This page is in the process of being revised. Once the revision is complete, it will contain all of the information that you might need regarding committee letter eligibility and applications.
The Committee Letter Application for the 2013 application cycle is now CLOSED!
The 2014 Committee Letter Application Will Open in January, 2014.
The Committee Letter
Rather than sending all of the separate recommendation letters in a student's file, applicants who qualify will receive one Committee Letter. The Committee Letter is a composite letter that incorporates all of the information in a student's file, and its narrative includes quotations from evaluations and letters of recommendation as well as impressions derived from the personal statement and an interview. At the discretion of the Pre-Health Committee, particularly strong and descriptive letters of recommendation may also be appended to the Committee letter in entirety.
Qualifications For The Committee Letter
Please note that Each applicant for a Committee Letter will be REQUIRED to attend a Committee Letter Workshop, Organized by the Pre-Health Office, BEFORE submitting a Committee Letter application.
Minimum academic qualifications for the Committee lLtter include a GPA of 3.3 or higher for at least 38 credits in science and mathematics courses taken at Hunter. These 38 credits can be either completed or in progress at the time when the Committee letter application is submitted. The 38 credits must also include at least four (4) laboratory courses taken at Hunter College. Each candidate must also have appropriate extracurricular experiences in the field that they plan to enter (medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, etc.), as well as course evaluations and letters of recommendation that comment on their performance in both academic and clinical settings.
All applicants for the Committee Letter must be in good academic standing at Hunter College. Applicants must also have an active file with the Pre-Health Advising Office with the following documents included:
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At least one letter of recommendation from science faculty at Hunter College
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Evaluations (ideally greater than five) from courses completed at Hunter College.
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Recommendation letters from your employers, supervisors and/or mentors in clinical, research, and community service settings. At least one letter should be from a supervisor from a clinical setting related to the field in which you are applying. If you do not have a letter of recommendation from a supervisor in a clinical setting related to your interest, this could adversely affect your eligibility for a Committee Letter and your likelihood of being accepted to a professional school.
Committee Letter Content
Each Committee Letter is subdivided into different sections, which include:
- Introduction & Background - with biographical information about the applicant, a brief description of the path leading to their application, and a summary of their educational experiences and accomplishments.
- Course Evaluations & Instructor Comments - which includes actual quotes from course evaluations and letters of recommendation describing the applicant's performance in a variety of subject areas.
- Clinical Experience - with a description of activities in the clinical area that the applicant is applying to as well as comments or appended letters of recommendation from supervisors in that area. It is important that every candidate has had clinical exposure related to their area of interest. Comments from supervisors in the clinical area provides admissions committees with a measure of the quality of such experiences .
- Research Experience - describing those activities if a candidate has research experience and incorporating comments from research mentors, which help to substantiate how effective a candidate has been as a researcher.
- Community Service - descriptions of the kinds of extracurricular activities that demonstrate that the candidate is genuinely committed to serving others. Again, letters from supervisors related to this area are encouraged as a way to evaluate a candidate's performance.
Once the qualifications for the Committee Letter have been verified by the Pre-Health Office, a member of Hunter’s Pre-Health Committee is assigned to interview the candidate and write their Committee letter.
The Letter Packet
For those students who have a file in the Pre-Health Professions Office but a) do not meet the minimum requirements for a Committee Letter (3.3 Science and Math GPA and 38 Credits in Science at Hunter); or are applying to programs that do not require a Committee Letter, we can send out a letter packet. The letter packet consists of the Letters of Recommendation in your file with a brief cover letter. The Pre-Health Advising Office will examine your file and determine what letters are best to submit on your behalf. Only full letters of recommendation are submitted with a Letter Packet. Course evaluations are not appropriate documents for submission in a Letter Packet.
The same application is required for either the Committee Letter or the Letter Packet. All sections of this application MUST be filled in completely.
The deadline to apply for a Committee Letter or a Letter Packet will be March 1, 2014
Frequently Asked Questions Related to the Committee Letter Application
How does the Committee Letter process work?
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You submit your application for a committee letter.
- You make sure that all letters of recommendation and course evaluations are included in your file by the date specified.
- You submit the required payment by the specified time for the Committee Letter or Letter Packet to be uploaded.
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The Pre-Health Advising Office team will review your application to determine your eligibility for receiving a committee letter and will issue a formal approval. The approval process is expected to take up to 4 weeks after the deadline for the Committee Letter application. Candidates who do not qualify for the Committee Letter will be informed if they have sufficient documentation to be eligible for a Letter Packet.
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Once you have been approved for a Committee Letter, you will be directed to set up an interview with a member of the Committee, who is pre-assigned to develop your committee letter.Please allow 6-8 weeks from the time of approval of your application to completion of your letter request.
THESE REQUESTS ARE ADDRESSED ON A ROLLING BASIS (FIRST COME FIRST SERVED).
What can I do to facilitate the application processes?
In addition to addressing the academic eligibility criteria (credits/ good academic standing), you can work with our office closely to ensure that your file contains the items mentioned in the third item under eligibility criteria.
How do I count NC or W grades when computing my GPA?
NC and W grades do not affect your GPA so you should ignore these grades when you are performing your GPA calculations. However, you should be prepared to explain why you earned such a grade in your professional school application and if you qualify for an interview at a professional school. Having several NC or W grades on your transcript without an acceptable explanation could disqualify you for admission to a professional program.
Are there any additional requirements that I must fulfill before my Committee Letter can be submitted?
What happens if I miss the deadline for the Committee Letter Application?
If you miss the deadline, you will NOT be eligible to receive a Committee Letter or a Letter Packet.
The Committee letter deadline is established so that candidates' applications may be completed in a timely fashion. If you miss the Committee letter deadline, then your competitiveness as an applicant is likely to be compromised.
Important Notes:
- If you have the same instructor for more than one course, then only one evaluation or letter of recommendation is required. However, each of the courses that you completed with the instructor must be indicated in the letter or evaluation. In this case one letter or evaluation would count as written feedback for two courses.
- Evaluations can be written by Hunter College faculty and Laboratory or Recitation instructors (usually graduate teaching assistants), but letters of recommendation must be written by Hunter faculty.
- The number of evaluations will be considered in the context of all the other items in your file. The goal is to have enough information in a file for a committee member to write a thorough, accurate, and comprehensive letter. This requirement not only helps the committee but benefits the student. We recommend having 8-10 evaluative documents (letters and evaluations) in your file at the time when you apply for a Committee Letter.
- The Committee Letter Application is used by the Committee to learn more about your goals, accomplishments, and motivation. When you submit your Committee Letter application; this signifies to the Pre-Health Committee that you are ready to apply and want to be considered for a Committee Letter that semester.
- The Committee Letter Application is electronic and can only be completed in one sitting(you cannot start it and then go back to it later). You may want to start by answering the questions in MS Word. Then, when you are ready to submit the packet, copy and paste the answers in the appropriate boxes.
LINK TO THE COMMITTEE LETTER APPLICATION
To apply for a Committee letter or a letter packet, you will need to view and access the application form through a link provided here. The link will be made active when the application cycle opens in January.
Re-Applicants
For those students who have received a Committee Letter within the past two years and are re-submitting applications for medical, dental, veterinary or optometry school, a Committee Letter Update is required. In order to receive an update, you must provide additional information through the Committee Letter Update Application, available through the following link:
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