Instruction Manual for Applying to the La Sierra
University Pre-Health Recommendations Committee
(2015 cycle)
A service of the Pre-Health Professions Office
This application booklet is for use by the following pre-health professional programs: Medicine,
Dentistry, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Optometry, and Podiatry.
Updated December 2013
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
PROCESS FOR APPLYING TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS COMMITTEE
....... 4
POLICY REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
THE IMPORTANCE OF DEADLINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
FEE SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
RELEASING INFORMATION TO YOUR PRE-HEALTH ADVISOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
OVERVIEW OF THE RECOMMENDATION PACKET
FORM A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
FORM B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
FORM C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
FORM D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
FORM E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
FORM F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
FORM G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
FORM H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
FORM I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
FORM J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
FORM K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
FORM L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
FORM M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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INTRODUCTION
The instructions, guidelines, and submission materials to the Recommendations Committee are
referred to as the “Recommendation Packet”. This instruction manual accompanies the
Recommendation Packet, which is the official application to the La Sierra University Pre-Health
Recommendations committee (also referred to as the Recommendations Committee,
Committee, or PPRC). The Recommendations Committee is an important and highly
recommended part of the admission process for students applying to Loma Linda University
Schools of Medicine, and Dentistry. It is required for the LLU School of Pharmacy. The purpose
of the Recommendations Committee is to write a comprehensive letter of recommendation,
called the committee letter, which is then sent to the professional schools that students
designate. The Committee aids in the recommendation process by working to ensure the
strongest letter possible for each applicant. This is accomplished by interviewing the applicant,
reviewing individual letters of recommendation submitted on behalf of the applicant and by
reviewing the applicant’s personal statement, resume, and answers to specific questions.
Therefore, the Recommendations Committee Packet is designed to gather the most important
and useful information about the applicant. However, the Recommendation Packet does not
replace the mandatory application to professional school.
Students are required to apply to professional school through the discipline-specific central
application service for each professional program such as the American Medical College
Application Service (AMCAS) for medicine, Associated American Dental Schools Application
Service (AADSAS) for dentistry, Pharmacy Centralized Application Service (PharmCAS) for
pharmacy and Veterinary Medical Centralized Application Service (VMCAS). Applying to the
Recommendations Committee for a committee letter is not an application to a professional
program. Students are expected to carefully follow the admissions instructions outlined on the
website for the central application service, or other official sources of information for the
professional program to which they are applying.
Timeline
Applicants to professional school are required to apply 9-14 months before the start of their
desired program. This allows the professional school time to receive the application after it is
verified by the discipline-specific application service, send secondary (also called supplemental)
applications, interview the applicant, assess the applicant’s eligibility for acceptance, and notify
the applicant of acceptance or non-acceptance. Many professional application services allow
the submission of applications beginning June each year, therefore, students are encouraged to
apply to the Recommendations Committee as early as possible.
The Recommendation Packet for the current cycle (2014) is available online in December
through the Pre-Health Office at www.lasierra.edu/prehealth (search under Forms in the leftside navigation bar). Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the
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Recommendation Packet 14-18 months prior to the proposed matriculation to professional
school. Therefore, the Winter Quarter deadline, Friday, March 14, 2014 is the preferred or
priority deadline.
Type of Applicant
The packet is most appropriate for students applying to professional programs for the first
time, including juniors, seniors and post-baccalaureate students. However, all students must
meet the GPA and residency requirement established by the Recommendations Committee.
Applicants who do not meet these requirements may petition the Committee using the
guidelines stipulated in the GPA Variance Petition and the Residency Variance Petition which
are found online at www.lasierra.edu/prehealth (search under Forms). Transfer students
should read the Residency requirements before completing the Recommendation Packet.
Students who previously applied to the Recommendations Committee must use the
Reapplication Packet if they want to request a new committee letter, or the Former Letter
Request form to re-use a previous committee letter.
