OptomCAS Letter of Recommendation From an Optometrist

OptomCAS Letter of Recommendation From an Optometrist

OptomCAS requires at least 1 and allows at most 4 recommendations; extra letters go to programs directly. It also accepts a committee letter or "a college pre-health advisor in lieu of recommenders," and some programs refuse committee letters. You complete your recommendation in Liaison Letters after an email from support@optomcas.myliaison.com.

Our view: because one recommendation can satisfy OptomCAS, write the optometrist's letter as if it is the only clinical evidence in the file. Spend it on how the applicant dealt with patients, not on the pretesting, scheduling and frame tasks they did. Programs can read the task list in the applicant's experiences section.

Every OptomCAS and Liaison Letters help page quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. None of them states a cycle year.

The OptomCAS recommendation rules

Source: OptomCAS Recommendations.

Which request did you get?

The Liaison rule is on Complete a Recommendation, which also says a committee chair "must complete the recommendation form and upload one letter that includes the assessments of all the various committee members."

What the OptomCAS form asks

OptomCAS says recommenders "may complete assessments such as writing essays, completing Likert scales, and/or uploading letters." It does not publish its questions or rating criteria on the help page, so none is quoted here. Liaison's form can include Relationship questions, an Essay box, Likert Criteria, the "Recommendation Concerning Admission drop-down" and "one document" upload. The PTCAS reference guide walks through each part and Liaison's file rules.

On the request, the Access field "indicates whether the applicant waived their right to access their completed recommendations." Under OptomCAS's waiver wording, an applicant who did not waive cannot view the letter "via the application" but "may ask your recommender for a copy."

Patient interaction, not office tasks

Sort what you saw into two columns before you write:

At an open-file school your interviewers read this letter too; see optometry school interview questions and formats.

GradPilot's health professions letter rubric flags the left column directly: "Tasks, titles, hours, certifications, grades, and test results do not by themselves show how the applicant performed."

The countercase: if the applicant worked only at the front desk, do not dress office work up as patient care. Write the letter you can defend: reliability with records, one patient-facing moment if you saw one, and a clear statement of your vantage.

Constructed sample from an optometrist

Constructed example, written by us, not a real recommendation letter. Context (invented): an optometrist in a private practice has supervised an optometric technician for 18 months.

The weak paragraph:

Sakura has worked in our office for 18 months performing pretesting, scheduling and frame adjustments. She is organized, friendly and a quick learner, and she would be a great addition to any optometry program.

The revised letter (191 words):

To the Admissions Committee:

I am an optometrist and the owner of Clearview Family Eye Care. Sakura Marin has worked as an optometric technician in my practice since May 2025, and I supervise her pretesting on every patient she sees.

In January, an 80-year-old patient produced an unreliable visual field twice. Sakura noticed he was losing his place when the instructions were read quickly. She stopped the test, let him rest, explained it again in shorter steps with his hand on the button, and asked him to repeat them back. The third field was reliable. She then told me what had happened before I entered the room, so I knew how to read it.

Sakura learns from the exam room too. After I changed a contact lens fit for a patient with dry eye, she asked what I had seen. Two weeks later she flagged the same symptoms in a pretest note for me.

I have trained seven technicians in nine years, and Sakura is the one I would want explaining a test to my own parents. I recommend her for Doctor of Optometry study with confidence.

Dr. Kevin Hall, OD

What changed: one patient moment with the barrier, what Sakura did and the result; a second moment showing she learns from the doctor; a comparison with a stated group; and a closing that follows from the examples.

Questions about OptomCAS recommendations

How many recommendations does OptomCAS need?

At least 1 and at most 4 through OptomCAS. Programs can set their own requirements, which the applicant checks.

Can a pre-health advisor letter replace individual letters?

OptomCAS accepts "a college pre-health advisor in lieu of recommenders." Some programs do not accept committee letters.

Can I edit an OptomCAS recommendation after submitting?

Only if Liaison shows an Edit button: "If available, you can edit completed recommendations," then you "must resubmit" (Edit Completed Recommendations).

Get a free review of the letter

Get a free Quick Review of your recommendation letter against GradPilot's general health professions evaluation letter rubric; it has no OptomCAS-specific version. It flags task lists standing in for observations, checks that each patient moment shows the applicant's own action, and reads whether your recommendation follows from those moments. Other letter types start from the recommendation letter review page.

Applicants can check their own essay against the OptomCAS personal statement rubric or see OptomCAS personal statement examples.

More health recommender guides:

• PharmCAS letter from a pharmacist: a 4-evaluation cap and how committee letters count.
• OTCAS letter of recommendation guide: the 3-to-5 rule and an OT sample.
• Premed committee letter guide: how advisors assemble a committee letter.
• All medical and health school essay guides.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026. The Liaison help pages state no cycle year.

• OptomCAS (Liaison), Recommendations: 1 minimum, 4 maximum, extras direct, advisor letter, committee letter counts as one, some programs refuse committee letters, cannot be removed or replaced, waiver, sender address.
• Liaison Letters, Complete a Recommendation: form sections, Access field, committee chair and contributor rules.
• Liaison Letters, Edit Completed Recommendations: editing after submission.