Pre-PA Email Templates: LORs, Shadowing & More

It is time to give your letter writers a heads up, and email is usually the best way to do it because it creates a paper trail and a written reminder. Depending on how close you are with the person, a phone call, text, or in-person ask can also be appropriate, but email keeps everything documented.

Give your writer a clear idea of what you would like them to cover. For example, a professor's letter should speak to your academic strengths, not your bedside manner with patients. Sending along your resume and personal statement helps them write a stronger, more specific letter. Include the deadline you are aiming for, since late letters frequently hold up application verification. One important note: letters of recommendation do not roll over from cycle to cycle, so do not request them through CASPA yet. For now, just give your writers a friendly heads up so they have time to say yes and prepare.

Found a PA you would love to shadow? That is great! Keep your email professional, because the medical field is busy and a lot of PAs are stretched thin right now. If a reply takes a while or feels like a canned response, do not take it personally. This seems like common sense, but I have seen some surprising tones in correspondence, so it is worth saying.

Get to the point and be as brief as you can. Respect the recipient's time by cutting the fluff and making your ask clear without sharing your entire life story. At the same time, be specific enough that they understand who you are, how you found them, and why you want to shadow them. It is a small balance: brief but informative. And remember, they are doing you a favor by letting you shadow, so stay polite, courteous, and gracious throughout, including in your follow-up and thank-you.

Multiple acceptances? Congrats, what a great problem to have! A lot of the questions we get are about how to actually turn down a spot, but the same principles apply whether you are accepting, declining, or asking a question. Keep it professional, because program faculty are busy and doing their best.

Be brief and get to the point, just like with shadowing requests. Cut the fluff and make your question or message clear. Be specific too, and include identifying information so faculty can place you among the thousands of applications they handle. A common question is whether you need to respond to a waitlist or acceptance offer, and the answer is yes. I recommend responding to any direct correspondence from a program so they know you received it. A quick, polite reply goes a long way and keeps you in good standing.

If you are planning to reapply next cycle, we always encourage you to ask the programs you applied to for feedback. It can feel uncomfortable to reach out after a no, but the information you get is genuinely valuable for strengthening your next application.

Keep the same approach you would use anywhere else: be professional, brief, and specific. Thank them for considering your application, ask politely if they can share any feedback on how you could be a stronger candidate in a future cycle, and include your identifying details. Not every program will respond, and some have policies against giving individual feedback, but many will offer something useful. Do not be scared to reach out, the worst thing that happens is they say no. The insight you gain could be exactly what helps you get accepted next time.

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A short, polite, well-aimed email opens more doors than most applicants expect, whether you are lining up letters, shadowing, or talking with programs. Use these templates as a foundation, then make them sound like you. For the full set of templates and more pre-PA guidance, explore our resources and let me know what other templates would help.