{"id":512,"date":"2024-02-20T21:42:50","date_gmt":"2024-02-20T21:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/?page_id=512"},"modified":"2024-08-22T16:58:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T16:58:08","slug":"common-requirements-for-health-professional-schools","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/for-letter-writers-advisors-and-mentors\/common-requirements-for-health-professional-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Requirements for Health Professional Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<!-- Inserted by Dropdownizer plugin. Forces video embeds contained in dropdowns to have a size --><style>.dropdownizer__dropdown iframe { width: 100% !important; height: 100% !important; }<\/style>\n<p>What all health professions schools have in common is that they require a certain amount of biology, chemistry and social science. After those basic requirements things get a little more specific for each type of school, and sometimes for any particular schools. To learn about the most often reported pre-requisite work for medical, dental, podiatry, veterinary, PA, optometry, nursing, PT, and OT schools, please scroll through the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Important note:<\/strong>&nbsp;While general requirements are listed below, applicants need to visit the websites of the schools they are interested in - some schools do have different requirements than the general ones included here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Medical, Dental, Podiatry, and Veterinary School<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">THE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, PODIATRY, AND VETERINARY SCHOOLS OFTEN INCLUDE:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Two years of chemistry - CHEM 125, 244, 245, and 272<ul><li>CHEM 121 does not have a lab and if elected needs to be followed by the full sequence all 4 of those listed above<\/li><li>A student should take CHEM 272, not BIOL 272<\/li><li>Some schools technically require 5 semesters of chemistry because they are used to General Chemistry being a full year, if necessary, please contact the pre-health advisor for help reaching out to programs and explaining the Vassar chemistry curriculum<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>One year of physics with lab - PHYS 111 &amp; 112 OR PHYS 113 &amp; 114<\/li><li>One year of biology with lab - BIOL 107, 108, and a 200 or higher level that includes a lab<ul><li>BIOL 107 does not have a lab so another upper level BIOL with lab is needed<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Some schools highly recommend math (several require it) - either statistics and\/or calculus<\/li><li>Many schools also require English and\/or writing intensive courses<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Note about some medical schools --<strong>&nbsp;as the \"new MCAT\" has been rolled out, a variety of medical schools no longer have specific course requirements, even though they do require a bachelors degree. A message like this is on a variety of schools' websites: \"While there are no absolute course requirements, it is recommended that students complete coursework in Biology, Chemistry (both general and organic), Biochemistry, Physics, Psychology and Sociology.&nbsp;In addition, students should have a broad humanities education and strong writing skills.\"<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In addition to the academic pre-requisites, it is expected by most schools that applicants will:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>show a record of volunteer service (both health care related and community service that may not be health related)<\/li><li>shadow multiple professionals in their field of interest<\/li><li>patient care experience is important for having a competitive application but is not typically \"required\"<\/li><li>research experience - while this is only required for applicants seeking MD\/PhD degrees, it is always very beneficial for applicants applying to each of the above programs to have research experience if possible<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Physician Assistant, Optometry, Nursing School<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">THE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PA, OPTOMETRY, AND NURSING SCHOOLS OFTEN INCLUDE:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Three to four semesters of chemistry - CHEM 125, 244, 245, and 272<ul><li>CHEM 121 does not have a lab and if elected needs to be followed by the full sequence all 4 of those listed above<\/li><li>Often PA schools are looking for a year of General Chemistry, please contact the pre-health advisor if you are planning to apply to PA school for help reaching out to programs and explaining the Vassar chemistry curriculum<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>One year of general biology with lab - BIOL 107, 108 and a 200 or higher level that includes a lab<\/li><li>One semester each of microbiology and possibly genetics - BIOL 205 &amp; 238<\/li><li>One year of anatomy and physiology - we do not offer this at Vassar, please contact the pre-health advisor for assistance<\/li><li>One Semester of psychology<ul><li>Most nursing schools require Developmental Psychology - PSYC 231<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Many schools highly recommend or require statistics<\/li><li>Many schools highly recommend or require English or writing courses<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In addition to the academic pre-requisites, it is expected by most schools that applicants will:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>have extensive experience providing direct patient care in addition to shadowing if planning to apply to&nbsp;<strong>PA school<\/strong>; most often applicants have worked as EMTs, nursing or medical assistants in doctor's offices, and\/or patient care techs in hospitals<\/li><li>show a record of volunteer service (not necessarily health care related) and some healthcare related experience<\/li><li>shadow a professional if planning to apply to nursing or optometry school; having patient care experience helps with the having a competitive application<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Physical Therapy School<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">THE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PT SCHOOL OFTEN INCLUDE:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>One year of chemistry - CHEM 125<ul><li>Please contact the pre-health advisor for help reaching out to programs and explaining the Vassar chemistry curriculum - you may need to take at least a semester of organic to get a second chemistry course with a lab<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>One year of physics with lab - PHYS 111 &amp; 112 or PHYS 113 &amp; 114<\/li><li>One year of biology with lab - BIOL 107, 108, and a 200 level course that includes a lab\u00a0<\/li><li>One year of anatomy and physiology - we do not offer this at Vassar, please contact the pre-health advisor for assistance<\/li><li>At least one semester, and for some schools, a full year of psychology<\/li><li>Many schools highly require statistics<\/li><li>Many schools highly recommend or require English or writing courses<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IN ADDITION TO THE ACADEMIC PRE-REQUISITES, IT IS EXPECTED BY MOST SCHOOLS THAT APPLICANTS WILL:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>show a record of volunteer service (not necessarily health care related) and some healthcare related experience<\/li><li>shadow multiple professionals in different settings<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Occupational Therapy School<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">THE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR OT SCHOOL OFTEN INCLUDE:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>One semester or year of biology with lab - BIOL 107<\/li><li>One year of anatomy and physiology - we do not offer this at Vassar, please contact the pre-health advisor for assistance<\/li><li>One course each of Introductory, Abnormal, and Developmental Psychology - PSYC 105, 231, &amp; 262<\/li><li>One semester of sociology or anthropology<\/li><li>One course of statistics<\/li><li>Some schools require one semester of chemistry with lab - CHEM 125<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IN ADDITION TO THE ACADEMIC PRE-REQUISITES, IT IS EXPECTED BY MOST SCHOOLS THAT APPLICANTS WILL:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>show a record of volunteer service (not necessarily health care related) and some healthcare related experience<\/li><li>shadow multiple professionals in different settings<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>Updated August 2024<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What all health professions schools have in common is that they require a certain amount of biology, chemistry and social science. After those basic requirements things get a little more specific for each type of school, and sometimes for any particular schools. To learn about the most often reported pre-requisite work for medical, dental, podiatry, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":0,"parent":506,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-512","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/149"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":599,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/512\/revisions\/599"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offices.vassar.edu\/pre-health-advising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}