Intent to Apply
Frequently Asked Questions
The page is designed to assist Pre-Health Professions applicants and those looking to apply to professional schools with the required items for the intent to Apply application and file. If you have a question that had not been addressed below, please email it to itoa@fullerton.edu and we'll add it to the list.
LETTERS OF EVALUATION (LOE)
1. What if I am unable to obtain a letter of evaluation from a Health Professional Before the due date?
As of the 2017/2018 application cycle, a letter from a Health Professional or a science faculty is required. Please contact the HPAO if obtaining a letter is an issue.
2. Where should my letter writers send my letters of evaluation (LOE)?
Please provide your letter writers with the Reference Request Guide, which also lists the following options.
Email: itoa@fullerton.edu
Fax the letter to (657-278-5888)
Mail the letter to:
California State University, Fullerton
Health Professions Advising University Hall (UH) 223
800 N. State College Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92834-6848
3. I'm interested in opening an Intent to Apply file for the sole purpose of having the HPAO forward my letters to the professional schools to which I am applying. Is this acceptable?
If you missed the application deadline or wish to have your letters of evaluation forwarded in the form of a packet, you’re more than welcome to utilize our services. Please see "Letter Packet Application" under required documents and contact the HPAO for any deadlines. (This means no letter from the HPC)
4. How should my letter writer address my letter of evaluation?
Letter writers should address the letter of evaluation “Dear Admissions Committee Members."
5. Will the letters in my file be sent directly to the Health Professions program to which I am applying?
Yes, please make sure to notify the HPAO once you are ready to submit your letter/committee packet to the professional schools you are applying to.
6. How many letters of evaluation do you suggest?
We ask that you follow the guidelines for the program(s) that you are applying to in regards to how many letters of evaluations they accept. Please contact the HPAO for help with this decision. Always remember quality over quanity.
7. Who should I ask to compose a letter on my behalf?
We recommend you check with the programs you are applying to, however, most of the time they will ask for a letter from a health professional you have shadowed or worker for and a science faculty. Letters can come from any of the following:
- Health Professional
- Science Faculty
- Supervisor
- Volunteer Coordinator
- Non-science Faculty
- Extra Curricular Supervisor
8. When is an appropriate time to follow up with my letter writer if they haven't submitted the letter by the stated deadline?
If you originally requested for a letter to be sent by a certain date and you confirmed with our office that it has not yet arrived, please follow up after one week. If the HPAO still has not received the letter after another week, please contact our office and ask that we contact your letter writer.
9. Can I specify what schools will receive which letters?
Due to most centralized application services sending one packet to most/all schools, we are only able to create one packet to mail/upload to the professional schools. Please note, AAMC has their own process and by utilizing the Letter ID feature, you’re able to specify what school receives what letters. Please contact the HPAO for further clarification on this topic.
10. What is the difference between a letter packet and a committee packet?
A letter packet contains all of your letters of evaluation collected in your Intent to Apply file. A committee packet is composed of a committee letter of evaluation along with your other letters of evaluation. For most professional programs, we suggest that you indicate Dr. Michele Mouttapa as the individual who is going to upload/mail your packet. Please use the HPAO’s information when requested for Dr. Mouttapa.
11. When should the HPAO upload my letter packet/committee packet?
Once you submit your professional application, please notify the HPAO and we will upload your packet. If you submit your Intent to Apply application and materials, the HPAO will upload your packet by the first day that the centralized application begins accepting applications.
12. If the HPAO plans to upload/mail my packet to the program I am applying to, should I have my letter writers submit a copy of my letters to the professional school also?
No, if the HPAO uploads the letters of evaluation, there is no need for your letter writer to upload their letter. Also, if you indicate Dr. Mouttapa as your only letter writer (which is suggested), the system won’t recognize letters from other writers and this may delay your application from being processed.
HEALTH PROFESSIONS COMMITTEE
1. When is the Intent to Apply deadline?
The Intent to Apply deadline is 11:59 PM on February 18, 2019 for the 2019/2020 application cycle. If you’re applying for this application cycle, you’ll need to complete the entire application and submit the necessary documents by the due date. Failure to do so will result in the loss of a committee letter.
