Students can and should major in disciplines that they are passionate about. While many pre-health students have a natural interest in the sciences, a major in the sciences is not required. Professional schools welcome diverse academic backgrounds. Regardless of their selected major, students need to do well in the required science courses, and should complete all pre-requisite courses before beginning the graduate application process and taking standardized entrance exams such as the MCAT and DAT.
Similarly, students can and should minor in a subject that they are passionate about. Minors in foreign languages, public policy, women's or men's studies, international relations, child advocacy, and a host of others could serve pre-health students well. The Health Professions Minor is also a popular option, but is not required.
Whatever students choose to major and minor in at HWS, what is most important is that they can convey their passion for these subjects. Professional schools want intellectually curious, independent and compassionate applicants, not students who check off boxes on a list of requirements.
If you'd like to view a full listing of our course options in any subject, please visit the Online Course Catalogue.
If previous experience exempts a student from a course at HWS (such as AP or IB credit), the student should take advanced courses to ensure that they have college-level courses to fulfill all the requirements for medical, dental or veterinary schools.
Note that different health professional programs treat AP and IB in different ways. It is the prospective applicant’s responsibility to investigate and meet the specific requirements and policies of individual programs.
We strongly recommend completion of all of the required science courses BEFORE students take entrance exams, such as the MCAT. The material in these courses is covered on the exam, so completion of the courses prior to the exam best prepares students for success.
Admission tests must be taken at least a year before entry into professional school. For students intending to take one or more gap years between HWS and entrance into medical school, completion of the premedical course requirements can be spread out over four years. Students who do not wish to take a gap year between college and the start of their health professional training will need to complete the prerequisite courses by the end of the spring semester of the junior year. This direct-to-medical-school timeline also requires taking the MCAT by the end of the summer between the junior and senior year.
Students should consider from the beginning that they may be better, more mature, more competitive applicants if they wait until after their senior year to apply. There is no best time to apply except when you are best prepared.
The MCAT, a standardized test of verbal reasoning, biological sciences, physical sciences and writing, is used by virtually every medical school as an important part of the admission evaluation process. Similar tests are administered for other health professions, i.e. dental (DAT) and optometry (OAT). Veterinary schools require the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).
Students are counseled on how and when to prepare for the exams. Study guides are available and information on preparatory courses is provided.
Many medical (both MD and DO), dental schools, and some veterinary schools require a letter of evaluation from their undergraduate health professions advisory committee (HPAC). HPAC is composed of faculty, administrators, as well as the pre-health advisor from the Career Services Office. The health committee letter (i.e., HPAC letter) provides a detailed review of the applicant's overall preparation for a medical school program and is part of a packet of up to 5 additional supporting letters that students obtain from faculty, research supervisors, medical professionals and mentors as part of the HPAC application process. Students must apply for a health committee letter from HPAC at least one year prior to matriculating into a medical, dental or veterinary program within the timeframe outlined by HPAC. An informational meeting about the application process is held in early December, and the HPAC application process, including interviews, takes place each spring semester. Students are notified about the committee's decision to support their application prior to the end of the spring semester.
Medical, dental and veterinary schools require at least two semesters of biology; four semesters of chemistry, including organic chemistry; and two semesters of physics, which must be calculus-based and requires a year of calculus as a prerequisite. The courses must include laboratories and should not be designated for "non-science" majors.
Health profession schools also require two semesters of English, which should be courses that emphasize writing and composition. At HWS, many of the courses in Writing and Rhetoric can also fulfill this English requirement.
BIOL 167 - Introductory Topics in Biology - will provide access to other courses in biology and will be counted as one semester of biology by professional schools.
For pre-med, pre-vet or pre-dent students who are not majoring in Biology, we recommend at least two other lab courses in biology at the 200-level from those listed below:
BIOL 232 - Cell Biology
BIOL 220 - Genetics
BIOL 233 - General Physiology
BIOL 220 and 233 both require completion of BIOL 212 - Biostatistics, or a similar statistics course in Economics or Psychology.
If non-biology majors choose to take BIOL 212 - Biostatistics, this course will help HWS students satisfy their quantitative goal (Goal #3).
To satisfy the four semester requirement for medical schools, students should take:
CHEM 110 - Introductory General Chemistry
CHEM 240 - Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 241 - Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 280 - Chemical Reactivity
We recommend that students who have been sufficiently prepared in the sciences during high school begin chemistry during their first year, especially if they plan to major in chemistry or biology.
Students preparing for health professional schools or graduate schools in the sciences should take:
PHYS 150 - Introductory Physics I
PHYS 160 - Introductory Physics II
PHYS 100, 112, and 140 do not help fulfill the physics requirement, as they are not calculus-based courses.
Some veterinary and dental schools require two semesters of calculus. Most medical schools require knowledge of calculus and statistics.
MATH 130 - Calculus I is a prerequisite for PHYS 150
MATH 131 - Calculus II is a prerequisite for PHYS 160.
Pre-medical students who earn credit for MATH 131 need not take any additional calculus courses. Pre-medical students should also take BIOL 212 – Biostatistics, or another statistics course.
Pre-dental and pre-veterinary students should complete two courses at the level of MATH 130 or above. It is also recommended they complete a statistics course.
Students who do not score high enough on the math placement exam to place into Calculus I or II will need to complete a pre-calculus course, MATH 100 (offered only in the fall), before enrolling in calculus. MATH 100 prepares for success in the calculus courses, but would not itself satisfy any calculus admission pre-requisite.
Additional Courses
Many professional schools have additional required or recommended courses that vary depending on the school.
Biochemistry is required or recommended by some medical or veterinary schools. Students should consider the schools they might want to attend and check their individual requirements as early as possible.
In addition, several alums in medical, dental or veterinary school have commented on the value of undergraduate courses in Biochemistry, Microbiology, Physiology, Cell Biology, Anatomy and Neurobiology in preparing them for their professional coursework. These disciplines are covered quickly in the first few years of professional school and undergraduate preparation in at least some of these areas can ease the stress of mastering the material in professional school.
