Prehealth Committee Details

Please note that the Prehealth Committee process does not represent the actual professional school application. It is a *part* of the total application packet required for admission to these schools.

For information regarding the actual applications to professional health schools, consult the websites for the central services for medical schools, osteopathic medical schools, dental schools, podiatry schools, and veterinary schools.

For individual optometry schools, go to the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry site and for chiropractic go to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges site.

For Early Assurance at UB's School of Medicine go to the Office of Medical Education site, Upstate Medical College's Early Assurance Program go to the Upstate Medical University site and for UB's School of Dental Medicine, go to the UB School of Dental Medicine site.

What is the Preprofessional Health Committee?

The Preprofessional Health Committee is an ten member faculty committee from the professional health schools as well as other health oriented disciplines at UB. When you apply, the Committee prepares a letter of evaluation for you to use in the professional school application process. The letter is a comprehensive evaluation of your record in academic and other activities. All undergraduates and alumni are eligible for a letter. (Note: If your overall and science GPA is around a 3.0 or lower, please consult with the prehealth advisor prior to applying for a Committee letter.)

The application for the letter has five parts. It is not too soon to begin compiling the information, particularly the individual letters of reference as early as possible. The application packet may be found here (PDF).

When you submit your packet to 109 Norton Hall, you will be asked to complete a waiver form indicating whether you waive or do not waive your right of access to your committee letter. If you indicate that you waive your right the committee letter remains confidental and you may not have access to the letter. If you do not sign the waiver then you may request to review it at a later date. Requests are directed to the Coordinator of Preprofessional Advising Services at 716-645-6020. Remember that maintaining your right to view the letter does not mean it will be changed or rewritten; it simply means that you may read it.

The required information for the application is as follows:

1. Letters of Recommendation

Number of Letters: Each student must submit at least FOUR and no more than SEVEN letters of reference from individuals. These letters should be mostly from academic sources. At least one from a natural science faculty member is REQUIRED. This includes both the physical sciences (e.g., physics, chemistry) and the life sciences (e.g., biology, physiology). At least one letter from a non-science faculty member is advisable, especially if you are in a science major. If you do secure a non-science faculty letter, it is recommended that it be from PhD faculty. Other letters can be from employers or volunteer supervisors who know you well and can make some judgment about your qualities/qualifications for a professional health school. It is highly recommended that you secure letters from your clinical exposure to health care (e.g., shadowing, health care volunteering). Letters from family friends or family friends who are physicians are not the best to include unless they are acquainted with you professionally (i.e., shadowing). Many osteopathic (DO) medical schools require a letter from a DO. Be sure to check your school's requirements. In order to accept your application the Prehealth Office, 109 Norton, must have received at least four letters by the deadline.

Requesting Letters: Letters should be requested from faculty or supervisors whenever you believe the reference writer has enough information about you to write effectively. Avoid waiting a year or two later as memories can fade. Blank forms are available in Room 108 or online (PDF) for the December 1, 2009 cycle. Recommenders can then send the reference directly to Student Advising Services, 109 Norton Hall where the references will be retained for 5 years or until an application is filed for the Prehealth Committee Letter. **After the December 1, 2009 cycle, all letters will be collected via the veCollect system. (See top of page for details).

When requesting letters of recommendation, give people a reasonable amount of time to write and submit it. Three to four weeks would be a minimum. You don't want people feeling rushed and pressured when they are writing a reference. Sit down and talk with the individual. Bring them a resume and even a draft of your personal statement. Make it easy for them to write a comprehensive letter. Follow up the request a few days later with a thank you note. You can check (effective the April 1, 2010 cycle) with veCollect to see if your letters have been received. If letters have not arrived to veCollect, contact the faculty member politely, but promptly alert them to any pending deadlines.

2. Transcripts

Requirement: You must provide the Prehealth Committee with unofficial transcripts from every school that you have attended. A DARS report will not suffice. You can use "My Grades" under http://myub.buffalo.edu/ for your UB grades and then bring it to 109 Norton. Call other schools you have attended and obtain unofficial copies. Review your transcripts; make sure there are no issues about any grades, such as J's or Incompletes, etc.

