Presented by the Natural Sciences Advising Center (NSAC) and the Career Center

Fall 2012

Your Journey Leading To A Health Professional School Begins With:

1. Self Exploration *

2. Career Exploration *

3. An Action Plan

* Explore health careers.org and the AMA Health Care Careers directory,

* CSUS Pre-health Home Page: www.csus.edu/prehealth/index.stm ,

* Sac State Career Center (Lassen Hall 1013), and NSM 96,

Your Action Plan Should Include:

PART I: Preparing for Health Professional School

PART II: Applying to Health Professional School

PART III: Plan B

PART I PREPARING for Health Professional

School

Know what the professional school is looking for in an applicant

Choose the appropriate major.

Become familiar with the requirements for admission.

What pre-requisite courses are required?

What extracurricular activities are needed?

Is taking a standardized test required?

What is considered a competitive GPA and standardized test score for admission in to the

program?

Begin work on your Personal Statement

Letters of Recommendation

WHAT QUALITIES ARE “THEY” LOOKING FOR IN AN APPLICANT?

Solid academic performance (high GPA) Motivation and intelligence A well rounded individual Knowledge of the career Good interpersonal and communication skills Commitment to community service Leadership Clinical experience Research Experience Various extracurricular activities Shadowing experience Successful (and timely) performance on the entrance exam Great letters of recommendation A unique personal essay

CHOOSING A MAJOR

Is there are preferred major?

What major best meets the pre-requisite courses?

Is there a preferred degree (BA vs BS)

Is a 4 year degree required?

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

Use the resources available through the Professional Organizations and the Association of Schools/ Colleges

Allopathic

Medicine (MD)

Osteopathic

Medicine (DO)

Pharmacy

(Pharm D)

Dental

(DDS)

Optometry

(OD)

Vet Med

(DVM)

PA

Professional

Organization

American

medical

Association

American

Osteopathic

Association

American

Pharmacist

Association

American

Dental

Association

American

Optometric

Association

American

Veterinary

Medical

Association

American

Academy of

Physician

Assistants

Association of

Schools/Colleges

AAMC AACOM AACP ADEA ASCO AAVMC PAEA

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS Review a copy of the Official Guide to Admission:

“Medical School Admission Requirements “(MSAR)

“Osteopathic Medical College Information Book”

“Pharmacy School Admission Requirements”

“ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools”

“Schools and Colleges of Optometry Admission Requirements”

“Veterinary Medical school Admission Requirements”

“Physician Assistant Programs Directory”

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

Sac State Resources for Students:

CSUS Pre-Health home page:

www.csus.edu/prehealth/index.stm

Natural sciences Advising center (NSAC) – SQU 238

Academic Advising and Career Center (Lassen Hall 1013)

Science Educational Equity (SEE) Program: SQU 315

CSUMentor (web page)

PRE-REQUISITE COURSES

Different health professions have different sets of pre-

requisite courses

Within each health profession, the various

schools/colleges, have their own specific pre-requisites

It is important to check the course requirements for

each school you are interested in attending

PRE-REQUISITE COURSES (Science & Math)

Required by almost all health professional schools: - Bio 1 + Bio 2 - Chem 1A + Chem 1B, Chem 24 + Chem 124 + Chem 25 (not PA school) Physics 5A + Physics 5B Math 26 A + Stats 1

Some professional schools require additional courses: - Pharmacy: Bio 22, Bio 131, Bio 139, Bio 121, Chem 161 - Dental: Bio 22, Bio 131, Bio 184 (recommended: histology,

microbiology, developmental biology, immunology) - Optometry: Bio 22, Bio 131, Bio 139, Chem 161

(recommended: Bio 184, Bio 121) - Veterinary: Bio 131, Bio 184

PRE-REQUISITE COURSES (GE) Required by most schools:

COMS 4 or COMS 5

PSYCH 2

SOC 1

Additional Requirements by some schools: Pharmacy: ECON 1

Dental: Drawing/ Jewelry making

NSAC has a list of recommended General Education courses for the various health professions.

Hidden Pre-requisites What courses do you need to have completed in order

to do well on the standardized test for that professional school?

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES 1. Join Student Organizations/ Clubs

AMSA, MOSS, FPSO, Pre-Dental Association, FBDD, Optometry Club, Pre-Vet Club at Sac State.

2. Inquire about the Science and Education Equity (SEE) program

3. Gain clinical experience through Volunteer work, Internships and Job shadowing

Clinical Experience is required by most health professional schools

4. Get involved in Community Service

Sac State BioCorps

5. Gain Research Experience (especially important for Graduate School)

Work with faculty that are conducting research in your area of interest

- Independent Study, Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant

6. Other activities:

Pharmacy schools require that students be Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) certified prior to applying.

Make a comprehensive list of all your work and extracurricular activities, including dates, name of supervisors and a brief description of what you gained from the experience.

