Health Professions Handbook 2004-2005

This guide has two purposes: to help you to prepare academically for admission to medical, dental, optometry, osteopathy and veterinary school, and to acquaint you with the admissions processes for these programs.

Before we turn to our discussion of those matters, however, there are some things we'd like you to consider. There are many "pros" and "cons" to a career in health care. The altruistic, intellectual and practical rewards of health care careers make them attractive to many students. Keep in mind the challenges presented by the high cost of professional education, the long hours of school and work, the rising cost of malpractice insurance, and the mountain of paperwork which accompanies each patient as you consider a career in health care.

You alone must decide whether the benefits of a career in health care will outweigh the burdens in your case, and we urge you to begin now to gather as much information as possible about the profession(s) you are considering. Read all the relevant materials you can get your hands on, seek out appropriate volunteer experiences and summer jobs, and speak with practitioners and with current students who are enrolled in the type of program you hope to enter. Don't be swayed by parents and other relatives who have always dreamed of having a doctor (dentist, optometrist) in the family. Satisfying their wishes won't be enough to enable you to succeed and be happy in a profession that's all wrong for you.

Good luck! Please read the rest of this guide thoroughly, and feel free to call on us whenever you need us.

Jennifer Sherwood and Jennifer O'Sullivan
Health Professions Advisers

Chapter One
Preprofessional Course Requirements

Chapter Two
Grades Necessary for Admission

Chapter Three
Other Admissions Criteria

Chapter Four
The Application Process - General Information

Chapter Five
How the Health Professions Advisers Can Help

Chapter One
Preprofessional Course Requirements

While all health professions schools require a strong undergraduate background in the sciences, it is NOT necessary to major in the sciences. In fact, recent acceptance rates for applicants who majored in certain non-science subjects are higher than those for applicants who concentrated in the sciences. Health professions schools are actively encouraging applications from people in all academic disciplines.

Your main considerations in evaluating possible majors should be your interests and your alternative career choices, i.e., what you would do if you didn't pursue a career in health care. If your passion is English, Art History or Computer Science, go for it! You'll enjoy your college years far more, and you'll most likely earn higher grades, if you focus your attention on your favorite subject(s). Keep in mind, however, that your preprofessional science courses and the grades you receive for them will be a very significant factor in admissions decisions, and that you will spend a great deal of time in science courses during the first two years of professional school. If you disliked your high school science courses and/or experienced significant difficulty with them, we urge you to take a long and honest look at your interests and aptitudes before you plunge into the courses we will be discussing now.

A. COURSES

If you major in Biology (B.A.) or Biological Sciences (B.S., including Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, Neuroscience), you will automatically complete the preprofessional science requirements by completing your concentration requirements. If you choose a concentration not related to Biology/Biological Sciences, you must complete the courses below.

GENERAL CHEMISTRY

CHM 131 and 132

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

CHM 203 and 204 with lab 207 and 208 or

CHM 205 and 206 with lab 209 and 210 (honors)

CHM 207 and 208 are the "regular" organic labs, and each carries one credit. CHM 209 and 210 are honors labs, and each carries two credits. If you choose to take CHM 205 and 206, the honors lectures, you may take the "regular" labs rather than the honors labs.

MATHEMATICS

MTH 141 and 142 or

MTH 161 and 162 or

MTH 171Q and 172Q

You need only two semesters of Mathematics for most health professions schools, as well as for a B.A. degree in Biology. The complete sequence of MTH 141-142-143 is equivalent to the material covered in MTH 161-162. If you wish to pursue a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences, check with the Undergraduate Program in Biology and Medicine (402 Hutchison, x-53850) for the latest information on required courses.

N.B. Placement in Mathematics courses is determined by the Mathematics Department at Freshman Orientation. You will need the written permission of the department to change your placement.

PHYSICS

PHY 113 and 114 or

PHY 121 and 122

BIOLOGY

Students concentrating in Biology/Biological Sciences will complete more than enough Biology courses to fulfill the preprofessional requirement. If your intended major is outside this realm, be sure to seek advice from a health professions adviser before planning out your program. Regardless of major, all students should consult the Program in Biology and Medicine for the latest information on Biology course offerings. Please note that while the combination of BIO 115/115L and BIO 111/111L technically meets the preprofessional requirement of "two semesters of Biology with lab," this freshman sequence alone is scanty preparation for standardized admission tests.

ENGLISH

Most professional schools require two semesters of English. Thus far, schools have accepted any courses taken by our students in fulfillment of the College's writing requirement (primary writing, upper-level writing within the major) even though the courses were not offered by the English Department.

