Letters of Recommendation and veCollect

The following sections appear below:

• Requesting Letters of Recommendation
• What is veCollect?
• How does veCollect work? What are the benefits?
• Who is eligible?
• What is the cost?
• How do I register for veCollect?
• The veCollect Manual
• How do I create a quiver?
• Processes for Alumni
• Important notes
• veCollect FAQs

Requesting Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are a critical element in the health professions application process.  Schools value the perspectives of people who have observed your work and can speak to your abilities and personality.  You can begin requesting letters of recommendation at any time after you create your veCollect account.  At Johns Hopkins, you are responsible for monitoring all aspects of requesting and collecting recommendations.  You should only ask faculty or others who know you well to write a more substantial and helpful letter.  Realize that there is no rush, as faculty with whom you are currently taking a course or people you are currently working with can be asked closer to the time you apply. Here are some tips about getting letters of recommendation:

• Choose your recommenders carefully.  A person who knows you well can write a more substantial and helpful letter than someone who hardly knows you.  In choosing between a person who taught you in a small class versus someone with a famous name or title but who cannot write a personal letter, choose the former.  It is required to have at least one recommendation from someone who has taught you in the sciences (2 recommended), and it is recommended that you have one from a professor or lecturer in the humanities or social sciences.  Others who may write useful letters include research advisors, administrators, faculty advisors, athletic coaches, supervisors of campus or summer jobs, and those who have known you in volunteer positions. Letters from graduate student instructors are acceptable.
   
• When asking for the letter, make an appointment to meet in person if at all possible.  Take your resume and transcript and papers which you have written for the instructor (preferably the copies which contain their comments) with you and be prepared to talk about your future goals and past achievements.  If an individual agrees to write on your behalf, present him/her with the Recommendation Waiver Form.  If the person is off campus, it is also helpful to provide the writer with a stamped envelope addressed to the Office of Pre-Professional Programs and Advising.
   
• Make sure that you allow the person the option of saying NO.  You want to have strong letters and if a person is somewhat uncomfortable writing for you or doesn’t have enough time, it is likely that the result will be short and weak.  It is much better to have someone be honest with you at the start, so that you can find another referee who will be more enthusiastic. You can determine this by asking the person if s/he feels comfortable writing a strong letter on your behalf.
   
• Give your referees plenty of advance notice and time to write a good letter of recommendation (a month or even two).  Make sure that your referees know that we need to have your letters sometime in the spring or early summer. It is up to you how you motivate your recommended to submit your recommendation.  If you want to set a deadline, mid-June is very reasonable.  If your letters are not received by mid-June, it may delay the processing of your Committee Packet.
   
• Be sure to give your referees friendly reminders about your letter, but do not pester them.  Remember they will be writing a letter reflecting on many aspects of you—which includes behavior and interpersonal interactions!
   
• Write a thank you note to each recommender for taking the time to write you a letter in support of your candidacy. 
   
• Inform your writers when you have decided where you will be attending school and thank them again for their assistance and support. 

What is veCollect?

Johns Hopkins applicants to medical and other health professions schools are supported by the submission of letters of recommendation from faculty, administrators, and others both inside and outside of the university.   The Pre-Professional Office utilizes veCollect, a web-based service for the collection and storage of letters of evaluation/recommendation.   Electronic collection and storage of recommendation letters is secure, reliable, and efficient.  By utilizing this program, we can better manage the recommendation and submission process.  The system has a built in means of allowing you to waive your right to inspect the contents of letters of recommendation written on your behalf.

How does veCollect work?  What are the benefits?

In using this service, recommendation writers submit letters of evaluation (on letterhead with their signature) electronically to veCollect.  The process for electronic submission of letters is through email attachment of the letter in .pdf, .doc, or .docx format.  Through veCollect:

• Applicants list their evaluators and sign the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) statement for each letter – to confirm whether the applicant waives her/his right of access to read your letter.
• Applicants can track receipt of letters and will see when your letter has been received
• Letters are stored securely until needed, even if the applicant decides to delay his/her application.
• Recommenders save time by no longer having to mail paper copies of letters.
• Recommenders can submit letters electronically from anywhere in the world.
• The Pre-Professional Office securely downloads letters from veCollect for transmission to schools/programs as requested by applicants. 

Who is Eligible

Pre-Professional Advising serves undergraduates and alumni of the full-time programs in the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering who are seeking careers in healthcare and law.  This includes advising and assistance through the application process.  Only students who completed the majority of their undergraduate pre-medical coursework at Hopkins are eligible for a Committee Letter and use of the veCollect letter service.  All other Johns Hopkins affiliated students are advised to have their letters handled through the AMCAS Letter Service.  Students have to be in their junior year or beyond to set up a veCollect account.

What is the Cost?

The non-refundable fee for creating a veCollect account is $20, payable by cash or check made out to “Johns Hopkins University.”  When you submit your Health Professions Committee Application you will pay a $60 processing fee rather than an $80 processing fee.

How do I register for veCollect?

If you are a junior or a senior at Johns Hopkins, or an alumnus in the Baltimore vicinity, you will initiate setting up a veCollect account in person.  If you are an alumnus who does not reside in the Baltimore area, you may initiate setting up a veCollect account by postage mail.

