Pre-Med Committee Recommendation
Every medical school wants recommendations about its applicants that give evaluations beyond what appears on transcripts or MCAT scores. Georgetown, like many schools, offers a Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Committee recommendation. You do not have to use the Committee recommendation to apply to medical or dental school, but if you don't you should be prepared to explain why since most medical schools' admissions offices know about the Committee and may wonder why you did not use its recommendation.
To qualify for a review from the Georgetown Pre-Med Recommendation Committee, a student must have completed all core pre-med coursework (one year each of major's-level Biology including BIOL 103, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics). All of these courses must be taken as real college coursework (except for Mathematics where one semester of AP credit may be used). Non-majors coursework, STIA, and NHS coursework is not included except for Human Biology I & II which NHS students may substitute for the year of Biology coursework. Summer school credit (Georgetown or elsewhere) may be used if a full-load (15 credits) is pursued during the academic year, especially if other objectives such as study abroad or double majoring are contemplated. At least 32 credits of major's-level math/science must be taken at Georgetown. Transfer students and PostBacc students are expected to take 30 credits in science/math at Georgetown even if they have completed some of the core pre-med coursework elsewhere.
The committee reviews applications in early July for students who have completed the requirements by the end of the spring term, and August for students who are finishing pre-reqs in the summer. Prior to the meeting, each member has examined the application materials of each of the students requesting a recommendation at that time. The Committee does not accept MCAT scores as part of the application. That is to ensure an evaluation independent of, and not influenced by, the MCAT and to allow students to choose MCAT exam dates based on their preparation and not on the Committee meeting dates.
After the Committee meets, the Deans prepare the recommendation letter and packet, which includes the committee recommendation letter and the four letters of reference which were submitted for the application. Electronic copies of the recommendation packet are posted for the student by the Pre-Health office.
The link for the application for a Pre-Med Committee review is:
https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=gtu-col
If you are seeking a committee recommendation you must submit your application through the online system.
More information on the Committee recommendation and AMCAS application process can be found in the "Applying to Medical School powerpoint" presentation on the FORMS page.
You will submit the following materials with your application for a committee recommendation: a one page personal essay; an activities and experiences resume; four letters of recommendation from Georgetown professors. Additionally, if you have have taken any of the pre-requisite science or math courses outside of Georgetown a transcript from the school where you took the courses must be submitted.
The links below are for materials that will be required for your application to the Pre-Med Committee. You will also find all the forms and instructions in the online application.
Recommendation Instructions for Post-Bacs
2012 Cover Letter For Letter Writers for August review - use this if you will be reviewed by the Committee in August.
You will enter the names and contact information of the recommendation writers in the online application and they will be notified by the application service about how to submit their letters.
We prefer electronic submissions through the ApplyYourself application site, but will also accept letters from professors by email to premed@georgetown.edu or campus mail to Pre-Health Studies, 108 White Gravenor, or by mail to Georgetown University, Pre-Health Studies, 108 White Gravenor, Washington, DC 20027.
You may give your letter writer a copy of the “2012 Cover Letter for Letter Writers” which has information about what best to cover in a letter for a student.
We prefer electronic submissions through the ApplyYourself application site, but we will also accept and hold letters for you and add them to your application once you have submitted it. Letters can be emailed to premed@georgetown.edu or campus mail to Pre-Health Studies, 108 White Gravenor, or by mail to Georgetown University, Pre-Health Studies, 108 White Gravenor, Washington, DC 20027.
Recommendation letter writers have a different deadline than you do. Letter writers have until the end of May to complete their letters.
We are happy to upload additional letters for you (but you should be sure the schools you apply to will accept additional letters and be mindful of their deadlines). Your letter writer will need to submit the letter to us via email or U.S. mail. You will need to provide the letter ID information and application ID information assigned by the application service, and let us know how you would like the letter distributed if applicable. If the school does not receive letters through AMCAS or VirtualEvals you will need to provide the submission details as well. You may give your letter writer the “Cover Letter for Letter Writers” which contains submission instructions.
The following are members of the Pre-Medical Recommendation Committee (January 2012):
• Dean Edward Meyertholen, Chair
• Dean Tad Howard
• Dr. Brent Wiesel, GU School of Medicine
• Professor Alan Angerio, NHS
• Professor David Yang, Chemistry (on sabbatical 2012)
• Professor Paul Roepe, Chemistry
• Professor Maddalena Tilli Shiffert, Biology
• Professor Fathali Moghaddam, Psychology
• Professor Vicki Pedrick, Classics (on sabbatical 2012)
Dates and Deadlines
