Career
Center Resources
Requirements Choosing a Health Career Do You Wish To Deal With People? Are You Comfortable With Science? Are You Prepared To Keep Up With Developments In Your Field?
Are You Comfortable In A Health Care Setting? Are You A Team Player? What Lifestyle Do You Envision? Entering a health care field requires great commitment. You'll
work for many years to obtain the credentials needed for licensing.
Your commitment to your patients will be deeper than the obligation
many other professionals have to their clients. You will be wise
to take the time to get a clear picture of the realities of your
chosen profession and of your own abilities, needs, and aspirations. Although all schools have the following basic set of requirements,
many have additional components that are necessary for admission.
Therefore, at the time of your application, check the individual
requirements of the schools to which you plan to apply.
Medical School Requirements
Courses
Chemistry: 4 semesters 141 - Foundations of Chemistry Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) Letter of Evaluation Grade Point Average Osteopathic Schools Dental School Requirements Courses Dental Admission Test (DAT) Letter of Evaluation Grade Point Average Courses Entrance Exams Letter of Evaluation Grade Point Average The Pre-Health Professions Program is designed to prepare Dickinson
College students who plan to enter graduate study for the health
professions. The foundation of the Program is the Committee for
the Health Professions. The Committee has two main functions: to
set policies for the Pre-Health Program, and to act as advisors
to the Pre-Health students.
A student with an interest in a health career is encouraged to
enter the Pre-Health Program, even if that interest is not yet strong.
A major part of the Program is to develop a file of faculty evaluations
for each student, and this file will be stronger if the process
begins in the freshman year. The Pre-Health Committee members will
use this file to prepare a letter of evaluation as part of the student's
application to professional school.
A student planning to apply to a school in the health professions
is strongly encouraged to be part of the Program. While it is possible
to apply to these schools without a letter of evaluation from the
Committee, schools in the health professions prefer to have committee
letters from colleges that have such a program.
You should obtain the written material produced by the Pre-Health
Program and attend information sessions arranged for pre-health
students. The freshman year is spent getting started in the required
science courses. Speak with your Pre-Health advisor when making
up your class schedule. Be frank about your strengths, weaknesses,
and goals. Your advisor will help you to make sure that you meet
both college and professional school requirements. In the final
analysis, however, it is you who will have to decide each semester
or term what is best for you.
As noted before, these courses are required by all medical schools
and therefore represent the required courses within the Pre-Health
Program:
Chemistry: 4 semesters 141 - Foundations of Chemistry The bulk of the first three years at Dickinson will be spent taking
general college requirements, getting started on your major, and
completing those courses necessary for professional school. Your
primary goal during this period is to maintain an exceptional academic
record.
While you can choose any major you like, you must take and do well
in the science courses listed above. Doing well in the sciences
means grades of B+ or better. Needless to say, you should also do
well in your other courses. We have found that students with an
overall GPA of 3.4 or better stand the best chance of getting into
medical school.
An academically bad term or year does not necessarily mean the
end of your dreams. At some time during your college years, personal,
family, financial or health problems may affect your studies. These
situations are not permanent barriers if you prove you can surmount
your problems and if your subsequent record is good. Admission committees
like to see an upward trend in your academic performance. Remember
that one strong semester will not counteract several years of mediocre
work.
During your sophomore and junior years, you are encouraged to get
involved in extracurricular activities to balance your academic
preparation. For example, you can take part in the Carlisle Hospital
Rotation Program, an activity in which you shadow doctors working
at Carlisle Hospital. While experience working in a hospital or
other health or research setting is not required, it is often valuable.
Such opportunities can serve to solidify your career choice and
can demonstrate to admission committees that you are familiar with
the field and sincerely motivated.
Maintaining regular contact with your Pre-Health advisor also works
to your advantage during these years. Your Pre-Health advisor can
assist you in devising your schedule, offer advice if you get into
academic difficulty, help you find research or summer program opportunities,
and generally serve as a "sounding board." When you apply to professional
school, your advisor will write the Committee letter of evaluation,
which will be more effective if he/she gets to know you well.
Applying to professional schools is a complex process. You should
plan to devote substantial time and energy in order to maximize
your possibilities for acceptance. While it may sound overly simplified,
some of the most important factors in preparing a successful application
are to be neat, be accurate, follow all directions, and send your
application early.
