PA School Letters of Reference
Here are two letters of recommendation I received when applying to PA school.
I am not posting them here to fluff my feathers but merely to serve as an example of what I included as part of my actual PA school application.
A great letter of recommendation weighs heavily in your favor. This, and a passion-filled personal essay, is the reason that I, an average student from a state university, was able to receive an acceptance letter over many Ivy league applicants with pedigree backgrounds and 4.0 GPAs.
A great letter of recommendation must be earned. It comes when you provide a valuable service with the sole intent of doing an excellent job and providing your service for the benefit of others.
The best letters are the result of honesty and hard work. If you're looking for a letter of recommendation, it's important that your intentions be genuine. You will also discover a predictor of success in life beyond the PA school application. One that will take you as far as you let it.
You can download copies of these reference letters and other resources that will help with your physician assistant school application at the end of this blog post.
Sample Letters of Recommendation for PA School
Letters should be written on an official letterhead and signed by the letter writer. When submitting to CASPA, you will need the evaluator's full name, email address and provide a due date. This due date is when you want the letter to be submitted and completed by the evaluator.
My Physician Assistant Applicant Letter of Recommendation Sample One
My Physician Assistant Application Letter of Recommendation Sample Two
I hope these resources help you. You can download copies of my nine PA recommendation letter templates along with other application resources by following the links below.
Physician Assistant Letters of Recommendation: Downloadable Templates
This download includes nine physician assistant profession specific letters of recommendation to cover most situations:
- Letter of recommendation for PA School Applicant 1
- Letter of recommendation for PA School Applicant 2
- Letter of recommendation for PA School Applicant 3
- Letter of recommendation for PA School Applicant 4
- Physician assistant colleague letter of recommendation 1
- Physician assistant colleague letter of recommendation 2
- Letter of recommendation for staff (MA/Front Desk/Tech/ETC) pursuing healthcare career/graduate school 1
- Letter of recommendation for staff (MA/Front Desk/Tech/ETC) pursuing healthcare career/graduate school 2
- Letter of recommendation for PA Student who rotates in your clinic
These are pre-formatted MS Word document templates that you may modify and edit to your liking.
Writing a good letter of recommendation can be helpful but writing a great letter of recommendation can change a person's life. If you care deeply about your coworker, colleague, employee, student, MA, staff member, or yourself (if you have been tasked with writing your own letter), take the time to write a reference letter that will uniquely separate you from the pack is worth your time.
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Not your typical applicant but I am 47 yrs. old and have a combined experience as an EMT-P as well as an RN for 27 years. I did not excel in nursing school due to having a mortgage and a new baby at the time which necessitated a full-time night job as I went through nursing school. I expect to make that up however as I work towards my BSN. How much would that experience account for an acceptance letter even if my GPA is not the greatest?
Hi Marcus, these years of healthcare experience are your finest asset and will certainly be well received. The PA profession has is rooted in taking talented individuals with lots of healthcare experience and using that to fulfill the great need for healthcare providers in underserved communities. So 27 years as an RN fits the bill. Also, this is not as “atypical” as you think and programs welcome applicants like yourself. Just make sure you have all your prerequisites completed and update any classes that need updating and consider retaking a class or two if you have a very low grade at a CC just so you can show them that indeed you are now ready. Also, is there a reason you are pursuing PA over NP?
Stephen
Thank you for your information. I’m trying to understand the process better for my daughter who just graduated cum laude in BioMed sciences. I sure would like to talk by phone if that is possible. My # is 979 417 8034
Hi Neil, contact me at [email protected] and we will try to work something out.
Stephen
I have a huge dilemma. I am really worried about my application because I have a poorly written and obviously not thought out recommendation letter. I had asked my boss for a recommendation letter almost a month before the due date. She willingly agreed to it, but I found her scrambling to write it the day before my designated due date. She took less than 30 minutes to write it while I was having a panic attack. On top of that, she spelled physician assistant as physician’s assistant. I know it was a terrible letter because she gave me a copy after having submitted it. I am so disappointed and worried. I initially only asked 3 people for recommendation letters, but after seeing the lack of effort and thought my boss put in to my letter, I was able to get one from someone I know I can rely on. I don’t know what to do and am really, really worried about not getting in to PA school. I know recommendation letters are not weighed as heavily as your coursework, grades, and healthcare experience, but it still worries me. I am just in utter shock and disappointment because I really did not expect this from her. How will PA schools view this?
Applying for Physician Assistant schools do seem like a very stressful and hard thing to do. So, I like that you gave tips on how to make the letter of recommendation be a great part of your application. I like that what you said about how you must earn a letter. You can’t just go into a job looking for a good letter. That is a good thing to be aware of when you need one.
Make sure that you have the correct information and spelling of the person or department that you are giving the letter of recommendation to. You are not giving yourself or the person you are recommending any credit by having the wrong information. If there is not a specific person to contact, use “To Whom It May Concern”. Ask the person you are writing the recommendation for what they are applying for and perhaps a little bit about the business/department. This will help you to craft a letter that will share the specific information needed by the receiver and reflects highly on you as well as a competent referral.
All wonderful advice! I hope everyone is taking notes!
– Stephen
I was wondering if you’d have any examples of PA School letter of recommendations written by a PA?