Committee Letters of Evaluation

---

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 how many letters you will need and 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 2026 Committee Evaluation > Summer 2026 Professional School Application > Fall 2027 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".  All Ogden students with a declared pre-health concentration are automatically enrolled at the start of each Spring 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 'Eligibility'), 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 20, 2026).  This year, all evaluations (except for EAP participants) will be held on May 13-15, 2026 between the hours of 9:30am - 2:30pm.  Students should plan to have all three days available until notified of their scheduled time.  Any known conflicts must be communicated to hpa@wku.edu by the time of submitting the Committee Evaluation Request Form, but there are no guarantees that we will be able to accommodate.

- 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. 

- New for Spring 2026 Process: Students will also be given the opportunity to request a faculty 'advocate' to serve on their committee.  If interested, students must list three faculty members, of which one will be requested to be present for the interview if at all possible.  Due to inevitable scheduling conflicts, we cannot guarantee that one of the requested faculty members will be available - but all attempts will be made.  

- 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 dress and present themselves in a similar professional manner.  An interview should take approximately 45 minutes.  In order to be most prepared, it is highly recommended for students to participate in mock-interviews before their committee interview (AHEC and the Career Development Center both offer mock interviews).

- 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, 2026.
• The applicant must plan to take their professional exam (MCAT, DAT, OAT, PA-CAT or GRE), if needed, on a date no later than August 30, 2026. 
• The applicant must have graduated no more than five years prior to expected professional school matriculation (e.g., class of 2022 for 2027 matriculation).  Alumni students who graduated more than 1 year prior to participating in the LOE process (December 2024 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 and sufficient academic progress the fall semester directly prior to applying for a committee evaluation.
• New for Spring 2026 Process: The applicant must have attended the mandatory 'Committee LOE Interest Meeting' at the start of the Spring 2026 semester (pick one: 1/22 or 1/26 at 3:30pm in SH1108. Students must bring laptops).
• 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 13th, 2026 - Deadline to submit "Committee Evaluation Request Form"
  • April 13th, 2026 - 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.

NOTE: Students are eligible to participate in the official committee evaluation interview process up to a 2 time lifetime limit.  If you have already participated in the process twice, but need to request a letter for a third year, you must contact hpa@wku.edu to determine next steps.

ALUMNI: The Health Professions Advising Center is pleased to be able to offer services to alumni students who have graduated from WKU within the past 5 years.  If you are currently enrolled at or have attended another institution since attending WKU, please reach out to your most recent institution for assistance.

 

Early Assurance Program Participants

Students who have been accepted into the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Early Assurance Program (EAP) are required to submit a Committee Letter of Evaluation to their EAP Regional Point of Contact by mid-April (see your EAP Activities Guide for specific guidance).  In order to obtain a letter in this more expedited timeline, EAP Participants will go through the same application process, but must follow these deadlines:

• February 11th, 2026 - Deadline for EAP Participants to submit "Committee Evaluation Request Form"
• March 11th, 2026 - Deadline for EAP Participants to submit all required supplemental material in the "Committee Evaluation Application Portfolio"

All EAP Committee Letter Interviews will take place on Saturday, March 28th, 2026.