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PRE-HEALTH EVALUATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Why Do I Need All These Evaluations?
Evaluations & Recommendations
Hunter’s premed committee meets in the Fall and Spring semesters. All students with a science GPA of 3.3 and above, (see the Hunter GPA calculation page to help you determine this), are eligible for formal committee letters. Students with science GPA’s below 3.3 should see the advisor to discuss other options available.
Applying to health professions schools is a long and time-consuming process and requires diligence on your part to make sure the application speaks well of your academic, personal and professional accomplishments. A critical part of this process is the Committee letter written on your behalf by a member of Hunter’s faculty. This letter contains the impressions of your recitation and laboratory instructors, of your volunteer program, and of your professors both within the sciences and outside of the sciences. It can also contain letters of recommendation from a research mentor, an employer and anyone else who you think can adequately represent you as a person. This does not mean letters from senators, councilmen, deans, or other illustrative persons unless they have known you personally!
In order to provide faculty with as much information as possible we have devised a prehealth supplemental packet (PDF) that must be completed before you can be assigned to a member of the Prehealth Committee. The packet should be reviewed carefully. What you say here can be used as part of your letter so please think about what you wish to say about yourself! In addition to the packet you will need to supply us with a resume and all transcripts from every college you have attended here in the US or in Canada. Students from institutions abroad should supply us with dates of attendance and a list of courses in lieu of a transcript.
The prehealth supplemental packet (PDF) also includes a guideline that you may print out for those who wish to write letters on your behalf as well as the list of materials you must complete before you can be assigned to a faculty member for a Committee letter. Please read the material below carefully! Due dates are March 1st for a Spring letter and July 1st for a Fall letter.
Once you have confirmed that all documentation needed is in your file our office MUST be notified that you are interested in obtaining an appointment for a Committee letter. THIS IS NOT AN AUTOMATIC PROCESS! You should contact the administrative assistant in the office of your intent and make an appointment to have your file reviewed with the prehealth advisor. Once this is done the prehealth advisor will authorize your Committee letter interview but you MUST follow-up with our administrative assistant so that she can begin the assignment process on your behalf.
Once assigned you will be instructed to contact your Committee member and set up an interview time that is convenient to you both. Once the interview has been completed you should verify, with our office, that there is nothing more needed from you.
The Committee meets several times a month during the academic year and your file will be discussed by the entire Committee, any revisions will be made at that time and then your letter will return to the administrative assistant for processing. Anticipate that it will take three to four weeks for the entire process, after the interview, to be complete and your letter ready for submission.
There is a small fee for sending your letters electronically if you are applying to medical or osteopathic school. Other health professions applications have a slightly different procedure. In either case, please see the administrative assistant for this information.
Guidelines for Letter Writers
Thank you for agreeing to write a evaluation/letter of recommendation for application to health professions school.
Hunter students are required to submit evaluations from all science courses in which they have received a B- or better. These evaluations, especially the comments you make, are an essential part of the Prehealth Committee’s letter. We request evaluations of every science faculty/TA—we encourage students to submit at least two letters of recommendation from faculty in any department who knows them well.
Evaluations/Letters should address the following areas or questions:
- Letters should be addressed to the Prehealth Committee of Hunter College.
- Indicate in what capacity you have known the applicant.
- Assess the applicant’s academic skills and potential (if applicable) – How well does the student read write and analyze? Was the course he/she took with you a particularly rigorous one? If so, why? Discuss specifically the student’s work in the course(s). For example, mentioning the topic of a student’s paper, or the types of comments he/she contributed to class discussions makes the recommendation substantive and convincing.
- Include information about the applicant’s personal qualities (i.e. integrity, determination, motivation, leadership, maturity, reliability). Does the applicant have special interests, striking personal qualities, or an interesting background? If you are familiar with a student’s extra-curricular or employment activities you can also note these.
- Information regarding the applicant’s social skills (e.g. ability to interact with others in groups, interpersonal skills).
- What information do you have about this applicant that may be relevant and is not likely to be available from other sources?
- How does this applicant compare to other students you have taught (or if you are an employer, individuals with whom you have worked?)
