Parts of the application process
Selecting schools
Selecting schools that are the right fit is a vital element of application strategy: if a school feels that you are not a good fit for their program, you may be denied admission even if you are otherwise qualified for the profession you hope to enter. When you begin looking at programs, create a spreadsheet to organize what you learn about each school and, later, to track your completion of secondary applications, interview invitations, updates sent to schools, and so forth. What information you choose to list will depend in part on the profession to which you are applying and how that application system works, and in part on what factors are important to you personally.
Some things to consider when investigating schools:
Selection factors. What are the mean GPA and test scores of a school’s entering class? How much emphasis is placed on research and clinical experience of applicants? What are the demographics of the applicant pool? Admitted applicants?
Curriculum. Does the curriculum focus on primary care or specialty areas? Does the school use a discipline-based or system-based approach? Lecture-based or problem-based? Do students take single intensive classes for short periods or multiple classes spread over longer periods? What is the grading system?
Residence and citizenship. What are in-state vs. out-of-state ratios? Does the school accept international students? DACA students? If so, does it provide those populations access to financial aid?
Student Profile. What is total enrollment? Diversity? Gender ratio? How well do graduates fare on licensing exams? Where do they get residencies, fellowships, and jobs?
Research & clinical opportunities. When in your training will clinical exposure begin? Is the school affiliated with (and located near) a research university, teaching hospital, or other facility? What opportunities are afforded students? Does the school offer dual-degree programs?
Location. Is the school urban or rural? What is the cost of living? Does the location support your cultural/social/lifestyle needs? What is the school’s proximity to your support network?
Finances. What does the program cost? What kind of financial aid is available? Financial aid is largely school-specific so you need to check with each school to determine what help if any, they will offer. (This often cannot be determined until after you have been admitted.)
School and program websites provide important details on individual programs, but for a more streamlined approach, we recommend you make use of the resources below for the first round of narrowing down your choices:
AANMC Member Schools (naturopathic medicine)
ACAOM directory (acupuncture and Oriental medicine)
ACOTE School Directory (occupational therapy)
ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools and online Dental School Explorer
ASPPH Academic Program Finder (public health)
Choose DO Explorer (osteopathic medical schools)
Medical School Admission Requirements (allopathic medical schools, including Canadian schools)
PAEA Program Directory (physician assistant)
PharmCAS Directory (pharmacy)
Explore Pod Med (podiatric medical colleges)
PTCAS Programs Directory (physical therapy)
Canadian students, other international students, and DACA students may all be considered differently when it comes to professional school admission.
Look closely at the admission policies of each program to determine whether you are eligible to apply, and contact schools directly when information is unclear. More information for international and DACA students.
International schools
Some students consider attending professional school outside of the United States. The pre-health office has knowledge on schools, programs, and the application process within the United States. We have more limited knowledge of programs in other countries.
An important question to ask yourself is, where do I ultimately hope to live and work? If you intend to settle in the non-U.S. country where you hope to go to school, then it may indeed make the most sense to attend professional school in that country. On the other hand, if your goal is to live and work in the United States, attending professional school outside of the U.S. may pose challenges for your future. If you are considering this pathway, please speak with a pre-health advisor.
Application essays
Application essay workshop page - most essay resources can be found here
Includes resources and recording of workshop, when available. Updated for each application cycle.
Your essay is a critical component of your application. In many cases, it is the area where you have the greatest freedom to craft your message. While prompts vary by profession, all are designed to elicit responses that will help professional schools determine your motivations and fit for pursuing your chosen career. Most applicants will write one essay that is sent to all of the professional schools to which they apply. School-specific essays may be written for secondary applications.
The essay is an excellent opportunity to:
Tell “your story”
Explain your motivations to enter your intended career
Provide insight into you and your personality
Discuss what distinguishes you from other applicants
Expand on what you mentioned elsewhere
Offer context for anything unusual in your application: a weak semester, a break in your academic trajectory, etc.