The courses we've just described are those which are common to all health professions schools. This is not to say that there are absolutely no other requirements. Optometry and veterinary schools frequently require additional science courses, and here and there you will find a medical school which requires, for example, a semester of English composition and a semester of literature (rather than just "two semesters of English"), or two semesters of sociology, psychology or anthropology. Veterinary schools bear special attention in this respect. There's a very small number which require some undergraduate background in animal husbandry, animal nutrition, and the like. Those of you who are planning on vet school, PLEASE DON'T PANIC! The schools in question are part of state universities and give strong preference to state resident applicants from the universities' undergraduate divisions, where such courses are offered. Your chances for acceptance at such schools would not be great, regardless of your academic background and other qualifications.

B. MAPPING OUT YOUR PROGRAM

Pre-health professions students typically begin the required courses during the first semester of freshman year. By the end of freshman year, they usually have completed two semesters of math, the first two chemistry courses, the primary writing course, and BIO 110/115 and 111. During the sophomore year, they complete the remaining chemistry courses, and the physics requirement is completed by the end of the junior year. When the biology requirement is completed depends upon the student's major. Biology/Biological Sciences majors usually complete the "core" courses by the end of the sophomore year and devote the junior and senior years to the upper-level and lab courses they have agreed upon with their faculty advisers. Students in other concentrations complete as many courses as their schedules permit before the time comes to take admissions tests and fill out applications.  Must you follow these typical timetables? The answer is no. You can't follow them completely if you were placed in preparatory courses or if you decided to pursue one of the health professions after you entered the University; you can't necessarily follow them completely if a low grade in a math, chemistry or physics course prevents you from enrolling in the next course in the sequence (consult the Center for Academic Support for details on this matter); and you need not follow them completely in any case. All you need to remember as you figure out what to take when is the year in which you hope to enter professional school. If you plan to begin your professional education the September after graduation, then you should try to follow the typical timetable fairly closely. Depending upon your individual situation, this may involve taking some summer courses or "overloading" during one or more semesters. If, on the other hand, you wish to take off a year or more between graduation and professional school, you are free to proceed at a slower pace. Just remember that the science courses you take here are your best preparation for the standardized admissions test(s) you will take, and that these tests must usually be taken no later than one year before you enter professional school.

C. MISCELLANEOUS

1. UPPER-LEVEL OR HONORS COURSES VS. "REGULAR" COURSES

You may have the option of taking upper-level courses (such as MTH 161, 162 or PHY 121, 122) by virtue of Advanced Placement high school courses or strong scores on the SAT or the SAT Achievement Tests. We encourage you take advantage of every opportunity to stretch and to challenge yourself, and professional school admissions committees generally look with favor on those applicants who have sought out intellectual challenge. As you consider whether or not to enroll in the tougher courses which might be available to you, keep your strengths and weaknesses firmly in mind, and remember that more difficult courses will enhance your credentials only if you earn reasonably decent grades. Professional schools will usually overlook a couple of low grades in an otherwise good record, but a string of "C's" and "D's" is not going to help regardless of the level of difficulty of the courses.

2. SUMMER COURSES

Many pre-health professions students wonder how the professional schools they hope to attend will view required courses taken over the summer. There are no definite answers to this but there are some general guidelines. Most professional schools prefer that applicants complete as many of the required courses as possible at their "home" colleges during their regular academic years. An academic record which shows that the applicant took several required courses over the summer, whether at the "home" college or another institution, will most likely give rise to the suspicion that the student tried to take the easy way out. This is not to say, however, that summer courses are never appropriate. As we mentioned previously, the combination of pre-health professions requirements and a totally unrelated major may necessitate that the student take some summer courses in order to finish all of his/her work in four years' time, and professional schools understand this. Similarly, a student who must drop or withdraw from courses during the academic year due to illness or other legitimate reason may need to take summer courses in order to regain lost ground. In any case, a summer course or two should not pose a problem. Be sure before you register for a summer course at another college to check with the Center for Academic Support about transferring the credit. In addition, consult with the appropriate departmental adviser if the course is required for your major or minor.

3. WITHDRAWING FROM, DROPPING AND REPEATING COURSES

Needless to say, we hope that all of your courses will run smoothly and that if they don't, you will seek help from appropriate sources (instructors, TA's, tutors, Learning Assistance Services) before you are in real danger of receiving a low or failing grade. Assuming that your best efforts in a problem course aren't getting any real results, you may find yourself wondering whether it would be in your best interests to withdraw from or drop the course. This is another of those situations in which there are no hard and fast answers and several issues to consider. Courses which are dropped before the end of the fourth week of the semester do not appear on the official transcript. Courses from which students withdraw after the fourth week of the semester appear on the transcript with a grade of "W." This should not pose a problem to a health professions applicant who has a good record in general and has kept drops and "W's" to a minimum or has failed to complete a number of courses due to circumstances beyond his/her control, such as illness. There's something more important than appearances to consider, however. You need to ask yourself how well you may reasonably expect to do in the course and whether and to what extent your other courses might suffer if you direct most of your attention to that one course. It seems silly to us to sacrifice what could be good or even excellent grades in your other courses in order to receive a no-more-than-passable (or passing, as the case may be) grade in your problem course.

