<p>Short version: Credibility. Premed committees know all the premeds, and have to be honest year-over-year. The committee letter is therefore the most trustworthy piece of information in your entire file, and gives a medical school confidence that they’re getting an honest assessment. In turn, that letter gives your committee a chance to present you in the best possible light while still being trustworthy and honest.</p>
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<p>Long version:</p>
<p>I believe all four schools I discussed in #499 do give out a committee letter.</p>
<p>Committee letters are important for four reasons.</p>
<p>The first reason might need updating from somebody who’s applied more recently. But back when I applied, committee letters dramatically reduce the application workload on the student by consolidating LOR requirements. If you have a committee, then your committee decides which LORs you need. If you don’t have a committee, then each medical school will have different LOR requirements – and you have to customize your application to accommodate each of them. Some will want an English prof, some will want three science profs, some will want two from your major, some will want a research PI, etc.</p>
<p>Second, a committee letter can explain things that won’t be instantly apparent. I’ve never seen my committee letter, but I’ve long suspected that my advisor explained that my organic chemistry professor had a curve that was very unusual (harder than most) at my university. It might also have highlighted that I was taking a very heavy courseload, which might not have been obvious from my transcript. I also took an unusual physics class, and perhaps my letter explained that I was taking one that was MORE rigorous rather than less.</p>
<p>Third, committee letters absolutely must be honest in a way that essays and other LORs don’t, because the same committee doesn’t want to shoot itself in the foot for next year. I’m only applying to medical school once; if I exaggerate or whatnot, there’s very little a school can do to compensate next year. Similarly, normal professors write LORs to any particular medical school very rarely. But a committee writes hundreds such letters every year – and absolutely MUST be honest, because if they’re not, that school is going to be reluctant to admit candidates from that college in the following years. That lends a committee letter credibility.</p>
<p>You can also see why it’s better for one advisor to write EVERYBODY’s committee letter, but obviously that’s a miserable several months for that one advisor.</p>
<p>Fourth, committees see ALL the premeds coming from that school for several years. So not only are they obligated to be honest, they also have a reference frame that nobody else has. They KNOW how good this student is compared to his peers, much better than a single professor will know, and much better than a medical school is able to discern from afar.</p>
<p>A committee letter offers honesty, accurate comparisons, and detailed knowledge. In exchange, it gives your school a great chance to present you in the best light – while giving a medical school confidence that they know whom they’re admitting.</p>