PREPARING TO APPLY TO SCHOOLS OF THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS

updated: 19 March 2008

Introduction

Application seasons for Clinical Laboratory Science, Cytotechnology, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Respiratory Care, and Social Work

Application seasons for Dentistry, Medicine, Optometry, Podiatry, and Veterinary Medicine

Should I apply this year?

Conclusion

Resources

INTRODUCTION

"He who controls the past controls the future and he who controls the present controls the past." Prehealth students were probably not on George Orwell's mind when he penned the preceding sentence, but the words tersely characterize the nature of what you must do to be a successful applicant to schools of the health professions.

Control the present means to get on top of the application process. You need to know the deadlines of the schools you are applying to (both the application deadlines and the letter of recommendation deadlines--These two things can be different!)

Control the past: Most of your application is about your past--your grades, your health-related experience, research you have done, and problems you have overcome. Be prepared to tell a clear ,convincing story through your transcripts, applications, and essays.

Of course, by giving schools of the health professions the best possible, qualitative sense of your past, your track record, and your achievements the chances for the success of your application are maximized. With this much at stake, we should discuss a few points about the application process and the application season that you should be aware of, so that when the time comes you will be in control of your present, your past, and ultimately your future.

THE APPLICATION SEASON FOR CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE, CYTOTECHNOLOGY, NURSING, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, PHYSICAL THERAPY, PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT, RESPIRATORY CARE, AND SOCIAL WORK

Most of these applications become available in the summer or fall. Deadlines are likely vary from school to school. Think of it this way. If you want to begin your studies in the fall of 2010, you should be working on your applications in the fall of 2009.

THE APPLICATION SEASON FOR MEDICINE, DENTISTRY, OPTOMETRY, PODIATRY, AND VETERINARY MEDICINE

Applications to these professions begin even earlier. For example, the person who wants to begin medical school in the fall of 2010 is going to be working on applications in the summer of 2009!

TO APPLY OR NOT TO APPLY?

This boils down to two questions:

Am I ready to apply? If you have finished your prerequisite courses, have sufficiently good grades, sufficient health related experience, and perhaps research experience, the get ready to apply.

Am I strong enough to apply? Take a look at the cumulative GPA cutoff numbers below. Not all schools behave in the exact same way, but if your GPA is above the cutoff you might decide to go ahead and apply.

    Clinical Laboratory Sciences 2.5

    Cytotechnology 2.5

    Nursing 2.5

    Occupational Therapy 2.5

    Physician Assistant 3.0

    Physical Therapy 3.0

    Respiratory Care 2.5

    Social Work 2.5

If your GPA is below the cutoff for your profession, it is often a good idea to raise your grades to or above the cutoff before you apply. If you are at or above the cutoff, this means that you stand a chance, but a competitive applicant will often have a grade point average well above the minimum.

The figures for medicine, dentistry, optometry, podiatry, and veterinary medicine are not quite so straightforward. Of these professions, podiatry can be the most charitable on grades--a student below a 3.0 yet above a 2.5 is "in the running." For the other programs, 3.0 tends to be "the great divide:" it can be exceedingly difficult to get accepted with a grade point average below a 3.0. If you have below a 3.0, the best strategy in the long run could be to strengthen yourself academically, and apply next year.

You are probably noticing that some of these decisions involve an entire year. 365 days out of your life are no small matter, so application decisions deserve clear, rational thought--make sure you go over your application plans with your prehealth advisor.

CONCLUSION

Overall, applying to schools of the health professions could be a bit more time consuming and a little more complex than you might have thought. Making sure that you have a solid control over the basics--deadlines and timelines on the one hand, and your own strengths and weaknesses on the other--can ensure that you put together a strong and timely set of applications.

RESOURCES

There are three information that you can use to begin getting on top of the application process--at least in terms of knowing deadlines and certain requirements specific to your goals: