How to be a successful health professions school
applicant
What qualities do health professions schools seek in applicants? There is no doubt that
they want excellent students with a demonstrated ability in science who made the most
of the academic opportunities available at Virginia Tech, made efforts to learn about the
health care field, and have demonstrated a commitment to helping others. Furthermore,
professional schools seek students who portray the qualifications listed below:
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mature,
stable,
honest,
responsible,
trustworthy,
enthusiastic,
intellectually curious, and
capable of leadership.
Successful applicants, however, must first demonstrate a mastery of the basic
requirements in biological sciences, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Applicants
must also show intellectual breadth by either majoring outside of the sciences or by
taking coursework in the humanities and social sciences. From a pragmatic vantage
point, the abilities to read rapidly and understand dense, sophisticated material in the
humanities and social sciences are especially important for success on standardized
tests. Successful applicants also need to establish relationships with at least four faculty
members and a professional in their field of choice who know them well enough to write
substantive letters of recommendation.
Perhaps most importantly, health professional schools look for students who have
demonstrated that they are lifelong independent learners. This quality is evident in the
way they approach learning “for the sake of learning,” i.e. their intellectual curiosity, and
their approach to learning in service roles outside of the classroom. Additionally,
students must provide strong evidence of a firm motivation to pursue a career in health
care. These students demonstrate through their actions that they care about the welfare
of fellow human beings and can effectively interact with those of different cultural
backgrounds. Through their experiences, students must also understand the obstacles
and difficulties faced by today’s health professionals. Furthermore, students must
develop skills that will allow them to contribute to the health professions school
community and to their intended profession.
Not all students apply to health professions school during the summer prior to their
senior year. Many students committed to careers in health care delay their application
to health professional schools in order to pursue other opportunities:
 Some enter the Peace Corps,
 Some enter Teach for America to name a few.
 Others obtain master’s degrees in public health and pursue careers in that arena
before later applying to health professional schools.
We believe that, above all, it is important for parents and advisors to allow each student
to find his/her own path and support him/her along the route. We emphasize to
students that a number of our applicants are rising seniors, while others have allowed
additional experiences to impact their application by applying as recent graduates or
alumni of one or more years. Across the nation, those who apply as rising seniors,
recent graduates or alumni enjoy high rates of acceptance.