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For evaluators of Dental, Medical, and Podiatry applicants

Letter Requirements for Dental, Medical and Podiatry Applicants

All letters of evaluation must include the following criteria. Letters that do not include all requirements will be rejected.

    • Be written on letterhead (personal or professional letterhead is accepted)
    • Include contact information (a phone number and/or email address) 
    • Signature (e-signatures are only accepted when uploading through the evaluator portal)
    • Include the applicant's name
    • Letter must be dated. Admissions committees will take the date of the letter into consideration during review, with a strong preference for letters written after May 1, 2022.
    • Written in English

Letter Requirement Examples

 

All 5 requirements must be included on the letter itself.

The letter will be reviewed by the admissions committees from the TMDSAS member institutions. TMDSAS must abide by the letter requirements set by the member institutions.

Personal and Professional Letterhead Examples

letter requirements

 

 

Letters of Evaluation Direct Upload Instructions

  • First, compose letter of evaluation
  • Save your letter as a PDF file type
  • Next, upload letter (PDF file) by clicking the "Upload" link
  • Signature (e-signatures are only accepted when uploading through the evaluator portal)

 

Not sure what to write in your letter?

The admission committees are looking for candid, honest insight into the applicant’s strengths and weaknesses. A substantial evaluation provides an accurate assessment of the applicant’s suitability for dental, medical, and podiatry school rather than advocate for the applicant.

As such, your description of how the applicant has, or has not, demonstrated any of the following competencies that are necessary for success in dental, medical, and podiatry school is very important: Integrity and Ethics, Reliability and Dependability, Service Orientation, Social/Interpersonal Skills, Teamwork, Capacity for Improvement, Resilience and Adaptability, Cultural Competence and Oral Communication.

You can use the 15 Core Competencies For Entering Medical Students resource from the AAMC to help you create your evaluation for dental, medical, and podiatry applicants.

 

For evaluators of Veterinary applicants

Veterinary Evaluation Form Instructions

  1. Select "start" to complete the veterinary evaluation form
  2. After all questions are completed, submit button appears (note: form will time out after 60 minutes)

Veterinary Evaluation Form Tips

  1. You can open the form to view the questions and come back to submit your answers, if needed. The "Submit" button will not appear until all entries have been made.
  2. We suggest copying and pasting your responses from a Word document when you are ready to submit.
  3. The form has to be filled out in one sitting. Once you begin the form, you must complete it and submit it as it will not save your work.
  4. The evaluation form will time out after 60 minutes of inactivity and will not save your responses.
  5. To prevent technical problems, we recommend using Firefox, an internet browser to complete the evaluation form.

Review the Veterinary Evaluation Form Questions

8 free response questions, 2 likert scale questions  

Please note that the text boxes have a 2000 character limit, which may end up being around 300 words.

  1. How long have you known or observed the applicant? (2000 characters max)
  2. Please describe in detail your relationship to this applicant (e.g. work supervisor and where, educator, academic advisor, etc.). (2000 characters max)
  3. Please describe the activities the applicant performed during the time you have observed them. In what settings you have interacted with them, and how in-depth your knowledge of the candidate could be described. (2000 characters max)
  4. Please provide an estimate of total hours of time you spent directly observing or interacting with the applicant by choosing from the options below. (2000 characters max)
  5. Please indicate your estimation of the applicant in each category by selecting the appropriate box. (1-5 likert scale)
    1. Initiative/work ethic
    2. Motivation (for becoming a veterinarian)
    3. Intellectual capacity
    4. Personal and social maturity
    5. Dependability and reliability
    6. Emotional stability
    7. Character and integrity
    8. Communication skills
    9. Acceptance of feedback
    10. Ability to handle animals (select one)
  6. What do you consider the applicant’s major strength(s)? (2000 characters max)
  7. What do you consider the applicant’s major weakness(es)? (2000 characters max)
  8. Please describe specific situations when the applicant has demonstrated the intelligence and personal skills required to succeed at the School of Veterinary Medicine? (2000 characters max)
  9. If you have any other comments which may help the selections committee, please write them here. (2000 characters max)
  10. Please rate this applicant’s overall potential by selecting the appropriate box. (1-5 likert scale)

 

 

Technical Issues FAQs

Can I mail my letter instead?

