Pre-Medical Committee
The Pre-Medical Committee at Kutztown University is tasked with preparing letters of recommendation for students seeking admission to professional schools that require committee letters (medical, dental and veterinary schools). The committee letter is a composite letter that incorporates information from the following sources: applicant's academic qualifications, applicant's activities inside and outside of the classroom, interview with the committee, personal interactions with the committee members, and 3 letters of recommendation from individuals outside of the committee. If you are applying to a health program that does not require a committee letter (e.g. PT program), you will submit individual letters of recommendation, rather than a committee letter; however, this does not preclude you from seeking advice from the KU Pre-Medical Committee.
Steps and deadlines for receiving a committee letter of recommendation
Warning: Failure to meet the deadlines outlined below will exclude you from the Summer/Fall applicant pool. You are strongly encouraged to meet informally with Dr. Aruscavage and Dr. Stone prior to beginning the following:
1. Select External Evaluators - As part of the evaluation process, the Premedical Committee requires evaluations/recommendations from at least three (3) individuals who are not Committee members. Usually these evaluations are from other faculty members; however, you may choose up to one peer evaluator or non-KU evaluator. Please complete the top portion of the Preliminary Evaluator Form and then forward it to individuals who have agreed to provide you with a recommendation. The evaluators should return these letters directly to Dr. Stone (electronic submission preferred; email).
2. Declare your intent to apply - To begin the evaluation process, complete the Intent to Apply Form and return one hard copy to Dr. Stone. Deadline: Nov 1st
3. Conduct individual interviews - Once you have declared your intent to apply and you have selected your external evaluators, you may begin to conduct your one-on-one interviews with the Premedical Committee. You will be given a form that you must bring to your individual interviews. After all have been completed, return the form to Dr. Stone.
4. Request a group interview - Contact Dr. Stone in person to schedule a group interview. Bring a copy of your completed interview form and your class schedule. Deadline: Feb 28th to receive a Spring Committee Interview.
Note: the committee will not accept your request for a group interview until all of the following have been completed:
- You have declared your intent to apply.
- You have conducted all individual interviews and returned the interview form to Dr. Stone.
- All three external evaluators have returned their evaluations to the committee.
The committee conducts Fall interviews on a limited basis. The deadline to request a Fall interview is August 1st; however, meeting this deadline does not guarantee an interview. To ensure that you receive a committee letter of recommendation by the Fall semester, you must meet the Spring Priority Deadline (Feb 28th).
5. Request your letter - Once you have conducted your group interview, you may formally request your committee letter of recommendation. Complete the Committee Letter Request Form and send it electronically to Dr. Matthew Stone (email) with a carbon copy to Dr. Dan Aruscavage (email). The committee requires a minimum of 3 weeks to process and submit your letter after receiving your formal request. Additionally, if you are applying to MD schools, you need to request a letter through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) Letter Writer Application; please enter Dr. Stone as the evaluator. American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS) and Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) have similar evaluator portal. Please see one of the committee co-chairs for more information about how to navigate AMCAS, AACOMAS and/or AADSAS. Deadline: at least 4 weeks prior to your earliest school application deadline.
Note: In addition to the committee letter, it is recommended that applicants also submit separate individual letters of recommendation to the schools they intend to apply. These letters could be from other faculty that did not provide letters to the Pre-Medical Committee or it could be from a health care provider who supervised you through an internship or fellowship. Regardless of who you select, those individuals should be able to comment on your potential as a physician. Character references are not recommended.
Members of the Pre-Medical Committee
Dr. Dan Aruscavage, committee co-chair
Associate Professor of Biology
Dr. Jason Crockett
Associate Professor of Sociology
Dr. Cristina Cummings
Assistant Professor of Biology
Dr. Rick Heineman
Associate Professor of Biology
Dr. Lauren Levine
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Dr. John Lizza
Professor of Philosophy and Department Chair
Dr. Chris Sacchi
Professor of Biology and Department Chair
Dr. Matthew Stone, committee co-chair
Associate Professor of Biology