Demonstrate your proficiency with written English
Tips for getting started
Consider your message: What are the top 2-3 things that professional schools should understand about you after reading your personal statement?
Reflect upon experiences you have had—personal, work, volunteer, research, etc.—and when you are deciding whether or not to write about them in your essay, consider the following questions: Why did I do it? What did I get out of it? What did I give to it? What did I learn, and how do I understand myself better now? Writing about what an experience means to you is powerful. Simply describing an experience usually is not.
Draft an essay that weaves a few experiences together into a well-structured story.
Solicit feedback from people you trust.
Entrance exam
Most health profession schools require you to submit results from a standardized exam as part of your application. Competitive applicants will score above average on these exams. For some professions, a score above the 70th percentile is necessary to be competitive.
If an entrance exam is required, familiarize yourself with its format and prepare systematically, either with a self-designed study program and practice exams, or a commercial preparatory course.
One year before you will take the exam
Familiarize yourself with exam dates and registration. Plan to take the exam at least six weeks in advance of your planned application date, but ideally earlier. Do not take the exam so late that your score’s arrival will hold up the completion of your application. We recommend that applicants to medical school take the MCAT no later than January of the calendar year in which they hope to submit their application.
Get to know the topics on the exam so that you can ensure you will have completed the requisite courses in time.
Look into costs of the test and preparatory materials.
If you will apply for accommodations, look into this process. Some applicants will need to complete or redo their psychoeducational testing in order to apply for accommodations.
Ensure that in the 3-6 months (depending on the test and your study plan) leading up to the exam, you will have enough time in your schedule to adequately prepare. Do not underestimate the amount of time needed. (For example, the AAMC recommends at least 300 hours of preparation time for the MCAT.) Treat it like a job: show up and do the work.
Six months before you will take the exam
When you register for an exam, specify that your scores be released to Mount Holyoke College so that the pre-health office will have access.
Create a realistic study plan and stick to it.
In the weeks leading up to your exam
Assess your readiness honestly. Postpone your exam if you are not ready, even if it means postponing your application year, as well. It is in every applicant’s best interest to take the entrance exam once and score competitively.
Pace yourself. Burnout will not help you to be successful.
Take care of yourself: sleep on a regular schedule, eat healthy foods, exercise, and take study breaks.
The exams and study resources
PA-CAT for physician assistant applicants (also GRE, below)
PCAT for pharmacy applicants: As of February 2024, the PCAT is no longer administered or required by any pharmacy program.
TEAS and HESI A2 for nursing (also GRE, below)
GRE for most other health professions, as well as physician assistant and nursing
Letters of recommendation
Professional schools will require letters of recommendation. Depending on the program, you may need from 2-5 letters from people in a variety of settings (e.g. professors, work supervisors, people in the field you hope to enter). Letters should be from individuals who know you well and can comment on your suitability for a career in the health professions. Identify letter writers early.
Please share our "guidelines for writers of letters of recommendation" with all of your letter writers.
Plan to request your letters at least two months in advance of the deadline by which they should be received. Approach potential letter writers respectfully, asking in person when possible. Email is acceptable if speaking in person is not possible. Ask if the potential writer can provide you with a “strong letter of recommendation.” Most people you ask will agree readily. Someone who suggests that you might want to “ask someone who knows you better” may be indicating that their letter will not be as strong as you might wish. Take them seriously and seek out someone else.
Once someone agrees to write, be clear what you are applying for, where the letter is to be submitted, and the deadline. Ensure that writers know your letters must be on letterhead, dated, and signed. It may be appropriate to offer guidance to your recommender if there is a specific point you wish to have addressed. For example, “I would be grateful if you could comment on my abilities handling large animals,” or “I’ve asked you to write for me because you know about the leadership and community service roles I’ve had.”
Letter writers often appreciate a copy of your resume and personal statement, if available. Applicants requesting committee letters must provide all individual letter writers with our "guidelines for writers of letters of recommendation." We encourage all applicants to share this with their letter writers, even if you are not requesting a committee letter.