How to Apply to the Recommendations Committee
Students are strongly encouraged to read the entire instructions before starting the
Recommendation Packet. Students who fail to follow these instructions may find that their
Recommendation Packet is not accepted or not reviewed during the current cycle. Refunds will
not be provided to students who fail to follow instructions or default on the requirements of
the Recommendations Committee.
Confidentiality Statement
All of the information provided in your packet is kept strictly confidential and is reviewed by the
PPRC for interview purposes only. Acceptance data is gathered and maintained for statistical
purposes only.
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PROCESS FOR APPLYING TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS COMMITTEE
Eligibility
Students should consult the “Policy Requirements for Committee Consideration” (p. 6 of the
manual) to determine if they meet the GPA and residency requirement of the
Recommendations committee.
Forms
This manual helps you quickly process all the instructions for submission by explaining how best
to proceed. Please consult pp. 15-20 for more detailed explanations. Directions for completion
are also included in the Recommendation Packet on the form itself. All forms are required. If
any information is missing, packets will not be reviewed by the Recommendations committee.
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Form A: Demographics
Form B: Personal Statement (includes Committee-specific questions)
Form C: Resume
Form D: Coursework
Form E: Professional Schools
Form F: Recommendation Reference List
Form G: Eligibility Declaration
Form H: Confidentiality Statement
Form I: FERPA Student Release
Form J: Academic Incident Release
Form K: Citizenship Report
Form L: Admission Test Scores
Form M: Recommendations Committee Letter Request (required: 5 letters)
When completing the packet, students should provide the phone number and email they check
most frequently. The Pre-Health Professions Office and the Recommendations committee will
not be held responsible for failure to contact an applicant if provided incorrect information.
Packet Completion
The Recommendation Packet is considered complete and ready for review when all portions of
the packet have been submitted to the Pre-Health Professions Office, and all recommendation
letters have been received. The Recommendations committee will not process incomplete
packets, regardless of the application due date you are trying to meet. Therefore, it is critical
that students verify that their packet is complete well before the application deadline. To avoid
making the mistakes that frequently delay processing, double check that you included a picture,
your standardized test scores (or the date you plan to take them) and your list of schools.
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Interview Process
Completed packets are given to a Committee member who contacts the student to schedule an
interview. The interview process may be delayed when students fail to provide a cell phone
number, write their email address incorrectly, or fail to provide an email address that they
check regularly. Please dress professionally for the interview and arrive on time. Be sure you
are able to locate the interviewer’s office prior to the interview date.
Committee Letter
After the interview, the Committee member will write a letter of recommendation on the
applicant’s behalf and present it to the Recommendations committee for discussion and
approval. The Committee votes on the letter which is approved only by majority vote.
Sometimes the letter writer may need to rewrite portions of the letter and resubmit it to the
Committee for approval. Should this occur, the letter may be delayed for a minimum of 7-10
days.
After Committee approval, the letter is formatted and delivered to the letter writer and the
Committee chair for signatures. This process may take 2-4 days.
Letter Submission
Recommendation letters (individual and committee) are submitted to a discipline-specific
centralized application service. For students who are interviewed during Spring quarter, please
note that letters cannot be submitted before the opening date of the application service, which
is usually in June. Additionally, all recommendation letters submitted to professional schools
must have an identifying number (i.e., the application ID) which is provided by the centralized
application service. Application ID numbers, used to identify and match applicants to their
documents, must be received by the Pre-Health Professions Office before letters are sent to
professional schools.
Students are encouraged to begin their professional school application as soon as the
centralized application service for their program opens (or before that time, if allowed). Once
the application ID number has been assigned, provide this information to the Pre-Health Office
as it is used to submit your committee letter to the schools of your choice. Do not delay your
application to professional school by waiting for your committee letter or until you have taken
your professional admission test (e.g. DAT or MCAT).
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POLICY REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The following requirements have been set as minimum standards for the La Sierra University
Pre-Health Professions Recommendations committee (PPRC). The requirements are in place to
ensure that the PPRC has sufficient information to evaluate the applicant and provide a
comprehensive recommendation. All minimum requirements must be met in order for a file to
be considered “complete”. Only completed files are ready for committee consideration.
