A medical school letter of recommendation is a crucial part of creating the perfect medical school application. This is a letter which is from someone you trust, of high standards and credibility. The letter will be presented to an admissions committee in order to judge your suitability for medical school.
The medical school letter of recommendation might not seem that important at first glance; however, nothing could be further than the truth. You see, while having a great GPA is a good thing, a GPA is not the be all or end-all of the application process. Admissions officers make the call regarding who gets into med school and who doesn’t, and they measure each applicant on much more than their GPA. This is where the letter comes in.
It is the recommendation letter that determines whether the student is capable of a career in medicine. According to Dr. Stephen Nicholas, “If you wanted to boil down to the core what we’re most looking for, our guiding principle is, If I were sick, would I want this person to come into my room as my physician?” (https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/articles/2017-06-29/med-school-recommendation-letters-that-helped-applicants). The medical school recommendation letter relates key information to the admissions committee. It tells the committee how compassionate the applicant is, how well they’ll deal with fellow doctors as well as patients, and so on. These are things that a GPA cannot convey.
Medical School Recommendation Letter Template
This is a medical school recommendation letter format (template). You can use this simple form to fill in the details or add more according to your situation.
Download: Microsoft Word (.docx)
Who to Select?
Since these letters will help the committee determine if you’re suitable medical school material, it’s absolutely critical that anyone you select write an excellent letter. This is not the time for you to recruit old auntie Alice to write the letter. Instead, be particular when you select your referees.
When it comes time to select your referees, make sure that you’re meeting the committee’s recommendation. For instance, if they state they want the letter to be from a member of the biology department, then that’s what you’ll give them. Also, try to get letters from across the spectrum. For instance, obtain one from a science professor, and another from a liberal arts professor. The more varied your sources, the more capable you appear. Here are some suggestions for referees for your medical recommendation letters:
- Science Professors
- Liberal arts professors
- Your doctor
- Volunteer organization leader
- Research project leader
- Employer
What to Include
Every medical school letter of recommendation will be unique, as each student and situation is unique. However, there are some guidelines to follow to ensure your student gets the advantage of the competition, and these are the 15 Core Competencies. The Association of American Medical Colleges, or AAMC, came up with a set of 15 core targets that each applicant should shoot for. These core competencies deal with interpersonal, Intrapersonal, thinking, reasoning and science. They are listed below:
- Service Orientation
- Social Skills
- Cultural Competence
- Teamwork
- Oral Communication
- Ethical Responsibility to Self and Others
- Reliability and Dependability
- Resilience and Adaptability
- Capacity for Improvement
- Critical Thinking
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Scientific Inquiry
- Written Communication
- Knowledge of Living Systems
- Knowledge of Human Behavior
When composing the letter, it’s standard procedure to make an attempt to touch on as many of the Core Competencies that you can, and include them in your letter or recommendation.
How to Write
If you are approached to write a medical school recommendation letter, know that you are not bound to do so. It’s your reputation on the line as well, so only write these letters for students that you know, without a doubt, are outstanding, responsible and devoted. Also, you need to be honest with yourself. Ask yourself if this recommendation will hurt the student by ruining their chances. There might be better candidates for the student to choose from, who’ve had better experiences with them.
Once you decided to compose the recommendation letter, it’s time to get your facts in order. Get a piece of paper, or open your word processing program and jot down all the specifics you can remember about the student. Remember, once you’ve decided to accept the task, you are obligated to do the best you can for the student. Back up your claims with real life evidence. For instance, if he was good in your class, how was he good? Did he help other students solve their problems? Finally, use descriptive words such as finest, best, outstanding, stellar, and so on to describe the applicant.
When it comes down to the actual writing, know that the letter must be signed, dated and composed on official letterhead. The tone should be formal and professional. As for format, it is to be completed in block style, where all sections begin at the left margin. As for length, there are no rules here. For such letters it’s more important to place time and effort in making the student shine for the admissions committee. The letter should be single spaced, use New Times Roman font, with a 12 point font size, and 1 inch margins.
