Requesting a Letter from the Health Vocations Advisement Committee
Mercer University’s Health Vocations Advisement Committee is a group of faculty and staff members who work with pre-medicine, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, pre-podiatry, and pre-optometry students to help them prepare their applications for professional schools. The HVAC’s primary function is to write letters of evaluation for students who are applying to professional schools; however, they do so only after a thorough review of each student’s academic records and extracurricular activities. An HVAC letter of evaluation is required by some professional schools and preferred by most, so it may be considered to be an essential part of any student’s successful application to professional school.
The HVAC meets to prepare a student evaluation letter for each student who submits the required materials by the appropriate deadline. At this meeting, the HVAC assembles a candid evaluation of the student’s qualifications in each of the following areas: general scholastic ability, written and oral communication skills, general motivation, general maturity, interpersonal skills, and relevant medical/dental/veterinary experience. These areas are evaluated on the basis of the evidence available from a student’s academic records, the materials submitted to the HVAC by the student, and the committee members’ personal observations of the student. The HVAC also consults with Mercer University faculty and/or staff members who know the applicant from classes or extra-curricular activities.
Students requesting a letter of evaluation from the HVAC must read and follow the directions below carefully. Students requesting a letter for the first time should follow the first set of directions; students requesting an updated LOE should follow the second set of directions.
Health Vocations Advisement Committee convenes to evaluate students only twice each year (during the fall and spring semesters); evaluation meetings are scheduled and letters written on a first-come, first-served basis. Students who would like their letters to be mailed earlier in the semester should submit their materials before the posted deadline. Applicants who miss the published deadlines cannot be guaranteed an HVAC letter.
Regular Applicants: The deadline to submit a request for an HVAC student evaluation letter is typically the first class day of the fall semester of a student’s final year as an undergraduate (about 11 months before the student plans to enroll at a professional school). The Fall 2011 deadline was August 19, 2011 by 5:00 p.m.
Early Decision Program Applicants: The deadline to submit a request for an HVAC student evaluation letter is typically during the first week of classes of a student’s second-to-last year as an undergraduate (one-and-a-half years before the student plans to enroll at a professional school). The Spring 2012 deadline is January 12, 2012.
APPLICANT RESPONSIBILITIES
Applicants for an HVAC evaluation letter are responsible for the following:
Familiarizing themselves with the guidelines listed below.
· Completing and/or obtaining all of the required materials and submitting them to Mercer’s pre-professional advisor by the posted deadlines. Note that most correspondence with the HVAC with be conducted through the pre-professional advisor.
· Inviting two advocates to join the Health Vocations Advisement Committee at the student’s evaluation meeting (date and time of the student’s evaluation will be announced after submission of all required materials). Advocates should be prepared to share anecdotal information about the student for inclusion in the evaluation letter (see directions below).
· Remaining cognizant of the application instructions and deadlines for each school they plan to apply to. Students are encouraged to make use of the checklist found on page 5 of this packet to avoid overlooking any required items.
· Remaining cognizant of their application status at each school to which they applied. Applicants should contact all schools to confirm that their letters of evaluation have been received.
· Remaining accessible to the HVAC during the evaluation process. In most cases, this simply means checking their email on a regular basis.
Please note that applicants are not present at the HVAC evaluation meetings and that all HVAC proceedings are kept strictly confidential.
I. Students Requesting an HVAC Letter for the First Time
The directions below are for students who are requesting a student evaluation letter from the Health Vocations Advisement Committee for the first time. Students who are requesting an updated letter or a re-submission of their original letter should refer to the second set of directions that follow this set.
1. Complete the “Authorization and Waiver for the Preparation and Release of a Student Evaluation Letter” form (available here).
Read this form carefully and provide the information it requests. This includes your name, the date when you hope to begin professional school, and your application service number(s).
Indicate whether you do or do not waive your right to access the HVAC evaluation letter by checking the appropriate box.
Sign the form in your own handwriting (type is not acceptable).
2. Complete the “Contact Information” form (available here).
Read this form carefully and provide the information it requests.
If your contact information changes at any point in the semester during which you are applying to professional schools, you must let the HVAC know in writing.
Provide the information requested for any research supervisors.
Please provide the information for your two advocates. (Each student may select two advocates who can offer anecdotal information about (i.e., examples of) the student’s abilities in one or more of the following areas: scholastic ability, written communication, oral communication, motivation and maturity, interpersonal relations, and/or relevant medical experience. The advocates are invited to attend the HVAC meeting to provide anecdotal information about the student during the evaluation process. Advocates who are unable to attend the meeting may provide a written letter of support to the committee.)
