<p>Right, mom2.</p>
<p>I think it might present an advantage to kids who have strong letters/recommenders. I wanted to collect letters from a variety of people, and the committee letter made that a piece of cake. I sent 8 letters (which might seem overkill–but each of them was distinct, and provided a different view of me, which is why I went with all of them!) to the committee. They wrote basically a cover letter (using info from the letters and from an interview/meeting with me) summarizing the great pieces of my letter and providing more info about me (especially about how I compare to other premeds my year). Had I not used the committee letter approach, I likely would have been limited to three letters–two from science profs, one from another person.</p>
<p>My committee letter ended up at 4+ pages, and the guy that’s the head of the committee later joked that mine was one of the thickest packets they’ve ever compiled–a whopping 20+ pages after all was said and done. </p>
<p>Was this “too much”? I don’t think so. I knew going into it that my letters and my resume were the strongest parts of my application (mediocre stats from a big state public school), so I made a point to make my letters shine. I think the reason it worked is that I had a variety of recommenders: honors organic chemistry prof, animal physiology prof/premed advisor/advisor for a nonprofit I started, instructor of a leadership class I took, PI from a lab I’ve worked in since freshman year, two physicians I shadowed for 2+ years each, social worker from the agency where I’ve volunteered for awhile, and a prominent health literacy professional (the nonprofit I started deals with health literacy). I assume each had a slightly different opinion/view of me, and I would hope that the final product painted a pretty complete picture (which I imagine it did).</p>
<p>So to the OP: it’s worth your while to get to know your premed committee. I’ve also heard that it raises eyebrows at medical schools if you choose not to use the committee and a committee is available. Think of the committee letter as your university’s endorsement of you as a candidate for medical school.</p>