- Please submit the letter on our evaluation form or letterhead and sign it. You may also send a letter via email: prehealth@hunter.cuny.edu
- If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my office at 212-772-5242. Thank you for taking the time to write on behalf of the applicant.
Why Do I Need All These Evaluations?
All health professions schools require letters of recommendation either from a health professions committee or from individual faculty. Hunter has a Premed Committee composed of faculty who write these letters on your behalf. However, in order to give you a strong recommendation we need input from your science and non-science instructors. We must be able to tell schools about your ability to assimilate new material easily, your willingness to ask pertinent questions, your level of preparation for class and exams, as well as your interactions with faculty and your peers. Without this essential information your letter is incomplete, lacking in solid facts to support our evaluation of you as a credible candidate for professional school. Therefore, it is imperative that you work hard to obtain the evaluations from faculty, TA’s and recitation instructors. Likewise, it is YOUR responsibility to remind them, pester, them, cajole them into submitting these evaluations on your behalf. Lastly, only YOU can ensure that your evaluations have relative comments useful in assessing your academic prowess. How? By visiting faculty during their office hours, sitting in the front of the class, asking and answering questions in class and, in general, giving them an opportunity to remember you out of the many other students in the class!
Waiving Your Rights
Waiver
Decide whether to waive or retain your rights to see your recommendations and Committee letter. Committee members do not care which you do. Your decision will not determine the content of the letter except that the initial paragraph will state your decision.
Be aware that a few people will write only confidential letters as a matter of principle. Many faculty members who agree/want to recommend you will be more positive if you trust them.
Admissions Committee members at several professional schools believe that the only good letters are confidential letters. Some also voice the opinion that a lack of trust in recommenders demonstrates a personal attitude toward, or a wariness of, other people that might affect one's ability to deal with patients and professionals, or colleagues.
The Committee Letter Process
Hunter’s premed committee meets in the Fall and Spring semesters. All students with a science GPA of 3.3 and above,(see the Hunter GPA calculation page to help you determine this), are eligible for formal committee letters. Students with science GPA’s below 3.3 should see the advisor to discuss other options available.
In order to be considered for Committee letters students must have all pertinent materials (a recent resume, all college transcripts, evaluations and letters of recommendation from faculty, research mentors, volunteer programs, employers, etc., as well as a personal statement and prehealth supplemental packet (PDF) in their files by March 1st for a Spring letter or August 1st for a Fall letter.
YOU MUST INFORM OUR OFFICE THAT YOU ARE IN NEED OF A LETTER AND YOU MUST VERIFY THAT YOUR FILE IS COMPLETE, WITH THE ADVISOR, BEFORE WE CAN SCHEDULE YOU FOR AN INTERVIEW!
Students who are taking their professional exams in the spring or early summer (June or early July) should ask for a spring letter. Students taking exams in August or later have the flexibility of obtaining a fall letter. Our office, based on availability of faculty, will make these determinations along with each applicant.
Once your file is complete, we will assign you to a faculty member who will interview you. This interview should take place at a time convenient to both of you. The interview, coupled with your complete file, will be used to write a letter of support to your health professions schools. Once the letter is completed, the entire pre-health committee meets and determines our overall assessment of your candidacy. Once this phase is completed, the letter is ready for distribution to the schools you have selected.
Letters are sent electronically if you are applying to medical school or osteopathic school. There is a small fee for this service (currently the fee is $10.00 per student). You must pay this fee, to our office, before we send your letters. (Make check or money orders out to Hunter College). Veterinary school applicants have the option of an electronic service or a paper service. For dental school and most of the other health professions schools you must provide us with three stamps (per school) as well as a 9x12 manila envelope addressed to each school.
Schools will contact you (usually via email) and confirm that they have received your letters. If a school does not confirm you should verify this on your own. YOU are responsible for knowing if your professional school application is incomplete! Incomplete applications will be rejected by the schools and you will have absolutely NO recourse if this occurs so pay close attention to your deadlines and keep track of all correspondence with the schools. Let us know immediately if a school has not received your letters—we will gladly resend them!
Hopefully, once your letters have been sent and your file is complete, you will receive invitations to interview. If this does not happen, please call us. It is imperative that we know that you are getting through the process, successfully or not, so that we can continue to assist you.
Good Luck!
Major Indecision Workshop
