St. Olaf’s Health Professions Committee supports current students and recent alumni by providing a Committee Letter of Evaluation for students applying to medical, dental, and optometry schools. Most other health professions programs prefer individual letters of reference.

To request a letter from the HPC:

• Fill out an HPC Application  Due April 3, 2023 (to see a copy of the form, click here)
• Current Students:  Waive your FERPA rights to access your entire HPC dossier, including all faculty reference forms and the HPC composite letter
• Alumni:  Waive your FERPA rights by filling out this form. Submit:
  1-Email one copy of the form to Stacey Argabright at argabr1@stolaf.edu
  2-Send one copy of the form to the Registrar’s Office, Tomson Hall 149
  3-Give one copy of the form to the faculty or other school official providing the recommendation.
• Request 3-5 St. Olaf faculty members (current or past) to fill out an Evaluation Form (faculty use ONLY – to see a copy of the entire form before you submit it, click here).  Evaluations forms are due on or before April 3rd.
• Sign up for a 20-minute interview (link will be provided in the confirmation when you submit your HPC application)

We highly recommend students complete a mock interview with the Piper Center prior to their HPC interview. Additionally, we recommend meeting with your HPC interviewers in the days following your interview for feedback. Your HPC interview is both practice and an evaluation, and will be used to write your HPC committee letter. Treat your HPC interview exactly as you would an actual professional school interview.

Practice HPC Interview Questions

If you are receiving a letter from the HPC, you will need to indicate that in your application. For the HPC Letter, please put Stacey Argabright’s contact information in your application–not Professor Crisp’s. 

• For AMCAS, please download the Letter Request Form and turn it in to Stacey Argabright. She cannot upload your letter without that form. 
• For AACOMAS, AADSAS, and OptomCAS, please be sure to put Stacey’s name and email as the contact person for your HPC Letter. The application will generate an email to her, which she needs in order to upload your letter. 

Please note that your letters do not need to be received for you to submit your application. For more information, please see the slides from our CAS Application Workshop.

In addition to your HPC letter, you may request additional letters of evaluation from others who know you well and can speak to your qualifications. All letters outside HPC should be submitted directly to your application service. Please be sure to check the letter guidelines at each school to which you are applying before submitting additional letters.

How to Ask for a Letter of Reference
Guidelines for Writing a Letter of Evaluation for a Medical School Applicant (for the letter writer)

We are glad to continue to work with alumni who are planning to apply or reapply to health professions schools. If you have questions, please email Dana Rechtzigel.  

If you wish to receive information from St. Olaf about Pre-Health and HPC deadlines, workshop presentations, and gap year opportunities, please complete this form.

If you have previously applied for and interviewed with the HPC and are requesting an update to your HPC letter, please fill out the Request for Updated HPC Letter form on or by May 1, 2023.  If you went through the HPC interview process in previous years, you will not interview again.  Professor Crisp will use the information submitted on the Update Form to update your HPC letter.  Please reach out to Stacey Argabright or Dana Rechtzigel with any questions.

Students who plan to apply during the upcoming summer should view our Pre-Health 301 Workshop. Slides from Pre-health 301

If you need access to the slides, please email rechtz1@stolaf.edu for the link.

Navigating Application Expenses for Health Professions School