Jennifer Kimble
Director, Office of Pre-Health Advising (OPHA)

Did you know that there are more than 900 pre-health students at Georgia Tech? That applies to students interested in becoming doctors, dentists, pharmacists, physician assistants, etc. On average, 140 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 42 percent. For Tech students who coordinate their efforts with the Office of Pre-Health Advising (OPHA), the acceptance rate may climb to 85 percent!

One 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 2010, need to begin the application process this spring - 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 over 6000 applications for about 500 interview spots and 130 invitations of acceptance. If your student is planning on attending medical school in fall 2010, we strongly advise you to encourage your student to start the application process now.

The following tips and timeline will help ensure a successful application process for students who want to start professional school in the fall of 2010.
* Attend the Letter of Evaluation Workshop (February).
* Prepare the Personal Statement (March).
* Attend Application Workshops (April).
* Make sure their Letter of Evaluation file is complete in the Office of Pre-Health Advising by the end of the spring 2009 semester.
* Take the admissions test in late spring/early summer of 2009.
* Be patient and focused - the rolling admissions process means that the summer of 2009 will be spent applying for professional school.
* Apply to appropriate schools. Most state schools can only accept residents of the state.
* Attend an interview workshop (fall 2009) and sign-up for a mock interview.
* Have a "Plan B" in the event that the initial application process does not yield the desired results.

However, not all students are ready to embark upon this process just yet. For those students, we encourage them to take the following proactive steps:
* Register for the Office of Pre-Health Advising listserv pre-health@lists.gatech.edu by going to Georgia Tech Mailing List Services to keep up with the latest pre-health issues and required workshops. In addition, the Office of Pre-Health T-Square site is full of tips on how to be competitive for a health profession school.
* Get to know their professors! Students will need strong letters of evaluation when they apply to a health profession school.
* Ensure 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's academic record does not reflect a lot of "W" grades or grade substitutions. Professional schools cannot accept grades below "C" in the pre-requisite courses for professional school. In addition, some schools cannot accept AP credit for the pre-requisites.Students are encouraged to contact me directly to discuss their situation.
* Remember 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 "uniqueness factors" while at Tech.
* Attend all pre-health events (school visits, etc.) and become a member of the appropriate pre-professional club.
* Do some career exploration. Students need to develop a strong and differentiated rationale for attending that specific health profession school.
* Recognize that getting accepted to a professional school is highly challenging and competitive.

For more information on planning for health professional school, visit the College of Sciences Web site. Students are encouraged to visit OPHA located in 101 A. French Building to seek help on the application process. Parents and students are also encouraged to contact me directly with questions and concerns at jennifer.kimble@carnegie.gatech.edu or 404-385-2475. We also invite parents who work in a health profession or closely related industry, to contact the OPHA 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.