Freshly Brewed Hot Tea regarding Letters of Recommendation: What is better, 3 or 5?

Today, I have freshly brewed hot tea from an admissions officer from a Physician Assistant (PA) program regarding letters of recommendation and just how important it is to be self-aware. Can you imagine spending the time to access the "Evaluations" section of your application, enter the contact information of your chosen recommenders, send off the evaluation request from CASPA, only to receive a “Below Average” scoring from the recommender? My inside intel reports this is becoming more and more apparent, especially in the last few years. 

This is one of those “that would never be me,” situations that ironically actually could be you. According to Troxel and Lopes (2019), “Four hundred and thirty letters were analyzed from the 120 applicants granted an interview…results indicate that about two-thirds of letter writers knew the applicant for three years or less.” Ask yourself before you are choosing those who will literally decide the fate of your acceptance into PA school (a euphemism to the potential destruction of your PA career) if these evaluators truly felt that you were at your best intellectually, with awareness in your communication skills, adaptability, and dependability. Here is a list of the questions that you should be running over in your head while choosing an evaluator: 

1. Did I put my best foot forward in showcasing my knowledge base in the healthcare field?

2. Did I present both written and oral communication skills? 

3. Did my evaluator see emotional maturity and adaptability in me?

4. Did I show up to the agreed upon schedule on time, every time? 

5. Did I showcase my ability to solve conflicts while showing ability to work in a team? 

6. How did I react to criticism that was provided to me?

7. Did the evaluator write me a letter of recommendation just because I asked or was it because they truly believed I would excel in the PA career? 

Once the evaluator receives the evaluation request from CASPA, they quantify your characteristics via a five-point scale from 5-1, described as Superior-Excellent-Good-Average-Below Average and Not Observed for the following critical categories followed by a free-response question: 

• Intellectual Ability

• Written Communication Skills

• Oral Communication Skills

• Emotional Maturity

• Adaptability

• Team Skills

• Dependability

• Conflict Resolution

• Interpersonal Skills

• Awareness of Limitations

• Reaction to Criticism

• Patient Interaction

• Overall

Now, one of the questions I remember asking a million people (get used to many fun hyperboles on my blog) is how many letters of recommendation are better? Is the minimum 3 the best or is the available 5 the obvious choice? The answer lies in the quality of your letters of recommendation. According to the PA Admissions Officer, as long as you have 3 solid letters of recommendation, more is just more to read. The letters of recommendation should be from evaluators who have known you on more than just one occasion, have seen you interact with patients or peers, and can touch on your “work ethic, responsibility, and grit.” The catch here is that the 3 letters must be from 3 specific sources and this PA Admission Officer will look for those titles when considering offering an interview. 

Want to know which are the 3 must-have evaluators? A little honey for your tea - while college professors are the bread and butter of our educational system, their letters of recommendations are valued lower on the list. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation with me for more info by visiting the “BOOK” section on my website. Now drink your tea, relax, and let's dive in.  

Join us next week for more exclusive hot tea on what the heck “well-rounded” even means. 

Where there is tea, there is hope,

Rachel Watters, PA-C, MSPA, MHA, MPH BS

Founder and CEO of PA-C By The Sea

References

Troxell T, Lopes JE. A Correlational Analysis of Length and Nature of Relationships Between Applicant and Reference and Strength of Recommendation for CASPA Letters of Recommendation. The Internet Journal

of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2019 Jan 01;17(2), Article 7.