This leads us logically to the related matter of repeating courses. If you've received a failing grade in a course which is required for professional school and/or your degree, you have no choice but to repeat it. Similarly, if you've received lower than "C-" in a sequenced science course (math, chemistry, physics), you will not be permitted to enroll in the next course in the sequence without repeating the course in which you did poorly or auditing it the next time it is offered. What if you're not in either of these categories, but have received a grade which, although satisfactory in all other respects, is not satisfactory to you? Should you repeat the course? Both attempts at a repeated course will appear on the official transcript, along with the grades earned. Only the credit and grade for the second attempt (which may or may not result in a better grade) will be factored into the cumulative average. Professional schools, however, will factor in both attempts. Once again, we urge you to look at this less-than-outstanding grade in the context of your overall record. One "C-" (or "C," or "B-," or whatever your personal definition of a low grade is) will not by itself be enough to keep you out of professional school. At the same time, if you're stuck in a "C-" to "C" rut, one more of the same won't leave you at any more of a disadvantage.

Grades aside, it's always worthwhile to get some additional background in any subject in which you feel you are weak. If you don't think you have a good grasp of organic chemistry, for example, consider auditing a course or taking one over the summer. No professional school will frown on an honest effort at self-improvement, and you won't need to concern yourself about transferring credit, etc.

4. STUDY ABROAD

Another question frequently asked by health professions students is whether and how they may take advantage of study abroad opportunities, such as our unique London Health Sciences Internship. (Consult the Center for Study Abroad and Interdepartmental Programs in Lattimore 206 for details.) Most Rochester students who go abroad do so during the junior or senior year. You are free to do the same provided you first consider the health professions application timetable. If you plan to enter professional school the September after graduation, you must take the necessary standardized admissions test(s) no later than the fall of your senior year. (See Chapter 4 for a more detailed discussion of admission tests.) Only the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is administered abroad. There are not many foreign test centers, and you may or may not find yourself in the vicinity of one when you are abroad. Further, why spend your precious study, travel and sightseeing time preparing for and taking a test? The next thing to consider is applications. The application process usually begins during the spring semester of junior year. This is normally the time when you will learn about the application process, send away for catalogues and application materials, and begin soliciting letters of recommendation. Then there are interviews. The health professions interview season runs from early fall to late spring of the senior year. You may contact the schools in which you are interested and request interviews for the time(s) when you will be back in the States, but there's no guarantee that your requests will be honored.

There are alternatives. Summer study abroad programs are one option, and study abroad for just the fall semester of your junior year is another. You might also consider delaying your application to professional school by one year, particularly if you hope to spend a full academic year abroad. Once again, the choice is yours.

Chapter Two
Grades Necessary for Admission

It's impossible to discuss grades without mentioning first the most recent trends in the professional school applicant pool. The applicant pool for most health professions, and medicine in particular, is on the rise. Between 1989 and 1996, the number of applicants to U.S. medical schools increased by 74%. Applications began to decline thereafter,but the competition remains stiff nonetheless. Numbers for other health professions also rose, though not nearly as sharply as for medicine. The bottom line, therefore, is that it's more difficult now to gain acceptance to the program of your choice than it was eight or nine years ago. What sort of grades do you need? Read on.

You must understand first that health professions schools give far greater weight to the grades earned in the required science courses. A good cumulative average won't get you an acceptance if your record consists of "C's" in sciences and "A's" in humanities and social sciences. For those interested in medicine, the appendix at the end of this handbook includes two tables. One is a compilation of acceptances by cumulative grade-point average. The other is a summary of all application results for those seniors and alums who applied for entrance in 2002. These are arranged in descending order of cumulative average. The average in the science courses is included, however, as are MCAT scores, major(s) and state residency.

To be competitive for veterinary school, you will need about the same grades you would need for medical school. We don't have masses of statistics to give you here because not that many Rochester students have an interest in veterinary medicine. The majority of our applicants are accepted.

Successful osteopathy applicants usually have GPA's which are just a notch lower than those of successful medical school applicants. You will be slightly more competitive with a GPA below 3.0 than you would be for medical school, but your best chance for admission will come with 3.0 or above.

Dental schools accept applicants with a very wide range of grade-point averages. However, not every GPA guarantees admission to every school. Once again, the best chance comes with a 3.0 or better.

Chapter Three
Other Admissions Criteria

Grades are very important, obviously, as are standardized test scores, but they are not the only qualifications admissions committees consider. Admissions committees also pay close attention to extracurricular and community activities, research and work experience (paid or volunteer, relevant or not so relevant). Your choice of activities is strictly up to you; follow your interests, and don't even think about "what looks good." Quality is far more important than quantity. Choose a few activities which really appeal to you and focus your spare time on them. Admissions committees can usually spot the applicant who joined twenty groups and didn't really devote any time to any of them.

