Students who have earned the certificate and are in good academic standing are eligible for a committee letter. Complete the Pre-Health Post-Bac Certificate Form when you have completed your certificate coursework.
A committee letter is a narrative of a student’s academic history (undergraduate, graduate and post-bac), their motivation and preparation for their pre-health path, and their observed personal qualities and characteristics.
The committee members include the program director, co-directors and teaching faculty in the program.
In order for the committee to write a quality letter, we ask that students thoughtfully complete the Committee Letter Questionnaire for information about their academics and experiences, particularly for the time before they joined the post-bac program. In addition, the letter includes academic performance in the post-bac program, comments, and observations based on the relevant interactions a student has with advisors, faculty and staff. This does not include confidential or sensitive information that you have shared with your advisors or faculty, but rather is focused on a student’s interpersonal skills, maturity, and professional behavior.
Some of the qualities assessed include:
- academic performance;
- scientific inquiry/curiosity;
- collaboration with peers;
- demonstrated respect for others;
- attendance and participation in classes and at program events including speaker series, seasonal meetings, and recognition of achievement celebrations;
- honesty and integrity;
- willingness to take on challenging coursework;
- for CCTs, taking the standard number of our core classes is considered sufficiently challenging
- capacity for improvement.
The committee members value the opportunity to get to know their students. A student's presentation of above listed qualities is the basis for the committee letter and any endorsement. These categories are:
- Strongly recommended
- Recommended
- Recommended with reservation
- Evaluated
There is no limit to the number of strong recommendations. Therefore, we encourage students to work cooperatively as they strive to be their best academic and professional selves.