November 1, 2023: 2025 cycle pre-application available

November 14, 2023, 7:00-8:30pm, Kendade 305: Attend the presentation on the application process. For those who have an unavoidable conflict, a recording will be available soon after the presentation. This presentation will also be over Zoom for alums or those who may be ill or otherwise unable to attend. If you can attend in person we strongly recommend you do so.

January 5, 2024: Pre-application due. Roughly 1-3 weeks after you submit your pre-application, the pre-health office will contact you to set up a 1-hour advising meeting. Please do not self schedule this meeting. Pre-applications may be submitted anytime between November 1, 2023 and January 5, 2024. If you will be taking your entrance exam in January, you may wish to submit your pre-application before the new year, to avoid cutting into last-minute exam prep.

• Carefully review the full application process section of this website, including pages on applying and parts of the application process.

• Look into fee assistance programs for financial support through the application process.

• Make a pre-health advising appointment to ensure that you are on track for an application in 2024.

• Medical school applicants should register for the MCAT, review our website and view the recorded presentation on preparing for the MCAT. Those taking other entrance exams may register now or at later dates. Study for your exam. Critically monitor yourself and adjust your study habits as needed. Only take the test when you are fully prepared and able to do well.

• Revise your CV or résumé with the CDC.

• Gather copies of unofficial transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended. 

• Draft your autobiographical essay or your application essay. More details are available within the pre-application. Resources from the 2024 cycle application essay workshop are available here. The 2025 cycle application essay workshop will be offered in a hybrid format on Sunday, January 28, 2024 from 1:00-4:00pm ET. Campus location and Zoom link will be forthcoming. 

• Work on the pre-application form NOW OPEN!

Application services and instructions

• AMCAS (MD schools), instructions (not yet available for 2025 cycle); 2023 Official Guide to Medical School Admissions

• AACOMAS (DO schools), instructions

• TMDSAS (Texas-only MD, DO, dental and vet schools), instructions

• AADSAS (dental schools), instructions

Application services open in May. Schools use rolling admissions.

Committee letters

The Mount Holyoke Committee on the Health Professions will provide a committee letter for all students and graduates who request one and who meet the committee’s requirements and deadlines. 

Full details about committee letter eligibility and process

Email Jackie to request an extension on committee letter deadlines

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Detailed timeline

January-March 2024

• Use this link to create an Interfolio account that is affiliated with Mount Holyoke.

• As needed, prepare for the MCAT/DAT.

• If you know your entrance exam score, you can begin selecting schools.

• Draft and/or revise your application essay.

• Begin drafting other text for your primary application.

DEADLINE: By April 1...

• Request three to five letters of recommendation that are on letterhead, dated, and signed.

• Ensure all letter writers receive the Committee's "Guidelines for writers of letters of recommendation"

• Enter letter requests in Interfolio

• Confirm that your Interfolio account is affiliated with Mount Holyoke College

• More information on letters and Interfolio

April-May 2024

• On or before April 1 you will be sent a self-evaluation form to complete

• Request official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions and have them sent to your application service(s) (exact timing will vary).

• As needed, prepare for the MCAT/DAT.

• Continue work on application essay and developing school list.

• AMCAS, AACOMAS, AADSAS and TMDSAS application services open in May; you may send a complete draft of your primary application to the pre-health office for review before you submit.

DEADLINE: By May 1...

• Complete the self-evaluation form 

• Complete the committee letter request form

• Upload the committee letter request form to the self-evaluation form and submit both 

DEADLINE: By May 15...

• Ensure that all of your individual letters of recommendation are in Interfolio

• Alert the pre-health office (jcollett@mtholyoke.edu) each time a letter is submitted so we can confirm that it is properly formatted.

June 2024

• As needed, continue work on primary application. You may send a draft to the pre-health office for review before submitting.

• As needed, prepare for the MCAT/DAT.

DEADLINE: By June 15...

• Last day for medical school applicants to take the MCAT and remain eligible for a committee letter in the 2025 application cycle

July 2024

• As needed, prepare for the DAT.

• As needed, continue work on primary application. You may send a draft to the pre-health office for review before submitting.

• Work on secondary applications and send final draft to the pre-health office for review; submit within 1-2 weeks of receiving them from schools.

DEADLINE: By July 17...

• Last day for dental school applicants to take the DAT and remain eligible for a committee letter in the 2025 cycle

• Submit at least one primary application to at least one school in order to remain eligible for a committee letter

• Email a PDF of the submitted application to jcollett@mtholyoke.edu.

August 2024

• Work on secondary applications and send a draft to the pre-health office for review; submit within 1-2 weeks of receiving them from schools.

