Considering a Career in Health?
Deciphering Your Dartmouth 2010 and
Forward
Sarah Berger & Dr. Lee Witters
Health Professions Program
Health Professions
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Allopathic Medicine
Dentistry
Optometry
Osteopathic
Medicine
• Pharmacy
• Podiatry
• Veterinary Medicine
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Genetic Counseling
Nursing
Nutrition
Physical/Occupational
Therapy
• Physician Assistant
• Psychology/Counseling
• Public Health
Take Time to Explore!
Don’t plan your life at Dartmouth exclusively
around pointing a health career; take advantage
of a liberal education in and out of the classroom
both in Hanover and elsewhere!
And explore the professions you might be
interested in outside of the classroom!
Things to Pay Attention To
• Get sound advice from an experienced advisor;
beware of the “anecdote”
• Most students from Dartmouth and country-wide
are applying to medical/vet/dental school after
they graduate.
• Make a four year schedule for the required science
courses needed to apply to medical school.
• Students are accepted into med/dental/vet school
with any undergraduate major, but displaying
aptitude in the sciences is very important. Many
students “stub a toe” in early science courses; that
does not disqualify a student from the health
professions!
• Many students complete courses or strengthen
their classroom credentials in a post-bacc program
Pathways to Get to Med/Dental/Vet School
 Complete pre-reqs in 3 years, apply JR summer
 Complete pre-reqs in 4 years, apply SR summer
 Complete some pre-reqs at Dartmouth, some
post-Dartmouth, apply as an alum
 Complete all pre-reqs after Dartmouth and
apply as an alum
Elements of a Successful Application to Health
Profession Graduate Programs
MCAT
DAT
GRE
Letters of
Evaluation
Courses
(GPA,
Science
GPA)
Extracurricular
Experiences
Personal &
Professional
Characteristics
Skills &
Abilities
Clinical Exposure
Altruistic Service
Scholarly Activity
(outside classroom)
Some Medical School
Admission Statistics:
Dartmouth
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# applicants: 168
2009 Matriculants
# seniors: 44; # alumni: 124 (74%)
# accepted: 129 (77%)
National
# schools/applicant: 20
# acceptances/applicant: 2
•# applicants: 40, 811
GPAs accepted:
– Overall: 3.56 (3.00-3.97)
•# accepted: 18,770 (46%)
– BCPM: 3.49 (2.58-4.00)
•GPA all applicants: 3.51
• GPA not accepted:
(3.41 BCPM)
– Overall: 3.39 (2.92-3.91)
•GPA accepted: 3.61 (3.56 BCPM)
– BCPM: 3.26 (2.55-3.96)
•MCAT all takers
• MCAT
8VR/8PS/9BS/25/O
– Accepted :
•11VR/11PS/12 BS/34/Q
•MCAT accepted applicants
•Ranges: 25-42(total)/L-T
9VR/10PS/10BS/29/P
– Not Accepted:
•10VR/11PS/11BS/31/Q
•Ranges: 22-38(total)/L-T
Factors Influencing Admission Statistics
OVERALL GPA
• >3.3 overall GPA
• <3.3 overall GPA
BCPM GPA
• >3.3 BCPM
• <3.3 BCPM
MCAT
• >30 MCAT
• <30 MCAT
Timeliness
• Earlier than Sept 1
• Later than Sept 1
80% were accepted
59% were accepted
89% were accepted
50% were accepted
79% were accepted
48% were accepted
82% were accepted
53% were accepted
Other factors:
• Clinical Experience/Exposure
• Community Service
• Research Experience
• List of Schools (# and appropriateness relative to credentials)
• Personal statement/Interview
• Utilization of advising services
Elements of a Successful Application to Health
Profession Graduate Programs
MCAT
DAT
GRE
Letters of
Evaluation
Courses
(GPA,
Science
GPA)
Extracurricular
Experiences
Personal &
Professional
Characteristics
Skills &
Abilities
Clinical Exposure
Altruistic Service
Scholarly Activity
(outside classroom)
Resources
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Academic Skills
Undergraduate Deans
Office hours with professor
Course TAs
Study Groups, Tutors
GET TO KNOW PROFESSORS!!!
Evaluating Beyond Grades,MCAT/DAT/GRE
Scores and Prior Experiences in Health
Skills & Abilities
• Active listener
• Problem solver
• Communicator
(oral, written)
• Critical thinker
• Multilingual
Personal & Professional Characteristics
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Resiliency
Integrity/Judgment
Adaptability
Persistence
Motivation
Intellectual curiosity
Empathy
Altruistic service
Student Panelists
Shelly Sood
Kunal Patel
Patrick Kennedy
Susanna Kurnick