Medical School Recommendation Letter Format
{Date}
{Name of Referee}
{Title and/or Position of Referee}
{Mailing Address of Referee}
{Email Address and/or Cell Phone}
Letter for {Name of Applicant}
AAMC number {Number}
Dear Admissions Committee,
I hope this letter finds you well. This letter concerns a {Mr./Ms.} {Name of Applicant}. I am very pleased to be chosen by the applicant to write their medical school recommendation letter. As a tenured professor at the {Name of Educational Institution}, I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting many talented and dedicated students. However, {Name of Applicant} is the best I’ve known in many a year.
I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with {Name of Applicant} during their time in my classroom, and found his perseverance and determination to be of the highest order. {Name of Applicant} also volunteers at the New York office of Doctors Without Borders, as well as supporting himself with a part-time job at the local bookstore. His desire, as he confided to me, was to complete his degree in medicine and work for Doctors Without Borders.
{Name of Applicant} has proven he has the tenacity required to accomplish medical school, and his devotion to helping others is evident in his volunteer work. He has exhibited a fine tuned sensibility towards his fellow students and faculty. Therefore, I would like to formally recommend that {Name of Applicant} be considered for admission to medical school. He is one of the best students I’ve come across in years, and will make a fine addition to your school.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me if further questions and concerns arise.
Sincerely,
Todd Franklin, PhD
Sample Medical School Recommendation Letter
May 23, 2021
Arthur Stark, PhD
Professor of Biology University of Oxnard
123 Cherry Lane
New York, NY 12345
Letter for Martin Jeffers
AAMC number 1234567
Dear Admissions Committee,
This letter is in regards to a student, Martin Jeffers. I am honored to compose this medical school recommendation letter on behalf of the outstanding Martin Jeffers. As a tenured professor at the University of Oxnard College of Medicine, I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting many talented and dedicated students. However, Martin Jeffers has carved out his own place via his acts of compassion, dedication to school work, and encouraging and helpful attitude towards his fellow students.
Martin received his Bachelors of Science degree in biology from Oxnard, and I had the extreme pleasure of being one of his professors in biology. I’ve since known Martin for 3 years, and each year I’ve become more and more impressed. His dedication to his coursework is exemplary, his unrelenting passion towards medicine and how to help people in need is infectious. This is most evident in his involvement with volunteering weekly at the local clinic helping with the homeless population. Indeed, Martin is an inspiration to both student and faculty alike.
Martin’s clinical lab abilities shown brightly in my class. He not only excelled with each experiment performed, he got better with each task. One of the reasons for this is his ability to not be afraid to ask questions regarding procedure, which is important for any med school student. He actually wanted to learn. He made an effort to learn. I have observed Mr. Jeffers interaction with fellow students, and he was never too busy to assist anyone. When his lab partner fell ill during class, Mr. Jeffers made sure to complete the project and deliver the paperwork to his lab partner to complete in his dorm room.This again, is a good trait for a med school student.
Thus, while Martin exhibits many excellent traits, including high academic achievement scores, I believe his true strength is the ability to put it all into one, solid package. In other words, Martin not only can achieve high academic standards, but he can also communicate very well with others, as evidenced during his time in the Oxnard Debate Team, helping them to win the division title for 2020. Another positive trait, is his tendency to think ahead. He has never shown want for time or motivation. When there is to be a certain exam, lab experiment or science club meeting, he is always prepared.
In conclusion, I am extremely pleased to be able to give Martin Jeffers this letter of recommendation. His dedication to his school work, along with working at a bookstore and volunteering at a clinic connected to a homeless shelter, is impressive in itself. In fact, my highest recommendation for your residency program is for Mr. Jeffers. Know that I don’t hand out recommendation letters easily. After all, my reputation as a tenured professor is on the line as well. Therefore, only the best students will receive one from me. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Arthur Stark, PhD
Medical School Letter of Recommendation (Examples and Templates)
Final Thoughts
As we can see, the GPA is not the only consideration when it comes to getting one’s foot in the door for med school. There are other considerations as well, such as empathy, selflessness, and perseverance, to name a few. In fact, if one takes a look at the AAMC Core Competencies, you get a good idea of what they believe constitutes an excellent candidate for med school. When it comes down to writing the letter, it’s crucial that the one writing the letter do what they can to make the applicant stand out from the crowd. State facts, and back them up with examples. Show the Admissions Committee what makes this applicant better than the others. Use words like best, matchless, finest, first rate, and so on to describe the applicant. Writing a good medical school letter of recommendation isn’t easy, but with time and consideration, it can be done.
