Thinking About Becoming a Doctor?

Choosing a College for Pre-Health Professions

If you’re considering becoming a doctor, dentist, veterinarian, physician’s assistant, physical therapist, or other health profession requiring several years of graduate or professional training after college, there are three key things to keep in mind as you choose a college: the checklist of application factors, availability of pre-professional advising, and financial considerations.

Application Factors:

These are the things all medical professional schools will consider in reviewing your application. Keep these in mind as you choose your undergraduate school.

  • GPA  3.5 or above: Consider being a big fish a small pond.
  • Test Scores: Look for a strong undergraduate science program.   Example: MCAT 500 or above for medical school applicants.
  • Professor recommendations: Build strong relationships with STEM faculty members through classroom performance and participation.
  • STEM research: Explore undergraduate research opportunities in specific topics of interest to you.
  • Clinical experience: Find out if there are clinical shadowing or internships available through the university or in the local community.

On-Campus Pre-Health Advising:

Advising is available on some campuses. Some colleges offer advising beginning before you start college, and extend that support after you graduate, and until you have been admitted to your graduate or professional school. This can be a critical part of your success in applying.

Advising programs can:

  • Set up academic plan to make sure you are prepared to apply on your timeline
  • Help with finding internships, clinical experiences, and research positions
  • Work as a liaison to faculty recommenders or recommendation committee systems
  • Recommend professional programs that match your interests and abilities

Financial Considerations:

Health professional training is expensive, generally between $30,000 and $80,000 per year, and there are usually no scholarships available. Post-professional training (internship and residency) doesn’t pay much and may take an additional 1-6 years.

Pre-health students should strive to find an undergraduate college where they can get the experience and education they need, at a reasonable cost. Students who can complete their undergraduate education without taking out private loans are in the best position to successfully complete health professional training and avoid insurmountable long-term debt.

For Idaho residents, be sure to read about WWAMI and the University of Washington and University of Utah medical schools, as these two programs hold a total of 50 seats for Idahoans. Even if you’ve gotten residency in another state during undergrad, you may still qualify for the greatly-reduced Idaho resident tuition rate.