Submission deadlines are for completed files.
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
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Matriculation at La Sierra University for a minimum of three quarters before applying to the
committee is required. Summer classes are not included in any of the three quarters needed
for residency requirement. If a student transferred to La Sierra University in Fall 2013,
maintained enrollment through Winter 2014 and is registered for Spring, then the residency
requirement has been met for the March 14 or June 13 deadline and a residency petition is
not needed.
Students meet residency requirements for Fall 2014 if they transferred to La Sierra University
during Winter 2014, stayed for Spring and is registered for Fall 2014.
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Residency Variance Petition
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Residency Variance Petitions are available online at www.lasierra.edu/prehealth.
COST: $15.00 processing fee. The fee must be paid to the Bursar’s Office before the
submission of your residency petition. You must provide your receipt to the Pre-Health
Professions Office when you submit the forms for your residency petition.
GPA REQUIREMENTS
All students applying to the Recommendations committee must meet the minimum GPA
requirements for your pre-health area.
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Pre-Medicine and Pre-Dentistry applicants must have a minimum overall and a minimum
BCPM of 3.2.
Pre-Veterinary, etc. applicants must have a minimum overall and a minimum BCPM of 3.0.
Pre-Pharmacy applicants must have a minimum overall and a minimum BCPM of 2.75.
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Minimum Cumulative GPA
Pre-Med, Pre-Dent
3.2
Pre-Vet , etc. (except Pharm)
3.0
BCPM = Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math
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Minimum Science GPA (BCPM)
3.2
3.0
To calculate your overall and science GPA, Google GPA Calculator and select the website of
your choice.
Enter each course taken, number of units for the class, and grade received.
Include courses taken at other universities
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Include all repeated courses.
Submit the printout of your GPA calculations along with your application.
GPA Variance Petition
Students who do not meet the minimum GPA requirements have the option of applying directly
to professional school(s) or petitioning the PPRC for consideration. GPA variance petition forms
are available online at www.lasierra.edu/prehealth.
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COST: $15 processing fee. The fee must be paid to the Bursar’s Office before the submission
of your petition. You must provide your receipt to the Pre-Health Professions Office when you
submit the forms for your GPA Variance Petition.
Requirements for a GPA Variance Petition
Policy variances on the grounds of academic ineligibility require a well-explained, welldocumented petition.
 For Pre-Medicine & Pre-Dentistry: Submit a GPA variance petition if your cumulative GPA or
BCPM is between 2.85 and 3.19. Pre-med or pre-dent students with a GPA of 2.84 or less are
not eligible to apply to the Recommendations Committee.
 Pre-Veterinary, etc.: Submit a GPA variance petition if your cumulative GPA or BCPM is
between 2.75 and 2.99.
 Pre-pharm students with a GPA of 2.74 or less are not eligible to apply to the
Recommendations Committee.
 Students below this minimum or students whose petitions have been denied should seriously
consider not applying to professional programs this cycle; instead, the student should
strengthen his/her application by retaking classes and applying the following year.
 All petitioning students must have completed General Biology, General Chemistry, Organic
Chemistry and General Physics before submitting their petition. If you plan to take any of
these prerequisites during the summer, your request cannot be reviewed until Fall Quarter.
 It is recommended that all GPA variance petitions be submitted for committee consideration
on or before March 14, 2014. Although all petitions are expected to be reviewed during
Spring quarter, they must be approved by May 2, 2014 to allow enough time for you to
present a completed packet to the committee. This requires that GPA Variance Petitions are
submitted timely to avoid delays in the application process, as Recommendation Packets
cannot be accepted until petitions are approved by the Committee.
 Students who submit their petitions later than March 14, run the risk of not having their
petitions reviewed and approved during Spring Quarter.
 Please do not ask to submit documents early or to have letters of recommendation sent to
the Pre-Health Office until you receive confirmation that the petition has been accepted.
