Asking for recommendation letters for medical school doesn’t have to be intimidating. Read on to learn how to ask for a recommendation letter!
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Why Letters of Recommendation for Medical School Are So Important
Medical school letters of recommendation are an important component of your med school application because they provide admissions committees with a third-party validation of your character, soft-skills, and suitability for the medical profession.
While metrics like GPA and MCAT scores offer insight into your academic capabilities, a professional endorsement can go a step further in vouching for your potential as a future physician. Whether you’re a U.S premed or an international applicant, obtaining strong letters of recommendation is a vital step in the medical school application process.
Here’s why:
Impact: A strong letter can elevate a lackluster application. A detailed letter full of reputable praise that emphasizes confidence in your skillset will validate your dedication to medicine and help balance mediocre (or average) test scores or GPA. Comparatively, a generic or negative letter can raise red flags regardless of high test scores and medical school prerequisites on your application.
Expert Insight: Admissions committees use these to assess "soft skills" like empathy, leadership, and resilience that exams cannot measure.
You may wish to consider support from a med school admissions advisor, especially if you feel uncertain or overwhelmed by the (notoriously gruelling) application process. Your advisor will guide you through each stage of your application, including securing the best letters of recommendation.
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What Makes a Letter of Recommendation Strong for the Admissions Committee?
A strong medical school letter of recommendation highlights qualities that move beyond simple academic praise to provide a full view of your professional potential. This may include:
Specific Anecdotes: Rather than generic adjectives like "hardworking,’ your writer should provide detailed examples of times you demonstrated leadership, critical thinking, or empathy.
Depth of Relationship: Admissions committees prioritize letters from writers who have known you long enough to provide a meaningful, direct assessment of your character and work ethic.
Comparative Evaluation: When the writer provides context by comparing you to other students they have taught or mentored, such as stating you are in the "top 5% of students" they have encountered, the letter significantly strengthens your application.
Alignment with Core Competencies: The most impactful letters directly address core competencies like reliability, service orientation, and social skills.
Personalized Insight: Instead of restating points on your resume, a strong letter offers new insights into your personality and motivations that aren't visible elsewhere in your application.
Dr. Parth Patel, a resident at Johns Hopkins Bayview, has emphasized that committees prioritize personal attributes over just test scores. Dr. Patel shared that, “evaluators look for specific behaviors and qualities" that demonstrate a candidate’s potential to thrive as a medical student and a future physician.” You can hear more from Dr. Patel in this webinar:
The recommender must provide an accurate assessment of the applicant’s suitability for medical school rather than advocate for them.
The recommender must mention their relationship to the applicant, how long they’ve known them, what capacity they’ve interacted with, and if the recommender's observations of the applicant are direct or indirect.
Focus on the applicant rather than the details of the lab, course, assignment, job, or institution.
Recommenders should only include information on grades, GPA, or MCAT scores.
Recommenders should directly focus on behaviors they’ve observed when describing an applicant’s suitability for medical school.
Request the applicant's consent before including any details deemed private or sensitive.
Include distinctive contributions that an applicant could make to an incoming class, such as: The applicant has successfully navigated challenges, detailing how these obstacles resulted in valuable learning experiences and personal growth. And/Or: Contributions that the applicant would bring to the diversity of a medical school encompassing various aspects like background, attributes, and experiences.
Admissions committees appreciate the inclusion of comparative information, but it's crucial to offer context. This should involve details about the comparison group (such as students in a class you taught, or colleagues in your department). Additionally, providing your rationale behind the chosen comparison will provide a clear justification.
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How to Choose the Right Recommenders for Your Medical School Application
Your medical school application needs 3 to 5 voices that can speak to your strengths, which is where the letter of recommendation comes into play. You should only choose writers who have seen you in action—whether you're tackling complex research or interacting with patients in a clinical setting—to give committees an all-encompassing look at your candidacy.
Here are some people you may consider asking:
Acquire Two Letters From Core Science Faculty Members
Most MD programs require at least two letters of recommendation from faculty who taught you in core science courses such as biology, chemistry, physics, or math.
