Requesting that Packets be Sent to Schools
The Northwestern University Academic Advising Center utilizes VirtualEvals, a secure web-based system, to transmit letters of recommendation to medical schools. A record is created for each applicant and a PDF containing the applicant's letters of evaluation is uploaded to the site. When the PDF is uploaded, an email is sent automatically to the applicant to let him/her know that the letters have been made available to designated schools. Also included in the email is a list of schools that have been attached to the applicant record by the University Academic Advising Center. Medical schools can only access letters for applicants to their school and do not have access to the list of schools to which the applicant is applying. Nearly all MD-granting med schools used the VirtualEvals system for accessing letters. Most MD/PhD programs receive letters from the MD admissions office at their school. However, some MD/PhD programs have elected to access letters directly from VirtualEvals. If you are applying to MD/PhD programs please let us know the specific programs to which you are applying in order to make sure that these programs can access your letters.
Sending Letters Packets for Dental School Applicants
Letters of recommendation for dental school applicants can be e-mailed to AADSAS provided the student includes the name and e-mail address of Northwestern's Recommendation File Serivce Coordinator (Robin Rosenstein: r-rosenstein@northwestern.edu) in the AADSAS application.*
*Note: Students should not list the names and e-mail addresses of their individual recommenders.
Foreign Medical Program Applicants
For students applying to foreign medical programs, the University Academic Advising Center will send your letters of recommendation packet via airmail letter post at no charge. To express mail or overnight a packet, the student must provide a pre-paid FedEx or USPS Priority Mail envelope to our office for this purpose.
Procedures for Requesting that Packets be Sent
- A student's recommendation file must be complete with all anticipated letters prior to requesting that the letters packet be made avaliable to medical and other health professions schools.
- Requests can be made immediately after a student receives a secondary application. Students will provide a complete list of all schools to which they are applying as noted on their AMCAS primary application. School addresses are not needed.
- Students must include their AAMC ID number and/or other program ID numbers (i.e. TMDSAS or ACOMAS) with their list of schools.
- A hard copy of a student's letters of recommendation packet will be mailed to any school that does not accept VirtualEvals.
- Allow at least 5 business days for the recommendation letter packet to be processed and transmitted to schools. In addition, students should allow up to 4-6 weeks for the schools to receive and process the packet. The admissions committees of these schools are receiving a heavy volume of materials, and recommendations cannot always be logged in immediately.
Format and Use
- When asked on applications what letter of recommendation format is being used at Northwestern, please indicate that the UAAC submits a “Letters of Recommendation packet.” We do not write a committee letter. If an applicant is asked to list the name of the person who sends the packet, please indicate Robin Rosenstein, Northwestern University Letters of Recommendation Coordinator.
- All recommendation letters contained in the student's file will be sent to all schools designated, regardless of the number of letters the medical school requests. The UAAC cannot put the letters in any specific order.
- Once a packet is sent to a school/program, the UAAC cannot send letters added later to the packet to that school/program. The student must arrange with the specific recommender to have the letter sent directly to the school/program.
- A student’s file is set up with the specific intention of application to a health professions graduate school, not for internships, scholarships or non health-related graduate programs.
Charges
1 – 15 packet requests: free
|
21 – 40 packet requests: $10 per packet |
16 – 20 packet requests: $5 per packet |
Over 40 packet requests: $25 per packet |
- You will be billed via e-mail for any packets exceeding 15 at the end of the application season.
