PrintLetters of Recommendation and veCollect
What is veCollect?
How should I ask for letters of recommendation?
When can I start asking for letters of recommendation?
What is the FERPA Statement and how do I sign it?
What do I do if I already have letters in the HPAO?
When must my letters be received?
What are appropriate letters of recommendation?
Can my letters be forwarded to a potential employer?
Letters of Recommendation Workshop
What is veCollect?
HPAO utilizes veCollect, a secure web-based service for the collection and storage of recommendation letters. Students planning to apply to medical, dental, and podiatry school in the current applicant cycle can now request an account and begin to ask their recommenders to write and upload letters of recommendation to this web-based repository. Refer to the veCollect Instructions for Students for more information. Please note: Optometry applicants should have letters sent directly to OptomCAS.
How should I ask for letters of recommendation?
Be professional in asking your professors/recommenders for letters and give plenty of notice. Offer to meet with them to refresh their memory about you or help them put you in the context of the type of program to which you are applying and present them with the following:
- Personal Statement or a paragraph about why you think this program is right for you and how you have prepared yourself for it
- Resume
- Transcript
Once your recommender has agreed to write a letter on your behalf, you must create an Evaluator Record and Letter Record in you veCollect account. Be sure to send a letter request email through veCollect as this email will contain instructions for letter writers. We have also posted a brief section with helpful tips for letter writers. Review the veCollect Instructions for Students for additional information.
When can I start asking for letters of recommendation?
Students entering the current application cycle are expected to have all letters submitted by the June 3 deadline. Authors should be given plenty of notice in order to meet this deadline. Letters from summer experiences may be included but must be in by August 31 and before you request your credentials to be forwarded to schools. Letters will not be mailed out piece by piece.
You may ask for letters at any time. Often, it is wise to ask for a letter from a faculty member soon after the course is completed and when you are still fresh in their mind. A letter that is a year old is still effective, provided the overall collection includes more current letters. If a letter is older than one year, it is a good idea to ask the author if they would mind updating it for you; you can provide them with a current resume or brief statement of what you have been doing since they wrote the letter for them to include.
What is the FERPA Statement and how do I sign it?
HPAO includes a notation in your Committee Letter that indicates whether or not you have waived your FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) right to view your letters. While professional schools prefer letters to be marked confidential, it is your decision as to whether or not you retain or waive your right to view the letters. Within your veCollect account, you will electronically sign a FERPA statement each time you create a new Letter Record. For veCollect instructions, see the Instructions for Students.
The FERPA Statement in veCollect indicates to the writer whether or not you waive your right to view your letters of recommendation. Students utilizing the Committee Process will check a box marking their entire packet confidential or non-confidential within the Pre-Health Packet. This check box overrides the statement signed for each individual letter and is the information regarding your FERPA rights that HPAO uses in deciding how to report the confidentiality of your file to the professional schools.
What do I do if I already have letters in the HPAO?
Some of you have requested letters of recommendation over the past few years that are on file in the HPAO as a hard copy. To utilize these letters you must have each letter added to your veCollect account. Create an evaluator and letter record for each of your letters on file. You will be required to sign the FERPA statement for each letter. Do not enter the email address for your recommender. Instead, you should put mgrunber@umd.edu in the email field. You will then click the envelope icon to send an email request to Mike. The hardcopy of your letter will be scanned and uploaded to your veCollect account. Please allow 2-3 weeks for this process to be complete.
When must my letters be received?
June 3 is the deadline to submit individual letters of recommendation to the HPAO. Letters received after this date will be accepted up until the point that your credentials form is submitted. All letters must be received by August 31 in order to be included in packet. For priority applicants, all additional letters must be submitted by July 15.
What are appropriate letters of recommendation?
Most professional schools request that you submit three to five (3-5) letters of recommendation. HPAO will accept a total of six. Your veCollect Quiver can not exceed seven letters including your committee letter. Please note: Optometry applicants are allowed to have a maximum of 4 letters submitted to OptomCAS and should consult the Required Letters of Recommendation for each school.
You may wish to share these recommendations for characteristics of an effective letter of recommendation with your evaluators if they are unfamiliar with preparing letters of recommendation for students applying to health professions programs.
We strongly recommend that you obtain the following:
- Biology, Chemistry, Math or Physics = 2 science letters from professors or head research Supervisor. The requirement here varies from school to school. Some schools insist upon faculty who have taught you in an academic class; others will accept one letter from a research mentor and one from a classroom professor. Still others will vary on this requirement, based on whether or not you also have a Committee Letter. Check your individual schools for their guidelines. HPAO will not forward a credentials packet that does not include at least one science letter.
- Your Major, Minor (or separate course) = 1 non-science academic letter
- Health-related Work, Volunteer Work, Athletics = 1 letter
- Research Mentor = 1 letter
- A letter from a faculty member in your graduate program, if you have pursued one
- A Pre-Health Committee Letter
Additional Recommendations:
- Consider carefully who you will ask for a letter of recommendation and how strongly they will be able to support your application to professional school.
- You should seek authors for your letters from among professors, supervisors, employers, coaches and/or individuals with whom you have developed a solid working relationship.
- HPAO will not include personal letters (parent, relative, neighbor) from people with whom you have not had a professional or academic relationship unless the medical school specifically requests such a letter (U of Florida is an example of one that does). If one school requests such a letter, we will send it to that school alone. Otherwise, these letters are not valued by schools and make the overall product appear less professional.
- Please remember that you are encouraged to develop a relationship with faculty by visiting them during their office hours and using that time to explore your common interests beyond what is normally done in the classroom.
- Your letters are a reflection of your intellectual curiosity and exposure to the profession. They should highlight your interests, relevant activities, leadership, and academic abilities for the profession. This is why it is helpful to provide your recommenders with a copy of your resume, transcript and personal statement.
- If you feel uncertain about whom to ask for letters of recommendation, check with a Pre-Health Advisor for guidance.
Can my letters be forwarded to a potential employer?
No. Letters submitted to HPAO are for professional school applications only and cannot be used for any other purpose.