These writers must be able to speak specifically to your intellectual curiosity.
They should vouch for your ability to master rigorous, high-level scientific material.
Ideally, choose professors from classes where you participated actively or attended office hours.
Request One Letter From Non-Science Faculty
Don’t let your application start and end with science; medical schools look for well-rounded students who understand that medicine is about people, not just data.
Including a letter from a humanities or social sciences professor demonstrates that you have the communication skills to explain complex ideas clearly to your future patients.
A non-science perspective highlights the empathy and critical thinking you need to thrive in a high-pressure clinical environment.
These letters round out your profile by showing admissions committees that you possess the social awareness and emotional intelligence vital for a medical career.
Ideally, Acquire One or Two Letters From Physicians and Clinical Mentors (Especially MDs You Have Interacted With in a Clinical Environment)
If you have spent time shadowing or working in a clinical environment, a letter from a practicing physician is invaluable.
A letter from a clinical recommender provides them with the opportunity to vouch for your ability to listen to patient concerns, work under pressure, translate complex terminology, and/or provide compassionate care in real-world medical settings.
These mentors can explain how you handle the daily realities and stresses of patient care.
Their endorsement confirms you have a realistic understanding of the medical profession.
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How to Request a Letter of Recommendation for Med School
Approach your carefully selected writers early to ensure they have enough time to paint a vivid picture of your soft skills and dedication to medicine. Here are the steps you can take to formally request a letter of recommendation for medical school:
Want a rundown on how to ask for a letter of recommendation? Watch this:
Start Considering Recommenders In Your Freshman or Sophomore Year of College
Successful applicants treat letter collection as a multi-year relationship-building process rather than a last-minute administrative task. While you may not be asking them for their recommendation for some time, identifying potential mentors during your first and second years means you’ll have several people in mind by the time you apply to med school
By attending office hours and engaging deeply in your core science and humanities courses in your first two years of school, you’ll form connections and have the opportunity to showcase your academic abilities, determination, and personal qualities. By the fall of your junior year, you should formalize your plan and list of mentors/professors—you can never form too many connections—it’s always a good idea to keep ‘backup’ writers in mind, too.
Formally Request A Letter of Recommendation At Least Four Months Before Your Submit Your Application
Reach out to your selected writers at least four months before you submit your application to give them ample time to craft a detailed and personalized narrative. You can do this by sending a polite email or meeting in person; be sure to express gratitude and clearly outline the purpose of the recommendation.
Review the Letter of Recommendation Process and Assist Your Writers
As you’re making final decisions regarding who you will ask to be your writer, you should also take time to review each institution's guidelines on the number and preferred sources of letters and submission procedures. This can help make the process seamless for you and your mentors.
Give Your Letter of Recommendation Writers Essential Documents to Simplify the Process
Once your chosen writers respond to you, you can make their experience easier by providing essential resources, or a ‘recommender packet,’ that contains the following:
A simplified summary of the submissions process, including a breakdown of the technical requirements for theAMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS portals.
A list of your target schools (and their specific deadlines); you may also wish to include a due date or date range for your writer.
A “cheat sheet” with a brief overview of your core competencies to highlight specific moments where you demonstrated qualities (such as leadership or resilience) under your mentor’s supervision.
Providing the above information in a ‘recommender packet’ means that your mentor/writer will spend less time on logistics and more time focusing on writing an exceptional letter.
During this process, don’t hesitate to send polite reminders about deadlines to help everyone stay on the same page. For instance, you may wish to send an email to your writers one week before your established ‘deadline.’ This acts as a gentle nudge, which can be helpful for busy professors and supervisors.
Additionally, keep in mind that you may be asked to write your own letter of recommendation to save your recommender's time and provide more information, though this isn’t common practice.
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How Many Letters of Recommendation Should You Submit?
Most medical schools require applicants to submit 3-5 letters of recommendation. In a Letter of Recommendation Webinar, Giovanni Perottino, MD candidate at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, suggests that “applicants ensure they do not exceed the school’s maximum, as this can [negatively] affect their application. If no maximum is listed, additional letters can be submitted, and applicants can then aim for 6 letters.”
