veCollect Update
This is an update as to where we are in terms of implementing a paperless reference letter system for use by the Prehealth Committee. It will directly affect anyone applying to the April 1, 2010 Prehealth Committee for a fall 2011 admission.
We are currently in contact with the vendor confirming several features to assure that the process runs smoothly when we begin the actual transition. We would like to see the complete testing of all the features to assure that the process is seamless once we open it up to the UB prehealth student population. As our institution involves a large population of potential users, our primary concern is the convenience and efficiency for all users involved (e.g., students, evaluators, professional schools). As such, we are going to reexamine where the vendors are at in early January 2010 before we open the veCollect system. In the interim, we will allow applicants to begin to request and collect letters using the system we have been using for the past several years.
Effective immediately, you can begin to ask recommenders for a letter and they have the option to submit them to our office before January. In order to have letters submitted to our office, you must first complete the top portion of the Letter of Recommendation Request Form and then give it to your recommender. He or she will then provide the reference and submit it to our office via paper. Please note that if they attach a letter of recommendation as opposed to using the actual form, the letter needs to be on letterhead stationery with their signature. Letterhead paper and the evaluator’s signature are REQUIRED. We will need to return any letters not on letterhead and/or missing a signature.
If, by early January the veCollect system is running to our satisfaction, we will send you an authorization code to open an account after you have attended a veCollect workshop. All workshops for fall 2009 and spring 2010 will be posted at the link.
Once veCollect is up and running, you will simply add the names of any evaluators on veCollect who may have already submitted letters for you via paper between now (November) and January. Our office will upload the paper letters into the veCollect letter system for you once you have opened an account and have created an entry for your evaluators.
Any questions you have can be answered by any of the prehealth advisors in 109 Norton Hall. Please set an appointment by calling 645-6013. Quicker questions can be answered via email. Jinny Majewski (vmajewsk@buffalo.edu) administrative support to the Prehealth Committee can assist you as well with any veCollect logistical questions.
Thank you for your patience while we make this transition. Again, the efficiency, accuracy, and convenience of the system for all users remains our primary goal.
Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events in November and remember to regularly check this Bulletin for the latest announcements and reminders.
So, You Want to be a Doctor, Dentist, Veterinarian, Optometrist, Podiatrist or Chiropractor?
If you are a freshmen or sophomore or perhaps just beginning to think about applying to the professional health schools (e.g., medical school, vet school, dental school), come to this workshop to learn what you can be doing NOW to prepare. Learn what you need to do to become a competitive applicant for admission to these schools.
Mon., Nov 2 4:00-4:50 p.m. Meet at Norton 17 - Co-sponsored by Undergrad Academies
Wed., Nov 11 3:00-3:50 p.m. 111 Norton
Thurs., Nov 19 12:30-1:20 p.m. 111 Norton
Prehealth Committee/veCollect Information Sessions
If you are planning on using the services of the Prehealth Committee for the April 2010 deadline, you MUST attend one of the several Prehealth Committee/veCollect workshops offered from October 2009 to March 2010. Please note that only the fall semester workshop dates are noted below. After you attend, you can then become a registered veCollect user and be able to have individual letters of recommendation submitted to our office on your behalf. If you are planning on applying to the professional health schools at some later time and wish to be able to have letters submitted for you any time soon (for some later, future application), you may come to workshop as well. These sessions are not limited to juniors; freshmen and sophomore students may also attend so that recommendation letters can be submitted to our office on your behalf.
Tues., Nov 3 2:00-3:00 p.m. 145C Student Union
Thurs., Nov 12 3:30-4:30 p.m. 145C Student Union
Wed., Nov 18 11:00-12:00 p.m. 145C Student Union
You Do NOT Need to Register For These Sessions
International Students and Professional Health School Admission
Are you an international student interested in the professional health schools of medicine, dentistry, optometry, etc? Do you know the considerations regarding admission in the US and considerations regarding financing a professional school education? Come to this workshop to be fully informed about the important issues associated with professional health school admission in the US for international applicants.
Wed., Nov 4 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. 145A Student Union
Army Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) Presentation
Sponsored by AED, APMS, and the Pre-Dental Association
The Army offers full scholarships for students pursuing medical school, dental school, optometry, and veterinary. The scholarships also offer stipends (i.e., compensation for living expenses) and several other advantages for recipients. AED, APMS and the Pre-Dental Association are hosting this session as one of their general meetings, so please consider attending for valuable scholarship information.
