FellowshipsCAS Recommendations

Before You Begin

Recommendations (sometimes called Letters of Evaluation, Letters of Reference, or Letters of Recommendation) are submitted by the recommenders themselves; they cannot be completed or submitted by the applicant. We are not responsible for verifying recommenders' identities. If a discrepancy is found, we reserve the right to contact the appropriate individuals to investigate and to share the discrepancy with all programs.

Before getting started, consider the following:

• All recommendations are submitted electronically by recommenders.
• Research each program’s requirements. You should determine whether your programs have specific requirements regarding recommender roles or relationships before listing recommenders on your application. Many programs have strict guidelines and completed program recommendations cannot be removed or replaced.
• Prepare your recommenders. Once you choose your recommenders, be sure to inform them about the process and that they will be completing the recommendation electronically. We recommend getting their preferred email address and asking that they monitor that inbox for your recommendation request (which will come from applicantsupport@fellowshipscas.com), including any junk or spam folders.

Requirements

Your application must include exactly 3 recommendations, with at least 1 from a residency program director.

The Recommendation Process

When you request recommendations, your recommender receives an email request. Recommenders review your requests, and then accept, complete, or deny them.

Once your recommender completes your recommendation, you'll be notified via email. You can check the status of your recommendation requests in the Statuses section of your application at any time.

FellowshipsCAS also saves your recommender information. After you add recommender information once, you can select those recommenders from your list and add them for other programs.

Submit a Request

1. Navigate to the Program Materials section. In the Recommendations section, click the plus icon for the desired recommendation.
2. Enter the recommender's full name and email address.
3. Select the date by which you would like this recommendation completed. This date should be before your program(s) deadline.
4. Enter a brief message or note for the recommender.
5. Select whether you want to waive your right of access to the recommendation. See Waiver below.
6. Click the checkboxes to indicate your permission for us (and programs) to contact your recommenders.
7. Click the Assign checkbox if you want to assign the recommendation to a program immediately. You can also assign recommendations after you save them.
8. Click Request to submit it. Once you do so, an email is immediately sent to the recommender.
9. Confirm with your recommenders that they received the email notification.
10. From the dashboard, use the Statuses section to monitor the status of your recommendations. Completed recommendations are marked as "Complete" and have a Complete Date listed. Follow up with your recommenders if their recommendations are still marked as "Requested" or "Accepted." It is your responsibility to ensure that recommendation requests are received and completed on time. We will not notify applicants about missing recommendations.

Waiver

Faculty Members

I'm a faculty member and have received requests from several students to upload letters/evaluations for them. Previously, I forwarded these to the person in my department that does all uploads for us. How do I do this in CAS?

To allow someone else from your institution to upload letters/evaluations on your behalf, you must add them as a Delegate in the Liaison Letters Portal. Once added, any requests sent to you will also be sent to your designated delegates. Delegates can then log in to Liaison Letters and perform the upload. When your delegate performs the upload, your name will appear as the author to programs – the delegate’s name will not appear. You can add or deactivate delegates at any time.

Delegates

I perform the uploading of letters/evaluations on behalf of the faculty and staff at my school. How do I do this in CAS?

Faculty members can add you as a Delegate in the Liaison Letters portal. Once added, any requests sent to that faculty member will also be sent to you. You can then log in to Liaison Letters and perform the upload. The faculty member’s name will appear as the author to programs – your name as the delegate will not appear.

Students

I’m a student and I need to have a letter/evaluation written by my school. Who should I send this request to in CAS?

You should request letters/evaluations from the faculty member who will be the primary author of the letter. If that individual wants to involve others in the process or have someone else at the institution upload the letter for them, they can use the Delegate feature in the Liaison Letters portal. Regardless of who uploads the letter/evaluation, the individual you initially requested it from will appear as the author to programs.