Requesting a Committee Interview and Letter

Florida Atlantic Pre-Health Professions committee letter is a letter written for students who are applying to health professional programs (this does NOT include master’s/bridge programs/Ph.D. programs). The letter includes input from professors and advisors in the College of Science as well as physicians from the area. This letter reflects highly on the applicant, and many schools look for it in your application. We compile all of your individual letters and your committee letter into one pdf and submit them to your professional school application platform on your behalf. There are a few requirements you must meet to be eligible for a committee letter. Please see the next page for the requirements.

If you are interested in participating in a Committee Interview the requirements are as follows:

• GPA ≥ 3.5 Overall / Graduate students must also have a 3.5 or grader
• DAT ≥ 410 
• MCAT ≥ 500
• GRE ≥ 150
• 4 to 5 letters of recommendation on file (prior to requesting the committee interview)

***If you do not fit these requirements, please look into the general letter packet option.*** 

If you meet the requirements for obtaining a committee letter, here are the steps you need to follow to get an interview scheduled: 

1. You are a part of the canvas course open a file. 
2. Once you have navigated the opening a file course and get moved to the application cycle course, follow the committee letter packet modules. 
3. You will need the following materials before you can schedule an interview:
   • Log on to Handshake
   • Select “Boca Raton Campus – Main Career Center”
   • Select the type of appointment “Professional Headshot”
   • Select the date/time and select the Appointment Medium as “In Person Main Center” 
   • 4 to 5 letters of recommendation in your file (2 Science, 1 Physician, 1 Non-Science and a Research letter)
   • Professional school entrance exam score (MCAT, GRE, DAT, etc.)
   • A copy of your unofficial transcript
   • A finalized copy of your personal statement
   • Fill out the committee interview application and the student summary 
   • A professional headshot
     Setting up a Career Center appointment for a professional headshot:
4. Complete the Committee Interview Request Quiz on Canvas
   • Once you meet the requirements and have all of the materials mentioned in step 3 you can request a committee interview.
   • Please schedule your mock interview at least 4 days before your committee interview.
5. Attend Your Committee Interview 
   • All mock interviews take place online at the link sent with your confirmation
   • All committee interviews are conducted virtually via zoom. If in person is requested, it needs to be arranged two weeks prior in order to make proper accommodations. 
6. Beyond the Interview 
   • A committee interview does not guarantee that you will receive a letter from the committee members. The committee reserves the right to deny or agree to write a letter of recommendation for a candidate as it sees fit.
   • If a candidate does not meet one of the aforementioned criteria for the committee interview, the Pre-Health office will continue to work with the candidate throughout the application process: review of his/her application and personal statement for medical school, schedule of mock interviews for candidate to help prepare for his/her interviews with a medical school, discuss shadowing opportunity and alternative plans.
   • You can request a copy of your interview recording (feedback of the interview is not recorded).
     
     
7. If you are granted a committee letter, writing the committee's letter can take 7 to 10 business days to be ready for upload.
   Uploading the Committee Letter Packet (Committee and Packet uploads are every Friday. This may take up to two weeks based on when you interviewed) 

• • The office will charge each applicant a one-time service fee of $40 that will be valid for three years consecutively. Please follow the steps on canvas to make this payment.
  • In order to upload, we will need proof of payment and completion of the AMCAS letter upload form assignment. Please follow all instructions on this assignment as completing it incorrectly will lead to a delay in your upload. 
  • If you are filling out a letter request form, your contact should always be Gina Jones, but the email should always be preprof@fau.edu
  • We do NOT upload letters for schools outside of the country nor schools in Texas.

We look forward to working with you on your journey to medicine. Please contact the Pre-Health Professions Office if you have any questions preprof@fau.edu or visit us on the Boca Campus in SE 308, Davie Campus ES 290.