Transmitting letters to professional schools
Applicants receiving committee letters must use Interfolio for storing their letters of recommendation. Applicants to other professions may not need Interfolio, but if you choose to use the service, the pre-health office can review your letters to ensure that they are on letterhead, signed, and dated. To create an Interfolio account that is linked to the Mount Holyoke pre-health office, click here. You can call Interfolio for help with your account, at 877-997-8807 or 202-738-5322.
Can I see my letters?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 stipulates, among other things, that you have the legal right to view your letters of recommendation. You can waive this right, meaning that you do not see the letters. Professional schools prefer that you waive your right to view the letters, so that they receive confidential letters of recommendation.
Individual letters in Interfolio: To keep letters confidential in Interfolio, you will select “confidential letter of recommendation” when creating a prompt for a letter writer to upload their letter.
Committee letters: All applicants requesting committee letters will be asked to sign our "official waiver and request for a committee letter," indicating whether or not they waive their right to view their letters.
Committee letters
Some professional schools – usually schools of medicine, dentistry, optometry and podiatry – hope to receive a committee letter from the pre-health office in addition to your individual letters of recommendation. The Mount Holyoke College Committee on the Health Professions will provide a committee letter for all students and alums who request one and who meet the committee’s requirements and deadlines.
What is a committee letter?
A committee letter is a summary of an applicant’s qualifications and assessment of their readiness for professional school. Committee letters assess an applicant's overall strength as a candidate and may include description of personal qualities, professional goals, academic history, non-academic qualifications, and challenges the applicant has faced. Committee letters do not share personal information without the express permission of the applicant, and then only when relevant to the professional school application. In drafting this letter, the Committee on the Health Professions will take into account all aspects of your preparation as well as individual recommendation letters, pre-health advising notes, and committee members’ knowledge of you. Although written by an individual, committee letters represent the Committee’s assessment of an applicant’s file and not solely one person’s perspective.
Do I also use individual letters?
Applicants expecting to request a committee letter should also be requesting 3-5 individual letters of recommendation. For these applicants, we recommend two letters from science faculty and the remainder from internship supervisors, other employers and/or faculty outside the sciences. A letter from someone who works in the profession you hope to enter is recommended and may be required by some schools. The final makeup of your individual letters will be based on your experiences; discuss your choice of letters during your pre-application appointment (a meeting scheduled in January-March of the year in which you will apply). You must provide all individual letter writers with our "guidelines for writers of letters of recommendation."
How do I request a committee letter?
In order to request a committee letter, by the stated deadlines an applicant must send to the pre-health office a self-evaluation form, a signed copy of our committee letter request form, an entrance exam score, and a submitted primary application. Additionally, all individual letters of recommendation must be in Interfolio. Details for each new application cycle are available on the “Official waiver and request for a committee letter” form. Please read this document carefully if you are an upcoming applicant.
Transcripts
Whether you are applying through a central application service or directly to an individual school or program, you will need to send your transcript(s). You should be sending official copies of transcripts from all institutions of higher education where you took at least one course for credit. Read all application instructions carefully to ensure you properly enter your courses in your application and that you send the right transcripts in the right format. Follow the instructions from the application service/program, and from the Registrar of the institution issuing the transcript. The Mount Holyoke College Registrar has more information on how to request your Mount Holyoke transcript.
Special circumstances
I took only one course at an institution, and it was ungraded.
Yes, send the transcript.
I took only one course at an institution, and I failed the course.
Yes, send the transcript.
I have taken graduate courses.
Yes, send the transcript.
I audited one course at an institution and took no other courses.
When you audit a course, you receive neither credit nor an official (if any) grade. Under most circumstances you would also not receive a transcript if this was the only course you took at an institution. Therefore, you do not need to send a transcript under this circumstance.
I took college courses while in high school.
If the course is listed on a college transcript, you must send it.
I took only one course at an institution, and I withdrew from the course.
If you withdrew during add/drop, the course does not appear on a transcript. Therefore, you do not need to send a transcript from that institution. If you withdrew after add/drop, then the course appears on your transcript as a W. You must send that transcript.
