Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are an important component of the application process for individuals applying to health profession schools.  Applicants who qualify may request that the Preprofessional Advising Office submit a packet of letters of recommendation to certain central application services of health profession schools.  The Letter Packet may include up to five letters of recommendation.  Although the packet may only include up to five letters of recommendation, there is no limit to the amount of letters you may have submitted to the Preprofessional Advising Office on your behalf.

It is important to request letters of recommendation from individuals who know you well, since a vague and noncommittal letter is of marginal value.  Admissions committees are interested in evaluators who are knowledgeable and experienced in assessing your academic abilities, character, interpersonal skills, and professional potential.  The most useful letters are those related to your academic work, experience in clinical settings, community service, research activities, leadership roles, and employment.  Letters of recommendation from faculty, research mentors, volunteer supervisors, and employers play an important role in your application.  Letters from faculty are usually afforded more weight than letters from teaching fellows or discussion leaders.

The most effective letters of recommendation are those that stress the context in which the writer knows you, the duration of his or her acquaintance with you, and your performance level as compared to other students in similar settings.  Your communication skills, interpersonal skills, cultural competence, teamwork, initiative, integrity, resilience, and capacity for improvement are among the areas that your recommenders may discuss.  Cited examples of these qualities make for effective letters of recommendation.

Regardless of the health profession to which you are applying, excellent guidelines that you may wish to provide to your recommenders are available on the Association of American Medical College’s website here.

All letters of recommendation submitted to the Preprofessional Advising Office must be accompanied by the Letter of Recommendation Waiver Form.

Deadline for current applicants:

If this is your first time submitting a Portfolio or if you previously submitted a Portfolio but you have not hit your lifetime Comprehensive Advising Appointment limit:

• To qualify for a Letter Packet, submit the 2026 Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections by January 6, 2025, 5pm ET. Even individuals who have previously submitted a Portfolio must submit a 2026 Portfolio by the stated deadline.

If you have previously submitted a portfolio & hit your lifetime Comprehensive Advising Appointment limit (e.g. you’ve completed one or more CAA):

• To qualify for a Letter Packet, submit the 2026 Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections by January 31, 2025 by 5pm ET. Even individuals who have previously submitted a Portfolio must submit a 2026 Portfolio by the stated deadline.

Letters of recommendation must be received by the Preprofessional Advising Office no later than June 10, 2025 11:59pm ET to be included in a Letter Packet.

You are responsible for determining that your letters of recommendation are received by the deadline.  In some cases, you may need to apply tact and diplomacy to remind your recommenders to submit their letters.

You may call the Preprofessional Advising Office at 617-353-4866 during normal business hours (M-F, 9am-5pm) or email preprof@bu.edu at any time to determine whether your letters have been received.

Where to submit letters:

Letters of recommendation must be written on letterhead stationery, must include a signature, and must be accompanied by the Preprofessional Advising Office’s Letter of Recommendation Waiver Form. Recommendation Waiver Forms should be given to each of your recommenders and submitted by them to the Preprofessional Advising Office.  We strongly encourage recommenders to submit their letters and the waiver form electronically as PDFs to hlthrecs@bu.edu.  Alternatively, physical copies of recommendations may be dropped off by the recommender or mailed to:

Boston University
Preprofessional Advising Office
100 Bay State Road, Room 428
Boston, MA 02215

Accompanied waiver forms:

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, Boston University students are entitled access to letters of recommendation contained in their permanent educational records at Boston University.  However, you may waive this right of access to letters of recommendation.  If this right of access is waived, letters of recommendation will be considered confidential and will not be available to you.  Schools generally prefer to receive letters for which applicants have waived their right of access.  If you have questions about the waiver, please schedule an appointment with a pre-health advisor.

The Preprofessional Advising Office:

• Does not accept letters of recommendation and Letter of Recommendation Waiver Forms that are hand-delivered or emailed to us by applicants.  
• Submits Letter Packets only to certain central application services and health-related scholarship programs for qualified individuals.  
• Does not submit letters of recommendation to other programs or to anyone else for other purposes, including master of medical science and other graduate programs, job applications, and internship programs.

