Dear Pre-Med and Pre-Dent students,
The members of the Texas State Pre-Health Committee are happy to announce the launch of the 2021 committee letter process. This is an exciting time for our hardworking students and alumni who are ready to begin the application process for this year, especially in light of the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented to you all.
To make sure we schedule enough interview slots for everyone who needs one, we need a preliminary headcount of the medical and dental school applicants who will be participating in the Pre-Health Committee process during Spring 2021 in conjunction with the 2021 application cycle (for entry year 2022).
For those of you who may not be familiar with the Pre-Health Committee (PHC), the PHC is a university-wide committee made up of Texas State faculty and staff who are dedicated to helping students apply to medical and dental schools. Ultimately, the PHC will produce a Committee Packet that you will use as part of your application. The Committee Packet consists of our Committee Letter and up to five individual letters of recommendation that you would like to have submitted on your behalf. The Committee Letter itself is a composite letter generated by the members of the PHC based on detailed information you provide to us, your personal statement, your transcript(s), and a personal interview. Medical and dental schools prefer committee letters over all other types of letters of recommendation, and all medical/dental schools in the state of Texas know that Texas State has a PHC, so we highly recommend taking advantage of this free service we provide to our students. JAMP and DEAP students applying this cycle are expected to participate. Alumni are welcome to participate if they would like to do so.
Most other types of professional schools either do not require or do not want a committee letter, so this service is limited to just medical and dental school applicants. Please see Drs. Pesthy or Banta for advice about letters if you are applying to PA, optometry, or another type of professional school this year.
Important next step:
We are pleased to offer an application workshop as a part of the PHC process. This mandatory workshop is designed to answer all your questions about the application process, the committee letter process, the application timeline, standardized exams, the costs associated with applying, and more. The workshop will be chock full of important information. This year we will also address how COVID-19 may impact your application and the application process. As the workshop will be conducted both live in person and virtually using Zoom, everyone should be able to attend no matter where they are physically right now.
Therefore, IF you are planning to apply to medical or dental school during the 2021 application cycle, AND you have at least a 3.0 overall GPA, AND at least a 3.0 science GPA, AND you are planning to use the PHC to produce a committee packet for you, then please click on the link below and complete and submit this simple form. The workshop days, times, mode of presentation, and locations are included in the form, but they are listed at the end of this email so you can check your calendar and choose one before beginning to fill out the form. You can attend which ever workshop is most convenient for you. If your overall and/or science GPA is below 3.0, contact your pre-health advisor about a possible appeal.
Since we recently moved our Pre-Health Advising site onto Canvas, we may not reach all our 2021 applicants with this email. If you have friends or colleagues that you know are planning to apply this year, check with them to see if they received this email. If they did not, please feel free to forward it to them. We appreciate your help in spreading the word.
Pre-Health Committee Intent Form
DEADLINE: Responses received after 5 pm on Friday, February 19 may not be granted an interview.
Contact Dr. Pesthy or Dr. Banta if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Drs. Pesthy and Banta
Your Pre-Health Advisors
Mandatory Application Workshops (you can choose any workshop that you would like)
Sunday, February 21 6:00-8:00 pm (Banta presenting – virtual via Zoom)
Monday, February 22 5:00-7:00 pm (Banta presenting – virtual via Zoom)
Thursday, February 25 4:00-6:00 pm (Pesthy presenting – in person in Supple 112 – masks required)
Friday, February 26 2:30-4:30 pm (Pesthy presenting – in person in Supple 112 – masks required)