I took courses outside of the United States.
The answer to this varies depending on the details of your courses taken abroad and the expectations of the application service (or individual programs) through which you are applying. Read the application instructions carefully, contact the application service or individual programs if you have questions, and contact the pre-health office for additional help.
I will be taking courses after submitting my application.
If these are courses taken at a college, for credit, then when possible you should indicate on your application your intent to take the courses. When grades are finalized, you must send that transcript.
Primary application
Many professional schools use an online centralized application service (CAS) for a primary application. The primary application is not tailored to individual schools and will be sent to every school that you indicate through the CAS. Not all schools use a CAS. For example, many programs in nursing use their own school-specific application system. When you register with any CAS, please select “advisor release.” Doing this enables us to assist you and track your application; it does not give us access to your full application.
Primary applications generally ask for such information as:
Biographical data
Academic record
Entrance exam scores
Related experiences
Application essay
You should ensure that your application reflects:
Every aspect of your qualifications
Solid, consistent performance
Exceptional traits, personal experiences
That you have chosen this career through a thoughtful, fully-informed process
Enthusiasm, motivation, responsibility, reliability, integrity, commitment
Exquisite attention to detail
Common centralized application services:
AMCAS – For MD-granting schools, except Texas public schools
AACOMAS – For DO-granting schools, except Texas public schools
AADSAS – For dental schools, except Texas public schools
VMCAS – For veterinary medical colleges except Texas public schools. VMCAS also accepts applications for several veterinary schools outside of the U.S.
TMDSAS – For Texas public schools with programs in human medicine (MD and DO), dentistry, and veterinary medicine
AACPMAS – For podiatric medical colleges
CASPA – For physician assistant programs
CSDCAS - For programs in audiology and speech-language pathology
NursingCAS – Programs in nursing at all degree levels, including accelerated BSN and direct-entry MSN. Many nursing programs do not use NursingCAS, so it is important to go directly to each program’s website to learn about their application process.
OptomCAS – For schools of optometry
OTCAS – For programs in occupational therapy
PharmCAS – For colleges of pharmacy
PTCAS – For physical therapy programs
SOPHAS – For public health programs
Secondary application
Schools that wish to learn more about you will ask you to submit a secondary application. Not every school sends secondary applications, and some send them to all applicants. Others screen the primary application before deciding whether or not to send a secondary.
Secondaries are specific to each school; seek information beyond the primary application; and may require additional essays and/or an updated transcript. Complete your secondary applications thoughtfully and have someone review them before you submit. Send them back to schools within 1-2 weeks of receiving them.
Secondary applications usually require you to send an application fee directly to the individual school. If you were eligible for financial assistance with your primary application, you are most likely eligible for a reduced or waived fee on your secondary application. If you were not eligible for fee assistance with your primary but could benefit from reduced or waived fees for your secondaries, it is appropriate to ask schools about this possibility.
Interviews
View our presentation on preparing for interviews
Types of interview by location/format
Asynchronous: Done with an interviewing software rather than a person. You respond to pre-recorded questions; your responses are recorded and made available to the school.
Virtual live: Equivalent to an in-person interview but conducted remotely; may use Zoom or another platform.
In-person: You go to the campus, typically for a full day of interviews, information sessions, and tours.
Styles of live interviews
Traditional: In this interview style, you spend 30-45 minutes with 1-2 people discussing your qualifications. Interviewers may be faculty, students, and/or admission staff. Traditional interviews can be “open” or “closed.”
Open Interview: The interviewer has seen your application documents, so you should be prepared to address anything you submitted. Avoid repeating information, and instead elaborate and update.
Closed Interview: The interviewer will know nothing besides your name and the college you attend(ed). Ensure your responses to questions provide adequate context about your background.
Multiple Mini Interview (MMI): The MMI is approximately two hours in length and consists of 6 to 10 stations. Each station has a separate prompt to respond to and a unique evaluator. The MMI is increasingly common among Canadian and U.S. medical schools. It is now used by some programs in other professions, as well.
