Guidelines
Once added, an email is automatically sent to that letter writer with your letter request and a link to upload a letter directly to your PrivateFolio account. You may share the Letter Writer Guidelines with your letter writers to help them know the qualities that are valuable to be expressed in letters.
Minimum requirements
Most medical schools minimally require to have at least 2 letters for recommendation from science faculty and one from a physician. The OSU pre-medical committee requires this minimum in order to use the committee letter system. You should have a minimum of four letters of evaluation total. Other letters can come from supervisors, employers, volunteer coordinators, or other faculty.
Please be sure to monitor your letters as they arrive in your PrivateFolio.
Notify the pre-med committee coordinators (premed-committee@oregonstate.edu) once all of your letters have been received.
Committee letter
A committee letter is written by a student's primary advisor (usually the major advisor). The committee letter is a cover letter that gives an overview of your application, adding insight and additional information (that is why it is SO important for you to stay in touch with your pre-med advisor). Medical schools value committee letters. It serves to provide highlights and context to the student's letter package submitted as part of the medical school application. The committee letter file includes the committee letter and all of your other letters of evaluation from doctors, faculty, employers, etc.
To be eligible for a committee letter, you must have the minimal letter requirements stated above, as well as a minimum GPA of 3.2 and MCAT of 501. Additionally, to comply with the requirements of many medical schools in the United States, students must have completed the 200-level chemistry course at OSU, or the equivalent lecture and lab series at another university. This series better prepares students for the MCAT and medical school by providing more in-depth material and more lab experience. Students need to take prerequisite science lab courses in person. For OSU courses, that includes the labs for Principles of Biology (BI 21x or 22x series), General Chemistry (CH 23x/26x series), Organic Chemistry (CH 331 or 334 series with CH 337), and Physics (PH 20x or 21x series). The equivalent of these courses from other schools may also be acceptable by approval. (Courses only offered online during the COVID-19 Pandemic are usually acceptable exceptions). Be sure to also check individual medical schools’ admissions protocols to see if they specify other in-person or other course requirements.
Please be sure to tell the Associate Director of Health Professions Advising who your committee letter writer is, but do not add them on your own. The Associate Director of Health Professions Advising will do that for you as part of their process. Please note that writing your committee letter is at the discretion of your advisor.
Appeal Process
For students who meet the other letter and course requirements, they may appeal for the ability to receive a committee letter if they have below either or both a 3.2 GPA or 501 MCAT. For the appeal process, the student must first connect with their academic advisor to confirm if they would be willing to write a committee letter for them should they be approved through the appeal process. If their advisor agrees, then the student must contact premed-committee@oregonstate.edu to request an appeal form and to set up meetings to review the student’s case.
Signature page
Students who go through the OSU system to assist with collecting and submitting letters of recommendation for medical school applications will need to complete a signature page for the Statement of Understanding to allow the release/discussion of your information and Statement of Confidentiality indicating that you understand and agree to the fact that the letters of evaluation on your behalf are confidential. Students will receive this form when they meet with a pre-medical committee coordinator to review their application status and open their "pre-med file" (see Step 3 below).
Summary of letters of evaluation requirements:
- Minimum of two science faculty letters
- Minimum of one physician letter
- Minimum of four letters total
- Meet the prerequisite science course requirements as outlined above in order to receive a committee letter
- Must have 501 MCAT and 3.2 GPA minimums to receive a committee letter or be approved via the appeal process
