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The Pre-Health Program is administered jointly by the Committee for the Health Professions and by the Career Center. Any student who is interested in a career in the health professions (medicine, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, nursing, etc.), should contact the Career Center as soon as possible. At the beginning of the academic year, first year students who have expressed an interest in a health related career receive a notice to attend an informational meeting. At this meeting, information regarding required course work and the Pre-Health advising program will be covered and interested individuals will be added to the list of Pre-Health students.

Each student is assigned one of the committee members as his or her Pre-Health Advisor. The advisor will work with the student each semester on course selection and will draft the Committee letter of recommendation when the student applies to professional school. The Committee also provides advice and prepares evaluations for students interested in any of the health professions. The pre-health advisor in the Career Center supports all pre-health students with health career information as well as provides encouragement as requested by students during the application and interview process.

The majority of students who are accepted into medical school major in one of the sciences. Pursuing a major outside the sciences is possible, but students must show their ability to do superior work in biology, chemistry, and physics. If planning to attend professional school immediately following graduation, students in all majors should plan to finish the science courses by the end of the junior year in order to be prepared for the Medical College Admission Test, or other professional exam which should be taken in the spring of the junior year.

Requirements for the medical and dental schools and many allied health schools
Satisfactory completion of the following:

Chemistry: 4 courses - 141, 241, 242 plus one additional course (Chemistry 243 or 244 are strongly recommended) Chemistry 111 will not satisfy this requirement.

[Chemistry 243 is Modern Chemical Analysis and the material covered in that course is very good preparation for the MCAT.]

Biology: any two 100-level courses (216 Genetics, 313 Cell Biology, and 333 Physiology are also recommended along with 334 Vertebrate Biology for some programs)

Physics: 2 courses - 141, 142 or 131, 132 (Although 131, 132 is acceptable, some topics on the MCAT exam are not covered in these courses.)

English: 2 courses - any two are satisfactory. The First-Year Seminar fulfills the requirement for a course in English composition. The remaining course should be in English literature.

Mathematics: 161 or 151,152 and one additional math course. Some medical schools require a second semester of calculus that can be fulfilled by successful completion of Math 162. Students are advised to check the requirements of schools to which they may apply.

NOTE: This is a list of the minimum courses required by all medical schools, the majority of dental schools and many of the allied health schools. While these must be taken during college, individual schools may have additional requirements.

Other admission criteria include the science grade point average, exam scores, the letter of evaluation from the undergraduate college, and the outcome of a personal interview (if required) by the professional school. An overall academic average of 3.50 or better is needed to be a competitive applicant.

The Career Center has information on professional schools, applications for these schools, and applications for the MCAT and DAT exams. A reference service is also provided by the College to support the application process. More information will be provided to juniors at the annual meeting for those applying to professional school.

Medical school admission test (MCAT)
All applicants to medical schools must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) which is given in April and August of each year. The preferred time to take it is in the spring of the applicant's junior year.

Dental Admissions Test (DAT)
Applicants to dental schools must take the Dental Admission Test, a computer-based exam offered throughout the year at local and regional test centers. Again, spring of the junior year is the recommended time to take this test.

Tests in other health professions
Other health professions have similar testing programs as well. Information is available from the Career Center.

Committee for the health professions
Members for 2008-09:
Teresa Barber, Associate Professor of Psychology
David Crouch, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Catrina M. Hamilton-Drager, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Michael S. Holden, Professor of Chemistry
Anthony Pires, Associate Professor of Biology
Debi Swarner, Associate Director of the Career Center
Charles Zwemer, Associate Professor of Biology, Chair