Choosing Schools: Where Should You Apply?

To become a doctor, dentist, physical therapist, nurse, or other health professional, you will first need to attend medical school, dentistry school, or the health program that qualifies you to practice within the health field you want to enter. And, just like many students apply to multiple colleges for undergrad, many pre-health students apply to multiple schools for their health profession of interest. 

This week, PHSRC Career Counselor Fred Williams shares strategies for choosing schools to apply to. 

When should a student interested in a health career start researching specific schools to apply to?

We recommend researching schools right away, no matter if you are still exploring or if you have fully decided on a specific health career. Researching schools can help you better understand the details of what it will take to apply to your health professional program. Understanding which prerequisite courses to take will help with your course planning each semester. Also, prerequisites can vary by school, so maintaining an organized list of this information can help you determine any nuances and differences between schools. Schools may also have requirements for Letters of Recommendation, so this information can help identify potential people who will be able to write you a strong letter. Some schools may have other requirements or recommendations for patient care or observation hours. Knowing all of these details will help you to plan ahead!

There are many medical schools, nursing schools, pharmacy schools, etc. out there. How would a student begin narrowing down schools to apply to?

Identifying potential schools takes time, so there are no shortcuts to this process. If you can find admissions data (i.e., the average GPA of admitted students), this can be one indicator to gauge how competitive your academics are for this school. Also carefully read through each school’s mission statement, as this will include information about their top priorities, what they are known for, what they are most proud of, etc. Can you connect your own experiences and interests to their mission statement? For example, if a school specifies a commitment to research, try to learn more about the specific research that is going on at that school. What aspects of their research connect with your own interests?

How many schools should a student apply to?

It depends! A student with highly competitive academic profile (i.e. 4.0 GPA, high MCAT/DAT/GRE) will likely have more schools they can apply to compared to a student with a lower academic profile. However, admission is extremely competitive and never guaranteed. Your application will go through a holistic review, meaning you must demonstrate your fit for each school you apply to. If you’ve already done your research on the schools ahead of time, then it becomes a much easier process to select schools as you start filling out the application.

How can students keep track of multiple schools' application requirements?

Use our Pre-Health Action Plan! We have built a “Choosing Schools” section in the Action Plan to help you stay organized with the schools you are researching.

What other resources can students use to help them research schools?

Attend the Health Professional School Expo on March 26th, 2024! (Students can now pre-register for the Expo in Handshake.) This is a great event for all pre-health students to attend to connect with admissions representatives from health schools across the country. This will also give you a way to gain first-hand information about each school and help you affirm if they are a good fit for you and if you are a good fit for them.

You can find prerequisite information about UMN health programs on the PHSRC website.