Pre-Health Professions

• PHPAC Roles & Procedures for Getting into Medical School

  This is the basic information about the role of the Pre-Health Professions Advisory Committee (Pre-PHAC) and the usual procedures involved in applying to medical school.

  1. The role of the committee is to help you to determine which career is best and how to be successful achieving that goal.
  2. The chair of the committee will guide you in the preparation of a Pre-PHPAC file (see Recommendation Letter Application below). The committee will review the contents of your file and write a composite letter of recommendation to send to the schools you apply.
  3. The basic course requirements of most medically-related postgraduate professional schools are:
     • General Biology (BIO101 & 102) 8 credits including lab
     • General Chemistry (CHE111 & 112) 8 credits including lab
     • Organic Chemistry (CHE 241 & 242) 8 credits including lab
     • Physics (PHY111 & 112) 8 credits including lab
       The requirements for all health-related professions are similar. For most schools AP credits don’t count as your prerequisites, you need to show your ability to succeed at the college level.
  4. The PHPAC chairperson regularly gets brochures from medical and graduate schools and they put in the rack outside 325 Hudson Hall.
  5. Pre-PHAC files are regularly reviewed the week after graduation in May and letters are written at this time. Letters can be requested at other times of the year, however the turnaround time will be longer. If you are planning to apply in a particular year, be sure to be ready at the end of the spring semester.
  6. You should set up an appointment to see the chairperson sometime before your senior year to make sure that you’re on track.
• Recommendation Letter Application

  A letter or recommendation from your school’s Pre-Health Professions Committee is a very important part of your medical school application. All schools will want to receive one one have an explanation why one is not included.

  How to Apply

  In order to have the PHPAC write a letter of recommendation for you, submit the following information and forms to the chairperson of the committee:

  1. Official college transcripts.
  2. MCAT or other test scores (if available).
  3. Curriculum vitae or resume.
  4. At least three letters of recommendation (the more good letters the better).
  5. Complete these forms:

  • Form A
  • Form B
  • Form D
  • Form E

  Each year, the committee meets to discuss complete applications and write letters of recommendation during the week after graduation in May. This is the best time for you to have a letter written, so you should focus on this date.  Letters can be written at other times of the year, but may take longer to prepare. If you request a letter at any other time of the year be sure to give the committee at least 3 weeks before any deadlines to complete the letter.

• Successful Acceptance Rates for SUNY Plattsburgh Graduates

  Acceptance Rates

  Year	Acceptances
  2017–2018	12
  2016–2017	12
  2015–2016	16
  2014–2015	12
  2013–2014	10
  2012–2013	6
  2011–2012	7
  2010–2011	9
  2009–2010	6
  2008–2009	10
  2007–2008	8

Learn About

• Allopathic vs. Osteopathic Medicine

  When most of us say “doctor,” we’re thinking of allopathic doctors. But there is a whole other branch of medicine called osteopathic medicine. Osteopathic physicians are doctors too, and perform the same types of activities as allopathic physicians. And it is often easier to get into an osteopathic school than an allopathic school.

  Here is the site for AACOM (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine).

  Check out the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine.

  Also see the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

• Caribbean Medical Schools

  

  

  Application

  Entry into American medical schools has become more and more competitive. MCAT scores that would have been acceptable ten years ago are now considered below consideration by many schools. Part of the problem is that while more and more students entering college are pre-med and apply to medical school, the number of slots available in U.S. medical schools has remained relatively constant.

  One option is attending a Caribbean medical school. These schools once had a poor reputation due to the inability to attract good students. With the increasing competitiveness of American schools, these schools are now much more attractive.

  The major advantage of attending a Caribbean school is that the entry requirements are much easier. While American schools do an initial screen using only MCAT scores and GPA, Caribbean schools are more likely to look at the whole person. Someone with low MCAT scores or a mediocre GPA may have other qualities that would make him/her a good candidate, e.g., EMT training and experience. Because of the deluge of applications at American schools (e.g., 5000 applicants for 100 seats), they don’t have a chance to see these qualities. Another distinction is that many Caribbean schools have multiple start dates (September, January, and May) and their admission deadlines are closer to the start date than American schools. Many students apply to these schools after they get bad news from American schools. Finally, Caribbean schools usually shorten the preclinical, basic science portion to between 15 and 18 months (as opposed to 24 months in American Schools). This means that there are very short breaks between semesters.

  Not all Caribbean schools are the same. Some are fully accredited and some are not. In the accredited schools, students only take their general science courses at the Caribbean campus and then do their clinical rotations in U.S. hospitals. This is important because you will make your connections for letters of recommendations during your clinical years and this will determine your ability to match in a good residency. So it is important to go to one of the schools with U.S. clinical rotations.

  Recommended Schools

  The Pre-Health Advisory Committee recommends the following Caribbean medical schools:

  • American University of Antigua, Antigua & Barbuda
  • St. George’s University, Grenada
  • American University of the Caribbean, St. Maarten
  • Ross University, Dominica
  • University of Guadalajara, Mexico
• Programs for International Students

  It is a very difficult challenge for international medical students to gain admission into U.S. and Canadian medical schools. Many schools do not accept applications from non-U.S. students and the schools that do accept applications have a limited number of slots.

  Read more at Clark University’s website.

• Physician Assistant Programs

  Most questions about physician assistants are answered on the web site for the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).

  Q: How long is the average PA program?

  A: The average course is approximately 24 to 26 months, post-baccalaureate.

  Q: What are the undergrad requirements for admission to a PA program?

  A: Most programs require a bachelor’s degree and some experience in a health field. Many require as much as 100 hours of service in a medical field before you can apply.

  Q: Is there a “bridge” from PA to MD if you want to go on?

  A: I couldn’t find any information on this, but there’s no reason that you couldn’t go to medical school after working as a PA. You may also find that being a PA is fulfilling enough and decide not to go further.

  Q: How many programs are there in US?

  A: There are 130 accredited programs in the U.S.

• Special Master’s Programs

  

  Postbac pre-med programs are for students who already have a bachelor’s degree but have not taken the prerequisite science courses. They are designed for people who make the decision to go to med school late in their college career or decide on a career change after working at a different career. They can also be helpful to students who did poorly in their prerequisite science courses and need to improve their academic standing.

  Special master’s programs are for students who are almost qualified for med school, but not quite. Maybe your GPA is too low but your MCATs are good, or vice, versa. Students in these programs often take the same classes as students currently in medical school. We recently had an alum take the SM program at Boston University and then matriculate into BU Med School, so these programs work if you qualify.

  Learn more at Student Doctor.net.