Step 9. Check with Schools to Be Sure Recommendations Have Been Received

Do not assume anything in regard to your application process, and check everything! After approximately two weeks call the school to be sure your file is complete.

OTHER INFORMATION:

MAINTENANCE OF FILES: HPPLC retains original recommendations in your file for ten (10) years after the file is opened, unless you request that they be kept longer.

Removing recommendation letters from your file may be done at the request of the student. The letter will be returned to the original author.

NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE: Please notify us when you are accepted to a professional school.

UPDATES-INFORMATION: Information of immediate importance (deadlines to submit requests before holidays, changes in policy, etc.) will be communicated through email. Students with a recommendation file MUST maintain a current subscription to the relevant HPPLC email listserve. Please be sure we have your current email address and that you keep your e-mail account under quota.

Guides Available at HPPLC

Students applying to professional schools should consult the following HPPLC documents:

INFORMATION ON VIRTUALEVALS

Most medical schools now strongly prefer to receive letters of recommendation through an electronic transmittal system called VirtualEvals, which HPPLC uses to send your letters to medical schools. Many optometry schools are also using the VirtualEvals system now. The VirtualEvals system allows HPPLC to send letters to the schools much faster and more securely than postal mail, which is to your advantage as an applicant. Please read the information below, as the use of this system requires applicants to make some careful decisions at the start of the application process about which letters they would like to send to the schools where they are applying.

1. Each applicant has only one file in VirtualEvals for all allopathic (M.D.) medical schools, so that all allopathic medical schools will receive the same set of letters of recommendation for your application. Each applicant to osteopathic (D.O.) medical schools also has only one file for the osteopathic schools, so that all the osteopathic medical schools will receive the same set of letters of recommendation for your application. Applicants to optometry schools only have one file in Virtual Evals for all optometry schools.

2. If an applicant is applying to both allopathic and osteopathic medical schools, the applicant will have two separate files, one for the allopathic schools and one for the osteopathic schools. However, all allopathic schools will receive the same set of letters and all osteopathic schools will receive the same set of letters through VirtualEvals.

3. You will need to decide which letters you want sent to all allopathic schools at the time you first make a request to send your letters to allopathic schools. You will need to decide which letters you want sent to all osteopathic schools at the time you first make a request to send your letters to osteopathic schools. It is not possible to vary the letters sent to different schools, although you may send one set of letters to allopathic schools and a different set to osteopathic schools. Optometry students will need to decide at the time they first make a request about the letters they would like to have sent to all optometry schools using VirtualEvals.

4. If you are a medical school applicant, we must have your AMCAS number or AACOMAS number and your middle name when uploading recommendations into VirtualEvals. Please provide this information to our office.

5. Sometimes the instructions you will receive from medical schools regarding the number and type of letters they will accept are confusing and do not take into account that it is no longer possible for applicants to vary the set of letters they are sending to different schools. Please be assured that most schools will now be flexible in accepting a reasonable number of letters beyond the minimum from applicants. If you have any questions please consult with a HPPLC advisor.

6. If you are sending a composite, it must include all faculty letters of recommendation in your recommendation folder. Your VirtualEvals file for all allopathic schools will include your composite and any personal letters of recommendation you wish to send to the allopathic schools. If you are also applying to osteopathic schools, and you are sending a composite, your VirtualEvals file for all osteopathic schools will include your composite and any personal letters of recommendation you wish to send to the osteopathic schools. Since many osteopathic schools require a personal letter of recommendation from a D.O., you will be able to include personal letters of recommendation from D.O.’s in your file for the osteopathic schools, but you do not need to include them in the file for the allopathic schools if you do not wish to do so.

7. Once your initial file of recommendations has been transmitted to allopathic schools through VirtualEvals, it is not possible to go back and change the allopathic file. Once your initial file of recommendations has been transmitted to osteopathic schools through VirtualEvals, it is not possible to go back and change the osteopathic file. Once your initial file of recommendations has been transmitted to optometry schools it will not be possible to change the optometry file.

8. After your file of recommendations has been transmitted to schools through VirtualEvals, if you later wish to submit additional letters to a school, then it will be possible for HPPLC to send them through postal mail to the school. Letters that you wish to send after the initial file has been uploaded into VirtualEvals, must be sent hardcopy through regular mail.

^ return to top of page