Here are some tips to remember:
Aim for a diverse collection of five (or even six) letters to ensure you cover every competency and avoid redundant information.
Check the specific requirements for each application service, as systems like AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS have different maximum submission limits.
Prioritize quality over quantity by only including additional letters if they provide a unique perspective on your character or professional readiness that hasn't been mentioned elsewhere.
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Letters of Recommendation: When to Ask?
The medical school application timeline is strict, so you should ask your recommenders to write you a letter 3-4 months before it’s due — ideally, mid-March or early-April. Letters of recommendation for medical school are typically due in July, coinciding with the submission of your secondary applications. However, the timing of your request is just as important as the deadline itself to ensure you secure a high-quality endorsement.
When Are Letters of Recommendation Due for Medical School?
Letters of recommendation are due around July for medical school, along with your secondary application submission. Medical schools often delay reading recommendation letters until they receive all application materials.
To avoid last-minute panic, you should request that letters be submitted by the end of June to account for potential delays. While recommendation letters may not affect the decision to submit a secondary application, they play a crucial role in interview decisions. Timely submission ensures an organized and comprehensive application process.
Medical School Letters of Recommendation Samples
Here are a few samples of medical school letters of recommendation to help give you an idea of what they should look like.
Example #1
“Letterhead
Name of writer and contact information if not included in letterhead
Date
Dear Admissions Committee,
As the head of Biology at Penn State University, I do not often take the time to write these letters of recommendation. However, when Stacey Lee petitioned me to write this letter on her behalf, I could not refuse. During the past 3 years, I have had the joy of having Stacey in my Introductory Physiology and Physiology Laboratory courses. After noticing her superior analysis skills, I also took her on as a paid assistant to edit freshman papers, a responsibility which she has delivered on in a very professional way.
Sign off”
Why this works: In this instance, the professor shares their role as the head of the biology department, outlines the duration of their interaction with the student, specifies the classes in which they instructed the student, and highlights the student's assistance in grading papers.
Example #2
“Letterhead
Name of writer and contact information if not included in letterhead
Date
Dear admission committee members,
It's my pleasure to write this recommendation for Jessica Reedy for your medical school program. I first met Jessica when she took my medical microbiology class in the fall of 2019. This was one of my large lecture classes where I often had limited interactions with students on a personal level, but Jessica regularly met with me during my office hours to discuss the possibility of pursuing a career as a doctor.
Jessica is a very hardworking, attentive individual, which helped her exceed in my class. She continually asked thoughtful questions during my lectures to ensure she understood challenging concepts. When working on lab assignments, she paid careful attention to the directions so she could complete the task correctly.
Jessica also impressed me with her friendliness and willingness to help others succeed. She frequently volunteered to help tutor freshmen students struggling to comprehend their coursework. Many of my colleagues mentioned having their students improve tremendously after working with Jessica.
I wholeheartedly recommend Jessica Reedy for your medical school program. Please let me know if you would like to discuss Jessica's character further or if there is anything else I can add.
Sign off”
Why this works: This sample mentions the recommender's relationship to the applicant while describing their traits, such as being a hardworking and attentive student. The recommender also mentions that the applicant had participated in volunteer work to help freshman students with their classwork which showcases the applicant’s dedication to helping others.
Example #3
This next examples discusses social competence and leadership skills:
“Dear Program Director,
It is my pleasure to write in support of the application of Mr. Ian Harris for your residency program. I have been an educator for decades with considerable experience with national organizations. I worked closely with Mr. Harris during his third year clerkship as well as during his acting internship. As is evident from his CV, Mr. Harris has excelled throughout his career with many notable accomplishments which I will not repeat here. I will focus on my experiences with Mr. Harris, primarily those related to his clinical abilities and which demonstrate the qualities necessary for your residency: excellent knowledge, clinical skills, patient care, and leadership. I have observed Mr. Harris in both the inpatient and outpatient setting, taught him in class, and overseen his performance during his clerkship and acting internship.
