Center for High Achievement & Scholarly Engagement
Pre-Graduate and Pre-Professional Advising

Applying to Medical School

Note:  AMCAS application site is now scheduled to open on May 8 at 9:30 a.m. E.T.  Application submissions will be accepted on June4 with transmissions to medical schools on June 28.

Beginning with the 2014 application cycle (which begins Spring 2013), Butler University Pre-Health office will no longer be coordinating committee letters.  Rather, students will submit up to three individual letters of recommendation from professors.  In most cases, two of these letters must be from professors who have instructed you in science courses and one letter must be from a faculty who has taught a non-science course.  However, each school has specific numbers of letters that they will accept and has rules about how many must be from science or non-science.  Check with the specific school's website or contact Dr. Samide (msamide@butler.edu) to determine which letters need to be sent to which school.

 The process for requesting individual letters is outlined below.  You should request the letters in February or March of your application year (usually your Junior year), and you should request letters from professors who know you well.  In general:

  1. Identify two science professors and one non-science professor that might be willing to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf.  These professors should know you well (had for more than just one course) and should have observed your academic skills in the classroom as well as a laboratory, recitation, or co-curricular activity.
  2. Print the Request for Recommendation form on the CHASE website.  This form will provide some instruction to the professor and provide a more uniform method for ranking student ability.
  3. Schedule a meeting with the professors to ask them to write the letters.  Don't just drop in as the request might get shuffled off and forgotten.  Be intentional about asking.
  4. Bring a resume and a short narrative of the work you completed in the classes taken under the professor.  Professors see many students over the years and don't always remember specific course assignments or course experiences like you will.  Remind them of these experiences.
  5. Provide an estimated date for submission of their letters.  For example, if you're applying to dental school then the letters are typically uploaded in June.  For PT or Optometry, the letters may need to be sent in July or August.  This information will help the professors plan and they can add the submission to their calendar.  It will help ensure that your letters are uploaded in a timely fashion.
  6. When you submit your application materials, you will need to fill in the professor's information and email.  Be sure you get the correct email address!  The application service will send the professor instructions on how to upload the letter.  Check with the professor by email or by appointment to ensure that they received the request from the application service.  Don't be pushy, but be firm…this is important!
  7. You can check on the status of your application and the status of the letters at any time (though you cannot read the letters) by following the instructions on the application service website.