Health Professions Advising - Advising Resources

Advising Resources

This page contains general resources for any pre-health student to help your professional development, application process, etc.

Updated 10/23/2023

Self-Assessments

If you're exploring careers and not sure what you want to do, the Career Center is a great resource and should be your first stop! The Career Center administers various assessments; please note you will need to meet with an advisors in the Career Center to discuss your results.

GPA Calculator

An important aspect of assessing your readiness to apply to health professions schools is to track your overall and science GPAs. Download this tool and input your information to help you track your progress. Please note: grade replacement only applies to your GPA on our campus.

GPA CALCULATOR (rev. 8/2023)

Resume

Your resume will show employers and admissions committees what you have done and WHY. Consider how you're marketing yourself with your experiences and your level of commitment. Are you listing clubs you're a part of and writing that you attended meetings? What does that say about you? Use these resources to create or update your resume. For those of you who are applying to schools soon, this will hopefully make it easier for you to fill out the experiences/activities section of the application (you may also be asked to quantify your average hours on a weekly basis). SJU's Career Center has useful links on creating a resume

Informational Interviewing

When you conduct an informational interview, you're asking a professional or student in a career field of interest to you for the purposes of gaining information. Here's why it's helpful:

Hear firsthand, relevant information about the realities of working in that field (that may not be available online or in print)
Gain knowledge about career paths and receive advice about preparation for a given career
Initiate a professional relationship and expand your network, which could lead to future opportunities but that should not be the expectation or purpose of it

Use this guide to prepare for your informational interview and think of questions you'd like to ask. You want to show respect for the time and energy put forth by the professional you contact!

Documenting Your Experiences

To prepare yourself for future applications, save a copy of this template to your Google Drive and complete your respective tab (based on the type of school you'll be applying to). These fields mimic your future applications and reference links for you to familiarize yourself with the applications.

Documenting Experiences for Applications (6/2023 rev.)

How can you document your shadowing hours? Here is a simple template you can save for your records to track your hours and what you're learning. While schools may not necessarily ask for a document like this, it can be helpful for your own record-keeping purposes.

Shadowing Hours Tracker Template

Personal Statement Outline Template

The personal statement helps admissions representatives understand who you are, your unique experiences and why you chose to pursue a specific health profession. Save a copy of this template on your Google Drive.

22-23NAME: Personal Statement Outline

After you've gone through a few drafts, visit the Writing Center and/or ask two trusted individuals to review your draft who are good writers and will provide honest, constructive feedback. Please share the prompt with them and ask these questions: “Based on what you read…”

- What impression(s) do you have of me?
- What do you learn about me as an individual?
- What do you think are my unique reasons for becoming a _____?
- What was memorable?

Check your respective Health Professions page, which may also have more specific resources related to writing personal statements for your particular health professions school.

Here's some general resources to help get you started:

AAMC: Crafting Your Personal Statement advice from pre-health advisors and career counselors
Webinar: Creating a Great Personal Statement by admissions officers and health professions advisors for tips and suggestions on how to craft a well-written personal statement to showcase your unique identity with Q&A