Petition Documents
 GPA Variance Petitions will not be reviewed until all petition requirements are met and all
documents have been submitted, regardless of the date of payment or receipt by the PreHealth Professions Office.
 Petitioning students must submit:
o Variance Petition form
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o A recent photograph. (Note: the picture requested is in addition to the picture that you will
submit with your application.)
o A copy of transcript(s)
o A printout of the calculated BCPM: You must include each course you have taken including
repeated courses.
o An explanation for current GPA and/or BCPM and an explanation for why recent success
should be considered over previous academic challenges.
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Petition Approval Process
The Recommendations Committee must approve any variance to these minimum
requirements before your Recommendation Packet can be accepted.
The student must wait until he/she has received approval from the PPRC before submitting
any documents for the Recommendation Packet, including letters of recommendation. Please
do not ask to turn in documents before the petition is approved.
If the variance petition is denied, the student has the option of applying directly to the
professional school(s) without the assistance of the committee, or by completing the
minimum requirements of the committee.
There is no appeal process. Students will not be able to submit a new policy variance petition
until the committee requirements have been met or exceeded.
On a limited basis, the Pre-Health Professions Office may send out letters of recommendation
received by our office prior to the decision being made for students whose petitions were
denied.
Note: The Pre-Health Professions Office is not a clearing house for individual letters of
recommendation. Individual recommendation letters may not be released to a school without a
committee letter. A student may choose not to go through the committee, but letters received
on the student’s behalf may not be sent without a committee letter. All letters received are the
property of La Sierra University and may not be released to the student or forwarded to any
other institution.
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LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
Professional schools prefer a comprehensive view of the student. They want students who are
not only academically qualified, but well-rounded and able to handle the rigors of a
professional program. This means that they also look for attributes such as commitment to
service, passion for the profession which may be demonstrated by shadowing, and leadership
experience. It is very important that students request letters from people who will attest to
their ability to make a strong health professional.
Pre-Health Professions will not accept letters of recommendation written by relatives or letters
that are hand delivered by the applicant, even if they are sealed. Should a letter writer fail to
sign the letter, the applicant may be contacted to ask the letter writer to resubmit an
acceptable (signed) letter. All letters of recommendation should be written on official
letterhead.
You should allow a minimum of two weeks to a month for your recommenders to write a letter
of recommendation on your behalf. Many of your recommenders are faculty members with
various responsibilities, including teaching, research, committees, etc. Therefore, please
contact prospective recommenders well in advance of your preferred deadline. Write your
preferred deadline on the Recommendation Letter Request Form that you give to the
recommender. It is the responsibility of the applicant to request letters of recommendation.
The Pre-Health office may send out a reminder, but we will not be able to remind the
recommenders on a weekly basis.
Letters written by faculty members are of particular importance to your file and health
professional schools. A detailed letter can be of enormous assistance to a student. The point of
writing a letter is to “assess the student intellectually and personally as a potential contributor”
to health professions. If you ask a faculty member to write a letter for you and you do not know
the faculty person well, you should make an appointment to talk with him or her, and provide
your personal statement and resume. Remind your recommenders that the Recommendation
Letter Request Form must accompany the letter of recommendation and both must be signed.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF DEADLINES
The due date of March 14, 2014 is a priority deadline. This means that all completed packets
submitted on or before this date will be reviewed by the Recommendations committee during
Spring Quarter 2014. Completed applications are usually processed in the order they are
received, and the Recommendations Committee will only interview students with a completed
file. Students who are applying to professional schools with admission deadlines in October are
strongly encouraged to meet the March 14 deadline. Pre-Veterinary students utilizing the
Recommendations Committee must submit the packet by the March 14 deadline.
Pre-Health Professions cannot guarantee that a student’s file will be reviewed during Spring
Quarter if the completed packet is submitted after the priority deadline, or if packets submitted
by the priority deadline are incomplete. It is important that recommenders are aware of the
deadline you are attempting to meet.
