Advising – Pre-Med & Pre-Health Advising

Work with Your Advisor

If you are planning to apply to medical or other health profession school — or even if you’re just considering applying — it’s imperative that you talk to an advisor and then continue to meet with them regularly throughout your undergraduate years. Be sure that your advisor is aware of your goals — they can help you develop a four-year plan that incorporates requirements for your major, additional courses that may be required by schools you’ll apply to, and courses and other experiences that will help make you a strong candidate in a very competitive field. An academic advisor can offer advice and support in a variety of areas, including those summarized on this page.

Course Selection

Be aware of course requirements for your major (and course prerequisites). Work with your advisor to determine which courses you should register for each semester, and to make a plan in case any courses are full.
Look at the courses required by programs and schools you’ll apply to — it’s likely that you’ll need to take some classes that are not required by your major.
For many professional health programs, non-science majors need to show that they’re able to handle more than one science course per semester — that level of rigor will be typical of many health profession schools.
On the other hand, science majors need to consider which humanities and social science courses will be required or recommended to strengthen their applications.
Health profession schools will be looking at your courses and grades to see if you demonstrate an ability to handle the rigor of their programs.

Choosing Schools to Apply to

Deciding which schools you will apply to is an important step toward your health career — different schools and programs will have their own course requirements, application processes, and timelines that you’ll need to become familiar with early on. Professional association websites like the ones linked here are good sources for learning more about schools that offer the programs you’re interested in:

Becoming a Strong Candidate

In the competitive world of medical and health profession school admissions, it’s vital to be mindful of the many ways you can make your application stronger. Click here for tips you can follow starting in your first semester.