Pre-Health Society

The department encourages students that are interested in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary, podiatry, physical therapy, or any other professional healthcare field to join the Pre-Health Society.  The society provides the members with help in advising, community service, internship, research, and job opportunities, all that on top of connecting students with similar goals and aspirations together.  The students meet bi-weekly and usually have speakers and recruiters come and talk at meetings.

Find a calendar of events for the Pre-Health Society at this link - Pre-Health Society Calendar

If interested please contact any of the following: Email Dr. Mark A. Grobner or email stanprehealth@gmail.com.

To get access to our Canvas site that lists information for applying to professional programs and announcements about upcoming events of interest, please email Dr. Grobner with your csustan.edu email address.  You must have a Stan State email to access the Canvas site.

Follow us on Instagram or visit our Facebook page

Join the Pre Health Society!

Preparation for a career in the health profession begins a few years before you even begin the application process. The actual application process begins approximately 15 months before you eventually matriculate into a professional program. There are many things to keep in mind: choosing a health profession as a career path, structuring your schedule to meet the pre-health profession curriculum, participating in research and volunteer activities (including service and clinical experiences), gaining valuable leadership experiences, choosing the school with the right program for you, etc. The list might seem endless and perhaps even daunting, hopefully, you will find the following information helpful. The following was prepared to help you think about various aspects when applying to a professional program. You should use the following sections simply to think about why you want to pursue a health profession and how well prepared and competitive you may be as an applicant.

Scholarships for students interested in health careers who are residents of Stanislaus County can be found here.  The application cycle for most of these scholarships opens in November for the upcoming academic year.  

Think about the top five things that you feel professional schools are looking for in their applicants. Is your interest evident from a lengthy set of experiences that have been preparing you for this profession? Has there been one overwhelmingly significant impetus directing your interest in this profession?

Think about the top five things you would like admissions committees to look for in their applicants (i.e., if you were the Director of Admissions, what would you personally be looking for?)

Academics

Committees on Admissions are interested in what motivates students. Think about the top three reasons why you chose your major and how it is specific to life in a health profession?

Are most all of your courses in the sciences or do you have a broader perspective of medicine as it relates to other disciplines such as economics, public policy, engineering, arts, humanities, anthropology, computer science, etc.?

Leadership

What experience do you have in leadership positions? They do not need to be "elected" positions or necessarily within the framework of a particular job, program, or organization. It is important to think critically and broadly about some of these items. There are plenty of opportunities to demonstrate leadership in all facets of life. Was your contribution comparable to having left a "legacy" in place?

Are there experiences in your record which suggest that you have the potential to become a leader in the field of academic medicine (i.e. teaching and/ or research)?

Research or Other Scholarly Activities

Have you been involved in any kind of research project (basic science, clinical, or social science) or any other scholarly activity for a sustained period of time? What was your level of independence and responsibility? Did publications, citations, awards, or presentations result from the work? Was your contribution comparable to having left a "legacy" in place? What did you "get" out of it?

Letters of Recommendation

Recognizing that all letters of recommendation submitted for applicants are "good" to "great," why and how would the letters submitted on your behalf "stand out?" Do the people that are writing recommendations for you know you well enough in settings that can attest to your scholarly activities outside of the usual grades, long-standing commitment to service, the motivation for studying medicine, critical thinking ability, ability to initiate programs, and leadership and/ or role model potential? There will be more on letters of recommendation discussed later.

Humanitarianism

It is important to demonstrate a clear sustained commitment of service for others (e.g., hands-on care for the disabled, socially disadvantaged or ill, or other community services). Stating that you would like to pursue a career as a physician in order to "help people" will ring hollow without activities to substantiate that claim.

Personal Obstacles

Committees on Admissions appreciate a better understanding of the context in which the applicant managed to accomplish her/his achievements. It is important to make evident any social or educational obstacles (e.g., economics, life events, academic opportunities, language, immigration, etc.), which you have had to overcome. How have you had to overcome such obstacles helped you prepare for your chosen profession?

Level of Involvement/Identification with Specific Communities/ Populations

Have you demonstrated an active interest in specific communities such as the underserved and what significance does this have on your personal and professional goals?

