Applying to Health Professional Schools
Special note about applying without finishing college
Most Health Professional school applications are complex documents, including:
For some Health Professions schools, application is made in two stages. First, you submit the application form, your transcripts, and your entrance exam grade report. These allow a "first cut" to be made. A low GPA may be balanced out by a high exam score, and vice versa; but there are always minimal cut-offs for these measurements. Many med school web pages share the mean (average) GPAs and exam scores of their most recently admitted classes, in case you are interested in knowing what they area. If you make the first cut, a "secondary" application may be requested, i.e. the rest of your information is sent.
The deadline for applications is going to vary quite a bit from school to school. It is your job to know the deadlines. Make a calendar to keep yourself organized.
Generally, you will apply in the summer between Junior and Senior year of college. If there is a broad window over which applications are accepted, say several months, it can be a statistical advantage to submit your materials earlier rather than later.
Warning: In the past, some Health Profession schools have advertised that they will admit students after only 90 credits of college, i.e. without a 4-year Bachelor's degree. That would mean that you apply in the summer between Sophomore and Junior year. This approach has several disadvantages. First, only a tiny percentage of students are admitted that way, so the competition for early admission is rougher than for regular admission. Second, Health Profession schools are increasingly dropping this policy in favor of requiring a completed Bachelor's degree for admission. Third, it's quite difficult to get all the coursework required for admission and for a satisfactory entrance exam score by the summer of your Sophomore year. This might require taking very heavy course loads that compromise your GPA. Fourth, students on an accelerated study plan are not as mature as those on a traditional, or even non-traditional, plan. Maturity counts for a lot when it comes to Health Professions education. Fifth, students on an accelerated study plan may be taught a lot of chemistry and biology for the very first time in Health Profession School, making it harder.
The Admissions web pages for every school that interests you will give full information, and frequently, an online application to fill out.
Some Health Professions schools use a centralized "application service" center. There is typically a flat fee for submitting your stuff to the center. Then, the center will then distribute your information to any Professional schools that you designate. There is typically a fee for each school to which you have your stuff sent. Here are links to the most commonly-used Health Profession application services:
AADSAS, for Dental School: http://aadsas.adea.org/
AMCAS, for Medical School: http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/start.htm
PharmCAS, for Pharmacy School: http://www.pharmcas.org/
Generally, recommendation letters of recommendation are sent by the letter-writers directly to the Health Professional School(s) that you designate. Letters must be on official letterhead and must be signed. Admissions Committees will not accept these mailed by the applicant UNLESS the letter-writer's signature appears across the sealed flap.
Increasingly, letters may be submitted by the writers online using a secure process.
To prepare your application, there are several things that need to be done well ahead of the application deadline:
Warning: Request your letters of recommendation EARLY and CAREFULLY. You will probably want a professor, employer, or Professional mentor to provide your recommendation letters. These are busy people. Sometimes they leave town, or even the country, for weeks at a time due to professional commitments.
For best results, request letters at least eight (8) weeks before the application deadline. Twelve weeks is better (yes, that is three months!). Put your request for a rec letter in writing, along the lines of the following: "Dear _________________, my application to ______________ is due on _________________________. I am contacting you today to find out if you are able to provide me with a strong recommendation letter by the due date just mentioned. If so, please let me know and I will provide you with documents to assist you with your recommendation letter. Thank you for your consideration."
Note the wording "a STRONG recommendation letter". Weak, vague, or generic letters will do more harm than good. Make sure you choose rec letter writers whose word will carry a lot of weight. Strong rec letters can come only from people who know you beyond the grade you got in their class; they should be able to give specific examples of your best qualities.
The strongest letters of all come from Health Professionals in your desired area (e.g. if you are applying to Med school, get a letter from an MD or DO you have shadowed).
Typically, rec letter writers store your letter as a computer file, so that if you need another letter in the future, the document can be called up, the date refreshed, and a new copy of the letter mailed out.
When you have identified your willing and able rec letter writers, provide each of them with a nicely organized packet, as follows:
1. A cover page that:
a. Thanks the letter writer.
b. Reminds him/her of the due date(s).
c. Lists the complete addresses of where to send the letter(s). Format these so that a busy person can simply cut them out and tape them to official University letterhead envelopes. You can include stamps but currently UWO picks up the tab on rec letter postage.
d. Lists the kinds of things you hope the letter writer might talk about. As busy people, letter writers will appreciate gentle reminders about things you have done together. It's not rude to make a memory-helper list.
2. A copy of the most recent draft of your personal essay might be good to include, too.
3. The letter writer's form (most -- but not all -- institutions include a form for the letter writer to fill out, instead of or in addition to writing an actual letters).
4. The waiver form that YOU have already READ, SIGNED, and DATED (may be on same sheet as letter writer's form).
Warning: Most application packages include a Waiver Form where you (the applicant) can check a box either waiving, or not waiving, your right to see the letter after it is submitted. You must check one box or the other and then sign the form, which is sent to the rec letter writer. Most often, the applicant waives his/her right to see the letter. However, it is your choice. If the waiver is not filled out by you, the letter writer may refuse to write the letter or the school may consider your application incomplete, and you will be out of luck.
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Last updated on 07/12/2007. Contact webmaster.