Research experience beyond the required lab courses is another plus provided it appeals to you. Don't force yourself to become involved in it if you aren't interested. Both the River Campus and Medical Center laboratories provide a wealth of research opportunities for undergraduates, and it's possible to earn academic credit for the research you do. Financial support for research is also available on a limited basis, particularly through such competitive programs as the deKiewiet Summer Research Fellowship Program, the Summer Research Fellowship (SURF) Program and the Strong Children's Research Center Fellowship. Feel free to approach any science faculty member at either location if you have a research project in mind, or check the listing of faculty research projects which is available in the Program in Biology and Medicine office in Hutchison 402. This listing is published during both semesters of the academic year and contains descriptions of all projects for which student workers have been requested. The names and phone numbers of the faculty members in charge are included, and you may arrange to meet with them to discuss the project and your qualifications. You may find that many of the faculty members prefer juniors and seniors to underclass students. Don't be disappointed if that's the case; there's always next year, and there's also the summer. Many colleges and universities offer summer research programs, which you may learn about in detail in the Career Library.

Work experience, paid or unpaid, is an asset. It shows that you're able to function in the "real world," and admissions committees take into account when reviewing an academic record the hours per week an applicant has worked during the school year. Experience which is relevant to the profession you hope to enter is even more of an asset, and is a requirement for those seeking admission to veterinary programs. However, you may find your options limited to volunteer work. Whether or not you earn money for your relevant experience doesn't matter much in the admissions picture. The point is to spend time in an appropriate environment so that you can make a better-informed career decision, and so that the admissions committees will know that you know what's ahead of you.

For those contemplating medicine, Strong Memorial and the other area hospitals provide ample opportunity for volunteering. Some paid positions are available at Strong (consult the Student Employment Office for details). If volunteering during the academic year doesn't fit your schedule, plan to do it during the summer either here or in your home town. The great advantage to working as a volunteer is that you set your own schedule. You may earn money at a full-time summer job and devote some number of evening or weekend hours to your volunteer work. Health-related volunteer opportunities of all kinds are available through the Community Service Network (Dean of Students' Office, 510 Wilson Commons).

Chapter Four
The Application Process - General Information

A. When to Apply

Most health professions aspirants hope to begin their professional education the September after college graduation, and for many years, nearly all did. Recently, however, it has become more common for students interested in all types of graduate and professional programs to delay application and enrollment for a year or longer. (For example, more than 60% of the Class of 2003 at our School of Medicine and Dentistry did not enroll directly from college. Half of our 2002 medical school applicants delayed the application process by a year or more.) Why? Many people feel more than a little burned out after 17 consecutive years of school, and they are eager to spend some time traveling or experiencing the world of full-time employment. Others need to put a little (or big) something in the bank to meet their future tuition expenses. Some need extra time to ensure that they're making a well-informed career decision, and some need to improve their academic and other credentials in order to make themselves more competitive for the programs of their choice. Those who choose to delay applying are at absolutely no disadvantage; in fact, many graduate and professional schools find older individuals to be particularly attractive applicants and particularly successful students. Such people are frequently more motivated, better organized, and more mature than many of their younger counterparts who applied and entered directly from college. When you apply is strictly up to you. You are not expected to adhere to a preordained timetable.

B. An Overview of the Process

Should you choose to enroll in professional school right after graduation, you must take the appropriate admission test (more about tests later) during the spring semester of your junior year or the fall semester of your senior year, and you should complete and send your application materials during the summer between these two semesters. Should you choose to enroll later, simply move the whole timetable forward one or more years, as appropriate. While it's true that application deadlines for many programs range from very late fall to early spring, you will be far better off if you apply well in advance of these deadlines. Many schools have rolling admissions; applications are processed as they arrive, and attractive early applicants have acceptances in hand before Thanksgiving, in some instances. You may find yourself at a real disadvantage at such schools if your application does not arrive until the entering class has been partially filled. Besides, it's silly to be filling out applications during the school year when you have the demands of classes, activities and your part-time job to deal with.

Once your applications have been sent, the next thing to do is sit back and wait for letters requesting your presence at an interview. Professional schools will not admit any applicant without a personal interview, which usually occurs sometime between September and April. However unnerving the prospect of an interview might be, take comfort in the following: An interview invitation means that you have met the school's basic criteria for admission. The school is satisfied with how you appear on paper, and simply wishes to ascertain whether you are equally satisfactory in person. Interview customs vary from school to school. There might be two or three separate interviews with two or three different people, or there might be one interview with a group of people. Most schools offer a tour of the facilities and a presentation on financial aid, and most provide an opportunity for applicants to meet with students.

After the interview, it's time once again to sit back and wait. This time, you'll be waiting for a letter which will tell you whether you've been accepted, wait-listed or rejected. Such letters may be mailed within days, weeks or months of the interview, depending upon the practices of the schools in question. Many schools will give you an approximate time by which you may expect to hear from them, and you may, if you wish, call the admissions office and inquire as to the status of your application. Do try to keep such calls to each school to a reasonable number (don't make ten calls to one school in the same month), and if a school has told you that you may expect a decision within a month of your interview, don't call the school until the month has passed.

If you receive a letter of acceptance, it will ask that you inform the school by a certain date whether you intend to decline acceptance, enroll, or hold a place (meaning that the school is one you are seriously considering). If you plan to enroll or hold a place, you may be required to send a deposit which may or may not be refundable if you change your mind later. Ideally, you would hold a place at only one school, but we realize and the schools realize that this isn't always possible. (For one thing, it may be three months or more before you find out about your financial aid package at various schools. For another, your first choice school may be the last one you hear from.) We recommend that you not hold more than two places at a time in fairness to the schools and to your fellow applicants. We also recommend that as soon as you decide that you are no longer interested in a school, whether before or after the school has given you a decision, you notify the school as promptly as possible. Again, this is a courtesy to the schools and to your fellow applicants.

If you are wait-listed, you may or may not be informed in the letter about where on the list you are. Very few schools will tell you your exact "number," but some will tell you whether you're on the priority or non-priority list, the first, second or third of three lists, etc. Schools which furnish such information will usually give you an estimate of your chances, e.g., everyone on the priority list is usually offered admission, only a few on the third list are usually offered admission. If your letter doesn't contain this sort of information, you are free to call the school and inquire unless the letter tells you not to do so. Some schools simply do not want phone calls from applicants, and there's no point in antagonizing them.

If you find yourself wait-listed at one of your top-choice schools, it won't hurt to (a) write to the school to say that you are seriously interested, and (b) send any significant new information (additional recommendations, recent honors, etc.) you may have. We can't guarantee that this will help, but you never know what might make the difference. An alum who was wait-listed at Harvard Medical School received an acceptance a couple of weeks after sending word of her election to Phi Beta Kappa.

Should you be rejected by all the schools to which you applied, your next move will depend upon how far you advanced in the process and how much you are able to figure out on your own about why you were rejected. If you were not invited for any interviews, you may assume that your grades and/or test scores were not competitive. If you were interviewed at a few schools, then the chances are that your interviews were the problem. If you made it to the waiting list at one or more schools, then lack of space at the school(s) was the problem. Applicants in this third category should feel free to reapply immediately if they choose to do so, and should attempt to be as early as possible with their application materials. (Late applications may have been the stumbling block the first time around!) Applicants in the first two categories may call or visit their schools to discuss their individual situations. Admissions folks are usually willing to give unsuccessful applicants an honest evaluation of their credentials, and, if appropriate, suggestions on how to improve any weak spots.

C. Admission Tests

No matter what type of program you plan to enter, you will need to take a standardized admission test. The following is a summary of the tests required by the various health professions programs:

MEDICAL: Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

OSTEOPATHY: Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

PODIATRY: Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

DENTAL: Dental Admission Test (DAT)

OPTOMETRY: Optometry Admission Test (OAT)

VETERINARY: Graduate Record Exam (GRE); Veterinary College Admission Test (VCAT); MCAT
(Veterinary applicants please note: You need not take all three tests, but you may have to take two. The test requirement varies from one school to another.)

With the exception of the GRE, which is given four times a year, these tests are given twice a year in the spring and fall. (The second administration of the MCAT is in August.) The conventional wisdom is that it is better, if possible, to take the spring test; you will be invited for interviews sooner, and you will have a second chance at the test if all does not go well the first time. However, do not feel that you must take the spring test if you do not feel ready for it. Many students need the summer to complete outstanding science courses, and many find it difficult to prepare for both an admissions test and finals during the spring semester. Preparation for these tests is essential, and you should take as much time as you need to prepare thoroughly. Don't even consider taking a test unprepared "just to see what it's like." If your score is low, you'll be stuck with it. You can't cancel it and you can't prevent your schools from seeing it. Further, you can't explain it away. Schools can usually be persuaded to overlook a low score if the applicant was ill or under some unusual stress (death in the family, other family emergency) when (s)he took the test. They will not overlook a low score resulting from inadequate preparation.

For detailed information on the content and scoring of the tests, we refer you to the graduate school section of the Career Library. In general, all the tests (except for the GRE, which measures verbal and quantitative ability only) measure proficiency in the preprofessional sciences, reading comprehension and analytical reasoning. The DAT also contains a perceptual ability section, which involves two- and three-dimensional problem solving. Please note: The DAT is available in both pencil-and-paper and electronic versions. The electronic version is offered by the Sylvan Learning Center, which has facilities throughout the country. The advantage to the electronic version is that scores are available immediately. The disadvantage is that the program does not allow for scrolling back to review one’s answers.

