Q: What is an "application cycle?"
- Application cycle refers to the summer an applicant applies to medical, dental, veterinary, or allied health professions school for the following fall semester matriculation (e.g.: May 2025 is when the application cycle begins for applying to professional health school entering class August 2026).
- Application cycle can also be referred to as an "admission cycle."
Q: What is a Pre-Health Committee Letter?
- A Pre-Health Committee Letter is a composite letter written on behalf of a medical or dental school applicant by the University’s Pre-Health Programs advisory committee.
- The Pre-Health Committee Letter serves several purposes: it introduces you to the medical or dental school admissions committees, reviews your notable strengths and accomplishments, and advocates for you in this process.
- It presents an overview of the student’s academic strengths, exposures to health care and medical research environments, contributions to the campus and community, and personal attributes.
- It may also address any extenuating circumstances that may have resulted in deficits in the student’s performance during a course or semester, provide perspective on challenges the student may have encountered, and explain school-specific courses and programs in which the student has participated.
- It can also centralize the collection of individual letters of evaluation that will also speak to an applicant’s readiness for professional school.
Q: What does the Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter focus on?
- The Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter presents you to admission committee members at medical and dental schools as a non-traditional applicant highlighting a few factors such as improved academic standing, focused evaluation, demonstration of commitment, and an updated perspective.
- Our letter focuses on your time and commitment as a Penn LPS Pre-Health Post-Bacc student and can provide a more relevant view that reflects your latest academic, professional, and personal development which is more reflective of your current capabilities and competitiveness as an applicant.
- For the Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter, we require a minimum of three individual LOEs, and no more than maximum of five individual LOEs to accompany and support the packet.
- At least two individual letters of evaluation are required from a Penn faculty member to support your committee letter. To fulfill this requirement, the committee will also accept letters of evaluation from someone affiliated with Penn Medicine, HUP, CHOP, Presby Medical Center, and/or Pennsylvania Hospital that knows you in an academic and/or professional setting.
Q: What should I expect from the Pre-Health Committee Letter one-to-one interview?
- Be prepared to discuss your educational and career path, and any of the information that you submitted as part of the process (e.g.: resume, self-assessment, and essay question responses).
- Be prepared to talk about your understanding of the AAMC 17 Premed Competencies for Entering Medical Students and how they relate to your background and growth as a Penn Pre-Health student.
- Please keep in mind that the interview is not an advising session. It is a professional mock interview that will influence the Pre-Health Committee Letter. As such, please arrive on time and dress professionally.
- The one-to-one Committee Letter interviews are meant to complement the review of your committee letter materials and provide an opportunity to practice answering interview questions and receive feedback.
- Interviews will take place either in-person or Zoom (applicant’s preference). Interviews will be scheduled for one hour during business hours (M-F 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET) starting mid-March to the beginning of May.
Q: How do I get an application coach?
- The person who interviews you for your committee letter will transition to the role of your application coach for the duration of the application cycle.
- Please note, you are still able to make individual advising appointments with any member of our Pre-Health advising team during this time.
- Your designated application coach will serve as an extra resource for you (e.g.: personal statement review, developing school lists, application feedback pre-submission, interview tips) and serve as a sound board during this stressful period.
- We encourage you to keep your application coach informed as you go through your application cycle.
Q: What is included in the Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter packet?
- A brief cover letter describing the Penn LPS Pre-Health Post-Bacc Programs, Core Studies, and Specialized Studies.
- Your individualized composite letter written by the Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee.
- Copies of all evaluation letters from the individuals you listed on your List of Evaluators Form (a minimum three, and no more than five individual LOEs will accompany the committee letter; at least two of the three LOEs must be from a Penn faculty member).
Q: Do I need to separately send the individual evaluation letters that are listed on my List of Evaluators Form and stored in my Interfolio online account to the primary application service(s)?
- No. All the evaluation letters from the individuals you listed on your List of Evaluators Form (minimum of three, maximum of five, LOEs) will be included in your Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter packet.
Q: How does the Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee evaluate candidates?
- Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee makes every effort to evaluate students in a holistic way. We describe the following:
- Experiences: educational background, clinical work, research, volunteer/community service, professional and life experiences. We especially focus on what you have accomplished and what we have observed during time in the Penn Pre-Health Programs.
- Attributes: demographic profile, leadership skills, and ability to work with and for people from diverse backgrounds, maturity, interpersonal and communication skills, intellectual curiosity, motivation for pursuing desired field of interest
- Metrics: grades, grade trends, consistency in academic performance
Q: Who should I ask to write an individual letter of evaluation on my behalf to support my committee letter packet?
- Evaluation letters are an important part of your credentials, which medical and dental schools will review and evaluate. Think carefully about your evaluators and choose them thoughtfully.
- Emphasize quality over quantity when thinking about who to ask for individual letters of evaluation. Remember the strongest letters of evaluation give insight into an applicant’s intellectual orientation, motivations, and personal qualities.
- In addition to the required two Penn faculty member letters, academic letters from faculty/advisors at other institutions you attended, employer/supervisor letters, letters from individuals who know you in a volunteer, research, or healthcare setting. Are all acceptable letters to include in your packet.
Q: Should I include letters from family, friends, and relatives in my packet?
- No. Professional schools expect to see letters from people who know you in an academic and/or professional setting as well as from volunteer, research, and community service settings.
Q: What materials should I provide my individual letter writer with?
- When requesting letters, provide a recent resume, short goal statement as well as your most recent Penn Pre-Health Programs transcript (unofficial is fine). Keep in mind, your evaluator may also ask for additional supporting documents that will assist them in writing your letter.
