Don’t forget summer is a great to continue to educate yourself about your chosen health profession (e.g., dentistry, optometry, medicine). Devote some time to summer reading and review the listing of recommended books off the prehealth website. Don’t forget to review the prehealth website *in general* or discover other great sites from US undergrad schools like Syracuse University, Clark University, Stanford and so on. Finally, reading diverse books/texts/journals can be beneficial for the verbal comprehension section of the MCAT. In other words, READ! Some prehealth advisors suggest reading the Wall Street Journal because the level of density of the vocabulary is similar to that on the VC section of the MCAT.
Some of you may have heard of the emergency services Michele Henry, UB Nursing BS, May, 2006, provided on a recent airline flight.
Here is the UB Reporter with the full story:
Many of the professional schools would prefer to see at least 2 letters from science (BIO, CHE, ORGO CHEM, PHY) faculty. The core prerequisite courses are the most desirable as they are common to all applicants regardless of major. Other letters you could ask for if you are finding difficulty getting them from core science faculty could be science courses like microbiology, biochemistry, physiology, anatomy and so on. If you are a science major, these can overlap a bit as letters from your major are also natural to expect. It helps to “round out” you as an applicant by securing letters from non-science faculty as well. Courses like ENG, World Civilization, philosophy, Spanish, etc., are fine. Letters from your clinical placements are highly recommended. Letters from volunteer supervisors, coordinators, nurses on the floor who have observed your work, a DDS, MD, DO are all fine. The chiropractic schools and vet schools do want letters from chiropractors and vets. If you are applying to DO schools please note that many of them require or highly recommend a letter from a DO with whom you have shadowed or volunteered. Letters from employers who know you well and research supervisors are okay. You generally want to avoid letters from personnel associated with you from high school and general “character letters” from neighbors, family friends and so on. If these recommended personnel noted above know you as they should (for you to be requesting a letter) they should comment on your character and eliminate the need for character like letters from neighbors, family friends, etc. You want letters from individuals who know you on a professional basis.
You are best advised to begin to get to know faculty in the early part of your academic career. Plan ahead for the Prehealth Committee process by taking an active role in becoming acquainted with UB faculty especially in those key science courses. It can be very awkward when you need to seek letters of recommendation in your sophomore year (for Early Assurance Programs) or junior year (for regular admission) if you have not established these relationships. We suggest you use office hours, seat near the front of the class, participant in class if the opportunity arises, and get to know your departmental advisor once you are admitted to a major, and if interested, seek research opportunities and chances to volunteer or participate on campus . As a junior or senior, you may be able to register for tutorial courses or independent studies. Remember that the quality and depth of your application is your responsibility. The more a potential recommender has a sense of you as a person - your character, personality, demeanor - the richer the letter they can compose. Also, once you begin your clinical exposure (e.g., shadowing, volunteering) introduce yourself to various staff - take the initiative to offer to help and introduce yourself to staff with whom you are interacting. When you are actually asking for the letter, please contact the potential recommender several weeks ahead of when you need the letter. You will want to give them the “Letter of Recommendation Request Form” located in 108 Norton or on-line - Request for Letter of Recommendation Form. There are suggestions for the letter writer on the back of this form that you can feel free to point out. We also suggest providing your recommender with a full grade report including transfer work, a resume or summary of your employment, clinical service experience, community service, etc. Some recommenders may ask for for a personal statement. Generally this statement is designed to address why you are seeking admission to a professional health school, how you know, what you hope to contribute to the profession, what is your link to the profession, etc. As most of you know, we provide a workshop and materials regarding writing the personal statement each spring - typically in February.
Many students ask about volunteering, shadowing, internships and research for the summer months. Check out the sites listed. Also, don’t forget to go to Career Services in 259 Capen, the Community Action Corp (CAC) in 370 Student Union or check out the United Way volunteer website. There is also a listing of suggested sites in 108 Norton. Be proactive! There are lots of opportunities if you take the time to explore. Periodically, the prehealth listserv will have announcements as well.
UB Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities
Search for Summer Programs at this site. Be sure to scroll down to bottom of page
Syracuse University Website Comprehensive Listing of Summer Programs
NIH Opportunities
National Science Foundation
Yale Site
Last maintained in 1999 but provides good leads
Volunteer Match
Type in your zip code for local opportunities
Serve Net
Global Volunteers
Interaction
The Idealist
News on the Computer-Based MCAT
The MCAT program at the AAMC is pleased to announce that information about the computerized MCAT now has its own web page (CBT is short for computer-based testing.) The site will become live in the first week of May. Prometric continues to build new sites to accommodate the MCAT examinees, so the list will change from time to time.
They will be providing more information about the August Beta test as registration opens in early June.
Calculating Your Math/Science GPA
You will be asked to provide your overall and BCMP (biology, chemistry, math, physics) GPA for the Prehealth Committee application. This number is not automatically calculated on your DARS report for all majors.
In order to calculate your math and science GPA, please do the following:
1) List out all your science prereq coursework including BIO, CHE, ORGO CHE, PHY and MTH.
2) List out the number of credit hours of each course as well as the quality points of the grade you earned (e.g., A = 4.0; B+ = 3.3, etc). If you are not acquainted with the grading scale at UB, please go to the Student Response Center page
3) Multiply (for each course) the number of credit hours x the quality points of the grade you earned. For example, if you earned a grade of B in BIO 200 (5 credits) multiple 5 x 3 = 15.
After you do this for EACH science course, SUM and DIVIDE by the total number of credit hours in the sciences. This is your weighted math/science GPA
***Remember that US allopathic (MD) and dental schools will AVERAGE the grades of repeated courses.***
You would want to check with other individual (policies can vary by school) professional health schools like chiropractic, veterinary and so on.
2007-2008 MSAR
The Medical School Admissions Requirements book (MSAR) is now available for 2007-2008. It is the authoritative source on the following:
Medical School (MD) Application procedures and deadlines
Selection factors such as MCAT & GPA data
Medical school class profiles
Costs and financial aid packages
MD/PhD and other combined degrees
Graduates’ specialty choices
Please go to the AAMC site
