for a committee letter.

Please note: Optometry applicants: OptomCAS opens in June. Podiatry applicants: AACPMAS opens in August. If you are applying through one of these application services, please contact the HPA Director to discuss your timeline from this point forward. The deadline for application submission schedule may differ for you.

No later than April (for medical school applicants) or May (for dental school applicants), take your entrance examination and share your official score with the HPA Director. We recommend earlier exam dates if possible; April (medical)/May(dental) is the latest possible time you can take your exam and remain eligible for a committee letter.

October–December 2022

Carefully review the full Application Process section of this website.

October–December 2022

Prepare to submit the preapplication:

  • Alumnae: Register and set-up your profile in Handshake.
  • Current students: Complete your Handshake profile.
  • Revise your CV or résumé.
  • Draft your personal statement.
  • Gather copies of unofficial transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.
  • Sign and date Request Form and Waiver.
  • Work on the preapplication itself.
  • Alumnae submit a complete preapplication (by December 16).
  • Current students submit a complete preapplication (by December 22).

January–March 2023

1. Meet with the HPA Director, Elly Mons, to review your preapplication documents and to discuss your overall readiness to apply. 

2. Participate in an interview with a member of the Board of Health Professions Advisors. Interviews will be held between early February up to April 21 in person, or by Zoom, Skype or phone. Please make every effort to schedule your meetings and interviews for the soonest possible dates. The Board member will provide open and honest feedback and advice about your candidacy. This interview will not determine whether or not you will receive a committee letter, but the Board as a group will recommend either applying in the current cycle or delaying your application by at least a year in order for you to take action to improve your qualifications.

3. Create an Interfolio account**

  • Request four to six letters of recommendation*** (NO later than spring break. Letters are due in Interfolio by May 25)
  • Revise your application materials after meeting with Elly Mons.
  • Research your list of schools

**You will receive a link to Interfolio when you submit your preapplication. If you are creating your Interfolio account before completing the preapplication, please email Elly Mons to request the link.

***We suggest two letters from science faculty and the remainder from faculty outside the sciences, internship or research supervisors and/or other employers. A letter from someone who works in the profession you hope to enter (i.e. a physician, dentist, optometrist or podiatrist) is strongly recommended and may be required by some schools. The final makeup of your individual letters will be based on your experiences; discuss your choice of letters with Elly Mons. You must provide all individual letter writers with the Board's Letter to Recommenders.

January–May 2023

1. Continue working on primary application materials

2. Continue preparing for your entrance exam as needed

3. When primary applications open, request official transcripts from all postsecondary institutions

 

May 2022

  • Begin your primary application online*
  • Classes of 2023 & 2024: Request official Smith transcripts so that they include your spring semester grades
  • Alumnae: If you have taken spring semester courses, request the relevant official transcript
  • Refine your list of schools (unless still awaiting test results)
  • Schedule your CASPer Suite and Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) if needed (complete the tests preferably during mid June)
  • Follow up with the HPA Director, Elly Mons, to ensure your file is complete
  • Ensure all of your individual letters of recommendation are in Interfolio by May 25; earlier is recommended

May–June 2023

Submit your primary application and then send a PDF of that submitted application to Elly Mons. June 30 at 5:00 pm EST is our final deadline for medical and dental school applicants. Committee letters will be available within 30 days of our receipt of your submitted application, provided that your individual letters of recommendation are all in Interfolio by May 25th AND your MCAT or DAT score is on file. 

 

  • Complete secondary applications within two to three weeks after they are received.
  • Prepare for and complete CASPer and other Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) if needed.
  • Use Interview Prep to start preparations for interviews. Applicants access Interview Prep within the Resources section of their Handshake account. Schedule a mock interview session with Elly Mons when you receive your first interview invitation.
Continue preparing for your interviews with Interview Prep, and by appointment with Elly Mons. Follow up with Thank You notes after you have completed each interview.
  • Send letters of interest or intent, if applicable
  • Follow up with schools that have accepted you
  • Research and apply for funding

Spring 2024

  • If you have multiple acceptances, weigh your options carefully and select the school that is the best fit.
  • If you haven't received any offers of acceptance, discuss the possibility of reapplying in a future cycle with the HPA Director

Summer/Fall 2024

  • If accepted, enroll in professional school!
  • If not accepted, continue working on reapplication or other plans

 

How to Send the Committee Letter

How schools receive the committee letter depends on the application service through which you are applying; some distribute letters while others require you to send the letter yourself. If you are applying to a school that does not use a centralized application service or which is outside of the United States, you must notify your committee letter writer before the letter is written. You will need to provide any identification numbers associated with those schools as well as the email or mailing address where the letter should be sent.

Most allopathic medical schools use AMCAS. On your primary application you will list the committee letter as your one letter that schools should expect to receive. Do not list the individual letters of recommendation. List your committee letter author (generally the HPA Director) and indicate which medical schools should receive the committee letter (typically all of them). You will then generate a Letter Request Form and send that to the HPA Director. AMCAS will distribute the letter to the individual schools. Details about Letters of Evaluation are available in the AMCAS Applicant Guide.

Most osteopathic medical schools use AACOMAS. On your primary application you will list the committee letter as your one letter that schools should expect to receive. List your committee letter author (typically the HPA Director) and indicate which of the medical schools should receive the committee letter (typically all of them). Enter "December 1st" of the application year as the deadline for having the committee letter uploaded into your application. AACOMAS will then send a Letter Request Form to the committee letter author. Details about Letters of Evaluation are available in the AACOMAS Applicant Guide.

 

Texas dental schools and allopathic and osteopathic medical schools use TMDSAS. On your primary application you will list the committee letter as your one letter that schools should expect to receive. List your committee letter author and indicate which of the schools to which you are applying should receive the committee letter (typically all of them). Enter "December 1st" of the application year as the deadline for having the committee letter uploaded into your application. TMDSAS will then send a Letter Request Form to the committee letter author. TMDSAS will distribute the letter to the individual schools. Details about Letters of Evaluation are found in the TMDSAS Applicant Guide.

Most dental schools use AADSAS. On your primary application you will list the committee letter as your one letter that schools should expect to receive. List your committee letter author (typically the HPA Director) and indicate which of the dental schools should receive the committee letter (typically all of them). Indicate "December 1st" of the application year as the deadline by which the committee letter should be uploaded into your application. AADSAS will send a Evaluation Request Form to the committee letter writer. AADSAS will distribute the letter to the schools indicated. Details about Letters of Evaluation are available in the AADSAS Applicant Guide.
Optometry schools use OPTOMCAS. The Director of the Health Professions Advising Program will upload the committee letter directly to OPTOMCAS application and also complete a second rating of attributes on this interface. Please send a Letter of Evaluation request form from OPTOMCAS to your committee letter author. Some programs will not accept a committee letter. It is the applicant's responsibility in all cases to verify the accepted method of letters of reference before requesting a committee letter or individual letters of reference.
Podiatry schools use AACPMAS. On your primary application you will list the committee letter as your one letter that schools should expect to receive. List your committee letter author (typically the HPA Director) and indicate which of the podiatry schools should receive the committee letter (typically all of them). Indicate "December 1st" of the application year as the deadline by which the committee letter should be uploaded into your application. AACPMAS will send a Evaluation Request Form to the committee letter writer. AACPMAS will distribute the letter to the schools indicated. Details about Letters of Evaluation are available in the AACPMAS Applicant Guide.