Letter Packet Requirements for Pre-Health Transfer Students
WHAT IS A LETTER PACKET AND WHY WOULD I WANT ONE AS A PRE-HEALTH TRANSFER STUDENT?
A Letter Packet is a cover letter from the Pre-Health Professions Advising Office that accompanies the student's application to AMCAS, AACOMAS, AADSAS, AACPMAS, VMCAS, PTCAS, PharmCAS, CASPA, or OptomCAS. The cover letter is not a Committee Letter and does not summarize the candidate's qualifications, nor does the cover letter qualify the Hunter College level of endorsement of the candidate.
Attached to the cover letter is a packet of the three most comprehensive letters of recommendation submitted on behalf of the student from an existing Pre-Health File or from the Pre-Health Advising Office online file.
Pre-Health Transfer students who are unable to satisfy the requirements to receive a Committee Letter, may be eligible for a Letter Packet in support of their application to health professions graduate schools. Pre-Health Transfer students who will graduate with a degree from Hunter College and are applying to programs that do not require a Committee Letter, specifically: Podiatric Medical schools, Physician Assistant masters programs, Physical Therapy doctoral programs, Occupational Therapy doctoral programs, or Pharmacy doctoral programs may also be eligible to receive a Letter Packet in support of their applications.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A LETTER PACKET?
- Attend a Letter Packet Workshop and timely submit the Letter Packet Application to the Pre-Health Advising Office;
- Have a science and overall GPA of 3.0;
- Have an MCAT score of 500 or above or a DAT score of 19 or above for applications to medical or dental schools, respectively;
- Have five (5) letters of recommendation uploaded to the Pre-Health database via the link on the Welcome Page of this website by the Letter Packet Application deadline in the year in which you are applying. Please submit one letter from each of the following: an practicing clinician in the area of healthcare in which you are applying; a biology, physics or chemistry professor; a research supervisor if applicable; a clinical supervisor; and a community service supervisor. All letters of recommendation must be on letterhead and contain the signature of the letter writer.
- Provide a Letter of Good Standing from each academic institution attended since high school by the deadline for the Letter Packet Application.
A student seeking a Letter Packet can access the Pre-Health Advising Office website Welcome Page and use the Request a Letter of Recommendation link to assemble references under their name.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure that all letters of recommendation have been received by this office at least one month in advance of the upload deadline given by the application service (s) of choice.
All applicants receiving Letter Packets have been certified as students in good standing at Hunter College and at any other academic institution attended since high school graduation. In addition, each Pre-Health transfer student receiving a Letter Packet must agree to waive their right, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Acts of 1974, to view the Letter Packet, including the cover letter and the contents of their letters of recommendation on file at Hunter College.
Heart at Hunter General Interest Meeting