Make sure your writers have the necessary reference materials and details of your interests and attributes before getting started on your letter. (Getty Images)
Letters of recommendation are an undeniably important part of any medical school application. These letters act as testimonials that support your readiness to begin a medical education, highlighting those attributes and accomplishments that make you particularly suited to a career as a physician.
Like it was when you applied to college, selecting who will write your recommendation letters and ensuring that they capture your whole person is crucial to your success as an applicant. As you gather supporting materials for the upcoming medical school application cycle, be sure to follow these steps.
Determine the features that you would like to see highlighted in your recommendation letters. When selecting writers for your letters of recommendation, it is important to be strategic.
While it may be tempting to reach out only to professors in whose classes you performed exceptionally well, doing so may lead to letters that only capture your academic strengths. Medical schools are interested in who you are as a person as well as whether or not a career in medicine suits you.
Before selecting your writers, ask yourself what you want programs to know about you. Reflect on your personal essay and any experiences you highlight in your application. What qualities are you emphasizing?
After identifying the attributes that are important to include in your application, select writers who you believe are most familiar with these strengths and will be able to best attest to them.
Provide your writers with reference materials. Laboratory supervisors, professors and work supervisors all see students and employees rotate in and out.
For this reason, your recommendation writers might need a reminder about the finer details of your interests and attributes, especially if several years have elapsed since your interactions with these individuals.
Be ready with a resume that emphasizes experiences that are most important to your medical school application and consider providing a short list of strengths that you believe you demonstrated in the environment in which you knew your letter writer.
In addition, providing a copy of your personal statement for medical school or a writing sample can help writers understand the direction you are taking in your application.
Balance the type of recommender you choose. It is likely that each of your letter writers knows you in a very specific capacity. Because of this specificity, be mindful of who you choose to write your letters.
It might not be best to ask two of your science professors, for example, as they might have similar perspectives on how you perform and would produce somewhat redundant letters for admissions committees.
Balance the type of recommender you choose by considering which of your strengths that writer would be likely to highlight.
For example, you might ask one science professor, one humanities professor and a supervisor from a volunteer position to capture your academic interests and abilities as well as how you function in a team environment.
Costs to Apply to Med School Can Stack Up
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While most prospective students might be focused on the overall price tag of attending medical school, the cost to apply can often amount to thousands of dollars.
"An applicant to 15 medical schools can easily spend over $10,000 in the application process," says Dr. McGreggor Crowley, a med school admissions expert and premier counselor at IvyWise, a New York-based admissions consulting company.
For prospective students interested in applying to med school, here are a few expenses to expect.
1. Preparing for the MCAT1. Preparing for the MCAT
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While the cost of the MCAT is a few hundred dollars, prospective students can spend much more preparing for the exam.
"Many students benefit from test-prep services – those can range from a couple of hundred dollars for practice tests and questions to several thousand dollars for in-person, extended prep courses," says Dr. Sylvie Stacy, a board-certified physician who graduated from the medical school at the University of Massachusetts—Worcester several years ago.
2. Taking the MCAT2. Taking the MCAT
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Prospective students can save money by registering early. The MCAT costs at least $315. For those who register within eight days before the test date, the cost is $370.
MCAT test-takers outside the U.S., Canada, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico pay an additional international registration fee of $105.
3. Access to MSAR Database3. Access to MSAR Database
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Admissions experts recommend using the online Medical School Admission Requirements database, compiled by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The MSAR database is a resource on U.S. and Canadian medical schools that lists information provided by admissions offices.
The cost to access the database, which is published each spring, is $28.
4. AMCAS Fees4. AMCAS Fees
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The American Medical College Application Service, known as AMCAS, is a centralized medical school application clearinghouse, and this primary application fee is $160 for sending materials to one school. Applicants will need to fork over $39 for each additional medical school.
If a school doesn't accept the AMCAS app, then the applicant will have to pay an individual application fee.
5. Secondary Application Fees5. Secondary Application Fees
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After students apply, schools may respond by asking them to submit a secondary application. These vary from school to school – and most require students to pay an additional application fee.
"These, of course, have fees associated with them ranging from $75 to over $100," says Dr. Crowley from IvyWise. Harvard Medical School, for instance, billed its applicants $100 for this fee.
6. College Registrar Services6. College Registrar Services
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Most colleges will charge a former student a fee for sending transcripts to medical schools. This service might cost around $10 for each school, according to Artem Volos, chief financial officer and chief operating officer at ClutchPrep.com, a test-prep service based in Florida.
7. Interview Travel Costs7. Interview Travel Costs
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Medical school interviews can be the most expensive part of the application process, Dr. Crowley says.
"Depending on how many schools a student interviews at, it can cost upwards of $500 to $1,000 per school, and interviews at the schools in the same city can be difficult to coordinate for the same trip."
8. Interview Attire8. Interview Attire
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Another expense associated with in-person interviews is clothing, which usually has to be business attire.
Justin Hahn, a second-year medical student at Nova Southeastern University in Florida said via email: "Buying a suit and paying for alterations also incurred a large one-time expense. However, I was able to reuse the suit for multiple interviews, which helps make up for the expensive cost."
9. Admitted Student Campus Visit9. Admitted Student Campus Visit
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Students who receive admissions offers are usually invited to campus to take a second look. For example, the medical school at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor holds a two-day second-look weekend for admitted students in the spring.
"If a student is admitted to a medical school, they may want to travel back to that school for an admitted student experience, again footing the bill themselves for transportation, food and lodging," Dr. Crowley says, comparing the costs of a second-look experience with traveling for school interviews.
10. Acceptance Deposits10. Acceptance Deposits
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Some medical schools require a deposit, often nonrefundable, to hold a spot. Usually, this fee will keep an acceptance in place until May while an applicant decides where to attend. The medical school at Georgetown University, for instance, charges $500 for a deposit.
Hahn, the Nova Southeastern student, said after receiving letters a prospective student "can spend anywhere from $500 to $3,000 for deposit fees."
More on Applying to Med SchoolMore on Applying to Med School
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Learn whether you are ready to pay for medical school and access our complete rankings of the 2019 Best Medical Schools.
For more advice and information on how to select a medical school, follow U.S. News Education on Twitter and Facebook.
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