2013–2014 The Bulletin - USS at Tufts - Tufts University

Health Professions Programs >
Some schools have other requirements and it is
recommended that students acquaint themselves
with the special requirements for admission to
schools in which they are especially interested. Also,
some schools will not accept advanced placement
credit or shortened courses for satisfying their
science or non-science requirements and will want
candidates to take additional science courses.
Premedical students should consult Medical School
Admission Requirements (www.aamc.org) and the
College Information Book (www.aacom.org), and
predental students, Admission Requirements of U.S.
and Canadian Dental Schools (www.adea.org).
These are published annually.
Veterinary schools have more variability in their
requirements than medical and dental schools.
Virtually all require one semester of biochemistry
(Bio 152 or Chem 171). Students should consult
Veterinary Medical Schools Admissions Requirements
(www.aavmc.org).
Predental, premedical, and preveterinary
students may apply in the summers following junior
year or senior year or as alumni for any application
year. The Tufts advising staff work with and
support all students and alumni, no matter what
year they choose to apply. Science requirements
should be completed by the spring semester prior to
the summer of application. Usually, students take
the medical and dental aptitude tests at this time.
Letters of recommendation written by faculty
members who know the candidate well are very
important. It is strongly recommended that
students become well acquainted with individual
faculty. Participation in small seminar classes and
joining in undergraduate research programs are two
ways of getting to know individual faculty members.
Students are also urged to learn as much as
possible about health care through undergraduate
research, volunteer work at health-care facilities,
and/or summer internships or employment.
Students interested in veterinary school should have
experience in the care of animals and, if possible,
should have participated in biomedical research or
environmental projects, or have assisted a practicing
veterinarian.
Finally, there are more qualified applicants than
spaces in these professional schools. As a consequence,
some qualified students will not be
admitted. High grades, strong letters of recommen-
dation, and high aptitude scores are essential
for—but do not guarantee—admission.
The Health Professions Recommendation
Committee coordinates the preparation of composite
letters of recommendation to the schools. All
students who apply should register with the
committee the year they will apply. The deadline
for registering with the committee is April 1 of the
application year. It is increasingly important to
begin the application process at an early date (e.g.,
in May of the application year.) For students
wishing to attend professional school immediately
after graduation, that means completing all courses
and taking the standardized test by the end of
junior year. However, taking a year or two after
graduation to work or do a service program before
applying can strengthen an applicant’s credentials.
The majority of Tufts applicants to health professions
graduate programs do so.
Tufts University School of Medicine—
Early Assurance
For a very select group of sophomores, the School
of Medicine offers an opportunity for early
acceptance into the medical school. To be eligible,
students must complete two semesters of general
chemistry, two of introductory biology, and one of
organic chemistry by summer of sophomore year.
Qualified applicants need to perform extremely well
in all their academic work, and should demonstrate
a mature, informed motivation for a medical career.
If accepted, a student will still complete the remaining
two undergraduate years before beginning the
four-year medical school curriculum. However,
with an assurance of admission, the student may be
more likely to explore the curriculum more fully by
studying abroad, writing a thesis in a non-science
discipline, or pursuing another significant academic
interest. At the end of the junior year, those
students who were accepted the previous year make
their final commitment to attend Tufts University
School of Medicine. The medical school, in turn,
expects accepted students to maintain the same
level of performance in their course work during
their junior and senior years but the MCAT is not
required.
For more information, visit
http://uss.tufts.edu/hpa/AcademicPrep/.
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