Yes, yes, yes….we all know you’re great.  You’re the best premedical student in the world.  You’ve won this award, that award, and they even created a new award just for you!  You’re just so awesome!  Well, at least that’s what you tell the medical schools.  Sure, you’re probably telling the truth, but the medical schools also want to hear it from someone else.

As a premedical student, it is of utmost importance that you understand and appreciate the significance of your rec letters.  The truth is, a LOT of premedical students are just as good as you.  They’ve won awards, they have great grades and test scores, many have done research and published, etc. etc.  So, when you have so many students who are great candidates based on their individual accomplishments, the next step is to ask people who know you whether or not they’ll be good doctors.  This is why your letters of recommendation are so important.  You have to make them count in your favor!  Here are 5 tips to accomplish that:

1. Care about people. This sounds obvious, but we’re going to say it anyways because it is the foundation of medicine.  If you truly care about people, it will be evident in your day to day interactions.  You’ll ask your professors how they are doing.  You’ll know if they have kids.  You’ll know why they chose their fields.  If you care about people, these are natural topics of discussion that arise early in a relationship.  Remember, your professors are human too and want to be treated that way.
2. Keep in Touch. Often, the best letters of recommendation come from professors who have known you for some years.  You may have taken an entry level chemistry course your first semester in college and performed very well.  If you kept in touch with that professor and let him or her know how things were progressing for you on your premedical journey, you’ll get a better rec letter than the student who got your same grade, but didn’t stay in touch.  This again goes back to caring about people and building a relationship.  Keep in mind, most of what doctors do revolves around relationships with patients and colleagues.  You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you don’t know how to relate to people, it’ll mean nothing.
3. Ask For Your Letter Early. A horrible mistake that many premedical students make is that they wait too long to ask their letter writers for a recommendation.  This is bad on multiple levels.  First, it puts you towards the back of the line.  This means that by the time your professor (or whoever it is writing you the letter) gets to your name on their list, he or she may already have letter writer’s fatigue (writing rec letters isn’t the most fun thing to do).  Second, it might suggest to them that you didn’t have your act together.  Whys is it that other students have already asked, but you’re just now requesting your this?  So, when should you ask for the letter?  6 months advance!  This will put you in front of the line, and also allows you to space out your reminders (professors have a lot on their plates and may need a nudge from time to time to get the your letter completed and submitted).
4. Ask for an “Excellent” letter. Another key mistake premedical students make is that they ask for “a letter of recommendation”.  What they should ask is “do you feel confident that you can write me an Excellent letter of recommendation.”  If you ask your professor this question and he or she says no, then you should consider finding someone else.  Medical school admission committee members can read between the lines.  Sometimes, it’s not what your letter writer says that matters, but what he or she doesn’t say.  In a sense, these letters are coded so a “good” letter means you are an okay student, but an “excellent” letter, means you are excellent.”
5. Say thank you. Every pleasant interaction should end with a thank you.  Writing a letter of recommendation takes time.  This is time that the professor could be using to do other things, but instead is spending on you. A simple thank you message goes a long way to strengthening your relationship.  Don’t think that once the letter is submitted you’re off the hook and can go about your merry way.  Some admission committee members will contact your letter writer to get more information if a question arises.  If the person reviewing your application happens to be one of these people, you want to be sure that your professor knows you appreciate the time and effort he or she put into the letter.

Keep these 5 items in mind as you approach your medical school application.  What you say about yourself is fine, but what others say counts as well.  Getting excellent rec letters takes a little effort.  It all starts with you performing well in the presence of your professors and building a solid relationship ahead of time.

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