{"189441":{"#nid":"189441","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Health Professional Schools - Apply Now for Fall 2014","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDuring a sluggish economy, students often migrate to health professions. Not only does attending professional school afford students more time before entering the job market, but the health industry is typically more stable than other industries. A larger applicant pool means it has become even more competitive to gain acceptance into a health professional school. The good news is that Pre-Health Advising \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.prehealth.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ewww.prehealth.gatech.edu\/\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at Georgia Tech can help students gain the competitive edge they need. Students with an interest in pursuing a health-related profession are strongly encouraged to visit our office as early as possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDid you know that there are more than 1,300 pre-health students at Georgia Tech? These are students interested in becoming doctors, dentists, pharmacists, or physician assistants, among others. On average, 220 Tech students apply to medical school every year. Georgia Tech boasts a 53 percent acceptance rate to medical school; the overall national acceptance rate is about 45 percent. For Tech students who coordinate their efforts with Pre-Health Advising, the acceptance rate can climb to 90 percent!\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the most notable differences between health professional school applications and other graduate programs is rolling admissions. Students interested in attending health professional school in the fall of 2014 need to begin the application process this spring \u2014 a full year and a half before the start date. When students submit their application materials early, they stand a greater chance of being offered an interview spot which may lead to a possible acceptance. To demonstrate, Emory School of Medicine has more than 6,400 applications for about 700 interview spots and 137 admission openings. Students who submit their materials early have a better chance of getting an interview offer. If your student is planning on attending professional school in fall 2014, I strongly advise your student to start the application process now.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe following tips and timeline will help ensure a successful application process for students who want to start professional school in the fall of 2014.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAttend the Letter of Evaluation Workshop (February).\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPrepare the Personal Statement (March).\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAttend the Application Workshops (April).\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMake sure their Letter of Evaluation file is complete in Pre-Health Advising by the end of the spring 2013 semester, ideally.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETake the admissions test (MCAT, DAT, PCAT, etc.) in late spring\/early summer of 2013.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBe patient and focused - the rolling admissions process means that the summer of 2013 will be spent applying for professional school.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EApply to the appropriate schools.\u0026nbsp; Most state schools can only accept residents of the state.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAttend an interview workshop (fall 2013) and sign up for a mock interview \u2013 it really helps!\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EHave a \u201cParallel Plan\u201d in the event that the initial application process does not yield the desired results.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;However, not all students are ready to embark upon this process just yet. For those students, we encourage them to:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERegister for the Pre-Health Advising listserv \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:pre-health@lists.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Epre-health@lists.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E by going to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lists.gatech.edu\/sympa\u0022\u003Elists.gatech.edu\/sympa\u003C\/a\u003E to keep up with the latest pre-health issues and required workshops. In addition, the Office of Pre-Health T-Square \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/t-square.gatech.edu\/portal\u0022\u003Et-square.gatech.edu\/portal\u003C\/a\u003E website is full of tips on how to be competitive.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EGet to know their professors! Students will need strong letters of evaluation when they apply to a health profession school. These letters need to provide schools more insight into the student.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEnsure a strong academic history. It is important to take a healthy combination of courses each semester and major in a subject that is truly interesting. It is also important that a student\u2019s academic record does not reflect a lot of \u201cW\u201d grades or grade substitutions. Professional schools cannot accept grades below \u201cC\u201d in the pre-requisite courses for professional school. In addition, some schools cannot accept Advanced Placement (AP) credit for the pre-requisites. Students are encouraged to contact me directly at \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:%20jennifer.kimble@carnegie.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejennifer.kimble@carnegie.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E to discuss their situation.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERemember that professional schools do not place emphasis on high school activities. Students need to demonstrate healthcare experience, long-term volunteer work, in-depth leadership skills, research experiences, and \u201cuniqueness factors\u201d while at Tech.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAttend all pre-health events (school visits, etc.) and become a member of the appropriate pre-professional club.\u0026nbsp; We have AMSA \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gtamsa.org\u0022\u003Ewww.gtamsa.org\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp; for pre-med and other health professions, a \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtwebtest.webs.com\u0022\u003EPre-Dental Society\u003C\/a\u003E, a \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/jacketpages.gatech.edu\/organizations\/view\/44713\u0022\u003EPre-Physician Assistant Club\u003C\/a\u003E, and a \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/jacketpages.gatech.edu\/organizations\/view\/28084\u0022\u003EPre-Pharmacy Student Association\u003C\/a\u003E. We also have \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.prehealth.gatech.edu\/content\/student-organizations\u0022\u003Eother Pre-Health organizations\u003C\/a\u003E that support our pre-health students.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDo some career exploration. Students need to develop a strong and differentiated rationale for attending that specific health profession school.\u0026nbsp; We will have our 7\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gtamsa.org\/conference\/index.html\u0022\u003EAnnual Pre-health Conference\u003C\/a\u003E on Saturday, March 2, in the Global Learning Center.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERecognize that getting accepted to a professional school is highly challenging and competitive.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information on planning for health professional school, visit the Pre-Health Advising website \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.prehealth.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ewww.prehealth.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E. I\u2019m located in 283 Clough Commons in the Center for Academic Success for students who need help on the application process. Parents and students are also encouraged to contact me directly with questions and concerns at \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:%20jennifer.kimble@carnegie.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejennifer.kimble@carnegie.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E or 404.385.2475. I also invite parents who work in a health profession or closely related industry, to contact me for information on joining the Georgia Tech Health Professions Affinity Group. This Georgia Tech Alumni Association is open to Tech graduates and friends of Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe good news is that Pre-Health Advising at Georgia Tech can help students gain the competitive edge they need. Students with an interest in pursuing a health-related profession are strongly encouraged to visit our office as early as possible.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27164","created_gmt":"2013-02-04 13:28:30","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:33","author":"Rachael Pocklington","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.prehealth.gatech.edu\/","title":"Pre-Health Advising"}],"groups":[{"id":"1298","name":"Parent and Family Programs"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"5170","name":"pre-health"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJennifer Kimble\u003Cbr \/\u003E Director, Office of Pre-Health Advising\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:%20jennifer.kimble@carnegie.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejennifer.kimble@carnegie.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jennifer.kimble@carnegie.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}