Committee Letters of Evaluation

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What is the Committee Letter of Evaluation?

The letter of evaluation written by pre-health faculty on an applicant’s behalf is often called the 'Committee Letter' or 'Letter of Evaluation (LOE)'.  This is often referred to as a "committee" letter because it carries the evaluation of a committee of faculty who will interview the applicant. The Committee LOE is submitted as part of a professional school application's recommendation section - but is a completely separate entity from a normal 'Letter of Recommendation (LOR)'. 

An Individual Letter of Recommendation is a letter written by, and representing, a single letter author.  A letter of recommendation should highlight your academic or professional achievements while also giving insight into who you are and why you would make a great applicant for professional school.  The goal of an LOR is for each recommender to identify the core competencies they have directly observed in the setting in which they have interacted with you, as supported by first-hand observations/anecdotes.  The best LORs come from professionals (faculty, physicians, etc.) who you have worked closely with and can speak highly of your character.

The Committee Letter of Evaluation is the letter authored by a pre-health committee that is intended to represent your institution’s evaluation of you.  The committee will develop an honest assessment of your strengths, challenges, and areas of growth based upon supplemental information you submit to the committee and a formal interview.  The letter will include the committee’s comprehensive evaluation of your current strengths & weaknesses in the core competencies, as compared to other successful applicants to professional programs.  The Committee LOE is NOT expected to provide first-hand examples/anecdotes.

Committee letters are often required or highly recommended by schools of medicine (MD/DO), dentistry, or podiatry, and occasionally by schools of optometry or physician assistant.  Recommendation requirements vary by institution, so it is important to research what each school requires to determine if you need to request a committee letter.

 

Process

- Students will request a Committee LOE in the spring semester of the year they plan to apply for professional school (Ex. Spring 2024 Committee Evaluation > Summer 2024 Professional School Application > Fall 2025 Matriculation into Professional School).  They should ensure they have met all eligibility requirements (for the Committee LOE process and for the professional schools they plan to apply to) and feel confident that their application will be competitive.

- If a student plans to request a Committee LOE, they must be enrolled in the Blackboard organization "WKU Pre-Health Professions Students" (New for Spring 2024).  All Ogden students with a declared pre-health concentration are automatically enrolled at the start of each semester.  If you are not an Ogden major and need to be enrolled in the Blackboard organization, please email hpa@wku.edu. This Blackboard site will be where students download and submit the "Committee Evaluation Request Form" as well as the "Committee Evaluation Application Portfolio" which will contain all necessary supplemental components that will need to be submitted in order to obtain a Committee LOE.  

- Once students complete all required tasks by the proper deadlines (SEE DEADLINES UNDER 'Eligibiity'), they will be notified of the time, date, and location that their Committee Evaluation will take place (students should be notified of their timeslot on April 22, 2024).  This year, all evaluations will be held on May 8-10, 2024 between the hours of 9:30am - 2:30pm.  Students should plan to have all three days available until notified of their scheduled time.

- Evaluations will be facilitated by a committee of 3 randomly selected faculty members who are members of the WKU Pre-Health Council.  Because each faculty member is only able to contribute to either a LOE or LOR, students will have the opportunity to indicate in their application which faculty they plan on requesting a Letter of Recommendation from so that they will hopefully not be assigned to their committee.

- Students will be asked a series of interview questions in a related means to what can be expected during a professional school interview, and thus should plan to present themselves in a similar professional manner.  An interview should take approximately 45 minutes.  

- After all evaluations have been completed, students can expect their letters to be submitted directly to the appropriate CAS portal in a timely manner as long as they have properly submitted all necessary information in order to do so.

 

ELIGIBILITY

For a WKU student to be eligible for a Committee LOE, the following criteria must be met:

• The applicant must have earned a minimum of 70 credit hours at the time of applying for a committee LOE
• The applicant must plan to submit an application to professional school no later than August 30, 2024.
• The applicant must plan to take their professional exam (MCAT, DAT, OAT, or GRE), if needed, on a date no later than August 30, 2024. 
• The applicant must have graduated no more than five years prior to expected professional school matriculation (e.g., class of 2020 for 2025 matriculation).  Alumni students who graduated more than 1 year prior to participating in the LOE process (December 2022 or earlier) must email hpa@wku.edu to request guest access to the Blackboard organization.
• The applicant must have met with a pre-health advisor to determine competitiveness the fall semester directly prior to applying for a committee evaluation.
• The applicant must complete each section of the Committee LOE Portfolio housed within the 'WKU Pre-Health Professions Students' Blackboard Organization by the designated deadlines.
  • March 15th, 2024 - Deadline to submit "Committee Evaluation Request Form"
  • April 15th, 2024 - Deadline to submit all required supplemental material in the "Committee Evaluation Application Portfolio"

There are no GPA or professional exam score cut-offs to receive a Committee LOE; however, it is strongly encouraged to wait to engage in the LOE process until you feel confident that you are a competitive applicant. A Committee LOE will provide an honest evaluation of academic performance and readiness for success in the rigorous professional school curriculum (incorporating information from the documentation you provide in the committee evaluation application portfolio), as well as experiences and understanding of the profession, and motivation for the chosen profession.