• It is your responsibility to know individual school requirements, as requirements for letters of recommendation vary from school to school.
• It is your responsibility to know how many submissions the central application service permits for each applicant.
• Many schools require two letters of recommendation from faculty members in the sciences.
• Schools may require a letter from non-science faculty members.
• Schools may require a letter of recommendation from a health professional in the field (e.g. a physician, osteopathic physician, dentist, veterinarian).
• Schools may require a letter from a major advisor or faculty member 
• For individuals who have enrolled in a graduate program, many schools require a letter from the student’s advisor.
• If your pre-health file contains an old letter of recommendation from someone with whom you have continued to work or with whom you have taken additional courses, we strongly suggest that you request an updated letter from that individual.
• If you have changed the type of program to which you are applying (e.g. from MMEDIC to traditional pathway) or your career goals (e.g. from medicine to dentistry), your old letters of recommendation may no longer be useful. We suggest you meet with a pre-health advisor to discuss this.
• Letters of recommendation from high school teachers, administrators, or guidance counselors are generally not helpful unless you have completed additional projects with them as a college student.
• Personal letters from clergy, family physicians/dentists, public office holders, peers, or friends of the family are generally not helpful.

• Individual letters that must be submitted to meet a particular allopathic medical school’s requirements should be sent separately by recommenders directly to the appropriate central application service(s). This customization of letters will be necessary for schools that have requirements that differ from the letters included in your Letter Packet.
• Many osteopathic medical schools require a letter of recommendation from a physician, and some require a letter of recommendation from an osteopathic physician.
• Osteopathic applicants cannot customize their submission of letters to particular schools, since letters submitted to AACOMAS are sent to all AACOMAS schools to which an applicant applies.

• Some dental schools require a letter of recommendation from a dentist.
• Applicants can submit up to four letters of evaluations. Applicants can submit:
  • Up to four individual evaluations, or
  • One committee letter/packet and three individual evaluations. A committee letter can either be one letter that is collaboratively written by a group of people or a collection of letters submitted on behalf of an institution or office.
• Dental applicants cannot customize their submission of letters to particular schools, since letters submitted to AADSAS are sent to all AADSAS schools to which an applicant applies.
• Applicants who wish to submit more letters of recommendation must send the additional letters directly to the programs.

• Some nursing schools use NursingCAS, some use their own application portal.
• Although applicants to nursing schools may submit letters of recommendation to the Preprofessional Advising Office, we will not be able to forward them to NursingCAS or individual programs. The NursingCAS application requires a separate form, including a ratings of attributes portion, from each recommender.  The Preprofessional Advising Office does not submit such forms on behalf of recommenders.
• When applying to nursing schools via NursingCAS, applicants cannot customize their submission of letters to particular schools, since letters submitted to NursingCAS are sent to all NursingCAS schools to which an applicant applies.

• Some optometry schools require or recommend a letter of recommendation from an optometrist.
• Although applicants to optometry schools may submit letters of recommendation to the Preprofessional Advising Office, we will not be able to forward them to OPTOMCAS.  Per OptomCAS Instructions, “recommenders may complete assessments such as writing essays, completing Likert scales, and/or uploading letters.” The Preprofessional Advising Office does not complete such assessments on behalf of recommenders.

• Some physician assistant programs require or recommend a letter of recommendation from a PA or physician.
• Although applicants to physician assistant schools may submit letters of recommendation to the Preprofessional Advising Office, we will not be able to forward them to CASPA. The CASPA application requires a separate form, including a ratings portion, from each recommender.  The Preprofessional Advising Office does not submit such forms on behalf of recommenders.

• Podiatry programs may require or recommend a letter of recommendation from a Podiatrist.
• Although applicants to podiatry schools may submit letters of recommendation to the Preprofessional Advising Office, we will not be able to forward them to AACPMAS. The AACPMAS application does not allow other parties to submit letters on behalf of an evaluator.