In addition to considerable intellect and exemplary performances on standardized examinations, Mr. Harris is a warm, engaging individual who teaches others by example, is inclusive, and consistently exhibits curiosity and motivation to learn. He comes prepared for all types of learning situations, having researched the relevant topics so that he can provide quality care as well as participate actively in class and clinical supervision. Mr. Harris is articulate, well‐read, and able to utilize his knowledge effectively in the clinical setting.
In addition to prioritizing his own learning, Mr. Harris considers the needs of others. On multiple occasions, he has arrived in clinic with handouts on relevant clinical topics tailored for the rest of the medical team. He has been described as one of the best students to rotate on our service by our residents and several attending physicians. A colleague was so impressed by Mr. Harris’ knowledge and skills that she invited him to give a presentation during Grand Rounds. His presentation was outstanding – comprehensive in scope yet presented efficiently and effectively. On his own time, Mr. Harris designed a well‐conceived, thorough study protocol on risk factors for readmission within 30 days to our inpatient service.
In conclusion, I am happy to give Mr. Harris my highest recommendation for your residency program. In my experience, he is in the top 10% of all medical students with whom I have worked over the past 20 years. If you have any additional questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Joseph Attending, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine”
As you can see, the subject was able to succeed in settings with others, which the letter clearly expresses. This social skills are invaluable in a clinical setting and make the subject a much more appealing medical candidate.
It is my pleasure to write this letter in strong support of the application of Ms. Rory Panther for your residency program. I have been clinical faculty with Florida International University since its inception and have worked with family medicine students in the clinical setting for the last 8 years. Overall, I have taught and worked with medical students in the clinic setting for the past 20 years. I worked personally with Ms. Panther over the course of the 8 week rotation in a family medicine clinic. In this capacity, I was able to closely observe and assess her clinical skills.
Ms. Panther was always prepared for each day’s census, reading about every patient’s history, labs, and diagnoses. An example of the level of her preparation was seen in her recommendation that we follow up on sleep issues documented by the therapist in the EMR, indicating Ms. Panther’s thorough knowledge of the patient, including notes by other providers. Another example is that she correctly interpreted abnormal thyroid function studies, and made appropriate treatment recommendations (including strength of medication) and follow up lab recommendations.
Ms. Panther demonstrated her clinical curiosity by asking and answering a clinical question using evidence-based resources. Specifically, she saw a patient with symptoms of a urinary tract infection, but with a clean urine dipstick and looked up the sensitivity and specificity of the urine dip in the face of a strong pretest probability and then seeing that the clean urine dipstick did not negate the history, Ms. Panther looked up the appropriate treatment, including dose and frequency. For a patient with testicular pain, she came up with at least five differential diagnoses, including important “can’t miss” diagnoses.
Ms. Panther also demonstrated strong teaching skills in working with a first year medical student coming to the clinic to learn how to obtain a history from a patient. Ms. Panther went over the patient they were going to see and asked the first year student if she was worried about any part of the history. After interviewing the patient, Ms. Panther gave feedback to the first year student, accurately noting that her body language supported the interview and that transitions might help the interview to flow more smoothly.
Ms. Panther is an exceptional learner who excels in having the abilities to communicate with the patient, to be proactive in the work of the clinic, and the clinical acumen required of an outstanding family physician. She was able to establish excellent rapport with patients of any culture or socioeconomic background including patients below the poverty threshold as well as financially secure and from various countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Pakistan, and Russia. One patient commented that “she asked about everything I was worried about” and was “so kind” in the interview. Ms. Panther cares genuinely for the well-being of patients she cared for.
The nurse also noted Ms. Panther’s clinical skills and team work, specifically that Ms. Panther took advantage of every opportunity to learn, learning to perform blood draws and vaccines with good technique. The nurse also commented that Ms. Panther contributed to completing the work of the clinic, bringing in patients and doing vitals when needed.
