Committee Letter
When applying to the doctorate level health professions (dental, medical, optometry, podiatry, veterinary schools), admission committees will require that you submit letters of recommendation as part of the application process. At Stony Brook University, we have a Faculty Committee on Health Professions that will evaluate you as an applicant and write a committee letter evaluation. A committee letter packet includes your committee letter of evaluation and a selection of at least three letters of recommendation that your recommenders have submitted to our office. This packet will then be sent to the application services and/or individual schools (at your request.) Stony Brook University will provide this service to any current student or alum. Please remember, the cycle year represents the year you are hoping to matriculate into your chosen graduate program.
A Note on Disciplinary Action: Professionals in health care are expected to live up to high standards. Careful scrutiny begins when students apply to schools of the health professions, and in a great many cases applicants must undergo a criminal background check. The Faculty Committee on Health Professions (FCHP) does not conduct an extensive background check of the students making use of our services, but the FCHP does consult the University’s disciplinary records when a student seeks a committee letter of evaluation. The main purpose of this is so that the Faculty Committee on Health Professions can most effectively advise and evaluate applicants. In general, disciplinary problems weaken an application, but applicants can surmount a difficult past and gain acceptance to the doctorate-level health profession of their choice. Make sure to consult an ATAS advisor about any concerns you may have.
Does Stony Brook University offer a committee letter?
It was announced on March 2, 2023 by the Office of the Provost that Stony Brook University has shifted away from providing committee letters and will focus our efforts on other resources to support our students’ success when applying to these programs.
This change is aimed at strengthening students’ overall application packages to professional health programs. As we move away from the committee letter, if you see some health professions schools that refer to a committee letter, please know that this is only if the undergraduate institution offers this service. It will not negatively impact a student's application if you do not have a committee letter. In fact, many other leading universities, such as Rutgers, Florida, and UC-Berkeley, have also shifted away from committee letters for similar reasons, to more comprehensively support students in their application process, and assist them in identifying recommenders who know them well and have closely observed their academic and professional strengths.
I recieved a finalized committee letter or individual letters of recommendation from a previous cycle. How can I access these letters from Pre-Health Advising?
You can submit a request through our Google form to have all of your letters that we have on file sent to your Interfolio account. First, create an account, then fill out this form to grant us permission to transfer all of your letters to Interfolio Dossier and close your file with our office. You will get an email from our office (allow at least 3-5 business days) with step by step instructions to have your letters transferred to your Interfolio account.