Category: Medical School

Below is an example medical school update letter. Applicants frequently send letters like these to medical schools to provide updates on their recent grades and activities they did not include in their primary and secondary applications.

December 2, 2019

Office of Medical Student Admissions
Great Medical School
The Courtyard at Health Sciences S600
95 Medical Avenue
Lincoln, NE 68501

Dear Admissions Committee,

I am writing to express continued interest in your school and provide an update of the grades I have received and the activities I have undertaken since submitting my primary application four months ago.

Because I submitted my transcripts to AMCAS before my graduation, I was not able to provide the Great Medical School with my spring quarter grades on my primary application. During spring quarter of my senior year, I received an A+ in my anthropology class (CULTURE&COMMUNICATION), an A in my biostatistics class (INTRO-BIOSTATISTICS), and an A in my physiological science laboratory (PHYSIO LAB).

Since graduating, I have been volunteering at the Capacity Center, a service organization that provides the homeless with meals, showers, clothing, laundry facilities, and mail services. The Capacity Center also helps homeless individuals find housing, obtain employment, and access health services. As a volunteer at the Capacity Center, I initially met with homeless individuals who were new to our program, interviewed them, and then put these individuals in contact with someone at the center who could directly help them obtain access to their particular needed service. More recently, I have been helping the homeless by operating and stocking the clothing shed at the shelter. Here, I help homeless individuals find the clothes they need.

I have also been working at Karios, an established tutoring company in California that helps students with and without learning disabilities improve in school and on standardized tests. Currently, I tutor students who are preparing for the SAT, SSAT, and ACT or struggling in various areas of mathematics. I particularly enjoy helping students work through their difficulties and seeing their progress.

Additionally, I have been working for Composite. The company recently invented an ergonomic product that reduces workplace injuries. To prepare for Composite’s launch to market, I have been involved in the marketing of the product (i.e. website design, social media, video production, etc.) and the development of the company’s sales strategies.

I truly enjoyed visiting the Great Medical School on interview day, and was very impressed with the school. I especially liked the school’s accelerated curriculum, which allows for career exploration early on in a medical student’s career. Furthermore, I liked how the curriculum was student-centered. From talking to medical students at the Great Medical School, I learned that the school embraces medical students’ feedback and implements changes based on those suggestions. It is comforting to know that medical students have a say in how the school is run. Finally, I was also impressed with the school’s emphasis on clinical training and access to unique training resources. Because of this, I believe medical students at the Great Medical School are prepared extremely well for the clinical aspect of medicine.

I would consider myself very fortunate to attend the Great Medical School and am excited about the prospect of becoming a part of the Great Medical School’s community. I hope the information above will be of use when evaluating my application, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Bob Student
AAMCID: 14835918

When you apply for medical school, you’ll find that each school has its own letter of recommendation requirements.

In general, most schools are happy if you’re able to submit letters from two science professors and one non-science professor. This is not true for all schools, so you should research the letter of recommendation requirements for each school before applying.

Schools may also encourage letters from principal investigators, doctors, and people you’ve worked for during volunteering or work experiences.

I’ll cover the different types of letters that I’ve seen schools ask for below.

The Science Letter of Recommendation

Most schools require two of these. In general, a letter from a professor who teaches a course related to biology, chemistry,  or physics applies.

I think it’s pretty reasonable why medical schools would want letters from these types of professors. Diagnosing patients accurately and understanding the underlying causes of diseases requires medical students to be good at and enjoy science. These professors can really speak to this.

Check out this med school letter of recommendation template if you’re curious about what science professors write about.

The Non-Science Med School Letter of Recommendation

A decent amount of schools I applied to required one of these. Any professor who taught English, history, sociology, anthropology, or another non-science course should apply.

Why is this letter important? Medical schools also want insights into your ability to communicate. Speaking and writing well are also important parts of being a doctor.

Explaining to someone why they’re sick, what’s happening with their body, and persuading them to take the proper course of action is often harder than diagnosing them correctly.

Obviously, they’ll have plenty of your writing to go off of from your personal statement and secondary essays, but having an authoritative person speak to this quality is way more assuring.