- If possible, you should offer to meet with the person writing the letter (in-person, phone, or virtual meeting). This is especially important when requesting a letter from someone who has not collaborated with you or taught you recently.
- Once your letter writer has agreed to write a LOE on your behalf, please let them know that they will be able to submit their confidential letter electronically to your online Interfolio account once you enter the request.
- Allow your evaluators sufficient time (at least a minimum of two to four weeks) to prepare your letters, and make sure to send a follow-up thank you card or email to each letter writer.
- Please make sure to communicate to your evaluators that their LOE needs to include their signature and if possible be written on their employer’s letterhead. Unsigned LOEs will not be accepted.
- You are responsible for making certain that each of your letters have been written and are on file in your online Interfolio account by deadline dates.
- Your Pre-Health Committee Letter will be based, in good measure, on your supporting evaluations.
Q: Should I waive access to my individual evaluation letters?
- While it is your legal right to retain access to these letters medical and dental schools put more weight on “waived letters.”
- Non-confidential letters will be so labeled.
- Please note, by submitting a request and going through the Penn LPS Pre-Health Programs internal committee letter review process with our program, students acknowledge and agree that they waive any rights to access of review of the committee letter, which is a confidential evaluation document, as part of the medical and dental school application process.
Q: When are my individual letters of evaluation listed on my List of Evaluators Form due?
- At least three LOEs (a maximum of five LOEs) need to be on file in your online Interfolio account no later than May 1.
- The deadline for all LOEs being used to support your packet needs to be on file in your online Interfolio account no later than June 1.
- Please keep in mind, if one of your evaluators is teaching during the spring semester, they will submit your LOE closer to the June 1 deadline, and that is OK.
Q: When will my finalized Pre-Health Committee Letter packet be uploaded to the primary application services (e.g. AMCAS, AACOMAS, TMDSAS, AADSAS)?
- Pre-Health Committee Letters cannot be drafted until a student has completed their internal interview with a member of our advising team AND at least three LOEs are on file in your online Interfolio account.
- The Committee Letter will not be finalized until ALL LOEs have been received.
- Students finishing their remaining course unit requirements in the summer semester must have final grades posted before committee letters are released.
- Students must provide a copy of their submitted primary application(s) to Danielle no earlier than May 1 and not later than August 1 before committee letters are released.
- We do not start the uploading process to the primary application services until the beginning of July and will continue through the middle of August. Students will be notified via email once their committee letter has been finalized and uploaded to their primary application(s).
Q: Can I contact members of the Pre-Health Programs team to see when my Pre-Health Committee Letter packet will be completed?
- The Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letters are carefully prepared and finalized from the beginning of July through the middle of August. This process is time-sensitive for our team as we work to align with the application timelines for medical and dental schools.
- We kindly ask that you refrain from inquiring about the availability of your letter, as we are dedicated to ensuring each letter is completed thoroughly and on schedule.
Q: What if I have additional letter(s) of evaluation to add to my packet AFTER my Pre-Health Committee Letter has been completed?
- Once your Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter is finalized, we will not write a new one for the same application cycle.
- The additional individual LOE(s) will NOT be part of the Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter packet.
- Any additional individual letter(s) will be considered “supplemental” letters of recommendation, and you can add them directly to your primary application(s) as an “Individual Letter of Recommendation/Evaluation.”
- We recommend you have your additional letter writer upload their LOE on your behalf directly to your primary application for review (e.g.: AMCAS, AACOMAS, TMDSAS, AADSAS).
- Please check with a Pre-Health advisor on the best method to store your additional LOE(s).
Q: Who should I list as the primary author for the Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter in AMCAS, AACOMAS, TMDSAS and/or AADSAS?
- Here is the contact information to enter in the Letters of Evaluation/Supporting Materials section of the primary application service(s) for students receiving the Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter:
- Primary author: Jacqueline McLaughlin, MS, RD, Director of Pre-Health Programs
- School: University of Pennsylvania, College of Liberal and Professional Studies
- Address: 3440 Market Street, Suite 100, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone/email: (215) 573-4631, jmclaugh@sas.upenn.edu - Letter type: Committee letter
- Due date: August 31
Q: What if I decided to postpone applying to medical or dental school after I started the internal Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter?
- If you decide to postpone applying to medical or dental school after you have already started the internal Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter process, that is perfectly acceptable. A few students choose to take a gap year or defer their application for a variety of reasons, such as gaining additional clinical experience, strengthening their academic profile, or exploring other career interests.
- We encourage you to keep your application coach informed as you go through your application cycle.
- Before the next application cycle, continue working with the Pre-Health Programs advising team during your gap year or postponement to ensure what you will need to submit to re-enter the committee letter process. When you are ready to apply, you will follow next year’s timeline for submission, and we will determine if you still qualify for a first-time committee letter packet or an addendum committee letter.
- Postponing your application can provide valuable opportunities to enhance your application, and our program team is here to help you make the most of that time to present a competitive and well-rounded application when you are ready.
Q: What if I do not qualify for a Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter and I still want to apply to medical or dental school?
- If your overall GPA is below 3.20, you should discuss your options with a Pre-Health advisor before you begin the application process to medical or dental school.
- Students who do not meet eligibility requirements for a Penn LPS Pre-Health Committee Letter are advised to be in contact with the Pre-Health staff of their undergraduate institutions for assistance.
- Alternatively, you may choose to submit individual letters of evaluation from people who know you in an academic and professional setting to support your professional school application. We recommend that you check the admission requirements of the programs you plan to apply to for review of their LOE requirements.
