A key component of your medical school application is the letter of recommendation. An amazing letter of recommendation for medical school can help differentiate you from other equally qualified applicants. Lukewarm letters of recommendation can land you on the waitlist. Even worse, they can make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.
When I interviewed for both medical school and residency, interviewers often commented on the strength of my letters of recommendation. I’m grateful for the advice I’ve received over the years, and I want to share it with you.
In this post, I will outline some strategies that I believe helped me to land AMAZING letters of recommendation for medical school (and residency)!
Do work worthy of an amazing letter of recommendation
When it comes to getting an amazing letter of recommendation for medical school, you set yourself up for success by doing amazing work. Your letter writers can only write based on their experiences working with you. If you aren’t consistent and don’t put in effort above and beyond what is asked, your letter of recommendation for medical school will reflect that.
Protip: At the beginning of a job, research project, or other premed extracurricular activity, discuss expectations with the supervisor so that you’re both on the same page about what counts as excellent work.
Ask for letters of recommendation early
The best time to ask for a letter of recommendation is now. Students often wait until they’re working on their applications to ask for a letter of recommendation for medical school. But, more likely than not, that’s too late. You want your letter writer to write your letter of recommendation for medical school immediately after, or during, your work with that person. Whether you’re asking for a letter from a boss, professor, or mentor, the closer your request is to your actual shared experience, the more content the writer will remember and be able to write about.
Protip: You can start asking for letters of recommendation for medical school as early as freshman fall! The earlier you ask, the more practice you get with building relationships with potential letter writers. Even if you’re still deciding whether medicine is for you, it doesn’t hurt to have letters of recommendation readily available. You might need them for internships anyway!
Ask for letters of recommendation often
Not only should you ask for letters early, but you should also ask for them often. Your medical school application will require anywhere from two to five letters of recommendation. That means that you should have AT LEAST 5-6 letters of recommendation written on your behalf. Why have more letters of recommendation than you need? You don’t always get to read your letters of recommendation before they are submitted, so it’s a smart strategy to have multiple letters available in case some are stronger than others. Let me provide an example.
When I applied to medical school, some of my letter writers let me read their recommendation letters in advance. I was grateful that they allowed this AND that I asked for more letters than I needed – eight in total. Unfortunately, some of the letters of recommendation were pretty bland. In my opinion, I don’t think the mediocre letter quality had anything to do with my work, efforts, or interactions with the writer. Rather, in hindsight, some of the people from who I requested letters were probably too busy to write a strong letter. So in the end, I was glad that I had other options of letters to choose from. Ask for as many recommendation letters as you can to give yourself options!
Protip: Many schools offer a storage office or virtual complication process for you to have letters of recommendation stored on your behalf during college and even after you graduate.
Find the great letter writers
As I mentioned before, sometimes you can get a bad letter of recommendation from someone with whom you worked well. Don’t take it personally. It’s important to remember that writing isn’t everyone’s strong suit. Moreover, some people will simply be too busy to write you a strong letter of recommendation for medical school.
It’s okay and even expected that you specifically ask a potential letter writer the following question: “Would you be willing to write a strong letter of recommendation for medical school on my behalf?” By using this specific verbiage you do two things. First, you set up the expectation that you want a strong letter. Secondly, you provide the person you’re asking a graceful chance to bow out in case they do not think they would write a strong letter for you. Consider this question a win-win filter for both you and the potential letter writer.
Protip: Don’t be afraid to ask around! Ask upperclassmen and even advisors who the great letter writers are. I know that when I applied to residency, one of my mentors gave me the “inside scoop” as to who the best letter writer was in the department. This tip was GOLD because that person’s letter of recommendation was mentioned positively in every single residency interview I did.
Ask for letters of recommendation in person
When possible, it’s a great idea to ask for letters of recommendation in person. You want to see the person’s initial reaction to the request. If the person you ask enthusiastically responds to writing a letter, you’ll know it by their body language and word choice. Someone who is happy to advocate for your admission to medical school will likely smile and quickly offer words of encouragement and support. On the other hand, someone is less likely to write you a strong, convincing letter of recommendation for medical school if they seem shocked (raised eyebrows) or hesitant (pauses or stutters in response) about the request.
If you are unable to ask for a letter of recommendation in person, be sure to still use specific wording about wanting a strong letter. And be sure to read between the lines of the reply.
“Would you be willing to write a strong letter of recommendation for medical school on my behalf?”
Have diversity in your letter writers
When it comes to choosing who should write your letter of recommendation for medical school, diversity is key. Students often aim for the world-renown researcher or the chair of the department. However, it’s more important that you choose letter writers who know you, your work, and your potential. Each letter writer does not need to be able to address each of those three points. But as a whole, the letters of recommendation that you include in your medical school application should help the admission committee learn about you as a person and future doctor, not just as a student.
Choose letter writers who know you, your work, and your potential.
People who know your work well would likely be a supervisor, professor or teaching assistant. If you’re in a science class with hundreds of students, it might be hard to get a lot of face-to-face time with the lead professor. However, you likely have a teaching assistant with whom you interact more consistently. While getting facetime with as many people as possible, make sure to build a strong relationship with at least one instructor or supervisor in your lab, job, or class. In the end, you can always ask multiple people to collaborate on one letter, to help enhance the letter’s strength.
Materials to provide your letter writer
Once a supervisor, mentor, or professor has agreed to write a letter, you should soon after provide a copy of your personal statement and resume or CV. If you haven’t written the formal personal statement for medical school as yet, you should at least have a short letter of intent that explains why you are interested in medicine. These documents will help the writer formulate a letter of recommendation that mentions specific attributes related to your goals. Finally, feel free to include other relevant information that you would like the letter writer to include. For instance, if you worked in the lab with a professor, feel free to share a memory from the lab that stood out to you. Or, you could mention a time when the professor recognized your contribution. Tidbits like this can help your letter writer include as many specific examples of your greatness as possible. Lastly, feel free to list any attributes or strengths about yourself that you would like the letter writer to include. Below are direct examples from recent letter of recommendation requests I sent:
- ” It would be great if you could touch upon my potential as a leader in the field of medicine.”
- ” I hope that I made an impression during the Sub-I and my clerkship rotation that would allow you to attest to my clinical skills and decision making, professionalism, patient rapport, and leadership potential as a future psychiatrist.”
Summary
Having an amazing letter of recommendation for medical school is a great way to stand out from the crowd. As the medical school application process becomes increasingly competitive, having someone who knows you well strongly advocate on your behalf can be of great help. Let me know in the comments which of these tips you found most helpful. And if there are any other words of advice that you’d like to share, please leave a comment below as well!
Good luck!! And be sure to check out the rest of my premed content in the Premed Corner!
Dr. Atasha Jordan is an Ivy League-trained psychiatry resident and businesswoman. Learn more about Dr. Jordan here. Feel free to say hello and be sure to subscribe to the newsletter for updates!