Physician Letters of Recommendation

Rarely will you be required to provide a letter of recommendation from a physician, but most schools will accept a letter from a doctor you’ve shadowed or volunteered for.

Mercer is one school I can think of that falls outside this category, as they recommend that one letter comes from a physician or health care professional.

Doctors probably have a really good idea of whether an applicant will succeed or not in the medical field because, well, they work there every single day.

They’re also very well respected and their words will carry weight with members on admissions committees.

PI Letters of Recommendation

I have yet to see an MD program that requires a letter from a PI or research supervisor. In fact, many applicants never conduct any sort of research period.

Regardless, many schools accept letters from PIs. If you did do some sort of research, it’s probably a good idea to ask your PI for a letter if you think it will depict you in a positive light.

Character Reference Letters

Many schools will probably expect professors, doctors, PIs, and others to comment on your character during their letter. However, most schools won’t specifically ask for a letter that is solely a character reference.

However, this is not always true. For example, UCF accepts two character letters which can be from a friend, neighbor, clergy member, volunteering experience, etc.

If the school you’re applying to does ask for a character letter, they’re probably looking to see if you’re ethical, well-rounded, passionate, likable, respectful, mature, etc.

Letters from Teaching Assistants

For whatever reason, most medical schools won’t allow a letter from a teaching assistant to count as one of your core letters. I specifically remember being bummed out about this when I applied because the TAs knew me a lot better than the professors did.

You can probably submit a letter from a TA in addition to other letters that fulfill the requirements for the school. However, note that letters from teaching assistants are apparently seen as ‘weaker’ than letters from professors.

Letters from Volunteering/Work Experiences

If you’ve had any volunteering or work experiences, many schools will also accept a letter from someone who managed or supervised you. This letter could probably serve as a character reference as well as validation that you actually participated in this activity.

Furthermore, your letter writer could explain how the skills you picked up on the job will help you as a physician.

More Information

Make sure to read the letter of recommendation requirements for each school you’re applying to prior to submitting your primary application. This way, you won’t waste money and time applying to a school which requires letter types that you don’t have.

For example, when I applied to Thomas Jefferson University, I didn’t know the school preferred one of my letters be from a physics professor. Some schools have strange requirements, and the only way to know is to look them up.

A professor agreed to share his medical school letter of recommendation template with me to help future professors with the letter writing process. His advice and an actual template are posted below.

About the Medical School Letter of Recommendation (From the Letter Writer)

When I agree to write a letter of recommendation (LOR), it is a commitment to recommend the student. If I cannot be positive, then I tell the student that he/she would be better served by having someone else write the letter. Thus, all my letters are positive, but I titer my use of adjectives where I can. I try to meet with each student before I write the letter.

This is what is known as a classroom LOR. Med school applicants need three of these. I write very different letters for students with whom I have worked more closely. Obviously, a shadowing letter or lab experience letter would be different but could have the same elements. The first paragraph is boilerplate. I use different paragraphs for the different courses that I teach. The purpose of this paragraph is to give context to the high grade and to compare this student with his/her peers.

A Medical School Letter of Recommendation

Re. Recommendation of Joe/ Josephine Blow for admission to medical school
AAMC ID: xxx AMCAS Letter ID: xxx

Dear Admissions Committee:

I am [no adjective or “very” or “extremely” as appropriate] pleased to write in support of Joe/Josephine Blow’s application for admission to your medical school as a first-year student.

Joe received a B.S. degree in Neuroscience from the College of Biological Sciences at the University of XYZ in May of 2017. I met Joe fall semester, 2016. S/he was a student in my course, Bio 234: Developmental Neuroscience. This is an advanced course for undergraduate biology students. A very select group of students take this course, many of whom have been admitted to elite medical schools. Joe did well enough on examinations to receive one of the few A grades in the course, and s/he ranked 8th out of 115 students numerically. This is impressive considering this course is taken by some of the top students at the University. S/he consistently performed at this level in all aspects of the course including discussion of scientific literature and examinations. This was a difficult course, which covered the cellular and molecular mechanisms of nervous system development. The goal of my course is for students to integrate what they learned in their core life science courses, much as they will need to do in medical school. The course required a solid background in neuroscience, cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology. Joe was well prepared for this course. I also teach neuroscience and anatomy to first-year medical students at the University of XYZ. Based on his/her performance in my developmental neuroscience course, I am confident that Joe would do well in the medical school courses I teach.