What's the best way to prepare for these tests? Your undergraduate science courses are the foundation, but you need exposure to the typical test format, types of questions, and time constraints you'll be dealing with. You may prepare on your own with the assistance of commercial study guides (Barron's, etc.), or you may enroll in a test preparation course. Prep courses have their good points: your reviewing is structured and focused; you take a lot of timed practice tests; and you are forced to devote a fixed amount of time to preparing for the test each week. The negative side of prep courses is that they are usually quite expensive. You'll want to consider, before signing up, whether you really need to spend the money or whether you're disciplined enough to prepare well on your own.

A final word: Standardized tests have always been the subject of considerable controversy. Much has been said and written about what they "really" measure, how much of a factor they should be in admissions decisions, what groups of people are and are not disadvantaged as a result, etc. Many of the tests have been changed somewhat over the years in an attempt to solve some of these problems, and we will probably see more changes in the future. The tests seem to be here to stay, however. Despite all the controversy, one thing seems pretty clear, and it's an important thing to keep in mind as you prepare for your test and as (if necessary) you consider whether or not to repeat a test: The average person's performance on standardized tests does not vary too much from one type of test to another, assuming the person prepared equally for all tests and was not ill or under any unusual (non-test-related) stress during a particular test. That is, most applicants' MCAT (or DAT, or GRE, or VCAT, or OAT) scores are usually in the same general range as their SAT scores, all other factors being equal. If you took the SAT's twice and barely managed to break 1000 despite the most intensive preparation, it's not very likely that you'll score in the 95th percentile on your preprofessional admission test no matter what you do to prepare and no matter how many times you repeat the test. Similarly, we've seen that most applicants who "aced" the SAT's also score high on preprofessional tests. Substantial differences in scores are rare in the absence of substantial differences in test preparation and/or test-taking circumstances. Professional schools do make some allowances for applicants with a history of high grades and low standardized test scores, and they also make some allowances for low-scoring applicants who are not native speakers of English. Feel free at any time to discuss your personal test situation with a health professions adviser, and be sure to do so before you decide to repeat a test.

A special note for students with physical or learning disabilities: Special testing accommodations are available to anyone with a documented disability necessitating such arrangements. The most common special accommodations are private testing rooms, extra testing time and large-print materials. Test registration materials describe in detail the procedures to be followed. It is imperative that you plan ahead and request any documentation you need as early as possible. There is no additional fee for non-standard testing arrangements.

D. Centralized Application Services

Nearly all medical, and all dental, osteopathy and podiatry and veterinary schools use centralized application services. The services in question (and their acronyms) are the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), the Association of American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS), the Association of American Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS), the Association of American Colleges of Podiatric Medicine Application Service (AACPMAS), and the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS). The advantage to the schools in using these services is that each school receives a uniform set of materials for each applicant. The advantage to the applicants is that each applicant completes only one application and sends only one official transcript from each college attended to the service, which copies these materials and sends the applicant's standardized test score(s) to each school which the applicant has marked off on a "designation form." All of the applications are on line. There is no centralized service for optometry school, but just about all programs have individual on line applications.

Most professional schools require completion of a secondary application, which is usually sent to applicants shortly after the initial application has been processed. Those schools which require secondary applications usually send them to every applicant who has submitted an initial application; a few schools use the initial application as a screening tool and send secondary applications only to those applicants who are deemed competitive.

All professional school applications involve a fairly substantial cost. The centralized application services have a sliding-scale processing fee which is based on the number of schools to which the candidate applies, and each school has its own application fee. Fee waivers from the services and from some individual schools are possible, but applicants desiring waivers must demonstrate serious financial hardship.

E. The Typical Application

The typical professional school application package consists of (1) application, (2) college transcripts, and (3) letters of recommendation. Applications usually request basic background information such as schools attended, extracurricular activities, work experience, etc. There is also a "personal statement," which is an open-ended essay in which the applicant usually discusses why (s)he is interested in his/her chosen profession and what qualifications (s)he has. The length of the essay is almost always restricted to a certain amount of space on the form or to a certain number of words, and limits are enforced strictly If you tend to ramble on when you write, start practicing now to tighten up your writing style.

Although you will be required to furnish an official transcript from every college you attended (even if only for one summer course), the application services and some schools will require you to complete an "academic record" portion of the application, on which you must list all of your courses, grades, credits and some other related information in chronological order. Don't trust your memory when you complete this section; have copies of your records (an ACCESS printout is fine) in front of you. The schools may check the application against the transcripts, and an entirely innocent lapse of memory could be perceived as intentional misrepresentation.

Letters of recommendation are a vital part of the application materials. From whom should you request them? Letters from science professors are essential. If you are not a science major, a letter from a faculty member in your department of concentration is also advantageous. Some health programs (particularly veterinary and osteopathy schools) require a letter from a practitioner in the field. Other good sources of letters are summer and part-time employers, people who have supervised you in volunteer work, athletic coaches, and other University staff members and administrators who are familiar with your participation in campus activities. Letters which are not particularly helpful are those which fall under the heading of "character reference," i.e., the neighbor who happens to be a doctor, dentist, etc., the clergy member who knows you only as a person who attends services at the church or temple, your mother's college roommate who is on the faculty of a school you are considering. Recommendations should come only from people who can comment on your performance and/or abilities in substantive areas.