Completed packets submitted after March 14, 2014 which are not reviewed in Spring Quarter,
will be reviewed starting the second week of Fall Quarter 2014. The Recommendations
Committee does not meet during the summer months, therefore, no Recommendation Packets
will be reviewed or committee letters written between the last day of Spring Quarter and the
beginning of Fall Quarter. If you have an early deadline (e.g. October 2014) you will need to be
proactive and complete your packet by the priority deadline. Pre-Health Professions will not be
held responsible for missing any deadlines that you may have.
For students applying to University of California (UC) schools:
All students applying to UC schools should complete and submit their packets by the priority
deadline of March 14, 2014 so that the packet may be reviewed by the PPRC before October
2014. If your packet is not reviewed during Spring Quarter, the committee letter and individual
letters of recommendation may not be received by the UC admissions office on or before the
early October deadline.
Reminder: The Recommendations Committee does not meet during the summer months.
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FEE SCHEDULE
Deadlines:
Application Fee:
Late Fees:
Total Due:
Friday, March 14
1 School:
2-8 Schools:
Over 8 Schools:
1 School:
2-8 Schools:
Over 8 Schools:
$100.00
None
$100.00
$120.00
$130.00
$120.00
$140.00
$150.00
$100.00
Monday, March 17
May 1 (Pre-Veterinary Students*)
$100.00
$120.00
$130.00
$100.00
$120.00
$130.00
$20.00
None
Monday, June 16
(First day of Summer Quarter)
1 School:
$100.00
$40.00
$140.00
2-8 Schools:
$120.00
$160.00
Over 8 Schools: $130.00
$170.00
August 31, 2014
1 School:
$100.00
$50.00
$150.00
2-8 Schools:
$120.00
$170.00
Over 8 Schools: $130.00
$180.00
Friday, September 28
1 School:
$200.00
$200. 00
Absolute Deadline
2-8 Schools:
$200.00
$200. 00
(Last day before beginning of Fall Over 8 Schools: $200.00
$200. 00
Quarter)
*This is the latest that a pre-veterinary student should apply to the Recommendations Committee in
order to meet the deadline of veterinary schools.
Note:
Once the packet has been submitted and the info has been sent to the application service, a
surcharge of $15.00 per occurrence (not per school) will be imposed for additional school
designations.
International School fees (Includes Canada, the Caribbean, and any school located outside of
the contiguous United States): A processing fee of $25.00 per school will be added to the
Recommendation Packet processing fee.
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RELEASING INFORMATION TO YOUR PRE-HEALTH ADVISOR
A. Release of test Scores: When registering for the MCAT, DAT, PCAT etc., please release
your scores to your pre-health professions advisor (i.e., our office). This is strongly
recommended for all La Sierra University students applying to professional programs, whether
or not they choose to use the services of the Recommendations Committee. The University
requires the Pre-Health Professions office to maintain statistics of student performance on
standardized tests. Additionally, Pre-Health Professions must be able to verify test scores
submitted to the Recommendations Committee. Online data collection and verification are
facilitated by applicants releasing their scores to the pre-health advisor.
Where do you locate the pre-health advisor authorization? Look for the following statements
contained within text boxes. These quotations come directly from the appropriate application
service.
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AMCAS
Advisor Release *
Do you authorize AMCAS to release your application information to the school-designated advisor(s) at
this institution? The school-designated advisor(s) have met AMCAS-established requirements and are
bound by confidentially. Information transferred includes your personal/demographic information,
MCAT scores, GPAs, the names and types of your recommenders, the names of any other schools you
have attended, the medical schools to which you have applied and what action those schools have
taken, and the status of your application with AMCAS.
Yes No
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TMDSAS:
Would you like to release your information to the health professions advisor at any school(s)?*
Checking 'Yes' permits your advisor to view information about the status of your application. Your
TMDSAS application will be processed regardless of how you answer the question. TMDSAS strongly
encourages you to give permission to release selected information about the status of your application
to your health professions advisor. Having this information helps your advisor provide services to you
and informs the advisor about the success of students from your college/university in being admitted
into medical/dental/vet schools. However, your application will not be adversely impacted if you do not
agree to have your information released to your health professions advisor.