If a student asks me to comment more broadly on his/her education, then I have a paragraph here. I generally do this only for neuroscience majors. My department is home to this major. I basically say it is a difficult major and s/he did great (based on the transcript).

Next, I put in a paragraph on the main passion of the student. Students list tons of activities and experiences in their applications. Usually, each student is passionate about something. There is something in which they excelled other than studying. This paragraph gives the reviewer some insight into the student and gives interviewers something to talk about. Sometimes, the only thing a student did for four years was study. Here are two examples:

Joe maintained a healthy balance of extracurricular activities while maintaining good grades with a full load of science courses. Joe was very active in his fraternity all through college and held various leadership positions including president in his senior year. Joe is clearly passionate about his role as a mentor to the younger members of his fraternity.

Joe did research on the meaning of life in So-and-so’s lab for three years. His work contributed to two publications, and he was the first author on a presentation at a national conference. Joe is passionate about his research and is always eager to talk about it with me.

Next, I tell the committee that this applicant is someone that I could see interacting with patients. I would never be negative, but I might be more guarded or say “hopefully with more maturity”.

On a more personal note, Joe is personable. S/he interacts well with students and faculty. I believe that s/he would be well-liked by patients. S/He is mature and is more than ready for the stress of medical school and the responsibilities of patient care.

I [“enthusiastically” or whatever adjective is appropriate] support Joe’s application to your program.

Sincerely,

An Anonymous Professor

Final comment: If you agree to write a letter, then please submit it on time. The best students have a completed application shortly after June 1.

You’ve probably heard before that the path to becoming a doctor is a long one. Doctors go through some of the most rigorous schooling out of any profession.

How many years does medical school take?

Medical school itself typically takes students four years to complete.

A small percentage of students, however, might take longer if they take a year off to do research, fail to pass standardized tests such as the USMLE or classes at their university, or leave school for a while to attend to personal family matters.

Certain Caribbean medical schools also have optional MD programs that are longer than four years (like SGU) in addition to four year programs.

Medical school itself is not entirely the reason why becoming a doctor takes so long, however. Medical students must also go through more practical training called ‘residency’ following medical school.

How long is medical residency?

Residency can take from three to seven years depending on your specialty.

Therefore, if you are trying to become a doctor, it can take you anywhere from (4+3)=7 to (4+7)=11 years until you start practicing medicine as an official doctor.

Also note that if you want to pursue a subspecialty, you will probably have to complete a fellowship after residency (which might add one to a few years onto the total in the paragraph above).

Below, I’ve listed some common specialties and the number of years of residency they require courtesy of the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Anesthesiology Residency: 4 years
Dermatology Residency: 4 years
Emergency Medicine Residency: 3 or 4 years
Family Medicine Residency: 3 years
Internal Medicine Residency: 3 years
Neurological Surgery Residency: 7 years
Neurology Residency: 4 years
Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency: 4 years
Ophthalmology Residency: 4 years
Orthopaedic Surgery Residency: 5 years
Otolaryngology Residency: 5 years
Pediatrics Residency: 3 years
Physical Medicine and Rehab Residency: 4 years
Plastic Surgery Residency: 6 years
Psychiatry Residency: 4 years
Radiology-Diagnostic Residency: 5 years
Surgery: 5 years
Urology Residency: 5 years

Therefore, if you want to become a ‘typical’ doctor (i.e. internal medicine, pediatrics, or family medicine) you will only have to complete three years of residency. If you want to become a surgeon, you’ll probably have to do at least four years (up to seven if you become a neurological surgeon).

Do you get paid during residency?

Yes, residents get paid, although the pay is minimal. Residents make on average $40,000 – $50,000.

Conclusion

Rather than asking “how long is medical school?”, you should be asking “how long does it take to become a doctor?”. The answer to this question is less misleading, as doctors must go through medical school, residency, and maybe even fellowship until they are full-fledged physicians.