Group: A discussion among a small group of applicants and at least one person from the school.
MD/PhD: usually two days to include PhD interviews
Most schools use interviews to better understand your:
Strengths and weaknesses
Problem-solving skills
Commitment to the profession
Interpersonal skills
Academic readiness
Professionalism and maturity
Fit for their program
What do I do next?
Accept the offer and select the earliest interview slot possible.
Plan for the day of your interview:
Is your interview in person? Organize travel well in advance. Plan to arrive the day before. Be aware of any COVID-related requirement.
Is your interview virtual? If needed, reserve a room at the CDC for both your interview and mock interview with the pre-health advisor.
Plan professional attire (see the MHC Suit Yourself Program).
Read up on the school(s) where you are going to interview, and prepare questions.
Review your primary and secondary applications.
Practice!
Call Jackie at 413-538-3389 to let her know of the invitation and to schedule a mock interview.
In advance of your mock interview:
Listen to this presentation for more information on interview prep.
Have someone else ask you practice questions at least once. See our traditional style questions, and for MMIs, search reputable online sources for practice questions. Ours are used only for our mock MMIs.
You may also choose to practice with the online program, Big Interview.
Continue to practice after your mock interview.
On interview day:
Be early, professional, courteous and friendly with everyone you meet.
You are always “on.” Your phone should always be off. If a virtual interview, you should be in a distraction-free environment.
Follow up appropriately. A handwritten note is a nice touch, though an email may be easier for schools to save in your admission file.
Resources
Admission decisions and communications
Application year procedures for many professional schools follow a set of guidelines, sometimes referred to as "traffic rules," established by the profession's national educational organization. Links to these guidelines for some professions are below. It is important to review the guidelines established for your professional schools so that you have a complete understanding of how to manage the application process after you have submitted all of your written materials.
AMCAS guidelines (MD schools)
AACOMAS guidelines (DO schools)
AADSAS guidelines (dental schools)
ACAPT Admissions Traffic Rules (PT schools)
PharmCAS Cooperative Admissions Guidelines (pharmacy schools)
Acceptances
You have been accepted, congratulations! Now what?
If this is your first offer of admission, accept the offer and hold your spot in the class.
If this is not your first offer of admission, it is acceptable to hold multiple spots for a period of time. This may be necessary as you wait on additional information, such as financial aid packages.
If this offer is from a school that you know you will attend instead of another school where you were admitted, regardless of any additional information you might receive, secure your spot at the preferred program and release other spots you are holding.
At a certain point in the spring, you will be expected to withdraw from all spots you are holding except for the spot at the school that you will attend.
Waitlists
You are on a waitlist, and that is a positive first step. A school that places you on their waitlist considers you a good fit for their program.
The most important thing to do once you learn you are on a waitlist is to ensure you understand what the program expects from you. Some schools will require you to confirm that you wish to remain on the waitlist. Others do not have such a requirement. Some schools appreciate periodic communication, sending updates and reaffirming your interest. Other schools prefer no additional communication. It is important to understand a program’s preferences and proceed accordingly.
If you are waitlisted at a school that you know you would prefer over a program where you are holding a spot in the entering class, you should still continue to hold your spot at the other school. On the other hand, if you are waitlisted at a program that you would not attend over another where you have already been admitted, it is courteous to decline to remain on the waitlist. This frees up space for others. Most movement off of waitlists will happen in the late spring.
Rejections
Even the most highly qualified applicants get rejections. So be ready, because they will come. Allow yourself your disappointment, then refocus your energy on the schools where you are still an active candidate.
Check in with your pre-health advisor midway through your application cycle if you have not received any offers of admission. While offers can and do come later in the cycle, it is prudent to consider your Plan B so that you will know where to turn if you are not admitted.
If the end of the application cycle comes and you have not received any offers of admission, find out if the programs to which you applied will offer feedback. Many schools will not do this, but those that do may provide valuable insight.