Understanding the Practice of Medicine

Often students express an interest in the pursuit of one health profession for its value in affording an opportunity to positively impact the lives of others, however, sometimes little thought is placed on the various negative aspects of the chosen profession. Do you have a good, in-depth, knowledge and appreciation for these factors including the issues related to a demanding training schedule; difficult working hours; the ability to effectively and empathetically communicate discouraging information to patients; possible frustrations with economic and public policy issues; administrative responsibilities that may overshadow clinical work, etc.? Why would other professions of service and care not be as fulfilling to pursue you as a career in medicine?

In addition to completing the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test), most medical schools require applicants to have completed the following coursework:

  • One year of BIOLOGY with labs
  • One year of PHYSICS with labs
  • One year of ENGLISH
  • Two years of CHEMISTRY (including Organic Chemistry) with labs

Most professional programs also require that applicants take one or two semesters of advanced mathematics, such as Calculus, or Statistics, as well as gain experience in reading and writing through literature or composition courses. Additionally, Biochemistry is frequently highly recommended. Professional school admissions requirements vary according to the program and information specific to individual schools can be found on their websites. 

If you plan to attend a professional school directly after graduating from college, the following is a common, four-year timeline for completing coursework. If you plan to take a year off after graduation, adjust this timeline by one year (e.g. you will apply to a professional program during your senior year NOT your junior year). On another note regarding the following suggested timeline, it is important to keep in mind that many schools matriculate students that have followed nontraditional paths as well. Therefore, an individualized path is also common. It is only important that you satisfy the requirements in whichever format works best for you. The whole process is dynamic and it can be whatever you want it to be. You can make it what you want it to be. In fact, doing so usually not only aids in building your application but in defining/ finding who you are.

You will find an example of a Pre Health Roadmap considering your taking the appropriate test for your application the summer between your junior and senior year at the link below. 

Roadmap

FRESHMAN YEAR

  • Biology
  • General Chemistry
  • One semester of English
  • Involvement in activities, organizations, and projects

SOPHOMORE YEAR

  • Organic Chemistry
  • One semester of English
  • Leadership in activities, organizations, and projects
  • Possible research experience or summer program

JUNIOR YEAR

  • Physics
    MCAT, DAT, PCAT, VCAT, etc
  • Leadership in activities, organizations, and projects
  • Continued research experience
  • Begin the application process

SENIOR YEAR

  • Leadership in activities, organizations, and projects
  • Continued research experience
  • Complete application process

Application Timeline

This timeline is for students planning on entering a professional program directly after their senior year of college.

Junior Year

Take the admission test. Test dates for the various professions are given multiple times, you should
verify with programs you are sending applications the last date scores will be accepted for that particular year's application cycle.

June 1: Earliest date to file your application for most programs. You may apply later, but keep in mind that many programs accept applicants on a "rolling" basis until they fill up their classes. Secondary
applications are usually sent soon after your initial application has been processed.

Aug-April: Interviews begin in the fall and continue throughout the spring

Senior Year

October 15: the Earliest date that programs may notify you of acceptance.

January: File FAFSA, regardless of whether or not you've been accepted yet.

May 15: Applicants holding multiple acceptances must make a final decision in order to make spaces
available for waitlisted applicants.

The following section is intended to provide a brief example of some previous activities or experiences of some medical students. This list is an example of only SOME activities that students thought were valuable for them in their application. However, it is VERY important to keep in mind that these activities and experiences ALONE are not intended to represent a deciding factor in acceptance to a professional program.

"I can't put my finger on one experience, so I'll name a few. My participation on the track and field team at Stanford (from a walk-on to a school record-holder) definitely paints a great portrait of aiming high, working hard, and reaching a goal. Of course, I can't leave out my passion for the French language and culture that translated into me living in Paris and doing malaria research in West Africa (Mali, a French-speaking country). The significance of this is that I did not sacrifice my passions for the sake of taking more premed classes or doing more research. Finally, working with people who can write you a letter of recommendation that speaks about your character in addition to academics helps med schools get a better understanding of you as a whole person, not just as a student."

