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Application Materials

COMMITTEE LETTER REVIEW MEETING (CLRM)

TO ALL STUDENTS APPLYING TO MEDICAL, DENTAL, PHARMACY, VET, ETC. SCHOOLS:                  
A Committee Letter Review Meeting (CLRM) is required in order for the HPAO to prepare a committee letter to the health professions schools. This meeting is strongly recommended since most health professions schools require and/or expect to receive a letter from the school's health professions advisor if the student is an undergrad. These meetings can be scheduled to take place as early as January of the application year. (You are required to attend the mandatory Application Prep meeting which is held in September and October.  Be sure you are part of the HPAO ListServ in order to receive announcements about the process and requirements.) Committee Letter Review Meetings should be booked well in advance of the preferred meeting date since the calendar fills up quickly. The Committee Letter Online Portfolio (CLOP) is a draft of your application, along with required documents, and must be completed and submitted to our office
BY JANUARY 14, 2024  in order to qualify for a Committee Letter Review Meeting that Spring. THE DEADLINE IS FIRM!

Below is the CLOP link.  Keep in mind, it will take MANY HOURS to complete the CLOP, so allow yourself ample time to submit a well-though-out application draft to the HPAO (which is needed for a supportive Committee Letter).  Modifications may not be submitted after the CLOP has been submitted and processed! The CLOP includes:

      Your Personal Statement
     Your Experience Details and Descriptions (at least 6 and up to 15 experiences)
     Experience Summary Paragraphs by Category
     List of your Medical Schools
     List of your Recommendation Letter Writers

 CLOP Link for 2025 Entering Cycle

After you begin the CLOP (REDCap Record), you will receive an automated email message with the subject line of
"*** SAVE THIS LINK for your CLOP *** It is needed to Return to your CLOP." 
You will need to use that unique link to edit your CLOP.
 

HPAO Letters of Recommendation System (LORS) link

(click on your initials/photo in the upper right side then select “recommendations” from the drop down menu)

 

 KNOW YOUR SCIENCE GPA

AMCAS GPAs are reported to medical schools for each Academic Status (High School, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Post-baccalaureate, and Graduate), subdivided into courses listed as "BCPM" (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math) or "AO" (All Other)

The AMCAS Applicant Guide (including the Course Classification Guide),  along with this document , gives information on which courses may be considered when calculating your Science GPA/BCPM.

Here’s a tool that can help you determine your science GPA.  (Specify each BCPM course name, select the grade earned, and input the credit hours {units} earned, then the calculator will determine the cumulative science GPA.)

GPA CALCULATOR

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Additional Assessments Required by Medical Schools

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Vanderbilt University Writing Studio

The Vanderbilt Writing Studio offers free consultation services to Vanderbilt students.  Students have the opportunity to meet individually with trained consultants to talk about any writing project including the application Personal Statement.  (The Writing Studio is unavailable during the month of May, so please plan accordingly.)

 

INTERVIEWS

  • Students are encouraged to schedule a Mock Interview with the  Career Center .

  • Ever wonder how you come across during an interview? Why not have a virtual mock interview and critique yourself? The Career Center provides a Virtual Mock Interview Module in DoreWay which is an excellent resource to guide you to being a great interviewee. Click here for instructions on using the interview module.

  • How to have a good interview  - by Dr. Zic, Associate Dean of Admissions for Vanderbilt Medical School, PowerPoint from AED meeting 9/18/2007

  • Medical School Interview: Interviewer's Perspective  - by Dr. Jayant Shenai, VUSM Admissions Committee Member

  • Preparing for Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
  • Vanderbilt student applicants are encouraged to visit the HPAO to review the Interview Survey Binder containing interview surveys completed by previous applicants.  After interviewing, students are encouraged to complete the Medical School Interview Survey and return it to the HPAO.  (It will not be added to the binder until the next application cycle.)

  • Students interviewing for medical school may be asked questions about medical ethics. Here is a link from the AMA website which has a large database of clinical situations which highlight the of medical ethics in the context of actual patient care. After each situation is outlined, there are commentaries written by physicians from a variety of specialities. We think this will be useful for students as they prepare for their interviews, especially those students who have not taken a medical ethics course..Here is the link:. http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/site/cases.html