Letters of Recommendation: Getting the Letters - Pritzker School of ...

Pritzker Letters of Recommendation FAQ
Letters of Recommendation: Getting the Letters
How Many Letters of Recommendation Do I Need?
Categorical
- 3 letters of recommendation are required.
- ERAS will not allow more than 4 letters per program
- Some specialties may require a Chair’s letter (see below)
- General rule:
3 clinical letters of recommendation
1 supplemental research letter (if relevant)
Prelim + Advanced
- 3 letters of recommendation are required for the prelim application
- 3 letters of recommendation are required for the advanced application
_______________
6 total letters
Letter writers can use a modified version of the same letter for both applications. For
example, a faculty member from the Department of Medicine can use the same letter for
both the preliminary year in Medicine and the categorical application in Anesthesia. They
will just need to make sure that the opening sentence in the letter reads: “I am delighted to
recommend John Doe for your residency program.” Be sure to let the faculty member know
that you will be using his/her letter for both your prelim application and advanced
application!
You need to be extra careful in naming/assigning your letters in ERAS so that Pritzker staff
attach the correct letter to the correct program. For example, a letter that Dr. McDade writes
for a prelim medicine application could be named: LOR-McDade-Prelim-Med
Whom should I ask?
Faculty members who know you best and can strongly support their application. Clinical letters
are preferred. Research letters can be used as supplemental letters but not as primary letters.
It is more important for you to receive a detailed letter from a faculty member who knows you
well than from a “big name” faculty member who does not know you well.
What information do I need to provide to letter writers?
We recommend asking your letter writers in person and bringing the following with you:
Draft of your CV
ERAS Cover Letter or SF Match Cover Letter
AAMC identification number. This the same number as your AMCAS number.
You can access this AAMC number once you have registered for ERAS. ERAS
tokens will be distributed on July 1.
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Pritzker Letters of Recommendation FAQ
Which Specialties require a chair’s or section chief letter? (per UC program directors)
Department Process Co-written
by faculty?
Anesthesia
Some programs may Yes
require a chair’s letter.
Contact specialty advisor
first, and then arrange a
meeting with Dr.
Apfelbaum
Comments
If Dr. Apfelbaum is not your
specialty advisor, letters are written
in conjunction with your advisor or
another faculty member.
**If you are applying to advanced
programs and will need a prelim
year, remember you will need a
prelim medicine chair’s letter!
Medicine
***Prelim Medicine
Letter is written by and
co-signed by your
faculty advisor. You do
not need to contact Dr.
Vokes.
Letter is written by and
co-signed by your
faculty advisor. You do
not need to contact Dr.
Vokes.
Yes
Yes
**If you are applying to advanced
programs and will need a prelim
year, remember you will need a
medicine chair’s letter!
Obstetrics & Gynecology Meet with Dr. Haney Contact Deborah Catenazzo, Dr.
Haney’s secretary, to schedule the
appointment
Med-Peds
2 chair letters! Specialty
advisor(s) in Medicine
and Pediatrics will coauthor
the chair’s letters.
Orthopaedic Surgery Meet with Dr. Peabody No
(Chief letter)
Otolaryngology Meet with Dr. Naclerio No
(Chief letter)
Plastic Surgery
Meet with Dr. Song No
(Chief letter)
Surgery Meet with Dr. Matthews No
Urology (Chief letter) Meet with Dr. Shalav No
Yes
(for both
Medicine
and Peds)
Office of Chairman of Pediatrics and
Medicine will co-author/edit letter.
You do not need to contact them
directly.
Co-written Chair Letters
Dr. Vokes and Dr. Apfelbaum’s chair’s letters are co-written and co-signed by a faculty
member (generally specialty advisor). This means you will need to ask 3 faculty members to be
writers, one of whom will co-sign the chair’s letter.
Junior Faculty Member: If you would like a Chief Resident or junior faculty member
to write a letter of recommendation for you, the junior faculty member should write the Chair’s
letter. That way the chair’s signature can balance out the junior position of the co-signer.
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Pritzker Letters of Recommendation FAQ
How do I get a Chairman’s Letter if he/she doesn’t know me?
It is best to contact the secretary in the department or seek your specialty advisor’s advice.
Letters of Recommendation: Logistics
Where should my letters be sent?
Via email, fax or hand delivered to:
ATTENTION: EILEEN WAYTE
UCMC, Room O-131
Tel: (773) 834-3757; Fax: (773) 834-3119
Email: ResidencyLOR@bsd.uchicago.edu
When should all my letters be in?
Generally faculty will deliver their letters within 4-6 weeks of being asked by students. We
recommend that students begin asking letter writers in June/July.
We hope to get all letters in by the end of September. Last year we gave faculty members an
estimated deadline of September 15, recognizing that many letters will come in
approximately one to two weeks later. Most program deadlines (but by no means all—this
varies by discipline and by program) are around November 1 st . However, we found that
sometimes a program will not invite students for interviews until all of their letters have
arrived.
Do I need to have all my letters of reference scanned into the Dean’s Work Station
before I can apply?
No, you can (and should) send in your application and assign your letters even if the letters
haven’t been received. Programs will be automatically notified by ERAS as additional letters
arrive.
Do I have to designate all my letters at the time that I apply?
No, you can apply without designating any letters at all. You can apply with a few letters
designated and add letter writers later.
What do I do if my letter hasn’t been received, I can’t get in touch with my letter writer,
and it is well after the 4-6 week period?
If it has been 6 weeks since a student requested a letter, it is appropriate for students to send a
reminder to their faculty letter writers. If it has been less than 4 weeks since a student asked
their letter writers but it is in the middle of September, students should let Eileen/Caroline
and they will follow up on student’s behalf.
In early September, Eileen, Caroline, and Kelly will regularly generate reports from ERAS
and will start reminding faculty if any letters are missing.
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Pritzker Letters of Recommendation FAQ
I am trying to decide which letter to assign to a certain program. Can you tell me if Dr.
X wrote a good letter?
Since you waived your right to see the letter, Pritzker staff cannot share this information with
students. Pritzker staff only looks at the letters of recommendation to make sure that the
correct letter is assigned and that there are no flagrant errors (wrong name, etc.)
Can I change my personal statement and letters of reference even after I have
assigned them to programs?
Yes, you can de-assign both your personal statement and your letters of reference and send in
new ones. However, do not do this lightly. First, there is no guarantee that programs have
not already downloaded your documents and have a hard copy already. Second, there are
dangers associated with “over-tweaking” your application. You have put a lot of thought
already into writing your personal statements and in selecting your letter writers. A last
minute change may not be as well thought out as the choices you have already made. Finally,
programs will see your changes and may interpret your behavior as indecisive.
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