• Prepare for interviews: Attend or listen to recorded webinar (will be updated in August 2024), read the news to stay abreast of current topics in health and medicine.

Fall 2024-winter 2025

• When you receive your first interview invitation, email jcollett@mtholyoke.edu to schedule a mock interview. 

• Send letters of interest and updates, if applicable.

• Research and apply for funding.

• Follow up with schools that have accepted you.

• This is a good time to become familiar with your schools’ “traffic rules”:

  • AAMC’s Application and Acceptance Protocols for Applicants and Application and Acceptance Protocols for Admission Officers

  • AACOM Application Traffic Guidelines

  • ADEA Guidelines for Dental Schools When Extending Offers of Admission

Spring-summer 2025

• Review and follow your schools’ “traffic rules” and individual school expectations.

• Weigh your options carefully and select the school that is the best fit.

• Enroll in professional school!

Application service: NursingCAS and individual nursing programs

Instructions: NursingCAS instructions

NursingCAS opens in August, while applications through individual programs will be available at different times. Final submission deadlines vary by school. Programs may use rolling admissions but often do not.

Nursing programs vary significantly in their application processes, and many do not use the NursingCAS application service. It is important for nursing applicants to look carefully at each individual school to ensure you are aware of all requirements and deadlines. 

Your precise application timeline will depend on your particular needs and desires and on the requirements for each nursing program. Work with the pre-health office to lay out your plan, and keep track of everything on a well-organized spreadsheet.

In general, your preparations will follow roughly this order:

Preparing to submit the primary application

• Select schools to which you will apply.

• Prepare for the GRE, TEAS, or HESI A2, if any are required.

• Revise your essays.

• Request two to five letters of recommendation that are on letterhead, signed and dated.  Follow the NursingCAS and individual schools’ application instructions for managing letters.

• Request official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions and have them sent to the application service or individual schools.

• Work on writing the primary application. You may send a complete draft of your primary application to the pre-health office for review before you submit.

After submitting your primary application

• Work on secondary applications as needed and send draft to the pre-health office for review.

• Prepare for interviews: Attend or listen to recorded webinar (will be updated in August 2024).

• When you receive your first interview invitation, email jcollett@mtholyoke.edu to schedule a mock interview.

• Send letters of interest and updates, if appropriate.

• Research and apply for funding.

• Follow up with schools that have accepted you.

• If you are admitted to more than one school, weigh your options carefully and select the school that is the best fit.

• Enroll in professional school!

Application service: OTCAS

Instructions: OTCAS instructions

OTCAS opens in July. Final submission deadlines vary by school. OT programs may use rolling admissions.

Occupational therapy programs can vary in their application processes. It is important for applicants to look carefully at each individual school to ensure you are aware of all requirements and deadlines. 

The precise application timeline will depend on the needs and desires of each individual applicant and on the requirements for each occupational therapy program. Work with the pre-health office to lay out your plan, and keep track of everything on a well-organized spreadsheet.

In general, your preparations will follow roughly this order:

Preparing to submit the primary application

• Select schools to which you will apply.

• Prepare for the GRE.

• Revise your essays.

• Request two to five letters of recommendation that are on letterhead, dated and signed. Follow the OTCAS and individual schools’ application instructions for managing letters.

• Request official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions and have them sent to the application service or individual schools.

• Work on writing the primary application. You may send a complete draft of your primary application to the pre-health office for review before you submit.

After submitting your primary application

• Work on secondary applications as needed and send draft to the pre-health office for review.

• Prepare for interviews: Attend or listen to recorded webinar (will be updated in August 2024).

• When you receive your first interview invitation, email jcollett@mtholyoke.edu to schedule a mock interview.

• Send letters of interest and updates, if appropriate.

• Research and apply for funding.

• Follow up with schools that have accepted you.

• If you are admitted to more than one school, weigh your options carefully and select the school that is the best fit.

• Enroll in professional school!

Application service: OptomCAS

Instructions: OptomCAS instructions

OptomCAS opens in June. Optometry schools may use rolling admissions.

Committee letters

The Mount Holyoke Committee on the Health Professions will provide a committee letter for all students and graduates who request one and who meet the committee’s requirements and deadlines. 

Full details about committee letter eligibility and process

Email Jackie to request an extension on committee letter deadlines

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Preparing to submit the primary application

The precise timeline will vary depending on the needs and desires of the individual applicant, but there are some deadlines for committee letter eligibility that apply to all optometry applicants.

• Prepare for the OAT.

• Select schools to which you will apply (this list may be revised at any time up until schools’ final application deadlines).

• Draft and revise your application essay. Begin drafting other text for your primary application.

• Request official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions and have them sent to your application service (exact timing will vary).

