{"id":492,"date":"2020-02-20T14:02:38","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T14:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/?p=492"},"modified":"2020-02-20T14:02:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T14:02:38","slug":"applying-to-professional-health-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/2020\/02\/20\/applying-to-professional-health-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Applying to Professional Health School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It&#8217;s that time of year!\nTime to begin the process of applying to professional health schools. Students\noften find the application process overwhelming and daunting. As with any\nmonumental task, the key is to tackle it in small increments. Students in our program\nare encouraged to begin preparing early in the spring semester of the year they\nplan to apply. A checklist is provided to assist them in creating a strong and\ncomplete application. Completing the <strong>Application\nQuestionnaire<\/strong> is intended to be a reflective document that will assist in\npreparing the personal statements most schools require. Next, students will <strong>research schools<\/strong> where they will be\ncompetitive applicants, knowing where to apply that is a good fit increases the\nnumber of acceptances. The <strong>mock\ninterview<\/strong> is a great tool for our students to hone their interview skills\nas practice makes perfect. By the time the semester ends, students will have\ncompleted most of the items on the checklist so that when the application cycle\nopens, they are positioned to have their application reviewed by admissions\ncommittee early. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developing\na plan to submit your application when the application cycle opens will relieve\nsome of the stress. We recommend our students begin the process approximately\nsix months before the cycle begins. Below are some tips for a smoother\napplication experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Schedule\nand prepare for the MCAT or other admissions tests <\/strong>\u2013 Research\nand select a test date that works for your schedule. Allow six to eight months\nto prepare. For those taking the MCAT, investing in an MCAT course will help\nrefresh concepts and develop test-taking\nstrategies, but will also offer scheduling\nand discipline to keep you on task. Take the test when you are ready, but the\nsooner, the better. You will want to\nknow your test score before you hit the submit button on your application. If\nyour test score is not competitive, you may want to consider delaying your application to the next cycle.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Strong\npersonal statement<\/strong> \u2013 Your academic performance and readiness\nwill speak for itself in your transcripts, test\nscores and in the recommendation letters. Use the personal statement to\naddress your reasons for pursuing a career as a healthcare practitioner. Expand\nbeyond the \u201cI want to help people\u201d statement. Consider including the defining\nmoment when you were called to this career. Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses; how have you grown\nand developed in areas that needed improvement, and how can you continue to\ngrow. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Secure\nrecommendation letters<\/strong> \u2013 You will want to select your references\ncarefully. Natural science professors are a must, as well as a practitioner you\nhave spent time with shadowing\/observing. It goes without saying, you should be confident they will\nprovide an honest but positive recommendation. Give them ample time to prepare\nand send the letter. Remember that they are busy professionals and should not\nbe expected to provide a letter on short notice.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Begin the\napplication<\/strong> \u2013 Don\u2019t wait until you have all of\nyour documents ready before beginning the online application. The application\nis a work in progress, and it is set up to allow you to update with additional\ninformation. You will want your part of the application to be finished when\nrecommendation letters, transcripts, and test scores are uploaded.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Advocate\nfor yourself<\/strong> \u2013 Monitor your application and supporting documents carefully. If\nthere is a delay in the uploading of some documents, it is fine to inquire why\nand when they may be ready. Just be sure to be respectful when following up, but remember \u2013 you are responsible for your\nfuture and assuring everything is in place for review.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Prepare\nfor the interview<\/strong> \u2013 It is imperative to carefully review your\napplication and personal statement before\nthe interview. Schedule a practice interview with Careers Service or a friend. Get\nplenty of rest the night before. Dress professionally and be yourself. Be\nprepared to ask questions; you are interviewing the school as much as they are\ninterviewing you. You\u2019ve come this far, and\nthe interview is to determine if you and\nthe school are a good fit. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Stay in\ntouch<\/strong> \u2013 When you\u2019ve been accepted, share the good news with your\nprofessors and others who have supported you during the process. They want to\nshare your excitement and joy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Be\nintentional in preparing your application\nto professional health school by scheduling self-imposed due dates for certain\ntasks as you move through the process. Having a plan is a great way to combat\nbeing overwhelmed and stressed, which allows\nyou to give proper attention to continued academic studies or work. The\nprofessional school application process is a marathon, not a sprint; a stronger\nbeginning will translate into a stronger finish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s that time of year! Time to begin the process of applying to professional health schools. Students often find the application process overwhelming and daunting. As with any monumental task, the key is to tackle it in small increments. Students in our program are encouraged to begin preparing early in the spring semester of the....<\/p><div> <a href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/2020\/02\/20\/applying-to-professional-health-school\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"more-link\">Read more <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">about Applying to Professional Health School<\/span><svg class=\"svg-icon\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\" focusable=\"false\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M0 0h24v24H0z\" fill=\"none\"><\/path><path d=\"M12 4l-1.41 1.41L16.17 11H4v2h12.17l-5.58 5.59L12 20l8-8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":269,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-m-s-biomedicine","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/269"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":493,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492\/revisions\/493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/ma-biomedicine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}