Letters of Evaluation and

the Committee Letter Process

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Applying to medical, dental, or veterinary school is a highly competitive process that requires much preparation on the part of the applicant. A student must schedule a "Pre-Committee Assessment" appointment with a University Health Professions Office (UHPO) advisor to discuss the application process and his or her readiness for it before being able to utilize many of the services that we provide to students entering the application process. Below, we will describe in further detail the services that we offer to collect letters of evaluation and to write committee letters of evaluation on a student’s behalf. For a complete list of support services offered by the UHPO through the application process, please see the “Medical, Dental, and Veterinary School Application Process” handout.

Letters of Evaluation

Letters of evaluation, from faculty members as well as from work and volunteer supervisors, are essential to a successful application. Strong letters require preparation on behalf of both the applicant and the evaluator. For helpful tips through this part of the process, please review the UHPO’s “Asking for Letters of Evaluation” handout. For basic guidelines that may be provided to mentors who have not previously written academic letters of evaluation, please also see the “Guidelines for Writing a Evaluation Letter” handout.

The UHPO can help to facilitate submission of letters of evaluation to health professions schools on behalf of UTSA students and alumni. To authorize the UHPO to collect his or her evaluation letters, a student must meet with a UHPO advisor for a Pre-Committee Assessment. At that time, the advisor will review with the student the UHPO’s “Evaluation Packet and Committee Letter Release Form.” This form authorizes the UHPO to collect a student’s evaluation letters and serves to inform evaluators whether or not the student wishes the letter to be confidential. We suggest that students waive their right of access to the letters as this sends a message of trust both to evaluators and to admission committees.

If utilizing this service, students should ask their evaluators to mail their typed and signed letters of evaluation on official letterhead directly to the UHPO. The UHPO will not accept the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS) Evaluation Form as an evaluation letter nor will we accept letters hand delivered by students under any circumstance. The UHPO will contact a student via email as each letter of evaluation is received. However, it is the student’s responsibility to notify us once all expected letters have been received. Although there is not a limit to the number of letters that can be submitted to the UHPO on a student’s behalf, the UHPO will select a combination of no more than five letters or ten pages to be included in each student’s packet of evaluation.

In order to forward a packet of evaluation to the correct schools and/or application services, the UHPO will ask that each student utilizing this service fill out and submit a “Committee Packet Student Information Form” to us that will include information such as the application services used by the student and the schools to which the student is applying. If utilizing this service, the student may ask his or her UHPO advisor about this form. Phone requests to submit a committee packet are not acceptable.

UHPO Committee Letter of Evaluation

The committee letter of evaluation is another form of support and advocacy that is meant to capture aspects of a student’s life, personality, and personal qualities that cannot otherwise be found in his or her application. It will be written by a UHPO advisor and subsequently reviewed by other UHPO advisors who form the health professions committee at UTSA. The committee letter of evaluation will be submitted by the UHPO along with a student’s other letters of evaluation to health professions programs. Before a student can request to have a committee letter written on his or her behalf, he or she must meet an advisor for a Pre-Committee Assessment appointment (see above section for more information). Additionally, a student must have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours (equivalent to two full-time semesters) at UTSA to be eligible for a committee letter to be written on his or her behalf. For more information, please read the “Medical, Dental, and Veterinary School Application Process” handout thoroughly.

After his or her Pre-Committee Assessment appointment, a student may schedule what the UHPO calls a “committee interview" with a UHPO advisor. During the committee interview, the advisor will ask the student questions about his or her background, experiences throughout college, and motivations to enter his or her prospective health field. Due to the nature of the committee interview, it is important that the student schedule his or her interview with an advisor with whom he or she has had previous contact and rapport. At least two business days prior to his or her scheduled interview, the student must submit an autobiographical sketch, resume, photo, and calculated GPAs (overall, science [BCMP], and last 30 hours) to his or her UHPO advisor. This sketch should reflect the student’s motivations, academic background, work experiences, volunteer experiences, and any additional information he or she wishes to share about his or her background and career goals. It should be no longer than two or three pages. These materials will be utilized by the advisor to prepare questions for the committee interview. After the committee interview, the student should remain in contact specifically with the advisor who interviewed him or her.

All committee interviews for Fall 2012 admission to medical, dental, and veterinary school will be conducted from March to September 1, 2011. Committee interview slots are limited. If a student is not interviewed by September 1, the UHPO will not be able to write a committee letter on his or her behalf. We may only be able to forward his or her other letters of evaluation on file with a generic cover letter.

Note to Re-applicants: The UHPO will need to review each re-applicant’s file and academic record before writing a new letter of evaluation or updating a letter written during a previous cycle. A re-applicant will need to submit an autobiographical sketch, resume, and calculated GPAs to reflect any updated information since the previous application year. He or she may also need to meet with a UHPO advisor to discuss any of these updates in person or by phone. Please call or visit our office for more information.

Rev. 01/20/2011

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