• Work on writing the primary application. You may send a complete draft of your primary application to the pre-health office for review before you submit.

No later than September 15, 2024: 

• Request three to five letters of recommendation that are on letterhead, dated, and signed.

• Ensure all letter writers receive the Committee's "Guidelines for writers of letters of recommendation"

• Use this link to create an Interfolio account that is affiliated with Mount Holyoke, then enter letter requests in Interfolio.

• Alert the pre-health office (jcollett@mtholyoke.edu) each time a letter is submitted so we can confirm that it is properly formatted.

• More information on letters and Interfolio

No later than November 1, 2024: 

• Ensure that all of your individual letters of recommendation are in Interfolio

• On or before November 1 you will be sent a self-evaluation form to complete no later than December 1

No later than December 1, 2024: 

• Last day to take the OAT

• Deadline to complete the self-evaluation form and the committee letter request form. Upload the committee letter request form to the self-evaluation form and submit both.

• Submit the OptomCAS primary application to at least one school, and email a PDF of that submitted application to jcollett@mtholyoke.edu.

After submitting the primary application

• Work on secondary applications as needed and send draft to the pre-health office for review; submit within 1-2 weeks of receiving them from schools.

• Prepare for interviews: Attend or listen to recorded webinar (will be updated in August 2024); read the news to stay abreast of current topics in health and medicine.

• When you receive your first interview invitation, email jcollett@mtholyoke.edu to schedule a mock interview. 

• Send letters of interest and updates, if applicable.

• Research and apply for funding.

• Follow up with schools that have accepted you.

• If you are admitted to more than one school, weigh your options carefully and select the school that is the best fit.

• Enroll in professional school!

Application service: CASPA

Instructions: CASPA instructions

CASPA opens in April. Final submission deadlines vary by school. PA programs may use rolling admissions.

PA programs vary significantly in their application processes. A program may start in August, January, or May, and program application deadlines are similarly diverse. Some schools use a rolling admission process and others review all applications only after a final deadline. 

The precise application timeline will depend on the needs and desires of each individual applicant and on the requirements for each PA program. Work with the pre-health office to lay out your plan, and keep track of everything on a well-organized spreadsheet.

In general, your preparations will follow roughly this order:

Preparing to submit the primary application

• Prepare for the GRE or PA-CAT (a newer entrance exam required or recommended by a small number of Physician Assistant programs).

• Select schools to which you will apply.

• Revise your application essay.

• Request three to five letters of recommendation that are on letterhead, dated and signed. Follow the application instructions for managing letters.

• Request official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions and have them sent to the application service.

• Work on writing the primary application. Send a complete draft of your primary application to the pre-health office for review before you submit.

After submitting the primary application

• Work on secondary applications as needed and send final draft to the pre-health office for review.

• Prepare for interviews: Attend or listen to recorded webinar (will be updated in August 2024).

• When you receive your first interview invitation, email jcollett@mtholyoke.edu to schedule a mock interview with your pre-health advisor.

• Send letters of interest and updates, if appropriate.

• Research and apply for funding.

• Follow up with schools that have accepted you.

• If you are admitted to more than one school, weigh your options carefully and select the school that is the best fit.

• Enroll in professional school!

Application service: AACPMAS

Instructions: AACPMAS instructions

Opens in August. Deadline for priority consideration by podiatry schools is March 1, 2024. Podiatry schools use rolling admissions.

Committee letters

The Mount Holyoke Committee on the Health Professions will provide a committee letter for all students and graduates who request one and who meet the committee’s requirements and deadlines. Eligible podiatry school applicants will request their committee letter no later than March 15, 2024. 

Full details about committee letter eligibility and process

Email Jackie to request an extension on committee letter deadlines

Preparing to submit the primary application

The precise timeline will vary depending on the needs and desires of the individual applicant, but there are some deadlines for committee letter eligibility that apply to all podiatry applicants.

• Prepare for the MCAT.

• Select schools to which you will apply (this list may be revised at any time up until schools’ final application deadlines). As there are only 10 podiatry schools in the country, many applicants apply to all.

• Draft and revise your application essay. Begin drafting other text for your primary application.

• Request official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions and have them sent to your application service (exact timing will vary).

• Work on writing the primary application. You may send a complete draft of your primary application to the pre-health office for review before you submit.

No later than January 1, 2025: 

• Request three to five letters of recommendation that are on letterhead, dated, and signed.

• Ensure all letter writers receive the Committee's "Guidelines for writers of letters of recommendation"

• Use this link to create an Interfolio account that is affiliated with Mount Holyoke, then enter letter requests in Interfolio.

• Alert the pre-health office (jcollett@mtholyoke.edu) each time a letter is submitted so we can confirm that it is properly formatted.