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AADSAS:
The release statement on ADEA AADSAS is a required question. As there is no default answer, applicants
must select ‘I give permission’ or ‘I do not give permission’ in order to submit their application. This
question is located at the end of the application along with the other release statement. Applicants
cannot change their response after the application is submitted.
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AAVMC:
The Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) provides applications with a single page of
the application (separated from the rest) regarding Advisor Release (See Below). The options of “yes” or
“no” are not defaulted which puts the decisions entirely into the applicants hands to choose if they wish
to grant permission or not.
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PharmCAS:
Check the box if you give PharmCAS permission to release selected information regarding your
pharmacy admission status to the chief health professions advisor and the health professions advisory
committee of the post-secondary institution (s) that you have attended. By releasing your information,
your advisor is better able to assist you in the pharmacy admission process, as well as better guide other
students in the future. You cannot make changes to this item after you submit your application to
PharmCAS.
B. Release of application: When applying to professional schools, students should release
their application to the LA SIERRA UNIVERSITY pre-health advisor. The University requires our
office to maintain statistics on student applications: e.g. how many students apply, which
schools they apply to, acceptance status, etc.
C. Acceptance into a professional program: As a part of the recommendation process,
you are required to let us know when you are accepted into a professional program. The data
collected about student matriculation rates are for assessment purposes only and is a mandate
of the University. The data collected is strictly confidential.
Confidentiality Statement
All of the information you provide to the Recommendations Committee will be reviewed by the
PPRC for the purpose of committee interviews or for statistical purposes only. It is not shared
with a third party. Confidentiality is maintained even after the student has graduated from La
Sierra University.
IMPORTANT: This is not an application to professional school. Our office does not apply to
any professional program on behalf of the student.
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AN OVERVIEW OF THE RECOMMENDATION PACKET
FORM A: DEMOGRAPHICS
Purpose: This form provides important background information on the student.
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Full legal name, ID and Gender
o If there is another name that is recognized on or off campus, please put that name in
parenthesis.
Pre-Health program
Photograph: We need a small photo for identification. It does not have to be a professional
portrait. However, we would like for it to be a clear, color photo with you directly facing the
camera.
Enter your overall GPA, your transfer GPA and your Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math
(BCPM) GPA.
o To arrive at this GPA, you must “Google” gpa calculator. Pick the calculator of your
choosing and enter all of your grades with these prefixes: BIOL, CHEM, PHYS, and MATH.
Enter each time the course was taken. Include labs. Submit the printout.
Application Number: This number is assigned to you by the professional program application
service (Example: AADSAS, AMCAS, PharmCAS etc.). Most of the application services “open”
in June, so you will not have your application number until then. Also, the “opening” of the
application service refers to the date when you may begin your application. It does not refer
to the date when the application will be sent to each professional school. Please provide us
with this number as soon as you receive it. Additionally, we must have this application
number before we can submit any letters on your behalf.
o Where do you find it?
PRE-MEDICINE STUDENTS: You must provide the AAMC ID and the Letter ID.
AMCAS Application:
In Section Six: Letters of Evaluation/ Recommendation, please choose the following:
o Type of Letter: Committee Letter: Letter authored by our pre-health Recommendations
Committee.
o Creating Letter Entries:
 Choose Committee Letter
 Primary author/ contact information: Ms. Cynthia Douglas;
[email protected]
 Cynthia Douglas is the contact person not the author of the letters.
 Affiliation: La Sierra University, Address: 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, CA
92515, Phone Number: 951.785.2490.
 Print the Letter Request Form: This form provides the AAMC and the Letter ID.
Bring this form to the office or email it as an attachment.
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PRE-DENTISTRY STUDENTS: AADSAS provides the application number in the email sent to the
pre-health advisor.
ADEA AADSAS Application:
In the "Evaluators" Section: the applicant indicates:
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Individual to provide letter: Cynthia Douglas
o Cynthia Douglas is the contact person not the author of the letters.
