As the med school application cycle nears, there is one major issue that needs to be addressed: the committee letter. Who does it benefit? Who does it hurt?
Join me in this
exploring the problems (and solutions) #MedTwitter #MedStudentTwitter #PremedTwitter
Join me in this

I will preface this by saying that the experience of obtaining a committee letter and how that committee letter is viewed by medical schools can vary. These are my observations as someone who utilized a committee letter and someone who helped write committee letters. 2/

Essentially, this is a composite letter drafted by your undergrad's pre-med advisor based on various things: letters of recommendation, GPA, MCAT, extra-curriculars, sometimes an interview. 3/
These items are combined into a summative evaluation that highlights important aspects, often culminating in a score based on the @AAMCtoday Core Competencies. 4/ https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/core-competencies/




...with to take priority stronger letters from people who know you well. It also places an undue amount of control in one person (often someone not in medicine) to decide whether or not you are qualified to become a physician. 8/


However, schools like Hunter College (who has a large pre-med program) require a 512 MCAT score and a cGPA of 3.75 to be eligible for a committee letter. This is a rather common practice.
So, just don't get a letter then, right? Wrong. 10/
So, just don't get a letter then, right? Wrong. 10/
The conventional wisdom states that if a medical school knows that your undergrad offers a letter and you do not have one, it is a red flag. Besides qualified applicants, who else has a hard time getting a committee letter? Non-trad applicants. 11/



That means that committee letters are often not submitted to schools until late July or August. With rolling admissions, this places students at a major disadvantage. By August, some schools are booked out for interviews into the next year. 14/




End.