There are only 28 programs in the country - as a result they are very competitive. Not all the schools require the same courses - you need to go on-line to be sure you have the requirements for all the programs to which you want to apply.
Entrance exam for vet school - the GRE. Schools usually publish or share the GPAs and GRE ranges of accepted applicants from the previous year. Take a look at these as a way to self-assess how you may fare when you apply.
Practical experience: Vet schools typically require practical experience, and ideally like to see work with both large and small animals if possible. Veterinary programs require that students have a HSAC letter (or letter from a faculty member) and two letters from practicing vets with whom they've worked.
Virginia Tech treats Maryland residents as in state. VA Tech is by far the number one choice for most of our students. However, we have students attending many other programs, including Pennsylvania and Cornell.
Applications to to vet school are usually submitted in the summer/fall senior year. Primary applications and letters of recommendation are submitted on-line through VMCAS.
The deadline for these applications is October 1.
Your letters will be submitted on-line. Your HSAC chair/advisor will submit your letter, so you need to authorize that individual's access to the website. Secondaries are then sent to applicants during the fall of their senior year, interviews usually happen in late fall/early winter. Some schools don't interview.
Over the past decade, all SMCM dental school applicants have gone U. Maryland. Practical experience in dentistry is important here as well. Just shadowing a dentist seems to be enough.
You apply to dental school in the summer/fall of your senior year.
You may be interested in PA programs, as alternatives to MD/OD, because you wish to have more patient contact and are attracted by the fact that these programs run two years, as opposed to the eight-ten year commitment medical school requires. PA programs used to only accept applicants from the trenches - nurses and techs who had extensive experience in health care. More recently they seem to be accepting recent graduates with solid experience. Successful applicants from SMCM have had summer internships in clinics and then have worked a year or more in a clinic after graduation from SMCM while applying to these programs.
Do your homework. Pursuing a degree from a PA program should not be considered a "consolation prize." If you are genuinely intrigued by the physician assistant's role, talk to PAs and MDs about how these careers are similar and different so that you can really speak about why you want one over the other.
You should know that there is a critical shortage of nurses in our hospitals and clinics. Most of our students go to accelerated Masters in nursing programs at JHU or U. MD. These programs are usually less than two years long. Our students are sought after and often turn into leaders in those programs. Students should know that they can get a bachelors degree and their RN at a university program. But SMCM is a great place for you if you are undecided about whether you want nursing or some other career in health sciences.
**Degree levels: These programs are evolving or have developed from MS to Doctorate in PT programs. They seem to have the most wiggle room for accepting our one semester Human A & P course as the requirement. Requirements vary for different programs so you really have to be your own advocate in ensuring you've covered all the bases these programs expect you to cover.
**Practical Experience and Physical Therapy. Years ago programs started expecting extensive experience in support of applications to PT. Many of these programs have actual hour requirements for volunteer work at Physical Therapy clinics. These hours must be documented by a professional in the field and can range into the hundreds of hours. Every program is different and it is up to you to have a handle on what you need before you apply.
**ANOVA Clinic in Leonardtown. Many of our students have had excellent experiences at the physical therapy center in Leonardtown on Moakley St. Sometimes these experiences have even included following a patient through surgery and rehabilitation. It is in the surgical suite where some students, long committed to Physical Therapy, discover a passion for Osteopathic Surgery.
NOTE: Students applying to RN, PA and Physical Therapy Programs do not need to go through HSAC. However, if you are not sure what kind of health-related career you might want to pursue and are considering an MD program, feel free to connect with HSAC for advice and counsel.
One glitch with RN, PA and Physical Therapy (PT) programs - Human Anatomy and Physiology.
**RN, PA and Physical Therapy PT programs require a lower division two-semester sequence of Human Anatomy and Physiology. SMCM offers a one semester upper division Human Anatomy and Physiology course. They are not interchangeable. Moreover, our one semester course doesn't equate to either the first or second semester of the lower division offering. Thus, you have a quandary. You are probably best served by taking a two-semester sequence at a community college or university over the summer. Community college is fine for this requirement. Another option for you if you are applying to a PT and PA program is to to submit the SMCM Human A & P syllabus with a letter requesting that it cover the two semester requirement. This has worked in the past but note that decisions are made on a case-by-case basis by the individual schools.
**Practical experience is expected for these programs too, especially PT school.
**You should apply for RN, PA and PT programs during the fall of your senior year.
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