"It took me five years to complete my undergraduate work during which time I earned a dual degree in Biology and Sociology. I then took two years off and worked as a counselor for a gang prevention program and as an outreach counselor for the University of California. I also volunteered as a Spanish translator for a free clinic as an undergrad and during the two years after graduation. My only advice is to show consistency and dedication to whatever you do. For me, that involves working with my community at any level, be it medically or Socially."

"I joined Teach for America and taught 8th-grade Physical Science in East L.A. for 2 years. It was a great experience and I felt like I truly made a difference in the lives of others - much like medicine seeks to do. This experience helped me to write my personal statement and the interviewers consistently asked me about my teaching experience. "

"I think what set me apart from the rest was that I did a little bit of everything. I volunteered at hospitals, did research, taught a person how to read, was involved in dispensing food to homeless/poor people, and did clinical research during my summers in college. So I think that commitment to helping others, even in a non-medical setting was something that marked me as unique."

"My experiences as a "backpacker", traveling through Europe, Central America, northern Africa with little more than what I could carry in my pack and a ticket to the next destination. Crewing sailboats, jumping out of airplanes, and getting lost along the way. Learning of people and life - and medicine - in all its shapes and sizes."

"I organized a community health service project from the ground up beginning my freshman year, based on a community need, and I saw the program grow and evolve throughout my college career. I think my strong commitment to that one program, the ways that my involvement shaped and challenged me as a leader, and the fact that others recognized that passion in me and wrote great letters of support really helped me to stand out as an applicant."

“I think the best part of my application was my letters of recommendation. I really got to know a few professors REALLY, REALLY, REALLY well, and thus had great letters. Almost every school that interviewed me mentioned that I had great letters. Moral of the story: GET TO KNOW YOUR PROFESSORS! Not just in class. Have lunch with them. Go to their office hours. Talk about life (not school). Great letters make a huge difference (trust me, I'm reviewing applications as I write this e-mail"

“One of my most enriching experiences before medical school was studying abroad in Spain. This was an excellent opportunity to enhance my Spanish skills and to learn about, as well as live in another culture.  I was immersed in their beautiful language and rich traditions. I found myself in an ancient city overtaken by the beauty of the Roman aqueduct, I walked along the bustling streets of the cosmopolitan centers of Madrid and Barcelona, and I explored the beaches of the Mediterranean Islands. It was incredible. I was able to see an extension of the great world we live in and all of its beautiful people. This not only aided my proficiency in Spanish, but it helped me to become a more confident person and appreciate the exquisiteness of our world."

Sitting Down to Write the Personal Statement

Below are some suggestions on how to approach this task and what kinds of topics to address in your statements.

  • Begin by sitting down in a comfortable place and writing; don't worry about fitting it on just one page, just write.
  • Write about who you are, your family, where you grew up, your education. Write about what motivated you to desire a career in a health profession. What have you done to prepare you to succeed in this profession? What activities have you been involved in, why, what did they mean to you? Write about where you see yourself in the future after completing your program. What special skills & insights do you have that will make you a caring individual for your particular profession? Think and write about experiences, relationships & perspectives that make you unique & distinct from other applicants.
  • Be descriptive; use images and examples to show your qualities. Don't just state, "I want to help people;" describe how you felt in specific situations when you were able to do this.
  • Once you have done the writing, find someone you trust (advisor, English teacher, mentor, med student, etc.) to help you revise; put your thoughts into an order that flows. Make sure your essay is organized, with a single, overarching theme tying it together. Remember, it needs to fit on one page.
  • Once you are nearly finished, you might want to go through your essay and make sure every single word contributes something-- eliminate unnecessary; extraneous words.
  • Remember the personal statement is your chance to let those reading it get to know you. Let your personality and feelings shine through in your essay. This is your chance to make a good first impression so that the schools will want to eventually interview you.
  • It may seem like a daunting task now; just start early and leave plenty of time to step away from your essay for a few days and for plenty of revisions. You will end up with an essay that is organized and shows how extraordinary you are.​

Brainstorming

These exercises are more focused on finding the specific points and details that you will need to incorporate into
your statement.

