Health Professions
Application and admission
The inside scoop
Dr. Steve Blain
Admissions process
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Each school has different sets of criteria and
goals, so find out what they are.
Some schools require a secondary application
Staff, not faculty assemble the admissions
packets. In addition, they sometimes
influence decision making
Once the packet is complete, usually faculty
review the file and it then goes through the
first decision making step
Admissions process- cont.
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The candidate’s packet may be rejected,
put on hold or forwarded for evaluation.
The committee (composition varies)
reviews the packet and gives it a score.
Scores are compiled and the candidate
may be discussed
Interviews are offered or not
Candidate is accepted, rejected or
placed on hold
Admissions process-cont.
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Acceptances are usually offered no sooner
than an agreed upon date recognized by all
the schools
Near the end of the evaluation process, the
candidates on hold may go forward for
evaluation or become alternate candidates
Delays in matriculation and appeals are
possible.
Holding a space while you wait on another
school may be very costly
Academic performance
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Transcripts
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Course load
Repeated courses
Difficulty
Institution(s)
Major
Explain poor performance
Grade inflation
Admissions Tests
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Make certain that you have taken the required
coursework
Take in-house or commercial review courses
Study groups
Take the practice exams if offered
Review courses increase your confidence
level and teaches one how to take the exam
Do not retake the exam unless you learn
something new in the areas you are deficient
Test Scores
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GRE/ PCAT/ QAT/ DAT/ MCAT
Deviation from the school’s mean
May weigh all sets of scores equally and
note improvement
May consider only the most recent
scores
May average all sets of scores
May use only highest set of scores or
highest individual scores
Test Scores-cont.
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Taking the admissions exam early may
help applicant identify areas needing
improvement
Need to check with school about
implication of retaking exam
Exams are designed to test knowledge
and skills, not comparing on a curve
Admissions Tests by
Profession
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Dental Admissions Test (DAT)
 Podiatry
 Public Health
Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
 Occupational Therapy
 Physician Assistant
 Podiatry
 Public Health
 Veterinarian Medicine
Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
 Allopathic & Osteopathic Medicine
 Veterinarian Medicine
 Podiatry
 Public Health
Optometry Admission Test (OAT)
Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT)
DAT
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4 hours 15 minutes, 225 questions
Areas covered:
 Survey of natural sciences
 Quantitative reasoning
 Reading comprehension
 Perceptual ability
Test is designed to decrease test anxiety
Individual score compared to all who took test last year
High correlation of score with success in first two years in dental
school
www.ada.org/dat.aspx
MCAT
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Four sections
Three multiply choices sections with individual scores- 1to15.
No penalty in guessing
 Physical Sciences
 Verbal Reasoning- articulate complex ideas
 Biological Sciences
Writing sample- two-30 minute essays- graded J-T
MCAT scores along with GPA increase the predictability of
success in first two years of med school by 50%
Average student accepted- 30.8/P- MCAT, 3.6 overall GPA
www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/about
GRE
Three sections- 3 hours
 Analytical Writing — Measures critical thinking and
analytical writing skills- two writing tasks
Two Multiple choice sections
 Verbal Reasoning — Measures reading
comprehension skills and verbal and analogical
reasoning skills
 Quantitative Reasoning — Measures problemsolving ability, focusing on basic concepts of
arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis
www.ets.org/gre
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OAT
Four areas of multiple choice testing:
 Survey of the Natural Sciences (Biology,
General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry),
 Reading Comprehension
 Physics
 Quantitative Reasoning
Score a minimum of 270 and overall average of
300
www.ada.org/oat/index.html
PCAT
Four hour, 240 multiple-choice items and two
writing topics
 Verbal Ability
 Biology
 Chemistry
 Reading Comprehension
 Quantitative Ability
Each school has its own standards
www.pcatweb.info
Personal statements
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Keep to 1 page
I do not cause the reader to strain
Absolutely no spelling or grammatical
errors
Do not write about what the reader
already knows
Focus upon leadership, creativity,
unusual circumstances
Do not download off the internet
Letters of recommendation
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Meet with your recommender, leave
resume, personal statement and make
an appointment
Treat the meeting like an interview
Leave a copy of points that the writer
could cover
Be direct and ask if the person can write
for you a substantive, evaluative and
supportive letter. (Not a good or bad
letter
Be prepared if they say no
Clinical Experiences
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Helps determine whether one’s
individual strengths match one’s health
career choice
Accomplished by Shadowing and
“Hands On” experiences
Summer internships: paid and unpaid
Check UCSB Health Professions
Advising and student organizations
websites
Clinical Experiences contin.
