Health Professions Committee

Cornell has adopted a Health Professions Committee to assist you in processing your application in a timely manner, writing you a committee letter of recommendation, and uploading your letters of recommendation into VirtualEvals (or other on-line site used by the health professions school). The committee should be utilized by all medical school applicants, and can be used by students applying to dental, veterinary, physician assistant, optometry, or other health professions programs.

The information forthcoming applies to medical school applicants.

Please download the Health Professions Committee Guide to review the application process. If you are applying during the summer of 2008, the following materials are due to the Health Professions Committee by July 1, 2008.

• resume
• polished personal statement
• unofficial transcript
• MCAT scores
• request for committee letter and waiver form
• AMCAS/AACOMAS ID number
• full name of each school to which you are applying
• (optional) the name and contact information for a fourth member of your HPC, and an alternate if the fourth member is unavailable
• list of evaluators including contact information
• 3 letters of recommendation (directly from the evaluators)

After receiving your completed application packet, the Committee meets to discuss your application and write a Committee letter of recommendation. Your committee letter and individual letters are then uploaded into a centralized service called VirtualEvals, accessible only by the schools to which you are applying. Using this method, your letters only have to be uploaded once, letters don't have to be mailed, and you can be rest assured the medical school received all your letters at once!

Primary Medical School Applications
Your primary application will go to one of two centralized application services in the United States. AMCAS is the service used by all allopathic medical schools and AACOMAS is the service used by all osteopathic medical schools. When applying, you submit all of your application information to the on-line AMCAS or AACOMAS database, this includes your transcript, a personal statement, and lists of all your extracurricular activities. You then select which schools you want AMCAS or AACOMAS to send the information to. Of course, there is a fee to use these services, and an additional charge for each school.

Secondary Applications
Most schools require a secondary application in addition to the primary AMCAS or AACOMAS application. Once your primary application is received you will be sent the secondary application directly from the school or asked to log in to their website to complete the secondary. Some forms are quite extensive, so prepare yourself! The secondaries include additional essays that are often more school specific, requests for recommendations, and additional information on your courses and activities during your undergraduate years. Again, there is an additional cost with each secondary ranging anywhere from around $35-$100 per school. Many secondaries have a 2-4 week turn around time, as always the sooner the better, and make sure to meet the deadline!

Personal Statements/Essays
Your personal statement is your chance to shine; set yourself apart. This is your chance to demonstrate your personal qualities that will make you an excellent physician. Tell a story; do not revisit your resume. Make it informal; give the committee a sense of who you are and why you want to become a physician. Make sure that your statement is clearly written and grammatically correct. Have professors, friends, family, the writing studio, and Career Services read your statement. The Dimensions Resource Center also has books with examples of essays to assist you.

Letters of Recommendation
Request "stellar" letters of recommendation. What is a "stellar" letter? A letter from someone who can attest to your maturity, ability, character, and integrity. Letters from professors and advisors will carry more weight than letters from friends or employers unless the employer can directly address your potential as a physician. Begin your search for those individuals who will be willing to write those letters as soon as you decide you truly want to become a physician. Get to know them and make sure they know you, do not blindly send a request for recommendation to someone….let them know ahead of time so they can prepare and write a stellar letter for you!

When requesting a letter of recommendation, give the recommender the following: copies of your transcript, resume, and personal statement as well as a signed waiver form. Ask the recommender "Do you feel you know me well enough to write an excellent letter of recommendation?" Also make sure to thank the recommender and when you get into medical school, send them another thank you note updating them on your admission!