Having read this paragraph, you're probably wondering (a) how it's possible to get a recommendation from a faculty member who taught you and 250 other students in a particular course; and (b) what of significance this faculty member could have to say about you. This is not as big a problem as you think it is. Instructors need not know you well in order to be able to give the schools useful information. Even though an instructor may not be able to say much about you as a person, (s)he will be able to discuss the format and content of the course and how you performed in comparison with the rest of the class. If the instructor states that there were twenty graduate students in the class and you, as a junior, received a higher grade than sixteen of them on the final exam, that will tell your schools something very important about you.

It's essential that you request a letter from a faculty member in person; don't slip a note and a blank recommendation form under his/her door or in an office mailbox. Bring copies of tests, papers and lab reports with you if possible, and ask the person point-blank whether (s)he would be able to write you a favorable recommendation. Offer to furnish any other useful information, such as a resume, and be prepared to spend a little time talking about yourself and answering questions. If you take this approach, you're sure to get the kind of recommendation you want.

Please keep in mind that while your better recommendations will most likely come from those instructors who have given you better grades, you need not have received an "A" in a course in order to receive a good recommendation. Most instructors are happy to support any student who has put forth his/her best effort even though the result was not a top grade. Further, instructors will make special note of such items as a poor score on one test or quiz due to illness, difficulties with a course due to inadequate background in the subject matter, and solid improvement after a rocky start.

F. Selecting Schools

There are a number of factors to keep in mind as you select the schools to which you will apply. State residency is of particular importance. Many health professions schools receive a substantial portion of their funding from the states in which they are located and must, therefore, give preference to state residents in the admissions process. The degree of preference given to state residents varies from school to school. A few schools, such as the University of Massachusetts Medical School, will simply not accept applications from non-residents. More commonly, a certain number or percentage of seats in each first-year class is reserved for state residents, and non-residents who apply must usually present significantly better credentials than residents in order to be considered seriously for admission. Some states enter into contractual arrangements with other states whereby each state signing the contract agrees to admit to its own schools certain numbers of residents of the other contracting states. This practice is particularly common among veterinary and optometry schools.

Another important consideration in choosing schools is cost. In general, state schools have different rates of tuition for residents and non-residents, and the tuition for residents is usually quite low as compared to the tuition assessed by the typical private institution. We don't mean to suggest that cost must determine everything, but do keep in mind that you may well finance much of your professional school tuition with loans, and that the amount of money you may borrow from some of the standard graduate/professional school loan programs will depend in part upon how much you borrowed for your undergraduate education.

A third item of significance is your personal preference with respect to geography. You'll be spending four years of your life in professional school, and you'll enjoy it more if the school is not located in an area you absolutely loathe. If you know now that you just can't deal with the negative aspects of life in a super-large city, eliminate all big-city schools from your list of possibilities. Similarly, if you know that you'll be bored to death in a "small-town" environment, don't consider schools in smaller cities or semi-rural areas.

Then, of course, there is the matter of your chances of acceptance at particular schools. Professional schools generally claim not to have cut-offs in terms of grades and test scores. This may or may not be true, but such cut-offs as there may be are not publicized. However, we maintain records which include GPA, test scores, acceptances and rejections on our applicants, and based on these records, we can advise you as to where you are more or less likely to have a good chance at an offer of admission. PLEASE NOTE: There are various books available which provide general information about health professions programs, and we urge you to review them. These books are an excellent source of preliminary information, and they will enable you to put together a list of schools in which you might be interested, and from which you will request catalogues. Typically, the books will state mean GPA's and mean test scores of recently-accepted applicants. Please take this particular information with a grain of salt. Even if it's true that the mean GPA of the 2002 entering class at School X was 3.65, applicants from Rochester may well have been accepted with GPA's between 3.3 and 3.5. It's pointless to compare yourself numerically with a large group of individuals who entered professional school from a wide range of colleges and universities. Your 3.4 will probably not be considered the equivalent of a 3.4 from Harvard or a 3.4 from a less competitive school. By comparing yourself with the Rochester grads who went before you to the type of program to which you plan to apply, you'll have the most realistic view of your chances for acceptance.

Finally, and most important of all, consider whether and to what extent particular schools will help you to meet your own professional objectives. If you plan to attend medical or osteopathy school and you already have a specialty area in mind for your future practice, find out how graduates of the schools you are considering have fared in obtaining residency placements in your area of interest. School catalogues and/or web pages will list the placements of the most recent graduating class, and admissions officers can supply you with additional information, such as what percentage of members of the typical graduating class are placed in their first-choice residencies. Aspiring dentists, vets, optometrists and podiatrists should seek information about the kind of employment placement assistance available from various schools. Will the school and/or its alumni/ae assist new graduates in locating practice opportunities? Do new graduates find more practice opportunities in certain parts of the country than in others? Admissions officers, once again, are a good source of such information, as are currently-enrolled students and alumni who are now in practice.

