La Salle University Pre-Health Professions Program

Letter of Evaluation Instructions

Evaluator: ______Letter is DUE: Please do not date your letter

Dear Evaluator:

Thank you for assisting the Health Professions Advisory Committee in its review of this student by writing a letter evaluating the applicant’s overall suitability for a career in medicine. Please address the following areas about the applicant in your letter.

  • Your relationship to the applicant and extent of contact with the applicant.
  • Academic abilities (intellectual curiosity, creativity).
  • Interpersonal characteristics (ability to work with others, concern for others, communication skills).
  • Work habits (motivation, time management, initiative).
  • Maturity (ability to handle stress, emotional stability, leadership ability).

The information you provide in your letter will become part of the student’s official Health Professions Advisory Committee credential file. The text of your statement will not be edited and will be forwarded in its entirety to admissions committees of medical and other health-related programs designated by the applicant. Your comments will also be incorporated into a composite committee letter verbatim, so please take the time to write an assessment that is clear, concise, and fair.

The importance of the letter both to the student and to La Salle University cannot be overemphasized. Please be particularly sensitive to comments that might be interpreted as a reflection of bias on sex, race, religion, age, handicap, nationality, or sexual orientation. In addition, when describing an applicant’s strengths and/or weaknesses, it is helpful to provide specific examples along with your description.

The letter should be on the evaluation letter form provided or on your official business stationary, addressed to the Health Professions Advisory Committee, signed by you. Please send the letter to:

Dr. Geri Seitchik

Pre-Health Professions Advisory Committee

La Salle UniversityBox 295

1900 West Olney Avenue

Philadelphia, PA 19141

Questions regarding this form may be directed to Dr. Seitchik 215-951-1248 or .

10 Tips

  1. Review a copy of the applicant's personal statement so that your letter of can dovetail with not conflict with or duplicate the rest of the application
  1. Ask the applicant to supply you with additional information like a resume.
  1. Describe your qualifications for comparing the applicant to other applicants.
  • I have been teaching for twenty years and have advised approximately 450 students on independent research projects over the last five years.
  • I have personally supervised ten interns every summer for the last five years plus worked with over two hundred college students in the Big Medical Center ER.
  1. Discuss how well you know the applicant.
  2. I was able to get to know Mr. Doe because he made it a point to attend two of my sections every week when only one was required.
  3. Ms. Smith did research in my laboratory for two years, and I worked very closely with her.
  1. Choose two to three qualities that you observed in the applicant.
  2. Jane has a rare blend of top research, analytical, and interpersonal skills.
  3. The combination of tenacity, willingness to help, and good communications skills found in Mr. Doe is truly unique.
  1. In discussing those qualities, support your statements with specific instances in which he or she demonstrated those attributes. Be as concrete and detailed as possible
  • He is the only student I ever had who came to all my office hours as part of a relentless--and successful--drive to master biochemistry. He was one of just ten percent in the class to receive an A.
  • Because of Jane's research and communications skills, I didn't hesitate to ask her to monitor epileptic patients and prepare electrodes to be implanted in their bilateral temporal lobes. Her quality work contributed significantly to a paper we co-authored and presented to the Society for Neuroscience.
  1. Try to quantify the student's strengths or rank him or her vis-a-vis other applicants that you have observed.
  • He was in the top 10% of his class.
  • She has the best research skills of any person her age that I have ever supervised.
  1. Avoid generalities and platitudes.
  1. Include some mild criticism, typically the flip-side of a strength.
  • The only fault I have encountered in him is his retiring nature. His modesty sometimes hides a young man of remarkable sensitivity and broad interests.
  • Occasionally, her fortitude and persistence can turn into stubbornness, but usually her good nature and level-headedness prevail.
  1. Discuss the applicant's potential in his or her chosen field.
  • I enthusiastically recommend Mr. Doe to your medical program. This well rounded student will be a fine, compassionate doctor.
  • With her exceptional interpersonal and research skills, Ms. Smith will be an outstanding doctor and a credit to the medical school she attends.

1900 West Olney Avenue

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19141-1199  (215) 951-1248  Fax: (215) 951-1772

I, ______, freely waive my right at any future time access to the information in the file prepared at my request by the

Pre- Health Professions Advisory Committee of La Salle University (Signature) ______

Evaluation of: ______

This is an evaluation submitted to the chair of the Pre-Health Professions Advisory Committee at La Salle University.

A copy of this evaluation will be sent to the professional school(s) to which the above listed applicant has applied.

Signature: ______Institution: ______

Name(type or print): ______Title or Position: ______