• More information on letters and Interfolio

No later than January 31, 2025:

• Last day to take the MCAT

No later than February 15, 2025: 

• Ensure that all of your individual letters of recommendation are in Interfolio

• On or before February 15  you will be sent a self-evaluation form to complete no later than March 15

No later than March 15, 2025:

• Deadline to complete the self-evaluation form and the committee letter request form. Upload the committee letter request form to the self-evaluation form and submit both.

• Submit the AACPMAS primary application to at least one school, and email a PDF of that submitted application to jcollett@mtholyoke.edu.

After submitting the primary application

• Work on secondary applications as needed and send draft to the pre-health office for review; submit within 1-2 weeks of receiving them from schools.

• Prepare for interviews: Attend or listen to recorded webinar (will be updated in August 2024); read the news to stay abreast of current topics in health and medicine.

• When you receive your first interview invitation, email jcollett@mtholyoke.edu to schedule a mock interview. 

• Send letters of interest and updates, if applicable.

• Research and apply for funding.

• Follow up with schools that have accepted you.

• If you are admitted to more than one school, weigh your options carefully and select the school that is the best fit.

• Enroll in professional school!

Application service: SOPHAS 

Instructions: SOPHAS instructions

SOPHAS opens in August. Final submission deadlines vary by school. Programs may use rolling admissions.

Public health programs vary significantly in their application processes, and some do not use the SOPHAS application service. It is important for public health applicants to look carefully at each individual school to ensure you are aware of all requirements and deadlines. 

The precise application timeline will depend on the needs and desires of each individual applicant and on the requirements for each public health program. Work with the pre-health office to lay out your plan, and keep track of everything on a well-organized spreadsheet.

In general, your preparations will follow roughly this order:

Preparing to submit the primary application

• Select schools to which you will apply.

• Prepare for the GRE.

• Revise your essays.

• Request two to five letters of recommendation that are on letterhead, dated and signed. Follow the SOPHAS and individual schools’ application instructions for managing letters.

• Request official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions and have them sent to the application service or individual schools.

• Work on writing the primary application. Send a complete draft of your primary application to the pre-health office for review before you submit.

After submitting the primary application

• Work on secondary applications as needed and send draft to the pre-health office for review.

• Prepare for interviews: Attend or listen to recorded webinar (will be updated in August 2024).

• When you receive your first interview invitation, email jcollett@mtholyoke.edu to schedule a mock interview with your pre-health advisor.

• Send letters of interest and updates, if appropriate.

• Research and apply for funding.

• Follow up with schools that have accepted you.

• If you are admitted to more than one school, weigh your options carefully and select the school that is the best fit.

• Enroll in professional school!

Application services and instructions: 

• VMCAS, instructions

• TMDSAS (Texas-only MD, DO, dental and vet schools), instructions

VMCAS opens in January and has a September submission deadine; TMDSAS opens in May and has an October submission deadline. A rolling admission process is not used.

Although veterinary medical colleges do not use a rolling admission process, we strongly advise that you plan to submit your VMCAS application in August and TMDSAS application no later than September, to avoid technical glitches or last minute rushing that could compromise the quality of your written application. 

The precise timeline will vary depending on the needs and desires of individual applicants. Your preparations will follow roughly this order:

Preparing to submit the primary application

• Prepare for the GRE.

• Select schools to which you will apply.

• Revise your application essays.

• Request three to six letters of recommendation. Follow the application instructions for managing letters.

• Request official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions and have them sent to the application service(s).

• Work on writing the primary application. Send a complete draft to the pre-health office for review before you submit.

After submitting the primary application

• Work on secondary applications as needed and send draft to the pre-health office for review.

• Prepare for interviews: Attend or listen to recorded webinar (will be updated in August 2024).

• When you receive your first interview invitation, email jcollett@mtholyoke.edu to schedule a mock interview with your pre-health advisor.

• Send letters of interest and updates, if appropriate.

• Research and apply for funding.

• Follow up with schools that have accepted you.

• If you are admitted to more than one school, weigh your options carefully and select the school that is the best fit.

• Enroll in professional school!

If you are applying to schools in a profession other than one listed here, please contact the Office of Health Professions Advising to discuss your application preparations and timeline. Deadlines, requirements, and the process overall will vary between professions as well as from school to school.

Generally speaking, applicants will need to prepare the following:

• List of schools

• Letters of recommendation

• Entrance exams

• Application essays (personal statement/statement of purpose/other essays)

• Transcript(s) to be sent to the application service or individual schools

• The written application: if you use a central application service this will often include a primary application and several secondary applications

You will also want to prepare for interviews and look into how to pay for professional school.