If you plan on coming through the Prehealth Committee for SEPTEMBER 1, 2008 in support of your 2009 professional health school application, please carefully read the following information. Again, you will need at least 4 individual letters of recommendation by SEPTEMBER 1, 2008. Please turn in your materials to Virginia Majewski in 109 Norton Hall. Her phone is 645-6012; email – vmajewsk@buffalo.edu. You will need to set aside at least 10 minutes so that she can review your packet with you. Please do not simply drop off your materials to the office and leave.
YOU ARE SUBMITTING:
1) A printed copy of Prehealth Committee Application and/Data Sheet -2) Unofficial Transcripts from UB (My Grades off of MyUB) and any transcripts from transfer work.
3) Items #7-9 from the Prehealth Committee Application/Data Sheet. Please type out “resume style”
4) Personal Statement - #10 on the Prehealth Committee Application/Data Sheet
5) Be sure to read and answer appropriately #12 on the Prehealth Committee Application/Data Sheet. Please be sure to read the question carefully and contact us if you are unsure how to answer it. You want to report any disciplinary action/academic integrity issue regardless of whether you completed the required community service hours or regardless of whether you applied for the record to be expunged or you believe any record has already been expunged.
6) $40 fee.
If you are applying to two types professional health schools (i.e., MD and DO), the fee is $45 to cover the costs of transmitting your letters electronically through VirtualEvals to the MD and DO schools. The fee covers the expense overall of paper, copy services, and envelopes.
7) A black and white headshot (passport size photo).
The ONLY materials sent on to the professional schools from our office include your individual letters of recommendation and Prehealth Committee composite letter. We do not forward your essay, Prehealth Committee application, photo, transcripts, etc.
The SRC in 232 Capen must forward your official transcripts to the centralized application services or individual schools (whichever is applicable for you).
Setting the Interview
Once you have submitted all your materials and have at least four letters in, you will be assigned a Prehealth Committee interviewer. In 3-5 days, you will be emailed your interviewer’s name and contact information. It is important that you contact this person promptly. They will be expecting to hear from you to arrange the date and time of your interview.
Please do arrive more than 10 minutes early for your interview but strive to be on time.
Please do not ask us to accept your application past the deadline or assign your interviewer without at least 4 letters by September 1. Doing so holds up the process for the entire pool. Our goal is to complete all letters by mid October.
The following posting is from:
Many Species, One MedicineTM at the University of Pennsylvania
Rabbits help lower cholesterol. Cats may lead to a breakthrough in the AIDS epidemic. And dogs have taught doctors new heart surgery techniques. Even lobsters help scientists understand Parkinson’s disease. Since the turn of the century, animal research has helped wipe out such diseases as smallpox and polio while increasing the human lifespan by 28 years. Whether it’s fighting epilepsy, finding a cure for Alzheimer’s or making progress in brain and spinal cord trauma, the link between human health and animal health is absolutely crucial.
The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine provides an outstanding environment for the training of future veterinary scientists through our combined VMD-PhD program. It’s an excellent way for you to continue your education while impacting the future of medicine for humans and all species.
Who knows what today’s research could do for future generations?
Contact:
Michelle Darrah
VMSTP Coordinator
Penn VET
215-898-3800
darrahm@vet.upenn.edu
Many UB academic departments and affiliated institutes offer research opportunities for undergraduate students. The research duties and responsibilities as well as type of research (e.g., bench research versus clinically based) can vary. Many times, if you are interested in biomedical research, it is useful for you to have completed courses through biochemistry. However, there are, of course, exceptions to this. Exposure to research through any academic department is perceived as valuable!
1) Develop a professional resume. Utilize the resources at Career Services (259 Capen) to help you.
2) Assess your goals in gaining research exposure. Be sure you have a genuine interest in research as well as the individual projects you pursue.
3) Go to the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (CURCA) website. Click on “Research Opportunities”.
4) Explore various academic department websites and look under “Faculty/Faculty Research Interests” or words to this effect. Contact individual faculty to investigate any opportunities. Consider multiple departments.
