Curriculum Planning and Professional School Application Deadlines

Preprofessional students must be aware that a professional school may require receipt of an application a full year, if not more, in advance of the intended date of admission. Furthermore, many preprofessional students must schedule their professional school admission test even earlier. Specialized tests are often required for dental (DAT), law (LSAT), medical (MCAT), optometry (OAT), and pharmacy (PCAT). Others may require the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or other tests and certifications. By overlooking a deadline, even by a few days, some students will delay their admission to professional school by a full year. Most professional schools admit new students, only once a year, generally in the Fall. Thus, deadlines for completing the application process must be carefully observed. In four-year programs students must plan their curriculum well in advance, since they have only their admission examinations, and ideally meet all professional school course admission requirements the exam requires. With proper scheduling a course plan can be designed so that this goal is met and the remaining baccalaureate requirements for the academic major can be completed during the senior year.

A professional school often evaluates the student on the academic average earned predominantly during all his years of college. Thus, a successful professional school applicant is generally a student that achieves good grades from the beginning of his college experience. Such considerations make it imperative that the preprofessional student be assigned an advisor shortly after entering the University. Thus an entering freshman is assigned a general preprofessional advisor upon acceptance. Later, in his first semester, he will be assigned a preprofessional advisor. If this does not occur, you should contact Mr. Mike Augustine at the Center for Student Success (478-445-1628).

Early contact with a preprofessional advisor will help you stay on track and complete the preprofessional requirements in the most expedient manner.