2. What happens if I don’t receive a committee letter?
If you’re not able to meet the deadline, your letters of evaluation will be forwarded to the professional schools as a letter packet. You still recieve all other Intent to Apply benefits.
3. I am submitting my application to CASPA and I indicated that I received a Committee letter of support, how should I go about sending them my information?
Due to CASPA's requirements, individuals seeking committee support and are applying to CASPA are unable to receive a committee letter. Instead, the Director of Health Professions, Dr. Michele Mouttapa, will write a chair's letter and upload it directly to CASPA (upon completion of all necessary documents for one's Intent to Apply file). Your other letter writers will need to mail/upload their letters of evaluation to CASPA directly as we are unable to do so on their behalf.
4. I am applying to CASPA and I would like a letter packet to be sent from the office, how do I go about doing so?
Due to CASPA's new policy, letters can only come from letter writers themselves. Unfortunately, we will be unable to assist with forwarding your letters of evaluation to CASPA.
5. I am applying to AADSAS and it asks about a committee letter of evaluation. Am I able to submit a committee letter plus additional letters of evaluations?
ADEA AADSAS can accept up to four letters of evaluation or one Committee Report plus one additional letter of evaluation. ADEA notes on their web site "Dental school admission committees prefer committee letters if they are available, but consider applicants equally whether they submit a committee letter or four individual letters of evaluation."
Here at CSUF we use a committee report, which is composed by members of the HP advisory committee to which the individual letters of support are attached.
It is VERY important when you are completing your AADSAS application that, if you wish to have a committee report sent, you CLEARLY indicate that option on the form and use the HP Coordinator’s name and email address as the contact information. We will then be able to upload the committee report directly. You will also then have the option of having ONE additional letter. Multiple letters can then be added into your committee packet and uploaded to AADSAS directly.
6. Do you recommend that I try to obtain a Health Professions committee letter?
For those applying to Pharmacy, Optometry and Veterinary Schools, it is advised that you submit a letter from the director, rather than a committee letter, to the schools you are applying to. This applies to both Undergraduates and Post Baccalaureate students.
7. I’m applying to a foreign medical school, how do I ensure that my letter/committee packet will be received by the foreign medical school?
Please provide the HPAO with one prepaid FEDEX envelope per foreign medical school. Packets can be mailed, same day, if delivered to the Health Professions Advising office before 1 PM. Please note that if the materials are being sent to a location in the U.S. then no pre-paid envelope is needed.
TRANSCRIPTS
1. I am an official Post Baccalaureate student, am I able to roll over my transcripts from my Post Baccalaureate file for my Intent to Apply file?
You are not required to submit unofficial transcripts as long as you have not taken additional course work at the institutions attended since applying to the Post Baccalaureate program. You will still be required to log onto your student portal and print your unofficial and submit it.
Since the office already has copies of your transcripts in your Post Bacc file, the staff will roll over the transcripts to your Intent to Apply file. In order to request this service, we ask that when you submit your Intent to Apply application, please include a note asking the staff to roll over your transcripts from your Post Baccalaureate file.
Just for clarification, if you have taken any new courses please be aware that you are still required to submit updated unofficial transcripts for those institutions only. Should you have any questions concerning this, please do not hesitate to contact the Health Professions Advising office.
2. Will I need to submit a transcript from CSUF and all institutions attended since the completion of my GED/high school? What if the grades are already listed on another transcript, which your office has, do I still need to submit a copy?
You will need to submit unofficial transcripts from every higher educational institution you attended after completing high school. If the grades from one institution are listed on another institution’s transcripts, you are NOT required to obtain unofficial transcripts, as long as the grades appear on another transcript that you submitted.
3. Should I submit official copies of my transcripts to the HPO?
Official copies of all your higher education transcripts are not required; although we ask that you please submit unofficial copies from every higher institution you attended, unless the grades are recorded on an unofficial transcript you submitted to our office.
4. How should I submit my unofficial transcript to your office?
If you submit a digital version of your transcript(s), the Health Professions Committee requires that you submit the documents in a .PDF format; otherwise the unofficial transcripts can be hand-delivered.