Admissions committees care about both the academic skills and the
character of applicants. Thus they devote a great deal of effort
to the admission process. What factors are involved in gaining admission
to professional school? The following percentages show the current
perception of the relative importance of various admission criteria:
1. Overall GPA 20 - 30%
2. Standardized Test Scores 15 - 25%
3. Science Grades 15 - 20%
4. Interview 10 - 20%
5. Activities/Research 5 - 15%
6. Letters of Evaluation 5 - 10%
7. Personal Statement 5%
An ideal candidate has strengths in all areas, but schools have
realistic expectations appropriate for their own applicant pools.
It is the function of an admission committee to evaluate a candidate's
strengths and weaknesses. For example, a student whose grades and
test scores are excellent, but who has poor references and appears
arrogant or self-centered at the interview, might well be rejected.
Equally, no amount of extracurricular activity or personal charm
can compensate for weak academic skills.
After you are assigned a Pre-Health advisor in the fall of your
freshman year, visit your advisor to introduce yourself. Make sure
you visit your Pre-Health advisor early in the fall of each year
to discuss your schedule of courses. Although your Pre-Health advisor
does not approve your schedule, you should check with him/her to
be sure that you are taking the correct sequence of courses. Attend
all workshops provided by the Pre-Health Committee. At the end of
each semester, send the Career Center secretary the list of courses
you want to be evaluated.
Attend meetings of the Pre-Health Society. Explore the health professions
generally, and the ones in which you have an interest in particular.
This is especially important if you are not sure of your plans.
Establish your credentials regarding your abilities as a student
(especially in the sciences), your abilities to interact and communicate
with others, your interest and participation in non-academic activities,
and your experience and knowledge in the profession that interests
you.
Remember, not all students are accepted to professional school.
Be thinking of what you will do if you are not accepted.
The normal requirements for the Committee for the Health Professions
(CHP) to write a letter of evaluation for any Dickinson student
are:
1. The student has taken three of the four required laboratory
courses on campus (or an affiliated Dickinson International Program).
2. The student makes regular contact with his/her advisor during
all four years at Dickinson College.
3. The student requests a letter from his/her Pre-Health advisor
prior to October 1 of the year in which he/she is applying to professional
school, or before he or she graduates (if that student plans to
attend a professional school in the future).
4. A student requesting a letter of evaluation has the option of
seeing a draft of the letter or waiving his/her right to see the
letter. If the student waives right of access to the letter, this
information will be transmitted to the professional schools to which
the student is applying. If the student chooses the option of seeing
the letter, the student may make comments or point out omissions,
but the substance of the letter will reflect the Committee's consensus
evaluation. CHP files are available for the student's inspection
in the Career Center.
5. The CHP will attempt to establish a broad basis for evaluation.
The CHP will send evaluation forms to as many individuals as feasible.
6. The letter of evaluation will reflect the student's work at
Dickinson College. Letters from sources outside the college will
be added to the student's file. These letters may be considered
with the Committee's own evaluation and, at the discretion of the
Committee, be either used in the letter of evaluation or be copied
and attached to the Committee letter. Letters from persons who have
had professional contact with the student will be accepted, but
letters from friends, family, pastors, etc. are not very helpful.
7. The Committee will meet after final spring semester grades in
the student's junior year to consider the potential applicants who
seek evaluations. Each student will be ranked in one of the following
categories.
Most Highly Recommended: An exceptional individual who possesses
an excellent academic record, outstanding personal attributes, and
a strong commitment to learning.
Highly Recommended: An applicant who has a very good academic record,
strong personal attributes, and high motivation.
Recommended: A student deemed intellectually and emotionally capable
of doing the work required in professional school.
Not Recommended: An applicant not assigned to any of the above
categories due to special circumstances or shortcomings on either
academic or personal grounds. (The committee will not write a letter
for students assigned to this category).
8. Although the student's academic record represents a significant
factor in the ranking process, the Committee recommendation also
considers a number of additional interrelated factors such as initiative,
motivation, interest, personality, and the quality of classroom
and laboratory work.
9. The CHP chairman will attach a letter along with the evaluation
letter explaining the categories. PRE-HEALTH INFORMATION
Pre-Health Program
Getting Started
Middle Years
Applying
Student Responsibilities
When choosing a career within the field of health care, or deciding
whether a health career is appropriate for you, there are several
points to consider.
One of the first questions you should ask is how much you wish to
deal with people as contrasted to objects. For many people, such
as nurses, pediatricians, or occupational therapists, a warm and
caring personality is one of the most desirable attributes. Others,
such as medical laboratory technologists, pathologists, or medical
illustrators, have little or no contact with patients.