3. Data Sheet

Biographical Information: Complete the Data Sheet that comes with the Prehealth Committee application. This is the resume type information that the Committee requires in order to learn more about your overall record, especially non-academic activities. Please type this neatly and completely. This is good practice for your professional school applications and can be the first step toward preparing to write your personal statement.

4. Personal Statement

The Essay: The Committee requires a two-page, doubled spaced essay in which you address important issues about yourself, usually related to why you want to enter a particular career. This is very hard work for students and usually requires much more time than most plan. Begin this at least several months before it is due on April 1 so you will have time to revise, think and revise again. Essay writing workshops will be offered each February, but don't wait until then to get started. You can reduce the angst of completing the personal statement section if you begin the process now. Remember that it's difficult to write well. Good personal statements are usually the result of the time-honored process: revision, revision, and revision. The tutors in the Writing Place, 209 Baldy, can help you with some constructive feedback. The Prehealth Committee Application is your practice for this very important part of your professional school application; ask your interviewer for feedback.

5. Committee Interview

At the time that you turn in your completed Committee application, you will be given the name of a Committee member to call and schedule an interview. Do this at once, even if the date is some weeks off. Remember this letter is important to you and it is incumbent upon you to arrange interviews promptly. The Committee cannot write a letter without an interview and this will be your "rehearsal" for professional school interviews. The interview is not usually too formal, but is structured somewhat like professional school interviews. Take it seriously. It is also a good time to get some feedback on your essay and your interview style.

6. Sending Your Packet

If you are applying to MD, DO (osteopathic schools) or OD schools (optometry), please consult the VirtualEvals website to see if your schools are participating in this electronic letter submission system. If so, we will submit your letters electronically after you complete and turn in a Release Form (PDF). If you are applying to schools that do not participate in VirtualEvals, you need to complete the Release Form as well as submit a 9 x 12 pre-addressed envelope (located in 108 Norton Hall) for each school to which you are applying. Postage is currently $1.50 per envelope (postal rates effective May, 11 2009) . Please pay the $1.50 by cash, money or check and do not provide the actual postage yourself as packets have been returned or delayed due to insufficient postage when provided by the applicant. Again, all of these are submitted to 109 Norton Hall. We can generally forward your letters within 24-48 hours.

NOTE FOR RE-APPLICANTS: As the professional health schools are becoming more competitive to enter, we have a number of re-applicants requesting our services. Due to the annual fees we need to pay for VirtualEvals and the cost of paper, copy services, and envelopes, we now need to charge a flat fee of $10 per application year to cover these growing expenses. This fee covers you for an unlimited number of schools. This fee is effective as of October 15, 2007.

The Committee Letter

After your interview, a draft letter is prepared by your interviewer and reviewed by the Committee along with your entire application. The letter is revised and a numerical ranking from one to five is determined. The final letter is prepared and signed by the Committee chairperson and placed in your file. This file will be retained for five years. Upon your request and with a signed Release Form and addressed, stamped envelopes, the letter with the individual references attached is sent to all the schools you designate.

Prehealth Committee Members

  • Lee Dryden, Ph.D. - Social Sciences Interdisciplinary, Chair
  • Elaine Davis, Ph.D. - School of Dental Medicine
  • Elizabeth Morsheimer, Coordinator of Preprofessional Advising
  • Dalene Aylward, Prehealth Advisor
  • Mary Bisson, Ph.D. - Biology Department
  • Grayson Snyder, Ph.D. - Biology Department
  • Monica Spaulding, M.D. - UB Medical School (and Retired VA Medical Hospital)
  • Linda Wild, M.D. - Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
  • John Cotter, Ph.D. - Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
  • Jeffrey Schwartz, M.D., Professor Emeritus - School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Last updated: November 07 2009 06:25:35.