Are you interested in pursuing a pre-health profession but find the process a little overwhelming?

Don't worry! Here at King's College, we have a personalized advising program that starts from the day you step on King's campus to the day you matriculate into your clinical graduate program. How does the program work?

First, you will need to tell your academic advisor that you are interested in a pre-health profession and then email the prehealth advisor (prehealth@kings.edu) to get your introductory meeting scheduled. (If you are a student wishing to pursue a career as a PA in our 5-year BS/MS Program, you will be advised by faculty in the PA department.)  From then on, you will work one-on-one with the prehealth advisor to tailor your undergraduate experience as you develop a competitive portfolio for your clinical profession. There are many paths to admittance into your clinical graduate program. Simply stated, there are three paths: Accelerated, Traditional, and Enhanced. The accelerated programs are defined in our articulation agreements with professional programs resulting in a 3-2 undergraduate/graduate experience. These are highly competitive and rigorous programs and require a student to know they wish to pursue the accelerated programs prior to entering college. The enhanced paths are becoming more and more common. These paths are truly unique to each student and offer students a chance to obtain experiences beyond the traditional path, often allowing them to become better candidates for their professional programs.

For a student who will pursue a traditional path to their clinical professional program, here are a few guidelines:

First year students should focus first on academic success. They need to develop excellent study and time management skills. Freshman should attend as many professional presentations as possible to help them think about their interests in clinical professions. During the freshman year, students should be involved in campus life and activities.

Second year students should meet with the PreHealth advisor at least once a semester. Second year students should pursue shadowing and volunteer experiences to obtain exposure to clinical environments and diverse populations. Sophomores should continue honing their academic skills and begin to prepare for their standardized test. Students are encouraged to use the on campus test prep resources. Portfolio development continues during this year.

Third year students are getting ready to apply to their chosen professional graduate program. There are MANY reasons why students will take a gap year, and start their professional program later. Juniors should be very active on campus, holding leadership roles in their activities. They should have a track record of service experiences and shadowing opportunities. Student should be aggressively studying for their MCATs/DATs/GRE and should plan to take their test in the spring of their junior year. Immediately after their junior year (May), students should be writing drafts of their personal statements and have already requested letters of recommendations from their faculty. Students should apply to professional schools by mid-summer, no later than the end of August. The earlier, the better!

By the start of senior year, students should have already applied to graduate school and are awaiting secondary applications and interviews. Once students have received requests for interviews, they should schedule a mock interview with the PreHealth advisor.