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Can be a part of ones community
service
Excellent source for letters of
recommendation
Need to be self motivated and engaging
Clinical Opportunities
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Clinical Care Extender Program- St.
John’s Hospital, Ventura
Volunteer at Cottage Hospital and
Sansum clinics
Private practices
Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital
Eastside/ Westside Neighborhood
clinics
County Medical clinics
Clinical contin.
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Drs. Without Walls
Global Medical/ Dental/ Public Health
Brigades
Santa Barbara County Health System
MEDLIFE
EMT certification- SBCC
Medical Reserve Corp
Summer experiences at home.
Clinical contin.
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Aeromedicos
Scribe- Cottage
Research
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Teaches one critical thinking and how to
problem solve in a formal manner- related to
i.e. diagnosis and treatment planning
Provides new knowledge and stimulate new
approaches and methods to effect project,
goals
Variety of opportunities to include basic
sciences, sociological, clinical, literature,
health policy, engineering, nutrition,
information technology
Community Service
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Helps determine if you are service oriented
Broadens one’s perspective about the world
Helps develop Social Intelligence as it relates
to empathy, effective teamwork and effective
leadership, especially serving those in
unfamiliar groups or cultures
UCSB Associated Students Community
Affairs office- good resource
Prefer non-medical activities
UCSB Student Organizations
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Health Professions Association
Envision- Pre-optometry Association
Street Health OutreachPre-Dental OrganizationLos CuranderosGlobal Medical/ Dental/ Public Health
BrigadeMu Delta Medical Fraternity
Student Health Organizations
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Health Professions Association
Envision- Pre-optometry AssociationStreet Health OutreachPre-Dental OrganizationLos CuranderosGlobal Medical/ Dental/ Puclic Health
Brigade-
Student Orgs. Contin.
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Pre-Pharmacy Student Association
Rho Psi Eta Pre-Health Sorority
Pre-Veterinary Medical Association
Interviews
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One-on-one (most common)
One interviewer, more than one
candidate
One candidate, more than one
interviewer
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Role play with an actor
Alone with video camera
Interview – cont’d
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Practice with persons writing your letters of
recommendation
Come dressed up and familiar with all aspects
of your application
Familiarity with the school and the profession
is a must
Introduce yourself if appropriate and make
eye contact
Wait for the interviewer to be seated first
Maintain a relaxed posture but don’t slump
Interview- cont.
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The interviewer is usually a busy faculty
member and perhaps not trained to interview
He or she may not have completely read your
file but do not consider that is the case
Each interviewer comes from different
perspectives and with different agendas
Questions are asked that you may not have
answers or you are not expected to know the
answer
A writing sample may be requested
Interview- cont.
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Watch the body language of the interviewer
Answer questions honestly and say when you
do not know the answer
Keep your answers succinct- time is usually a
factor
Don’t talk over the interviewer or ramble
If unsure of the question, have the interviewer
repeat
Try to present with a positive attitude, even
though you may be stressed
General observations
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Maximize your learning skills
Time management is a must
You will not be able to work- do your
financial planning early
Reconcile that competency, not grades
are your real goal
Prepare to fail
The faculty want you to succeed