Premedical Advising: Evaluation Letters

If you plan to enter a professional program in the fall of 2010, then beginning in February of 2009, you can call 864-3500 to schedule an application meeting with Paul Crosby.

As part of the meeting, you'll open a file for evaluation letters which will be kept at the University Career Center (UCC). They provide this service, so you will not have to repeatedly seek letters, and your writers will not have to repeatedly send letters. For information about their Medical Credential File Service, see www.kucareerhawk.com/credentials.

Most schools require at least three letters, most candidates get five or six, and more than seven would usually be seen as excessive.

Aim for both depth, substantial letters from people who know you well, and breadth. For example, two letters from natural sciences faculty, one letter from a social sciences or humanities faculty member, and additional letters from health care experience supervisors, members of the profession who've mentored you, long-term employers and/or supervisors of other significant activities (research, social service, leadership, internships, study abroad, etc.).

Some schools prohibit letters from family, friends, neighbors, relatives, your elected representatives, or people who cannot speak for your abilities after high school.

Most schools ask for a letter from a health sciences committee or advisor, because they want to make sure you don't go around a central evaluation system, if it exists. Like most large, public universities, there are far too many candidates at KU for a central evaluation by a single advisor or committee. If your letters are sent through UCC, Charlotte Leonard attaches a cover sheet explaining that there is not a central evaluation process for KU students, just individual letters from direct supervisors in the classroom and profession-related activities.

Suggestions for seeking letters

1. Go to www.kucareerhawk.com/credentials, scroll down the page, and click on the "Medical Recommendation Letter Cover Sheet," edit the top part of the form, and print a copy for each evaluator.

2. Make appointments to meet with potential evaluators at least one-month before you need their letters.

3. Explain why you would like to become a health professional, and how your activities have informed and prepared you for this profession. Then ask if they are willing and able to write letters supporting your admission.

4. Give each writer a folder with your ARTS form, a resume listing relevant activities, test scores and percentile values (if you have them), a draft of your personal comments essay, an evaluation form, and a stamped envelope addressed to the University Career Center.

5. Check with Charlotte Leonard, cleonard@ku.edu, in the University Career Center to make sure all of your letters arrive!

6. Thank your evaluators in writing for their help, and let them know if you are accepted.

If you apply to any medical schools that use the AMCAS Letters Service:

University of Alabama School of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Columbia University College of P & S
Creighton University School of Medicine
Dartmouth Medical School
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Drexel University College of Medicine
East TN State U., James H. Quillen College of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Emory University School of Medicine
Florida International University College of Medicine
Florida State University
George Washington University School of Medicine & Heallth Science
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Howard University
Indiana University School of Medicine
Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California
Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
Mayo Medical School
Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical University of South Carolina
Meharry Medical College
Mercer University School of Medicine
Michigan State University
Morehouse School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York Medical College
New York University
Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Rush Medical College
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine
Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota
Southern Illinois School of Medicine
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
Stony Brook University-School of Medicine
SUNY at Buffalo Medical School
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Temple University School of Medicine
Texas A&M University System HSC College of Medicine
Texas Tech Univ. Health Science Center School of Medicine
The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
The Commonwealth Medical College
The Medical College of Georgia
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
The University of Arizona College of Medicine
The University of Miami School of Medicine
The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
The University of Oklahoma
The University of Toledo College of Medicine
The University of Vermont College of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
UCLA PRIME
UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
Universidad Central Del Caribbean
University of Arkansas College of Medicine
University of California San Diego
University of California San Francisco
University of California Davis School of Medicine
University of California Irvine-College of Medicine
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
University of Chicago-Pritzker
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine
University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine
University of Illinois at Chicago-College of Medicine
University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine
University of Kansas
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
University of Louisville School of Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
University of Massachusetts Medical School
University of Michigan Medical School
University of Minnesota Medical School-Minneapolis
University of Minnesota School of Medicine Duluth
University of Mississippi School of Medicine
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine
University of Nebraska College of Medicine
University of Nevada School of Medicine
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
University of South Alabama College of Medicine
University of South Carolina School of Medicine
University of South Florida College of Medicine
University of Texas Medical Branch
University of Texas Medical School at Houston
University of TN Health Science Center College of Medicine
University of Virginia School of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
University of Wisconsin
UT Southwestern
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
West Virginia University School of Medicine
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
Yale University School of Medicine

In the “6. Letters of Evaluation” part of the AMCAS application, you should:

Click the “Yes” button
For the “type of letter,” select “Letter Packet”
Click the “Continue” button
For “What School is Providing this Letter?,” select “University of Kansas”
Click the “Continue” button
For “Primary Contact/Author’s First Name,” enter “Charlotte”
For “Primary Contact/Author’s Last Name,” enter “Leonard”
For “Primary Contact/Author’s Email,” enter “cleonard@ku.edu“
For “Primary Contact/Author’s Phone,” enter “785-864-7680”
For “Organization,” enter “University Career Center”
For “Address,” enter “1601 Irving Hill Road”
For “Address 2,” enter “110 Burge Union”
For “Country,” select “United States”
For “State,” select “Kansas”
For “City,” select “Lawrence”
For “Postal Code,” enter “66045-7557
You do NOT need to fill in optional fields or list additional authors
Click the “Continue” button
Click the “Yes” button to print a “Letter Request Form”
Save the “AMCAS Letter Request Form” with your other printed application materials
After your letters all arrive at the University Career Center, you need to fill out the “University Career Center Request to Send Form,” including both your AAMC and Letter ID numbers (see directions below)
After you turn the Request to Send Form in to Charlotte with $35, she will upload your letters to VirtualEvals (VE), and VE will release the letter file to AMCAS
After AMCAS receives the letter packet file from VE, you need to go into "7. Medical Schools" in your AMCAS application, apply the Letters of Evaluation (LOE) packet to medical schools, and re-submit your AMCAS application

If you are not applying to any of the medical schools in the AMCAS Program, you do not need to fill out anything in the “6. Letters of Evaluation” part of the AMCAS application.

Whether or not you're applying to any of the schools that use AMCAS for letters, you'll still need to have Charlotte send a file of your letters to VirtualEvals, www.virtualevals.org.

Releasing or sending letters

Before filing a request to send letters, you must check with Charlotte Leonard, cleonard@ku.edu, (785) 864-7680, 110 Burge Union, to make certain all the letters are on file.

If you're applying to medical schools, when your file is complete, go to www.kucareerhawk.com/credentials, scroll down the page, and complete the “Medical Student’s Request to Send Form." Give the completed form and the $35 fee to Charlotte Leonard, University Career Center, University of Kansas, 110 Burge Union, 1601 Irving Hill Road, Lawrence, KS 66045. Your file will be uploaded into the VirtualEvals system and the schools you wish to have access to it, will be attached and notified. You can pay with cash, check or credit card. You may pay in advance, or at the time you submit your request. A returned check results in a service charge and loss of check writing privileges with UCC.

Each student is allowed only one VirtualEvals file. You will not be able to add or delete from this file. Therefore, you must have all your letters in your file before UCC uploads it into VirtualEvals. You may send to one or more schools, and later send to more schools if you wish. These rules are set by the medical schools, not UCC.

If you apply to dental schools, or medical schools that don't use AMCAS or VirtualEvals, you can pay Charlotte Leonard $6 per school to send by U.S. Mail, $15 to send by Federal Express overnight delivery, or $6 + $1 per page to have letters faxed to a school. You must provide Charlotte with the address or fax number of each admissions office.