Wed., Nov 4 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. 215 Natural Sciences (NSC)
DO Information Forum
If you would like to know more about the DO medical degree (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine), please consider coming to this session! Two DO physicians who are currently completing their residencies in Buffalo will be available to share their advice, expertise, and knowledge pertaining to being a DO physician.
Pizza and refreshments will be served.
Thurs, Nov 5 from 4:00-5:00 in 145E Student Union.
Preparing for Fall 2011 Application to the Professional Health Schools
Are you ready to apply for admission in Fall of 2011? Do you know what you need to do to submit a complete and competitive application? The Prehealth Committee process? The timelines? Get an overview of the APPLICATION CYCLE for ALL (medical, dental, optometry, podiatry, chiropractic, vet) the professional health schools for fall 2011. A detailed handout will be distributed describing: your responsibilities, key deadlines, information regarding your personal statement, admissions’ tests, etc. Important information for ALL applicants!
Thurs., Nov 19 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. 145C Student Union
IMPORTANT NOTE: We were informed today that the system will available for us to use in early November. The workshop schedule will remain as is, and we encourage you to still attend any workshop beginning with the one scheduled for next Wednesday, October 7.
Remember we are scheduled to transition to the veCollect system starting EARLY NOVEMBER.
If you are planning on using the services of the Prehealth Committee for the April 2010 deadline, you MUST attend one of the several Prehealth Committee/veCollect workshops offered from October 2009 to March 2010. Please note that only the fall semester workshop dates are noted below. After you attend, you can then become a registered veCollect user and be able to have individual letters of recommendation submitted to our office on your behalf. If you are planning on applying to the professional health schools at some later time and wish to be able to have letters submitted for you any time soon (for some later, future application), you may come to workshop as well. These sessions are not limited to juniors; freshmen and sophomore students may also attend, so that recommendation letters can be submitted to our office on your behalf.
Fall veCollect Workshops
Wed., Oct 7 4:00-5:00 p.m. 145C SU
Tues., Oct 13 3:30-4:30 p.m. 145D SU
Thurs., Oct 22 9:30-10:30 a.m. 330 SU
Wed., Oct 28 2:00-3:00 p.m. 330 SU
Tues., Nov 3 2:00-3:00 p.m. 145C SU
Thurs., Nov 12 3:30-4:30 p.m. 145C SU
Wed., Nov 18 11:00-12:00 p.m. 145D SU
After November 18, workshops will be scheduled to start again in January 2010.
veCollect – Reference Letter Collection System
Remember we are scheduled to transition to the veCollect system starting NEXT Wed., October 7, 2009 to align with our first veCollect workshop.
If you are planning on using the services of the Prehealth Committee for the April 2010 deadline, you MUST attend one of the several Prehealth Committee/veCollect workshops offered from October 2009 to March 2010. Please note that only the fall semester workshop dates are noted below. After you attend, you can then become a registered veCollect user and be able to have individual letters of recommendation submitted to our office on your behalf. If you are planning on applying to the professional health schools at some later time and wish to be able to have letters submitted for you any time soon (for some later, future application), you may come to workshop as well. These sessions are not limited to juniors; freshmen and sophomore students may also attend, so that recommendation letters can be submitted to our office on your behalf.
After October 7, links to veCollect site and other important forms will be found at the link.
Fall veCollect Workshops
Wed., Oct 7 4:00-5:00 p.m. 145C SU
Tues., Oct 13 3:30-4:30 p.m. 145D SU
Thurs., Oct 22 9:30-10:30 a.m. 330 SU
Wed., Oct 28 2:00-3:00 p.m. 330 SU
Tues., Nov 3 2:00-3:00 p.m. 145C SU
Thurs., Nov 12 3:30-4:30 p.m. 145C SU
Wed., Nov 18 11:00-12:00 p.m. 145D SU
Fall 2009 (Sept 1) Prehealth Committee Process – This is the LAST Committee cycle for fall 2010 (regular) application
ATTENTION: Those applying for fall 2010 admission to the professional health schools.