5. Does the HPO forward my transcripts to the Professional Schools?
No, official copies of your transcripts need to be ordered through Admissions and Records
either online or in person at LH-114. Most professional programs have an additional form that you submit when requesting transcripts to send to the professional programs to which you are applying.
REQUIRED ITEMS FOR YOUR INTENT TO APPLY
1. Do I need to send a personal statement?
There is space on the applications to send in a rough draft.
2. Where should I list my SI leadership experience on the Intent to Apply application?
Please list your leadership experience under the additional information on the Intent to Apply application.
3. Are updates allowed once my Intent to Apply application has been submitted?
Yes, please contact the HPAO and speak with Ashley about updates.
4. May I submit a CV in place of a resume?
You are more than welcome to submit a CV in place of a resume.
5. What method of payment do you accept?
We accept debit card, checks, cash, money order or cashier's check. See ways to pay online
. All other payment methods can be taken directly to the Student Financial Services (SFS) window (UH-180) with this form.
6. Can I verbally provide you with my admissions test scores?
No, please provide us with a printed copy or screen shot of your score report.
7. Can anyone have an Intent to Apply file open in the HPAO?
Please see Intent to Apply eligibility on the Application Process homepage.
8. I want to reopen a file, how do I do that?
Submit the Re-Intent to Apply Application Form.
If you’re applying for this upcoming application cycle, please complete the entire application if seeking a committee letter of support. Please refer to our Re-Applicant Flow Chart. 
9. What kind of photograph would you prefer me to submit?
Please submit a headshot photograph as a low resolution .jpg.
10. What is the fee payment used for?
The fee payment is used to cover the cost of uploading/mailing your committee or letter packet to the Professional Schools to which you are applying. You are allowed unlimited uploads/mailing for an entire application cycle.
11. What are the differences in fees?
Current students are required to pay $20 per professional program to which they apply, each cycle. Alumni, who graduated more than a year ago, pay a $100 flat fee for each application cycle.
12. What if I recently graduated, am I still required to pay the $100 fee?
No, if you recently graduated (within a year’s time) you can continue to utilize our office’s services at the reduced rate of $20 per professional program. If you choose to use our office’s services after that time (more than a year since graduating), you will pay $100.
13. How can I track the progress of my file?
You can track the progress of your file by calling the Health Professions Advising Office at 657-278-3980.
14. What happens to the items in my file that I opened last year?
Items submitted from previous years are kept on file. Paper files will be discarded after five years of inactivity but a digital copy remains on record. Please see our Re-Applicant Flow Chart
on what we require if you are resubmitting your Intent to Apply. Please note that files are moved to the inactive folder every year on the last Friday in November.
15. What happens to my letters of evaluation (LOEs) that were on file from previous years?
LOEs will remain in your file. It is up to you and the programs to which you are applying to if an outdated LOE is acceptable. Sometimes it is nice to have your letter writer update the date on the letter. If you need assistance with requesting this from your letter writer, please notify our office. Please note, some professional schools will choose not to use a letter that is older than one year. Please check with the professional programs you are applying.
16. What are the consequences of not waiving FERPA rights to see my LOE?
Your letter writer may choose not to write a LOE, or may not be as forthcoming in their response. Please note that your letter writers will be notified that you have not waived your right to view the letter.
17. What information do I use for the author of the "Committee Letter?"
You will only record Dr. Michele Mouttapa's name and contact information as our office will be the one submitting a committee packet on your behalf. You should EXCLUDE your other letter writers as if they are listed; the professional program will expect to receive letters from those individuals and may delay your file from moving forth (not including CASPA, PharmCAS, and VMCAS).
18. Should I grant the Health Professions Advising office permission for access to application-related information for my professional school application?
In providing the most thorough and efficient service to our pre-health students it is important that we have access to all of your records and application-related information. On your professional school application you will be asked if you give permission for your pre-health advisor to have access to on-line information for tracking your status at the various professional schools to which you applied (not all schools offer this service). We strongly recommend that you answer “yes” to this question and allow us to track the progress of your application.
