Letters of Evaluation

Letters of evaluation for professional schools (and others)

What is a letter of evaluation? An evaluation letter is the considered opinion of the writer about you. It includes but is not limited to:

• Statements about your abilities and future chances of success in your chosen area
• Statements about your skills, desires, and background, drive and determination
• Targeted information to increase the chances of your acceptance to a program
• Information that reflects on you both positively and negatively (they ask for strengths and weaknesses)
• An overall summation of your abilities

Requesting a letter

• Consider all of your options.
• Make sure you have plenty of potential references who can speak well of you!
• Double check what the specific school requires for number and type of references.
• Type of reference may be specified (science, non-science, advisor), or not.
• Talk to each of your potential references well in advance of the final date.
• Prepare a packet of information (see below) to give your recommenders.
• Offer to chat with them. They need to know your passion for medicine.
• Give your references everything they need to increase the chance of a complete letter

Things to provide 

• A copy of your transcript (unofficial is fine)
• A copy of your personal statement for the AMCAS or other application
• Your MCAT scores
• A list of volunteer experiences and the things you learned about medicine
• A list of some activities in which you have participated in a meaningful way