Format to use: Electronic; LOE : Committee Letter
Email address: [email protected]
PRE-PHARMACY STUDENTS: Log into your application and print the PharmCAS Evaluation
Form. Sign the form and submit it to Pre-Health Professions. Your letters of evaluation cannot
be sent without this form.
PRE-VETERINARY MEDICINE STUDENTS: Download the paper evaluation form and submit it to
the pre-health profession office.
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VMCAS requires that the applicant contact them prior to registering an evaluation as
“OTHER”. When choosing other:
 Evaluator’s Title, First and Last Name: Dr. Krista Motschiedler
 Occupation: Lecturer II
 Institution, etc.: La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, CA
92515
Address (please provide your current address)
Cell phone number (verify that the number is written correctly)
Email (provide an email address that you check frequently)
Marital status (optional)
Undergraduate major: Please enter your major here. If you have already finished college, put
the major that you studied in college. (“Pre-Medicine” is not a major.)
Previous school: This refers to the school that you attended before you attended La Sierra
University
Degree Received: Post-bacc students will list their undergraduate degree here.
Pastor’s Name: Loma Linda University (LLU) is especially interested in persons who can follow
the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Therefore, please provide the name of your
spiritual leader.
Religious affiliation: Enter the religious group with which you most closely identify.
FORM B: PERSONAL STATEMENT and COMMITTEE-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
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The personal statement submitted to the Recommendations Committee does not have to be the
same personal statement that you submit with your professional school application. However,
please make sure that the document you submit to the Committee is well-thought out and wellwritten.
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As a separate document, provide the answers to the four (4) committee-specific questions.
Put your name and LA SIERRA UNIVERSITY ID number on the top left side of each page.
FORM C: RESUMÉ
Students are encouraged to review several online resumes if they need further examples. Cater
your resume to the pre-health application process. Below are broad categories that students
should consider when compiling their resume:
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Involvement in discipline-specific campus clubs, specifically pre-med/pre-dent/prepharmacy, etc. societies. This shows passion for your chosen discipline.
Any University organization, student government (SALSU, et.), athletics, etc.
Employment and other related activities such as internships and clinical extenderships.
o Include a brief description of your experience.
Volunteer and shadowing experiences
o You must include supervisor, facility and information learned.
Research
o Include details of your research (when, where, what and with whom), as well as if
you presented a poster, published a paper, gave a seminar/oral presentation, etc.
Awards received
Other: You may add additional experiences to your resume that you would like the
Committee to take note of, which do not fall neatly into the other categories listed above or
on Form C of the Recommendation Packet.
One sample type provided. You may have another that is better suited to your experiences.
FORM D: COURSEWORK
These are the major science courses required by most medical, dental and pharmacy schools. If you
have not taken biochemistry, you may skip that item. However, if you have not completed Organic
Chemistry, do not turn in any portion of the packet as it will not be processed.
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Provide unofficial simplified transcripts from La Sierra University and all other universities you
have attended. Print this from SELF-SERVICE.
Calculate your Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math (BCPM) GPA. To calculate BCPM, do a Google
search of “calculate GPA”, and make a selection. You must include all retakes of science
courses in the calculations.
Submit a copy of the printout.
Transfer GPA. This information is displayed on your La Sierra University unofficial transcript if
you are a transfer student or if you have taken courses at another university during the
summer. It is useful especially for students who may have increased their GPA significantly
since coming to La Sierra University.
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Indicate each required course (and repeat) you have taken, the grade received (each time), and
the professor (if LA SIERRA UNIVERSITY).
You may include other upper division courses that you have taken and would like the
committee to note. You may want to include courses in which you received an “A”.
FORM E: PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS
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Please list the names, addresses and deadlines for each school. If one (or more) of your schools
has a deadline during October, it is in your best interest to come through the committee during
spring quarter. The Recommendations Committee does not meet during the summer.
The applicant should apply to more than one professional school. Please use available
resources to know the GPA requirements for the school(s) to which you will apply.