 
  • Veterinary Evaluation Forms: No. The veterinary evaluation form must be completed and submitted online through the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal.

 

  • Letters for medical and dental applicants: Yes. Please make sure it contains all requirements listed above and send to:

          TMDSAS
          P.O. Box 2175
          Austin, Texas 78768

I am new to the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal. How do I log in?  

 
  • Use the link included in the automated email request that was sent to you from info@tmdsas.com.
  • Make sure you are using the link from the latest email request sent.
  • You will be directed to the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal Homepage in order to create an account.
  • Click on the link "New User? Register here."
  • Be sure that the email address where you received the original email request is the same as the one you use to create your TMDSAS Evaluator Account. Using the same email address will ensure that you see the applicant's name in your portal.

What if I never received an email request?  

 

Once the applicant fills out the [Letters of Evaluation] section of their application and enters your email address, you will receive an automated email from info@tmdsas.com with a link to the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal. You will have the ability to create your account there.

Check with the applicant to make sure they completed the section correctly in order for you to receive the link.

Double check your spam/junk folders. If not, send us an email to the address above and list your email address, the applicant's name for which you are submitting an evaluation for, and request a link to the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal.

I do not see my applicant's name in the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal

 

Please be sure that the email where you received the original email request is the same as the one you are using to log into the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal. If these do not match, the applicant will not appear in your account.

Please inform applicants to use the email address associated with your TMDSAS Evaluator Account to resolve this issue. They can edit the email themselves in their application.

I cannot log into my account

 

First, please ensure that you are logging into the Evaluator Portal. This would not be the same as the Advisor Portal located on our website.

If you already have an account with us, it may be possible that your account has become inactive due to inactivity over the last 18 months. Send us an email so we can re-activate your account.

I submitted a letter, but it was rejected. How do I submit a new letter?

 

You can use the same link from the initial email request to upload a corrected letter in the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal.

If you do not have access to the initial email request, send an email to info@tmdsas.com so we can resend you the TMDSAS Evaluator Portal link.

I made a mistake in the letter I submitted for a dental/medical applicant, can I make edits to the letter?

 

Yes, please send a request to info@tmdsas.com to make changes to letters submitted.

Can I edit the veterinary evaluation form?

 

The form can be edited until it has been approved by the TMDSAS administrator (typically 24 hours later). Please send a request to our team at info@tmdsas.com to edit the evaluation form. TMDSAS will delete the original entry on our end so you can complete the form once more.

Please note, TMDSAS will need to delete the ENTIRE original entry in order to edit any portion of the evaluation form. We suggest having a copy of your answers before contacting us to remove the original entry to make edits.

Can I print out the evaluation form first before submitting?

 

You are be able to copy the questions and answer them in a separate document if you wish. In-browser printing abilities are not permitted.

Can I submit an accompanying letter with the veterinary evaluation form?

 

No. Only the digital submission of the Veterinary Evaluation Forms will be accepted by the veterinary schools.

Can TMDSAS send my evaluation to other application services such as VMCAS, AMCAS, or AADSAS?

 

No. TMDSAS does not release evaluations to other application services.

What if I am submitting an HP Committee Packet?

 

Applicants have two options for their Letters of Evaluation:

  • Three individual letters of evaluation OR
  • One Health Professions Committee Letter/Packet.

The TMDSAS Evaluator Portal is only for submitting an individual letter under the first option.

Advisors can submit an HP Committee Packet via the TMDSAS Advisor Portal. 

For questions, visit the TMDSAS Advisor Help page.

What if I am having trouble or need assistance?

 

Contact us at info@tmdsas.com. Providing the email address associated with your account and the applicant's name, or TMDSAS ID number in the email will help resolve any issues quickly.