• No. A committee letter (OSU PAC) is typically not required for a professional application, but is instead highly recommended by most medical and dental professional schools. The PAC process is the source of committee letters for OSU-Stillwater and OSU-Tulsa pre-medical and pre-dental students and recent alumni.
• As an alternate to a committee letter, you may seek appropriate individual letters of recommendation/evaluation that may also meet your professional school admissions requirements. Guidance for both students and letter writers can be found in our letters of recommendation resources.
• Some medical or dental schools will require current students or recent graduates to submit a committee letter if their institution offers one (not all institutions have committee letters). If this is the case for one of your top schools and there is specific, warranted context explaining why you were not able to participate, the professional school might consider waiving the requirement on a case-by-case basis. Reach out directly to the professional school if you think this applies to you.

• No. National trends indicate that a committee letter process (PAC at OSU) is primarily recommended by physician and dentistry specific programs.
• We can still help! Review our letters of recommendation resources, including guidance for both students and letter writers.
• Not sure if you need letters of recommendation? Check your health professions toolbox for application guidance.

• Not at this time. National data demonstrates that average professional medical and dental school applicant’s GPAs and matriculants (those accepted) trend much higher than our minimum PAC GPA requirements.
• We review your PAC application holistically but we do enforce the set minimum GPA requirements. No exceptions.
• Curious about national trends? Explore these national reports:
  • Dental (all dental schools) - Applicants, Enrollees & Graduates
  • Dental & Medical (Texas schools) - Ten Year Application Statistics
  • Medical (M.D. schools) - Reports on Applicants and Matriculants
  • Medical (D.O. schools) - Reports on Matriculants

• Both paid and unpaid work/public service in a health or health-related field where you are not directly responsible for a patient’s care but may still have patient interaction.
• For example: filling prescriptions, performing clerical work, delivering patient food, cleaning patients and/or their rooms, administering food or medication, taking vitals or other record keeping information, working as a scribe, CNA, medical assistant, dental assistant, patient care tech, phlebotomistst, pharmacy technician, EMT, etc. 
• Shadowing, clinical research and/or any direct observation or participation in patient care in a clinic, hospital or with a physician or dentist is considered acceptable.
  • Clinical research is research that involves working directly with patients, or directly with patient data. Clinical trials and observational studies are classic examples, as is analyzing the data produced in those settings. Work you may have performed includes working directly with medical/patient data or data related to medications, medical devices, procedures, or other patient care topics to address a hypothesis laid out by a physician, dentist, healthcare provider, or other research team.
• Virtual shadowing with a physician or dentist might be considered on a case-by-case basis if there is specific, warranted context explaining why you were not able to participate in person.
• The PAC committee prefers a demonstration of direct, hands-on patient care experience in your candidacy.  

• No. Health-related experience hours cannot be in-progress after the official OSU PAC deadline to reach the minimum 50 hour requirement. No exceptions.  
• Your health-related experience hours must be completed and fully documented on your OSU PAC application by the required deadline. 
• We encourage all PAC candidates to continually document all additional hours of healthcare (and non-healthcare) experiences after your PAC application is completed. Continuous self-documentation is important throughout your professional school application process.

• No. You are only required to meet the minimum eligibility requirements and apply on time.
• The info session, workshop, and mock interviews are optional opportunities to strengthen your application, and are recommended, but not required.

• No. PAC is no longer required for the OSU-COM 3+1 program.
• In the summer of 2024, OSU-COM changed their 3+1 program's application timeline and requirements. The application deadline moved forward, from February of your sophomore year to September 1st of your junior year. We strongly recommend anyone interested to familiarize themselves with our guide to OSU-COM's 3+1 program (not to be confused with the newer 3+1 Med Bound).
• Under the old timeline, sophomore 3+1 applicants were in a position to greatly benefit from additional exposure to the field. With a an additional 6 months, there is now more time to gain that exposure. Since the PAC deadline is in early January, we recommend 3+1 applicants pursue letters of recommendation that will better reflect their development at the time of their application to the medical school in late August.

• No. You were provisionally accepted into medical school as a freshmen and do not need to apply again.
• Review our guide for provisionally accepted OSU-COM 3+1 Med Bound students for more information.

• Yes, but it might/might not be your best option to pursue the PAC process, depending on various factors.
• If you are 1-2 years after OSU graduation, the PAC process may still be a good fit.
• If it has been 3+ years since OSU graduation, you likely have more recent/relevant references (examples: graduate school faculty, supervisors, healthcare providers, or research supervisors, etc.).
• Before proceeding to pursue the PAC process, review your top professional medical/dental school(s) admissions requirements. Review what type(s) of letters of recommendation are required to apply. See if they require or prefer a committee letter.
• If you have other strong individual letters of recommendation which meet the admissions eligibility criteria, the PAC process might/might not be the best option for you to proceed with your application process. 
• Overall, if you have never completed the PAC process before and meet all pre-eligibility, it might be a fit for you as an OSU alumnus. Schedule a meeting with our office to discuss your options and to gain support throughout the application process.