All students and alumni must complete the veCollect Registration Form in full to register for veCollect.  Once completed, turn it in to the Office of Pre-Professional Programs and Advising, located in 300 Garland Hall.  At that time, you will receive a) a receipt for your $20 payment, b) a veCollect Student Manual, and c) a copy of the document Instructions for Writers of Letters of Recommendation for Johns Hopkins Premedical Students using veCollect  Additional copies of these instructions can be downloaded from the “Forms” page of our website http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/forms.html.

The veCollect Student Manual

The manual which will guide you through the account process, answering a number of questions, including:

• What is veCollect? 
• How many recommendations do I need and from whom?
• When/how should I ask for recommendations?
• How does it work?
• Once I have an account, how do I enter information on my evaluators (letter writers)?
• What do I do if I already have letters in the office?
• How will I know that letters have arrived?
  NOTE: The veCollect Student Manual is not available online.

How do I create my "Quiver"?

• When all of your individual letters of recommendation have been submitted, a PDF for each of your letters of recommendation will appear on your “My Evaluators” page. (this should not include the Committee Letter).
• You will then proceed to the “My Quiver” section of the navigation bar and click the “Create New Quiver” link on the right hand navigation bar (just above the orange video link). 
• This will take you to the “My Quiver(s)” page and you will see the yellow folder on the screen (your Quiver) that lists all of your individual recommendation - When all of your individual letters of recommendation are in, you will click the “Process My Letters” link on the top of the navigation bar.
• You will need to review all of the recommendation letters in your Quiver to insure they are correct. 
• Before locking your Quiver  you must certify that the information you entered into veCollect is truthful and accurate by entering your name into the space provided.
• You are now ready to click the “Process and Lock this Quiver” button.
• Contact the Pre-Professional Office to let us know that your Quiver is locked and your letters are complete.  To do this, you will email Carolyn Krause (ckrause@jhu.edu) if your last name starts with A-L or LaTonia Sanders (ladytee@jhu.edu) if your last name starts with M-Z.

Process for Alumni

Alumni who are not in the Baltimore area are not required to set up their veCollect account in person.  The process will be as follows:
• Download the following items from the “Forms” page of our website:
o the veCollect Registration Form
o the Instructions for Writers of Letters of Recommendation for Johns Hopkins Premedical Students using veCollect 
• Mail in your veCollect Registration Form and a check for $20 made out to “Johns Hopkins University.”  If your last name begins with A-L, you will direct the postage mailing to Mrs. Carolyn Krause, and if your last name begins with M-Z, you will direct the postage mailing to Mrs. LaTonia Sanders.  The postage mailing address is:
                Pre-Professional Programs and Advising
                Johns Hopkins University
                300 Garland Hall
                3400 N. Charles Street
                Baltimore, Maryland 21218
• After your registration form and check are received in our office, you will be sent a follow-up email from Mrs. Krause or Mrs. Sanders that will include an electronic copy of the veCollect Student Manual.  You will proceed from there to follow instructions provided in the Manual.

Important Notes

It is critical that you are professional throughout this process, particularly in how you approach, provide information to, and express appreciation for the efforts of those faculty and others who are writing recommendations on your behalf.  The veCollect Student Manual provides suggestions on how to request letters of recommendation.

If you plan to open a veCollect account and have not yet met with an advisor in the Office, it is in your best interest to set up an appointment with an advisor.   You do not want your first meeting with one of us to be your Committee Interview. 

veCollect FAQs

Are you missing a letter of recommendation in veCollect?

Please continue to handle delicately your “gentle reminder” to faculty who have not yet submitted a letter for you.  If you are experiencing ongoing problems with a recommender not submitting, please bring this to the attention of Mrs. Sanders or Mrs. Krause.  There are some situation when one of us know a particular faculty member and we can put in our own “gentle reminder.”  It is much more difficult when we do not know the individual who has agreed to write for you.  Bottom line: we will all work together to come up with a resolution.  If you are missing one or more letters and face a decision of whether or not to finalize your recommendations (creating a “quiver”) without the full complement of letters, we will work together to help you with this decision.  First, however, we ask that you bring this to the attention of Mrs. Sanders or Mrs. Krause so that we are not overwhelmed with these issues.   

NOTE: Remember, submission of AMCAS is not associated or connected with our uploading of your Committee Packet.   When you receive a notification email from AMCAS following submission of your application, please DO NOT contact us regarding the “letter receipt status.”  We will be doing all we can do to process your Committee Packet (your Committee Letter plus individual letters of rec.) in as timely a manner as possible.

Do I have to have all of my recommendations into veCollect prior to handing in my HPCA?

No. Your letters as listing on your  HPCA are considered a "work in progress."  At the time you submit your HPCA, you may have requested a letter and not yet entered it into veCollect, you may have requested and entered letters, or your may have already received letters into your veCollect account.

Have you had any recommenders not receive the veCollect notification email?

This is primarily a result of applicants  creating an Evaluator Record but not a Letter Record.  Please check with all of your recommenders to make sure they have received the email that is generated when you create an Evaluator Record and a Letter Record for each recommender.   We count on you following through with your recommenders to make sure they receive this email and understand how to use the veCollect system.