Ms. Panther will be an asset to the residency of her choice and will be a hard-working, dedicated housestaff. I am hopeful that she ranks our family medicine residency program top on her rank list. She is in the top 10% of students with whom I have worked over the past 20 years and upon completion of her training she is someone I would trust with the care of my loved ones as patients. If our university had an [name of residency program], Ms. Panther would be an excellent fit in our program. I recommend her without reservation.
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to call or email. Ms. Panther has waived her right to view this recommendation.
Sincerely,
Name of Attending (signed by hand)”
Part of what makes this example so effective is the writer shares anecdotes that attest to the applicant’s competence and tenacity to succeed in a medical setting. Through the various examples, the applicant shows critical thinking and bedside manners that help her succeed as a clinician.
FAQ: Recommendation Letters For Medical School
We’ve outlined several questions and answers to help you understand how to ask for medical school letters of recommendation.
1. Can I Reuse Letters of Recommendation for Medical School?
In most cases, you can reuse a letter of recommendation; this is common among those reapplying to medical school. However, your letter should be no more than 1 year oldand should be edited to reflect your growth and experiences since the first version was written.
2. Do MD And DO Programs Expect Different Kinds Of Recommendation Letters?
While both MD and DO programs require letters that vouch for your academic and personal character, DO programs often specifically expect or strongly prefer a letter from an osteopathic physician to demonstrate your understanding of osteopathic philosophy. DO programs may have more flexible requirements regarding the specific academic source of the letter, as long as the candidate's clinical potential is clear.
3. What Should I Do If A Recommender Declines Or Submits A Weak/Late Letter?
This is why it is crucial to make a shortlist (even mentally) of writers early on — if a recommender declines your request or submits a letter late, you should immediately pivot to a backup writer to ensure your application remains on track for the June submission target. If you suspect a writer might provide a weak letter, it is better to politely rescind the request and choose a different recommender who can provide a comprehensive and positive assessment of your qualifications.
4. How Many Backup Letters Should I Have Beyond The Minimum Required?
Generally, it’s best to have at least one backup letter beyond your 3-5 confirmed letters of recommendation. If one writer fails to submit their recommendation, you’ll mitigate significant stress and last-minute scrambling if you already have a ‘backup’ on hand.
5. Should I Ever Submit More Letters Than A School’s Maximum?
No, you should stick to the outlined range and refrain from submitting more (or fewer) letters than required.
6. Should I Waive FERPA Rights For Medical School Recommendation Letters?
You should almost always waive your FERPA rights to view your letters because it signals to admissions committees that the recommendation is honest, candid, and credible. If you do not waive your right, admissions officers may view the letter as less reliable, as the writer may have felt pressured to be overly positive.
7. What Letter Strategy Works Best For Non-Traditional Applicants With Full-Time Work Experience?
Non-traditional applicants should leverage their professional maturity by securing letters of recommendation from current or former supervisors attesting to their leadership, teamwork, and work ethic. While you still need to meet the core academic science letter requirements, these professional endorsements provide valuable evidence of your "real-world" readiness for medical school.
8. Is the Letter of Recommendation Process Different For Reapplicants?
As a reapplicant, you must demonstrate significant growth by updating your letters to reflect new clinical or academic milestones. You can start by asking previous writers to refresh their letters with a current date and details about your recent progress. And, to truly strengthen your second attempt, you should aim to secure at least one new letter from a mentor who can vouch for the work you’ve done during your bridge year.
9. How Can Career Changers Obtain Recommendation Letters?
Career changers should focus on building strong relationships with faculty during their post-baccalaureate or prerequisite science courses to satisfy academic requirements. Additionally, letters from previous managers, CEOs (if possible), supervisors, and business leaders are highly effective at demonstrating transferable skills like problem-solving and reliability, which are key medical school competencies.
10. How Can Gap Year Students Request Letters of Recommendation?
Students on a gap year should maintain contact with their undergraduate professors while simultaneously seeking new letters from gap-year clinical supervisors or research PIs. Securing letters from current gap-year activities demonstrates to admissions committees that you are continuing to grow professionally and staying engaged with the medical field.
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