Guide to Letters of Recommendation

For a printable copy of the guide to letters of recommendation, please click here.

Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy: 2-3 Letters of Recommendation are required to complete your application. At least one (1) of the letters must come from an academic referee, preferably a science or mathematics professor, lecturer, or teacher.

Physiotherapy: 2-3 Letters of Recommendation are required to complete your application for University College Cork and University of Limerick. At least one (1) of the letters must come from an academic referee, preferably a mathematics or science professor, lecturer, or teacher. University College Dublin requires one (1) additional letter from a licensed physiotherapist you have worked for, volunteered with, or shadowed. Therefore, UCD requires a total of 3 letters before their review.

Law: 2-3 Letters of Recommendation are required to complete your application. At least one (1) of the letters must come from an academic referee, preferably a professor, lecturer or teacher.

*The admissions committees will not consider more than three letters of recommendation. *

The importance of letters of recommendation cannot be overstated. The Irish schools place significant emphasis on your letters of recommendation. Below are some guidelines which may be helpful to your referees when they are preparing your letter. Feel free to provide a copy of this document to your referees:

1. Letters must be confidential, must be sent directly from your referees to admissions@atlanticbridge.com, and must be sent as a PDF document, on official letterhead, signed, and sent from a professional email address.
   *Please note that if one or more of the three highlighted requirements is not met, your referee will be asked to resubmit the letter, which may delay the processing of your application*
2. Letters of recommendation should be addressed to “The Admissions Committee” and should contain no references to any specific university or discipline, if applying to more than one. (e.g. Trinity College Dublin, Medicine and Dentistry)
3. Your referees should include the following information in their letters:
   • Your first and last name as listed in your application.
   • The capacity in which they know you
   • Remarks on your accomplishments, contributions, attributes, etc. that they have observed
   • Details about your communication skills (oral and written, if applicable)
   • Your interests and future plans and how they relate to your desire to pursue a career in the health and/or law profession
4. Your academic referees should try to comment on the following:
   • Your intellectual qualities
   • How you compare with other students they have taught
   • Your performance in class and examinations
   • Whether they believe your academic performance reflects your true ability
   • Why they believe you will be able to manage the rigors of a health science and/or law curriculum.
5. Choose people who know you well and can submit substantial and helpful Letters of recommendation.
6. When asking for a letter, make sure you allow the referee the option of saying “no”. It is better to have someone be honest with you at the start so that you can find another evaluator who will be more enthusiastic. Determine this by asking the person if he/she feels comfortable writing a strong letter for you.

NOTE: Some universities provide a committee letter. Committee letters are accepted in place of Letters of Recommendation.