If you are a junior this year and/or plan on applying for the entering class of 2010 to medical school (MD or DO), dental school, veterinary school, optometry, etc., and DID NOT come through the Prehealth Committee in the spring of 2009, please read below.
You also will want to consider making an appointment for prehealth advisement several weeks prior to the Sept 1 Prehealth Committee deadline to be sure you are well informed and prepared to come through the Committee in support of your fall 2010 application.
DEADLINE: TUESDAY, SEPT 1, 2009
Please look for future listserv and Prehealth Bulletin http://prehealth.buffalo.edu/bulletin/ announcements for the procedures for turning in your application on September 1.
Four to seven individual letters of recommendation can be sent to the office in 109 Norton Hall anytime in support of your application.
If you are unclear as to what is involved in applying to the Committee, please click on the link.
All necessary forms are located at the link.
All forms, aside from the Preprofessional Data Sheet/Application, are also available in 108 Norton.
**There is a detailed checklist of what you need to assemble for the Prehealth Committee on the shelves in 108 Norton.**
A minimum of FOUR letters of recommendation MUST BE RECEIVED for you by SEPT 1, 2009.
**Please remember that applications to these professions school have been on the rise and; therefore, they are extremely competitive schools in which to gain admission. If your overall or science/math GPA is around or below a 3.0 (e.g., 2.8 to 3.3), please make an appointment to see the prehealth advisor prior to applying to the Prehealth Committee***
Please call 645-6013 to set up an appointment if you need more information regarding this process.
Remember that when you are releasing your Committee packet, you need to complete and submit a Release Form to 109 Norton as well as the AMCAS Letter Request Form (if applying to AMCAS Letter Pilot Schools). This form is found in the body of the actual AMCAS application. Also, remember to indicate “Committee Letter” and notate Elizabeth Morsheimer as the primary author/contact. You do NOT need to list all your individual recommenders or your Committee interviewer.
Finally, please note that the following schools are not part of the AMCAS Letter Pilot BUT do accept letter packets via VirtualEvals (VE), so you do not need to pre-address and stamp an envelope for these schools.
Non-Participating Schools AMCAS Letter Pilot Schools
that accept Virtual Evals (VE)
Albany Medical College
Duke University School of Medicine
LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans
LSU School of Medicine-Shreveport
Oregon Health and Science University
Ponce School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Program Biomedical Sciences
Uniformed Services University of the Health Science
University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
University of Utah School of Medicine
Virginia Tech Carillion School of Medicine
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Washington University School of Medicine
For DO schools, simply complete a Release Form listing all your schools. Complete and submit to our office once you begin to get prompted to complete secondary applications.
You may recall, we posted a Prehealth Bulletin announcement on June 24, 2009 in regard to a new system for collecting letters called VECollect. The direct posting can be found on this Bulletin under the “Letters of Recommendation” category.
VECollect is an electronic system for collecting letters of recommendation for use in the Prehealth Committee process. It is a way for your recommenders to submit their letters to our office via fax or email for your Prehealth Committee letter in support of your medical, dental, optometry, podiatry, etc., school application. The system will allow for you to check online at the VECollect site as to what letters have been submitted on your behalf. You will also be able to view when your Prehealth Committee packet is added and then forwarded to the professional health schools to which you are applying.
The tentative date to begin to use the new system was noted as August 3, 2009. However, as we seek to insure a very smooth transition for both potential Prehealth Committee applicants and for those individuals composing and transmitting your letters (e.g., faculty, physicians, research supervisors, employers), we are now moving the date back a few months to align with a series of informational workshops regarding the Prehealth Committee/VECollect system.
The workshops and VECollect system will now become available in early October 2009 for those students seeking to apply to the April 1, 2010 Prehealth Committee (for fall 2011 application) and all Committee cycles thereafter. As noted, we will time the opening of the VECollect system with these workshops to assure you understand the new system before you activate a VECollect account. We feel it is best to *require* applicants to attend a workshop before they are provided with an authorization code to use VECollect (before you can have letters submitted on your behalf through VECollect for the April 1 cycle and subsequent cycles).
Workshops will be offered nearly weekly and on various dates and at various times from October 2009 to March 2010. Please note that we are offering ample workshops several months ahead of when your letters are due for the spring 2010 (April 1 application/April 15 letters) Prehealth Committee.