Save the completed form as a Word document using the following format: yournameCONTACTINFO.doc. E-mail this file to Bokros_c@mercer.edu. Include your name and “Contact Info” in the title of your e-mail.
3. Complete the “Student Self-Evaluation” form (available here).
Answer all of the questions. Type your answer to each question directly below each question in the document itself.
Include the essay you have or will use on your professional school application (either the AMCAS, AACOMAS, AADSAS, VMCAS, or AACPMAS or another application, depending on which schools you are applying to). The essay should be a brief (four-to-five-paragraph) personal statement that explains your motivation for wanting to become a certain type of medical professional (physician, dentist, etc.).
Applicants are encouraged to participate in the workshop, “Writing Your Personal Statement”, which is conducted at least once every semester by the pre-professional advisor. Additional advice regarding personal statements can be obtained from the office of Career Services.
Save the completed form as a Word document using the following format: yournameSELFEVAL.doc. E-mail this file to Bokros_c@mercer.edu. Include your name and “Self-Evaluation” in the title of your e-mail.
4. Prepare a professional style resume of your work experiences, extracurricular activities, achievements, and honors. Use a format that makes the information easily accessible to a reader (see tips below and the example provided here). Contact Mercer’s office of Career Services if you have questions about creating a resume or need assistance.
Focus on your accomplishments since graduating from high school. Be as specific and concise as possible as you summarize the responsibilities and experiences you had with each job and activity listed.
List the amount of time devoted to each job or activity. Please list the total number of hours spent on each job or activity (for example: 60 hours total).
Save the completed form as a Word document using the following format: yournameRESUME.doc. E-mail this file to Bokros_c@mercer.edu. Include your name and “Resume” in the title of your e-mail.
5. Obtain unofficial copies of all of your non-Mercer transcripts.
The committee will download your Mercer transcript from the CampusVue system, but unofficial copies of all other institutions are required. Even if some or all of your credits from other schools are on your Mercer transcript, you still need to submit transcripts from each school you’ve attended.
NO OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS ARE NECESSARY FOR THE HVAC; do not waste your money on official transcripts.
6. Using the form provided here, type a list of all the professional schools to which you intend to apply:
Include all the schools to which you intend to apply. The HVAC will send out only one mailing per applicant per application year.
An exception to this rule is granted to students applying to schools that do not accept letters of recommendation until AFTER the applicant has been invited to interview. Those students should indicate that the letter to that school should be HELD until further notification.
An exception is also granted to students who participate in the Early Decision Program (EDP). Applicants who do not gain acceptance through the EDP and plan to apply to professional schools through the “Regular Decision” process the following fall should contact Dr. Bokros for instructions about how to request an updated LOE.
If a school requires hard copy letters be sent directly to the school, a complete and accurate address for each of those schools must be included. Be sure the addresses are those to which your evaluation letters should be sent, not just the general addresses of the various universities (i.e., include the specific office and/or contact person to whom your evaluation letter should be delivered).
If a school accepts LOE’s by electronic upload (e.g., schools participating in the AMCAS Letters Project; see #7 below), a complete physical address of the school is not required; instead, instructions on electronic uploads are required.
Save the completed form as a Word document using the following format: yournameLIST.doc. E-mail this file to Bokros_c@mercer.edu. Include your name and “School List” in the title of your e-mail.
7. For medical schools participating in the AMCAS Letters Project, obtain an AMCAS letter request number and provide it to the HVAC. This number is obtained in Section 6 of the AMCAS application.
For schools NOT participating in a centralized application service with electronic LOE uploading:
Obtain official Mercer HVAC envelopes from the pre-professional advisor in Penfield Hall. Stamp and address one envelope for each of the schools to which you intend to apply. Your evaluation letters will be mailed in these envelopes, so be sure that the addresses are correct and legible. One first-class stamp is sufficient for each envelope if letters are destined for schools in the contiguous U.S. Students are responsible for placing the correct amount of postage on letters destined for schools outside of the contiguous U.S.
Include envelopes for all schools to which you intend to apply that do not require direct uploading of LOEs to a centralized application service website. The HVAC will send out only one mailing per applicant per year.
An exception to this rule is granted to students applying to schools that do not accept letters of recommendation until AFTER the applicant has been invited to interview. Those students should indicate that the letter to that school should be HELD until further notification.
An exception is also granted to students who participate in the Early Decision Program (EDP). Applicants who do not gain acceptance through the EDP and plan to apply to professional schools through the “Regular Decision” process the following fall should contact Dr. Bokros for instructions about how to request an updated LOE.