The Chronological Method

Start from childhood and record any and all special or pivotal experiences that you remember. Go from grade to grade, and job to job, noting any significant lessons learned, achievements reached, painful moments endured, or obstacles overcome. Also, include your feelings about those occurrences as you remember them. If you are a visual person, it might help to draw a timeline. Do not leave out any significant event.

The goal of this exercise is to help you uncover long-forgotten material from your youth. This material can be used to demonstrate a long-standing dedication to the medical field or to illustrate the kind of person you are by painting an image of yourself as a child. Be cautioned in advance, though, that relying too heavily on accomplishments or awards won too far in your past can diminish the strength of your points. Medical schools are more interested in what you have been doing since college than in what you accomplished, no matter how impressive, in high school.

Assess Your Accomplishments

Write down anything you are proud of doing, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem. Do not limit your achievements to your career. If you have overcome a difficult personal obstacle, be sure to list this too. If something is important to you, it speaks volumes about who you are and what makes you tick. Some accomplishments will be obvious, such as an achievement that received public accolades or acknowledgment. Others are less so, and many times the most defining moments of our lives are those we are inclined to dismiss.

List Your Skills

Do an assessment of your skills that is similar to the one you did for your accomplishments. Do not limit yourself to your "medical" skills such as helping people or research abilities. Cast your net broadly. Being able to draw connections between your unique skills and how they will make you a good doctor is what will make you memorable. Begin by looking back at the last exercise and listing the skills that are highlighted by your accomplishments. When you have a list of words, start brainstorming on other ways you have demonstrated these skills in the last few years. Pretend that you are defending these skills in front of a panel of judges. Stop only when you have proven each point to the best of your ability.

Note Major Influences

Was there a particular person who shaped your values and views? Did a particular book or quote make you rethink your life? Relationships can be good material for an essay, particularly a relationship that challenged you to look at people in a different way. Perhaps you had a wise and generous mentor from whom you learned a great deal. Have you had an experience that changed how you see the world or defines who you are? What details of your life, special achievements, and pivotal events have helped shape you and influence your goals?

Analyze Your Personality Traits

There is a fine and fuzzy line between skills and personality traits that can be used to your advantage. Almost any quality can be positioned as a skill or ability if the right examples are used to demonstrate them. If you had trouble listing and defending your skills in the last exercise, then shift the focus to your qualities and characteristics instead. Make a few columns on a sheet of paper. In the first one, list some adjectives you would use to describe yourself. In the next one, list the words your best friend would use. Use the other columns for other types of people-perhaps one for your boss and another for family members or coworkers.

When you have finished, see which words come up the most often. Look for such words as maturity, responsibility, sense of purpose, academic ability, intellectual curiosity, creativity, thoughtfulness, trustworthiness, sense of humor, perseverance, commitment, integrity, enthusiasm, confidence, conscientiousness.' candor, leadership, goal-orientation, independence, and tact, to name a few. Group them together and list the different situations in which you have
exhibited these characteristics. How effectively can you illustrate or prove that you possess these qualities? How do these qualities reflect on your ability to succeed in the medical world?

Identify Your Goals

The first step of this exercise is to let loose and write down anything that comes to mind regarding your goals: What are your dreams? What did you want to be when you were younger? If you could do or be anything right now, regardless of skill, money, or other restrictions, what would it be? Think as broadly as you wish, and do not limit yourself to professional goals. Will you have kids? What kind of house will you live in? What kinds of friends will you have?

The second step is to begin honing in on some more specific or realistic goals. Given your current skills, education, and experience, where could you expect to be in twenty years? Where would you be ideally? Think in terms of five-year increments, listing actual positions and places, if possible. Be detailed and thorough in your assessment, and when you think you are finished, dig a little deeper.

Your goal of becoming a health care provider is obvious, of course, but when you can show the admissions committee that you have thought more specifically about your goals, it reemphasizes the sincerity of your motivation. It also reassures the committee that you understand what becoming a health care provider means specifically, that it is more than being a hero and getting to write initials after your name.

The personal statement suggestions are from the Student Doctor Network.

NAAHP Personal Statement Guidelines containing personal statement prompts for various health professions.  

