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 How Many Letters of Recommendation Do I
Need and From Whom?
Which Courses
Do I Need to Take in Order to be a Doctor, Dentist, Vet...?
What Should I
Major In?
Will I Need to
Take an Entrance Exam?
I'm Really
Busy With My Classwork, Do I Really Need to Get Experience in the Health
Field?
Will I Need a
Formal/Exit Interview?
Application
and Release FAQs for current applicants:
Click here
for AACOMAS information
from the HPO
AACOMAS Instruction Manual:
http://www.aacom.org/resources/bookstore/cib/Documents/cib2010/2010-CIB-complete.pdf
Foreign
Medical School FAQs
Dental School Applicants:
All letters of recommendation/evaluation are being
submitted electronically to AADSAS.
Please list Dr. W. Robert Jenkins as your primary
contact with hpo@biology.rutgers.edu as the email (otherwise, the staff
may never see the request).
Even though we will receive an email from OPTOMCAS, if you
follow the above instructions, we still need a signed release form from
you. Release forms are available on our homepage.
Optometry School Applicants:
Optomcas' rules regarding letters of recommendation:
"Q: Can I send a Committee Letter of Recommendation?
A: Please note some
schools and colleges of optometry
will
not accept
a Committee Letter, yet others
may
require it.
If you are submitting a Committee Letter, be sure to check the
requirements of each individual program for the types of letters they
will accept.
Some
pre-health advising offices compile academic/personal information and
will also coordinate the collection of LORs in order to provide a
“Committee Letter” for pre-optometry students. If the Committee Letter
of Recommendation is a compilation from several individuals and contains
one Recommendation Request Form and one letter, it will be considered as
one LOR. The individual writing the recommendation completes the
evaluation matrix on the Recommendation Request Form. OptomCAS will
accept the name of a college pre-health profession advisor in lieu of
the evaluator(s) on the recommendation form.
Q: Can I send LORs from a Letter Service?
A. Yes, college and
university letter services may submit recommendations to OptomCAS.
If you are submitting LORs
through a letter service, you are strongly encouraged to have the
original author(s) of the LORs complete the rating of attributes, which
is Part I of the Recommendation Request Form.
Please note
that while OptomCAS will accept the rating of attributes, which is Part
I of the Recommendation Request Form, from a college official who is a
designee for the college or university's letter service office,
applicants should also check with the individual programs for which they
plan to apply to confirm that Recommendation Request Forms completed by
a third-party will be accepted."
Given the above, the HPO can submit a committee
statement, but it will only be considered one letter. The HPO
cannot submit individual letters because we cannot complete the OptomCas
Recommendation Form for your authors. In order to submit your
letters, you will need to go back to your instructors and ask if they
would be willing to submit their letter directly to OptomCas.
The Committee Statement will be
submitted electronically to OptomCAS. In which case, you will need
to list hpo@biology.rutgers.edu as the email (otherwise, the staff may
never see the request).
Even though we will receive an email from OPTOMCAS, we will still need a signed release form from
you. Release forms are available on our homepage.
In sum, because of OptomCas' new regulations, the HPO can only
upload a committee statement, not individual letters. Note, not
every optometry school will accept the committee statement.
Applicants are advised to research the requirements of the individual
schools.
Regarding the letters of recommendation, applicants will need to
contact their evaluators and ask if they would be willing to submit
their letter directly to OptomCas.
General
Release FAQs
Getting Started:
Health professions students are
encouraged to stop by the office located in Nelson Labs Room A-207,
Busch Campus to open a file or the Satellite located in Chemistry Annex
Bldg. Room 217, Douglass Campus. Once a file has been established,
students may begin asking their instructors for letters of
recommendation. Advisors, however, are available to all students with or
without files; in addition, a knowledgeable staff is on hand to help
with the more basic questions
.
Letters of Recommendation:
Students are expected to have five or six
confidential letters of evaluation submitted to this office. At least
three letters must be from faculty with two of them from science
instructors. The most meaningful and useful letters are those written by
faculty who know about you and your aspirations. Speak with your faculty
early in a semester, see him/her often so that they know who you are,
and provide them with a brief resume to help them write about you. Feel
free to ask if they can write a positive statement. If they cannot, then
you should thank them for their time and seek out someone else. Teaching
Assistant letters are acceptable if you cannot get them from full time
faculty. A letter must be obtained from your advisor if you are doing
research and from a supervisor certifying that you have done the
volunteer health care work which you claim.
Preprofessional Courses:
Course requirements for different professional
schools and for various professions may differ, but most require that
you have the following: General Biology I and II with lab, 8 credits;
General Chemistry I and II with lab, 8-10 credit; Organic Chemistry I
and II with lab, 8-10 credits; General Physics I and II with lab, 10
credits; Two semesters of college-level English or equivalent; some
mathematics at the college level, with at least one semester of
calculus. Some schools and majors require a year of calculus. In
addition, it is helpful to students, regardless of major, to take a
course in biochemistry, physiology, and genetics. These courses will
help on the MCAT and in professional school studies.
Choosing a Major:
In general,
students are not required to major in any particular area because the
demonstration of competence in an area of study is more important than
the particular subject. A liberal arts and sciences curriculum
(including biological sciences, biochemistry, and chemistry) is the
recommended and sought-after background for medical and other health
professions schools. Select a major in a subject that you will really
like.
Entrance Exams:
Most health professional schools require scores
from a standardized admission test. The results of these tests are used,
in combination with grades, recommendations, personal statements, and
interviews to evaluate candidates for admission.
Health Care Experience:
While not required, it is strongly recommended
that students perform some kind of work which provides them with the
opportunity to have some one-to-one contact with patients or others.
Volunteer or paid employment in a health care setting demonstrates
interest in gaining some experience and provides the student with a
chance to sample the atmosphere. Research is not required but does
demonstrate an enquiring mind and an ability to work cooperatively with
others. If a student anticipates becoming a medical researcher, lengthy
undergraduate experience is necessary.
The Committee Interview:
After a student has completed all the requirements
for application to a professional school and the Health Professions
Office file is complete, an interview will be scheduled with a member of
the Health Professions Advisory Committee. This interview will lead to a
composite letter of evaluation which will be based on the performance
during the interview, confidential evaluations submitted by referees,
the student's autobiographical statement, and scores and grades. This
composite letter and several of the individual evaluations from the file
will be forwarded to each school to which the student is applying upon
the signed request by the student to do so. Sample interview questions
are available in the Health Professions Office.
   
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