You do not need to be a science "whiz" for all health care areas.
Some programs demand much more science study than others, but preparation
for all health care careers involves some laboratory science study.
Competent practitioners have an obligation to their patients to
give the best care available. If you are not willing to continue
studying throughout your career, you may lose your patients, your
malpractice insurance, and/or your license.
Are you emotionally able to deal with a wide variety of people?
Some students fail to anticipate the effect of spending much of
their life in the company of sick, disabled, or dying people. With
the aging of the American population, much of your work may be geriatric.
Many students assume that they will be working in a comfortable,
middle-class setting. However, the greatest health care needs are
in chaotic inner-city neighborhoods and isolated, impoverished rural
areas.
Health care is increasingly a group activity where a successful
outcome depends upon each member of a medical team performing his
or her specific function. Even in dentistry, where 70% of practitioners
are in a solo private practice, the dentist usually supervises and
works with about four staff members.
Some health care careers include many emergencies and long hours.
Different specialties have varying levels of responsibility. Do
you wish to deal with life-and-death situations? A career that involves
long hours or high stress leaves you less time and energy for family
life and leisure activities.
Admission Requirements for Health
Professions Back to the Top
142 - Synthesis and Reactivity I
242 - Synthesis and Reactivity II
244 - Equilibrium Systems Biology: 2 semesters 111, 112 - General
Biology Physics: 2 semesters 131, 132 - General Physics or
141,142 - Physics for the Life Sciences Mathematics: 2 semesters
Most schools want at least one course of calculus (Math 161). A
few want two courses (Math 161, 162). Statistics (Math 121) is a
good choice for the other course. English: 2 semesters (One of
these may be the Freshman Seminar)
The MCAT should be taken in the spring of the junior year. The test
covers the eight basic chemistry, biology, and physics courses,
so those courses should be completed by the time of the test. The
test is also given in August, but a test taken in the fall of the
senior year will delay your application.
During the summer between the junior and senior year, the Pre-Health
advisor will prepare a draft of a letter of evaluation for the student.
This letter will be based on the information in the student's file,
information supplied by the student, and the personal knowledge
of the advisor and the Committee.
An average of 3.4 or better is needed to have a good chance of acceptance.
Osteopathic schools require some contact with an osteopathic physician.
As with medical schools, all dental schools require a basic set
of courses and an entrance exam. However, very few dental schools
require any other courses.
All dental schools require the same English and laboratory science
courses as those listed above for medical schools. However, only
a few schools require any mathematics.
The DAT should be taken during the spring of the junior year. The
test covers the material in the two chemistry courses and in the
biology course. It does not cover the material in the physics course.
The test is also given in the fall, but to avoid application delays,
take the spring test.
As with medical school applicants, the CHP will prepare a letter
of evaluation for you. See the corresponding statement above for
medical schools.
Students with a 3.0 or higher average have a strong chance of acceptance.
Other Health Professional Schools Back
to the Top
Other health professional schools may have the same basic requirements
as medical and dental schools, and they may also require additional
courses. Check with your advisor and with the schools to which you
intend to apply to find out about specific course requirements.
Most of the other health-related schools require a specific entrance
exam (VCAT, PCAT, OAT, GRE, etc.) Check with the catalogs of the
schools to which you intend to apply or the Career Center to find
out which exam is required.
Your advisor will prepare a letter of evaluation for you if you
have enough faculty evaluation forms in your file at the Career
Center. The CHP will not assign a ranking. You may choose to use
this letter when applying to schools, use three individual letters,
or use both.
Students with a 3.0 or higher average have a strong chance of acceptance
for many of the programs.
The Dickinson College Pre-Health
Professions Program Back
to the Top
Getting Started Back
to the Top
142 - Synthesis and Reactivity I
242 - Synthesis and Reactivity II
244 - Equilibrium Systems Biology: 2 semesters 111, 112 - General
Biology
(We strongly recommend 313, 317 & 333) Physics: 2 semesters
131, 132 - General Physics or
141, 142 - Physics for the Life Sciences Mathematics: 2 semesters
151, 152 Introduction to Calculus or
161- Calculus I Additional Course (Math 162 or 121) English: 2 semesters
One of these may be the Freshman Seminar.
The Middle Years Back
to the Top
Applying to Professional School
Back to the Top
Student Responsibilities Back
to the Top
Committee for the Health Professions Policies
Back to the Top