FORM F: RECOMMENDATION REFERENCE LIST
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Take time to get to know your professors. Hopefully, this was accomplished before this time.
Request a minimum of 5 letters of recommendation. It is important to choose your
recommenders carefully. If you “absolutely love” a professor but received a C+ or lower in the
class, then forgo that professor.
FORM G: ELIGIBILITY DECLARATION
Purpose: This form helps the applicant determine if they meet the eligibility requirements of
the Recommendations Committee.
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If eligibility requirements are unmet, the student may petition the Recommendations
Committee.
A formal variance petition must be submitted. Please carefully follow the instructions for
petitioning the Committee, as applicant errors may delay the processing of the petition.
FORM H: CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT
This gives the student the option of having an “open” or “closed” file. Every applicant to the
Recommendations Committee is required to read and sign the Confidentiality Statement (Form
H) and the FERPA Student Release Form (Form I). It is essential that students understand their
rights and the consequences of waiving and/or retaining their rights. Each form explains a
student’s right to access to information contained in the pre-health file. Some students find it
difficult to decide whether or not to keep an open or confidential file with the
Recommendations Committee. The following excerpt from Planning a Life in Medicine by The
Princeton Review may help with this decision, and applies to all disciplines—not just medicine:
“YOUR FILE AT THE PREMED OFFICE--CONFIDENTIAL OR OPEN?
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Before you begin soliciting letters of recommendation, you will need to set up a file
at the Premedical Student Office. (At La Sierra University, this is Pre-Health
Professions.) Professors and others will send their letters to the premedical office on
your behalf, where they will be kept until it is time to forward them to medical
schools.
When you start your file at the premed office, you will have the option of creating a
confidential or an open file. If you choose an open file, you will be able to review
the letters of recommendation that are written about you. If you choose a
confidential file, you will not be able to see what the file contains.
Unless you have extremely compelling reasons to do otherwise, you should always
choose a confidential file. Medical schools want to feel like the letters of
recommendation are unedited, third-party evaluations of your strengths and
weaknesses. If you have an open file, this third-party assurance disappears. With an
open file, medical schools know that you looked through your recommendations
and sent only those that are favorable. No medical school that we know of will
consider you a serious candidate if you have read your recommendations before you
sent them”. (Smart, Nelson and Doherty pp. 166-167)
From: John Smart, Stephen Nelson and Julie Doherty. Planning a Life in Medicine.
New York, NY: Random House, 2005. Print.
FORM I: FERPA STUDENT RELEASE
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This gives the Recommendations Committee permission to send the letters of recommendation
to the educational programs of your choice.
FORM J: ACADEMIC INCIDENT RELEASE
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This allows access to your Academic Integrity files.
FORM K: CITIZENSHIP REPORT
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This allows access to your citizenship report. Have you been a model student while living in the
residence halls?
FORM L: ADMISSION TEST SCORES
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Submit a copy of your MCAT, DAT, etc., scores to the Pre-Health Professions office. This includes
admission tests taken prior to the cycle for which the applicant is applying. e.g. A student who
took first took the MCAT in 2012, then again in 2013, must include these scores along with the
scores for 2014.
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Standardized test scores may not be available for students coming through the Recommendations
Committee during Spring Quarter. Therefore, for students applying in Spring Quarter, you are
permitted to interview with the Recommendations Committee before you take your admission
test, and/or before you receive your official scores. However, you are required to submit a copy of
your scores to the Pre-Health Professions Office when they become available.
FORM M: RECOMMENDATION LETTER REQUEST
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The applicant must request five letters of recommendation from persons who know him/her
well. No relatives please. Relatives include parents, spouses, siblings, aunts/uncles, cousins,
etc.
Please make copies of this form and give directly to your recommender. You must sign and date
each form.
Your recommender must sign and date the Recommendation Letter Request form, then submit
the form and the recommendation letter directly to the Pre-Health Professions office. We will
not accept letters that are hand-delivered by the student applicant. Please remind the
recommender that all letters of recommendation should be written on official letterhead (if
applicable) and signed.