Related to the matter of your professional objectives is school curriculum. The basic required courses don't vary much from one school to another, but there may be substantial differences in electives, research opportunities, and when students have their first contact with patients. Early patient contact is becoming more common; many schools (but not all) now offer required first-year courses which involve meeting patients and their families, observing examinations and diagnostic procedures, and learning the basics of patient interviewing. Some schools, such as our own School of Medicine and Dentistry, offer a problem-based (as opposed to lecture-oriented) curriculum. Many schools (particularly medical schools) also offer courses which focus on effective communication with patients. Students learn how to explain diseases and sophisticated treatments in layperson's terms, and how to deal in a more sensitive manner with patients who are seriously or terminally ill. School catalogues are your best source of information on this particular point.

A special item of interest for premedical students: If you have a serious interest in research, you may want to consider schools which offer combined M.D./Ph.D. programs. Many universities offer such programs, but a special program is available at about 30 schools. The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) offers up to six full years of tuition plus an annual stipend to qualified students. (Please note: It usually takes longer than six years to complete the degrees, but other sources of funding are available for the research component of the degree program.) About 120 MSTP positions are available nationally each year, so the competition is very keen. Interested

students should begin their planning early, and should acquire a substantial background in research during the undergraduate years. The UR medical school is a MSTP participant, and detailed information about the program is available from the M.D./Ph.D. Program Office at x-58721.

Chapter Five
How the Health Professions Advisers Can Help

The health professions advisers in the Center for Academic Support are prepared to assist you with both planning for your career in health professions and with the application process itself, and we invite you to come to our office to meet us and check out our services in person. Below is a detailed summary of what we have to offer.

A. Individual Advising

We have two advisers available to serve students and alumni who are interested in the health professions. They will meet with you privately to discuss your personal situation, personal needs and personal interests, and will assist you with gathering information, selecting schools, preparing applications, and the like. To schedule an appointment, come to Lattimore 312 or call 275-2357.

B. Group Programs

Throughout the academic year, we hold regular information sessions on preparation for the health professions and the health professions application process. Sessions are advertised in The Buzz and the "Events and Notices" section of the Campus Times, and a printed schedule is available at the Academic Support counter.

C. Committee Letters

All health professions schools require letters of recommendation, which we discussed earlier in Chapter 4. We provide a special service to our health professions applicants by writing special letters of recommendation on their behalf. These letters, which are signed by the faculty member serving as Chair of the Health Professions Advisory Committee, are about one and one-half pages in length and their purpose is to tell the schools in a brief and easy-to-read manner all the important things they need to know about each applicant. Not every college furnishes such letters and the professional schools regard the letters highly, so this service will set you apart from many of your competitors.

To have a Committee letter written, you must fulfill some very simple requirements which are listed below:

You must open a recommendation file in the Career Center. Your recommendations will be kept there and will be copied and mailed to your schools when you apply. You may open a file at any time (even during your freshman year), but your file should be opened by April 15th of the year preceding the year in which you plan to enter professional school. To open a file, pick up forms in Meliora Hall, fill them out at your leisure and return them to any member of the Career Center staff. At the same time, pick up information about mailing procedures and fees.

You must complete a health professions student questionnaire by April 15th of the year preceding the year in which you plan to enter professional school. (If April 15th falls on a weekend, the deadline is the next Monday.) The questionnaire requests much of the same information requested by professional school applications and includes a personal statement. By completing the

questionnaire, you'll have the information necessary for your applications organized in advance. Please note: If you are unable to meet the April 15th deadline for submission of the questionnaire, you will be required to pay a $25 late fee if you want us to prepare a Committee letter for you.

After completing your questionnaire and returning it to 312 Lattimore, you must make an appointment to review the questionnaire with a health professions adviser. This is a double-check to make sure that we have all the information we need, and the meeting provides you with an opportunity to discuss your selection of schools and anything else which might be on your mind.

If you're an undergraduate, you must be in good academic standing, i.e., not on academic probation, when it's time for us to write your Committee letter. The Committee will not authorize a letter for a student on academic probation.

Once your questionnaire is logged in (and we've received your $25 late fee, if you were unable to meet the April 15th deadline), you will be ready for a letter and we will assign you a priority number. We write the letters in priority number order, and it is to your benefit to receive a number as early as possible. The summer is the ideal time for us to write these letters. We are free of many of our academic year responsibilities and we can produce the letters relatively quickly. The process slows down considerably when classes resume in September.

If, for whatever reason, you do not meet the criteria for a Committee letter, you may have any recommendations in your file mailed to your schools. If you apply without a Committee letter, you should, at a minimum, have two recommendations from faculty in the sciences and one from a faculty member in your major department if you are not a science major.

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