Please look for future announcements as to when the Prehealth Committee/VECollect workshops will be offered.
If you are planning to submit letters for our September 1, 2009 cycle or December 1, 2009 (UB Early Assurance only) cycle, please continue to submit letters as you always have. All information is currently available on our website under “Prehealth Committee”.
As alluded to in a listserv announcement last week, it appears as though it would be prudent to alter our policy for sending letters to the central service of AMCAS (MD schools) and to individual DO medical schools.
In the past, we would ask for your completed Release Forms (one for MD schools; one for DO schools IF you were applying to both types of medical schools) and then stagger the transmission of these letters to the schools as we heard from you about the receipt of secondary applications.
Because AMCAS has now over 117 schools in their letter pilot program, and it appears as though we cannot no longer select each of the 117 individual schools, we will be sending your letters all at once when you submit the required paperwork, even if you have not yet received a secondary applications from the schools. To avoid any further confusion, we will follow the same policy for the DO schools to which you are applying. There is no harm in transmitting the letters before you receive secondary applications as the schools can elect to download or not download the letters we provide for them.
We apologize for any confusion this may cause. The change has really come about as the system we are using to transmit your letters (VEClient) has changed its relationship with AMCAS this year. So as to avoid any further confusion, we will treat DO schools in the same manner.
If you have already submitted the necessary paperwork to our office and wish for us to NOT transmit your letters at this time, please let us know (e.g., you are waiting on additional letters to be submitted on your behalf). Otherwise, if you have your completed forms in, we will forward your letters to all your AMCAS schools indicated as well as your DO schools.
If you wish, you may submit your AMCAS (MD) Release Form and Letter ID Form separate from your DO Release Form. We will then we send letters intended for AMCAS and letters intended for the DO schools out at separate times.
If you have any questions whatsoever, please email Libby (etm3@buffalo.edu) or Jinny Majewski (vmajewsk@buffalo.edu).
If you are planning at some future time to apply to a professional health school (e.g., medical, dental, optometry, podiatry, chiropractic, vet) AND come through the University at Buffalo Prehealth Committee , we are planning to convert to a NEW SYSTEM for the submission of your individual letters of recommendation.
As many of you know, you are required to submit 4-7 individual letters of support for your Prehealth Committee application. To this point, our office has directly accepted and collected such letters for you. As of AUGUST 3, 2009 (tentative date), we are planning to convert to new system whereby you will create a secure account and your evaluators/letter writers will fax or email their letters to centralized letter collection center. If you waive your right of access to your letters (advised), you will not be able to view the content of your letters, but you will be able to regularly check as to how many letters have been submitted for you. You will also be able to see who submitted letters for you and when. This will then allow you to follow-up regarding any missing letters before our stated deadlines.
If you have already requested/arranged to have letters submitted to us in support of a future Prehealth Committee application and instructed your recommenders to send to our office directly that is not a problem. However, any letters you request beginning AUGUST 3, 2009 FORWARD should be sent through the new system.
Please look for future listserv and blog announcement about this conversion and for the instructions as to how to set up your secure, online letter account.
Just a few quick points:
1) When you have submitted your AMCAS application and have received at least one secondary application (or been prompted to complete a secondary), please fill out and submit the Release Form to our office in 109 Norton Hall. Please ALSO complete and turn in the AMCAS Letter ID Form found in the actual AMCAS application as opposed to just providing your AMCAS Letter ID Number.
*** Note: We became aware just yesterday that once we submit a Committee packet to an MD school, your letter packet may be transmitted to all other MD schools you have designated at the same time. AMCAS and the individual medical schools are aware of this. Due to this change in VirtualEvals processing for 2010, it would actually result in your letters arriving to the other schools earlier (not later) than previous years. We will confirm our understanding of this and send out a follow-up notice to you ASAP. If this is the case, we do not need to stagger the transmission of your letters to each individual MD school as previously indicated. This seems to be true only for the MD schools, not DO. If you are applying to any DO schools, please also submit a completed Release Form listing all your designated DO schools and notify Virginia (Jinny) Majewski via email (vmajewsk@buffalo.edu) about your receipt of any DO secondary applications. As we hear from you about the receipt of DO secondary applications, we will forward your packet to those specific schools.