5) Go to http://www.buffalo.edu/research/ and read about current UB projects. Consider contacting the principal investigator of the project if you have a particular interest in the work.
6) Look to the right hand side of the page http://www.buffalo.edu/research/ to see all the affiliated institutes with the University at Buffalo particularly under “The Body” and “The Physical World”.
7) Look on departmental bulletin boards.
Ask your friends/classmates, RAs, etc., especially if they are or have been involved in research efforts.
9) Talk to your current and past professors.
10) Regularly check the “Prehealth Bulletin”
We posted this back some time ago and thought it was a good idea to revisit the ideas. You could also use some of this information as well if you are considering retaking the DAT, OAT, etc.
You want to ask/assess yourself:
In looking at your past history, how have you tended to perform on standardized tests?
How well did you prepare? Did you thoroughly review and take practice tests?
How did you score on practice tests?
How did you feel the actual test went for you? Were you sick? Were you overly anxious? Did you run out of time before answering all the questions?, etc.
Do you feel your scores accurately represent your ability?
How competitive are the other aspects of your candidacy? Grades, activities, recommendations, etc.
Are there other important contexts for interpreting your scores? Are you disadvantaged, learning disabled, a first-generation college student, or a member of an underrepresented minority with lower average scores? Was English your second language?, etc.
Where would you like to go to school? Admissions’ guides usually list average test scores for accepted candidates. Schools also have different policies for how they will use the scores from multiple tests.
What was your overall performance? Dental schools usually use the academic average, but may differ in how they use the perceptual ability score. Optometry schools usually use the academic average. And, medical schools usually use the total of the verbal, physical and biological science sections.
Are there individual scores which might be seen as significant weaknesses? Whether or not a score is seen as weakness depends on the evaluator and the context (grades in related courses, English as a 2nd language, etc.).
What happened to other people who re-took the test with similar initial scores? In general, those who scored lower than average tend to improve, while those who scored higher than average, often score lower on a re-take. Hint for medical school applicants, there is some helpful data at the AAMC site
In general, if you scored lower than average for admission, you have indications you can do significantly better, and you are motivated to thoroughly review and practice, then signs point to re-taking.
Students interested in participating in the Clinical Observation Program at the UB School of Dental Medicine can now access the application directly online. Please click on the link for additional information and the application.
Please help our office welcome the newest member of the Student Advising Services (SAS) staff. Ms. Nicole Schwab will begin her position as a prehealth advisor tomorrow, July 10. Nicole comes to us with several years of academic advising experience from Stony Brook and career service experience from the University of Virginia. Though all details are not yet finalized, she will likely begin by advising freshmen and sophomore prehealth students and specifically those students interested in optometry, podiatry, chiropractic and veterinary. Nicole will be located in room 108B Norton adjacent to Dalene Aylward.
Please note that the fall 2008 workshops have been posted to the prehealth website. In several weeks, you will be able to sign up for these sessions through Life and Learning Workshops. Also look for more information to come in regard to fall programming like the Prehealth Picnic (Save the Date - September 7), the Annual Medical School Tour and various student prehealth club events.
Research Opportunity - Buffalo General Hospital/Jacobs Neurological Institute
Duties include:
1- Sample processing and storage
2- Platelet function analysis and Flow Cytometry
3- Cell extraction
4- Manuscript proofreading and submission
5- Chart reading and data extraction
6- Data Entry and storage
The Research Assistant position offers exposure to wide range of skills that are critical for independent research. Most importantly it offers research experience in both the clinical and lab genres. Training is provided for each of the duties listed above. Hours are 9:00-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday though hours are flexible. It is a paid internship although specific details would need to be worked out between the candidate and the principal investigator depending on the hours that the final candidate could be available. Interested students may contact Erica Westphal at esw5@buffalo.edu for more information. If you are particularly interested in this position and feel you are qualified, please also attach your resume to the email; please do not call.