“Hot Stuff @ NSAC” + Career Center NSMListserve!

STANDARDIZED TESTS Know the entrance exam required for applying to your Professional/ Graduate

School

When is the test administered?

How can you prepare for it?

What topics are covered?

Are there any anticipated changes to the exam?

How many times can the test be taken?

Many of the Professional Organizations and Associations have review material

available to students!

Allopathic

Medicine

(MD)

Osteopathic

Medicine (DO)

Pharmacy

(Pharm D)

Dental

(DDS)

Optometry

(OD)

Vet Med

(DVM)

Physician

Assistant (PA)

Graduate

School

Standardized

Test

MCAT MCAT PCAT *

(not for CA

Schools)

DAT OAT GRE

GRE/ MCAT

(1 school in CA)

GRE/ Subject

GRE

GPA AND STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

Know the “applicant profile” of previous applicants.

What was the average cumulative and science GPA of the applicants and the matriculated students?

What was the average standardized test score of the applicant pool and the matriculated students?

Would you be considered a competitive applicant?

GPA & STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

GPA of fall 2011 matriculated students: Optometry:

3.33-3.87

Dental: overall: 3.35 science: 3.54

Allopathic Medicine: overall: 3.67 science: 3.61

Osteopathic Medicine: overall: 3.48 science: 3.36

Pharmacy: overall: 3.40 science: 3.29

Physician Assistant: overall: 3.27 science: 3.16

PERSONAL STATEMENT

It is never too early to start thinking about your

personal statement

This is about YOU!

Available Resources:

The CSUS Pre-Health home page and the Career Center have

handouts on how to write a personal statement

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION How many letters of recommendation are needed for

your program (individual vs. Committee)?

Who should write the letters (professors, health professionals, others)?

Consider the faculty members and/or health professionals that will write your letters.

Be sure that the faculty knows you well!

will the letters be submitted electronically or do they need to be mailed?

Allow plenty of time!

PART II APPLYING to Health Professional

Schools - Choose the schools you will apply to *

- Prepare for and take the standardized test

- Look in to the application process

-Centralized application services/ Individual applications

-Supplemental (secondary) applications

- Request letters of recommendation

- Finalize your personal statement

- Order official transcripts of ALL colleges and universities attended and forward to the application service and/or individual schools.

CHOOSING YOUR SCHOOLS Find out how many schools are located in the US and in

California. Would you be happy in that location?

Read the “Mission Statement” of the schools you are interested in applying to. What is their main focus (research, clinical practice,

academic medicine)?

What is their main learning emphasis (primary care, patient education, prevention, preparation for community practice, etc)?

Are the schools a “good fit” for you?

What is the cost of attending the schools? Is financial aid available

MISSION STATEMENT Stanford University School of Medicine Mission Statement: To be a premier research-intensive medical school that

improves health through leadership and collaborative discoveries and innovation in patient care, education and research.

"The School of Medicine aims to identify candidates who are committed to serving the needs of all members of society and whose accomplishments reveal originality and a capacity for independent, critical thinking. Our students are best characterized by a strong desire to develop into exceptional clinicians and innovators in the biomedical sciences and public health".

STATEMENT Mark C. Henderson, M.D., F.A.C.P.

Associate Dean for Admissions:

“Welcome to the UC Davis School of Medicine Admissions website. As Dean for Admissions, I wanted to share a few thoughts about our medical school and community.

UC Davis is a very special place—one characterized by a deep commitment to improving the health of our local and global community. Many people do not recognize the incredible diversity of the Sacramento community, which was recently noted by TIME magazine and the Civil Rights Project of Harvard University as the most racially/ethnically integrated major city in America”.

CENTRALIZED APPLICATION SERVICES

What services are provided by the application service? Some handle ALL the application material, and some only

portions of it.

When are the applications available?

When is the deadline for submitting the applications?

What is the cost of applying?

Is there an Early Decision Program?

Allopathic

Medicine (MD)

Osteopathic

Medicine (DO)

Pharmacy

(Pharm D)

Dental

(DDS)

Optometry

(OD)

Vet Med

(DVM)

Physician

Assistant (PA)

Centralized

Application

Service

AMCAS AACOMAS PharmCAS AADSAS OptomCAS VMCAS CASPA

COMPLETING THE APPLICATION Most applications include sections on:

Biographical data Colleges and Universities attended Academic history Letters of recommendation Extracurricular/ work activities Honors Personal essay

Before completing the application: 1. have unofficial copies of all your transcripts (for cumulative

and science GPA calculation) 2. have a list of all extracurricular activities

SECONDARIES & INTERVIEWS Secondary applications may be requested by

individual schools

practice interviews (Career Center)

PART III: Plan B 1. Be realistic

2. It should be done at the same time as plan A

3. Explore non traditional careers

Contact the admissions office and request feedback on

your application

Improve your application and apply again!