Letters of Recommendation

All medical schools and health professions programs require Letters of Recommendation. Pre-Health Advising has a three-part webinar all about letters of recommendation that answer the following questions among others: What are they? How many do you need? How do you build relationships with faculty for the purpose of a letter of recommendation? Once you've built that relationship, how do you ask and what information do you provide?

We encourage students to watch the webinars early in their time at UIC. We know that the webinars may not answer all of your questions, so look below to find further FAQ's or make an appointment with a pre-health advisor.

FAQ's about Letters of Recommendation Heading link

No, UIC does not have a formal pre-health advisor committee and therefore does not write committee or composite letters of recommendation.

No. Advances in technology have made uploading letters of recommendation to application services much easier for letter writers. As such, Pre-Health Advising does not compile or store letters of recommendation for students/alumni.

Pre-Health Advising offers the opportunity for students to participate in the process to receive a credential letter. This letter is not a committee letter and is not intended to replace other letters of recommendation. The purpose of the credential letter is serve as an incentive for applicants to pre-health programs to engage with pre-health advisors as well as to provide context for a candidate’s application to a health profession program. The credential letter can be especially helpful with the renewed focus on holistic admissions at health professions programs and their desire to understand the cultural and lived experiences of applicants. The credential letter does not necessarily indicate advisor endorsement of the applicant.

Pre-health students interested in receiving a credential letter to supplement their application are encouraged to read through the guidelines and requirements of the credential letter.

 

Most health professions programs have applicants apply to and submit supporting documents, including letters of recommendation, through a centralized application service, also known as a CAS. If you are applying to a program that does not utilize a CAS, check the individual school website to determine their preferred method of receiving letters.

For students applying to allopathic (M.D.) medical schools, letters are uploaded to AMCAS through the AMCAS Letter Writer Portal. You will be responsible for making sure that the individuals writing your letters of recommendation have the information they need to upload your letter. Review the AMCAS instructions for more information.

Most other health professions programs use CAS services that allow you to input information about your letter writer, including their email address. Once you submit your application, an automatic email is generated and sent to your recommenders with a link and instructions on how to upload their letter of recommendation. Make sure to check in with your letter writers before submitting your application to be sure that you have correct contact information.

There is not a great way to store letters, unfortunately. Your best bet is to maintain contact with faculty and communicate regularly with them (2-3 times per year) to ensure that you retain a relationship for when you are ready to request letters of recommendation for a future application.

There are two dossier services that Pre-Health Advising is aware of that students may wish to explore. Both charge different rates to store letters and/or utilize the service to send letters to application services. We still maintain that the best option is to maintain contact with individuals for the purpose of future letters of recommendation.

Interfolio will allow you request and store letters of recommendation at no cost, but will require that you subscribe to their service for a fee to send/deliver your stored documents.

Privatefolio requires a subscription to store letters of recommendation and a small fee per letter to send/deliver stored documents. The current overall cost is less, but you are likely to lose any stored documents if you do not retain a subscription.