Guidelines
Once a letter request is added in PrivateFolio, an email is automatically sent to that letter writer with your request and a link to upload that 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. Notify your committee letter writer and the Associate Director of Health Professions Advising (ADHPA) once all of your letters have been received in PrivateFolio using the Committee Letter Form (link provided by the ADHPA).
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 pre-medical advisor, usually their major advisor. A committee letter is a detailed cover letter that serves as a support letter from OSU for a student’s application to medical school. It provides an overview of your competitiveness and qualities, adding insight into your path towards medical school. This is why it is very important to make a strong connection and 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 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, and also meet the following criteria:
- Overall GPA of 3.2 or higher
- Science GPA of 3.0 or higher
- MCAT score of 501 or higher
- MCAT score released by June 23
- 1 full year+ of healthcare experience (shadowing, working, volunteering)
- A minimum of 200 hours is advised for total healthcare experience.
- At least one of your experiences should span at least 9 months.
- Confirmed 4+ letters of recommendation (at least 2 letters from science faculty and 1 from a physician)
- Taken at least 45 credits of prerequisite courses at OSU.
- Taken the following courses or equivalents: Principles of Biology (BI 221Z series), General Chemistry (CH 221Z/227Z series), Organic Chemistry (CH 331 or 334 series), Physics (PH 20x or 21x series), BB 450, Math up to one term of calculus, and at least one course in statistics.
- Be sure to also check individual medical schools’ admissions protocols to see if they specify other in-person or other course requirements.
Take additional time to improve your application if...
- Overall GPA is lower than 3.0
- Science GPA is lower than 2.85
- MCAT score is less than 497
- You have less than 1 year of healthcare experience
- You've taken more than 3 MCAT attempts with scores lower than 501
- If you have less than 4 regular letters of recommendation, or if you have less than 2 letters from science faculty and none from a physician.
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 to your PrivateFolio account. The Associate Director of Health Professions Advising will do that for you as part of their process. Please also note that writing your committee letter is at the discretion of your advisor.
Appeal Process
Students must meet all but one of the full-eligibility criteria listed above to appeal for a committee letter, and cannot have anything lower than the criteria outlined in the “take additional time to improve” list, pending that the advisor would be willing to write a committee letter. Email premed-committee@oregonstate.edu to ask about or request to do the appeal process.
To be eligible for a committee letter, students must also meet all posted deadlines and attend med school application workshops (or get access to materials in a timely manner). Application workshops are advertised on the premed listserv.
Confidentiality agreement
Students who go through the OSU premedical committee to assist with collecting and submitting letters of evaluation for medical school applications will need to complete a consent form indicating that you understand and agree to the fact that the letters of evaluation on your behalf are confidential. You will also indicate if you allow letter writers to discuss your information such as academic performance and advising or in-class observations strictly for the purpose for your application to medical school. Students will receive this form from the Associate Director of Health Professions Advising as part of the intake process before reviewing 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
