Prepare for the Expo

Health Professional School Expo Image

The Health Professional School Expo will be held in the Coffman Great Hall on Tuesday, March 26th from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. The event is co-hosted by the Pre-Health Student Resource Center and the Interprofessional Pre-Health Students group. 

This is your chance to meet and network with health professional school admissions representatives from all across the US! From medicine, to public health, to pharmacy, and more, you will have a chance to meet with a variety of programs from a diverse group of schools.

Click here to pre-register for the Expo in Handshake!

This page will walk you through some important steps to help you prepare to have a great experience at the Health Professional School Expo:

  • Registering for the Event
  • Researching Schools
  • Planning for Expo Day

If you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out at [email protected].

Participating Schools

This Expo Exhibitor Spreadsheet lists all schools that will be attending the 2024 Expo and breaks down participating programs down by degree offerings. You can also view the list of exhibitors that have signed up in Handshake. 

Let’s Get You Set Up...

Register: Go to Handshake and select the “Students & Alumni Login” button. Then log in using your Internet ID and password as you would with any other UMN site. 

  • Go to the Health Professional School Expo event page, either following this direct link or by searching the event listings
  • Click on the blue “Register” button on the Expo event student-facing page in Handshake

We encourage you to take a few minutes to build or update your Handshake profile. It’s not required for this event, but with all the opportunities available across the Handshake platform, it will be helpful to have your information updated.

Planning for Expo Day

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Planning for Expo Day

Research Schools

We encourage you to take some time and research the list of schools that are registered for the event. You can view the schools that have signed up so far to exhibit at the event in the Expo Exhibitor Spreadsheet or in Handshake. Reading the exhibitor descriptions and visiting the schools’ websites will help you identify who you’d like to speak with and plan your time. 

Here is a list of information that you could be researching on program websites:

  • Prerequisites courses
  • Admission statistics 
  • Non-academic admissions requirements 
  • Current student profiles
  • School or program mission 

Registrations from schools are still coming in, so we encourage you to check back later to see if there are more schools registered that you’re interested in.

Getting to the Expo

The Expo will be held in the Coffman Memorial Union Great Hall, located at 300 Washington Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. The Great Hall is on the ground floor, accessed by entering Coffman Memorial Union from Washington Ave, taking the escalator down one level, then turning left to walk behind the escalator. The Great Hall will be to your right.

What to Wear and Bring

 

  • There is no “dress code” for the event, but keep in mind that you will be interacting with admissions representatives from schools you may be applying to. We encourage you to wear something that is comfortable, makes you feel confident, and helps you make a good first impression. 
  • Bring a bag to carry resources you gather from tables.
  • Come with an “elevator pitch!” Confidently introducing yourself and articulating your interests will help structure your conversations with exhibitors so they can provide you with the information and resources most relevant to you. Consider jotting some notes and questions down on a notepad to reference when speaking with admissions reps (instead of referencing notes on your phone). 

What to Ask

Examples of questions you could ask admissions representatives:

  • What type of volunteering and work opportunities are most valuable to your school?
  • What are some opportunities that would make me stand out?
  • What types of ‘clinical experiences’ do most applicants to your school have? (Volunteering, shadowing, work hours, etc.) 
  • Is there an advantage to applying early (to your school)?
  • What kinds of financial aid and scholarship opportunities does your school offer?
  • How does your school differ from other schools?
  • What does the application review process look like? 
  • Is “early decision” an option?
  • What are you looking for in a personal statement? 
  • What are you looking for in letters of recommendation? 
  • How might I share information about a low grade in a prerequisite course?

Are you a freshman or a sophomore? 

Even though you might not be applying for a few years, it’s not too early to start learning about different health professional programs. The questions listed above would give you great insight into different schools and programs, and help you build an authentic and competitive application portfolio by the time you’re ready to apply. 

Are you a junior or a senior?

The Expo is a great chance to talk to schools that you might be interested in applying to. Consider what factors are important to you when choosing a school:

  • What states are you interested in living in/attending school in? Do you want to have a rural or urban feel?
  • Financial aid & scholarship opportunities
  • Mentoring opportunities
  • Class size
  • Patient-centered care opportunities
  • Clinical rotation sites that are available, etc

Get Outside the Box

  • With a wide variety of health professions in attendance, we hope you are inspired to go beyond your specific area of interest and ask some “outside-the-box” questions.
  • If you are already on the road to pharmacy school, for example, what could you learn today about other health professions that would apply to your future career? 
    • What personal and professional competencies are essential to becoming part of an interprofessional team? 
  • How do different health professionals work together to solve the complex issues that affect the health of the world?