10 Suggested "Do's” and "Dont's" for the Personal Statement

The Do' s'
  • Unite your essay and give it direction with a theme or thesis. The thesis is the main point you want to communicate.
  • Before you begin writing, choose what you want to discuss and the order in which you want to discuss it.
  • Use concrete examples from your life experience to support your thesis and distinguish yourself from other applicants.
  • Write about what interests you, excites you. That's what the admissions staff wants to read.
  • Start your essay with an attention-grabbing lead--an anecdote, quote, question, or engaging description of a scene.
  • End your essay with a conclusion that refers back to the lead and restates your thesis.
  • Revise your essay at least three times.
  • In addition to your editing, ask someone else to critique your personal statement.
  • Proofread your personal statement by reading it out loud or reading it into a tape recorder and playing back the tape.
  • Write clearly and succinctly
The Don'ts
  • Don't include information that doesn't support your thesis.
  • Don't start your essay with "I was born in ... " or "My parents came from ... "
  • Don't write an autobiography, itinerary, or resume in prose.
  • Don't try to be a clown (but gentle humor is OK).
  • Don't be afraid to start your essay over if it isn't working or answering the question.
  • Don't try to impress your reader with your vocabulary.
  • Don't rely exclusively on your computer to check your spelling.
  • Don't provide a collection of generic statements and platitudes.
  • Don't give excuses for a low GPA or test scores, give explanations.
  • Don't make things up.

10 Tips for Better Writing

  1. Express yourself in positive language. Say what is, not what is not.
  2. Use transitions between paragraphs. Transitions tie one paragraph to the next.
    1. A transition can be a word, like later, furthermore, additionally, or moreover; a phrase like after this incident ...; or an entire sentence.
    2. If you are writing about Topic A and now want to discuss Topic B, you can begin the new paragraph with a transition such as "Like (or unlike) Topic A, Topic B ... "
  3. Vary your sentence structure. It's boring to see the subject, verb, and object all the time. Mix simple, complex, and compound sentences.
  4. Understand the words you write. You write to communicate, not to impress the admissions staff with your vocabulary. When you choose a word that means something other than what you intend, you neither communicate nor impress. You do convey the wrong message or convince the admissions officer that you are inarticulate.
  5. Look up synonyms in a thesaurus when you use the same word repeatedly. After the DELETE key, the thesaurus is your best friend. As long as you follow Tip 4, using one will make your writing more interesting.
  6. Be succinct. Compare:
    1. During my sophomore and junior years, there was a significant development of my maturity and markedly improved self-discipline towards schoolwork.
    2. During my sophomore and junior years, I matured and my self-discipline improved tremendously.
  7. Make every word count. Do not repeat yourself each sentence and every word should state something new.
  8. Avoid qualifiers such as rather, quite, somewhat, probably, possibly, etc.
    1. You might improve your writing somewhat if you sometimes try to follow this suggestion.
    2. The example contains nonsense. Deleting unnecessary qualifiers will strengthen your writing by 1000%.  Equivocating reveals a lack of confidence. If you do not believe what you write, why should the admissions officer?
  9. Use the active voice. Compare:
    1. The application was sent by the student. (Passive voice)
    2. The student sent the application. (Active voice)
    3. They both communicate the same information. The active voice, however, is more concise; it specifies who is performing the action and what is the object. The passive voice is wordier and frequently less clear.
  10. Read and reread Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White. Containing basic rules of grammar, punctuation, composition, and style, this indispensable classic is available in paperback and IS only eighty-five pages long.

Some final thoughts on letters of recommendation, these are equally important to your application as your test scores and GPA and can be the difference between an interview and not getting an interview.  Be sure to ask individuals who can give the best evaluation of the following traits for the selection committee:

  • Motivation
  • Honesty
  • Cooperation
  • Initiative
  • Personality
  • Reliability
  • Maturity
  • Intellectual curiosity

In order to get the best letter, choose faculty members that know you well from either having taken a course or courses (getting A’s) or have worked on research and scholarly activity together.  Get to know your professors, the better they know you the better letter they can provide.

Updated: March 21, 2022