Letter of Recommendation Service Overview
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New for 2009: AMCAS Letter of Recommendation Pilot Program for 20 Schools INCLUDING THE U of A COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
The Pre-Health Professions Advising Office offers a service to help you compile and distribute your letters of recommendation. After you complete the primary application for health profession schools, usually through a centralized application service such as AMCAS for medical schools, your application will be reviewed by the schools you indicated on that application. If the schools then decide that they want to know more about you, they will contact you through what is called a “secondary application,” requesting completion of another form, some additional essays, an additional fee (of course!) and will usually ask you to send letters of recommendation at that point.
The advantage to you of using the Letter of Recommendation Service through the Pre-Health Advising Center is that it allows you to stay separate from the process of sending your letters to your schools. Why is staying separate important? Most health professions schools prefer that you not come into contact with your letters. That way, there is little room for question as to the veracity of your letters. It is also why you are encouraged to waive your right to see the letters; you are, in effect, saying that you trust your letters will be an accurate reflection of your skills, abilities and accomplishments and you have not unduly influenced the writing of these letters. Most students find that this service also saves them considerable effort—and worry—to have us coordinate the sending of your letters to your schools.
You may open a file with the Pre-Health Advising Office to house these letters starting in January of the calendar year in which you intend to apply . To open the file, you will REGISTER ONLINE and bring or mail your fee to our office in ILC 103. Remember, you will be applying usually a full year before your intended program of study will begin. So, if you are applying this coming summer, your plan is to start that program the following year (ex: if submitting your application in summer of 2011, you would start your program in fall of 2012).
Payment Instructions:
- Payable by check or money order only Please.
- Checks should be Payable to The University of Arizona.
- The fee is $10.00 per career path (i.e., if you are applying to two services such as AMCAS & AACOMAS then the fee would be $20.00).
- Dental Applicants will not pay a fee.
The following pages provide details and instructions for signing up for and using our service.
- Register for the Letter of Recommendation Service
- Waive your right of access electronically when you create your On-Line profile for Letters
- Detailed instructions on HOW TO REGISTER
