 The College of Wooster offers many opportunities and distinct advantages to students interested in medicine and other areas of health care. We serve pre-medical students in addition to those interested in veterinary medicine, dentistry, nursing, physical therapy, pharmacy, and other fields. We use the all-inclusive term "pre-health" (versus "pre-medical") in our advising to reflect the many ways in which our graduates can help others in health care.
The Pre-Health Advising Committee integrates faculty from
the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities in addition to staff from the Office of Career Services and the Longbrake Student Wellness Center. Because specific admissions requirements vary between health-care disciplines and even among individual schools within the same discipline, the Committee plays a key role in guiding students through vocational exploration, course selection, and other aspects of preparing for and completing the application process. We recommend that students get to know the members of the Committee as early as possible.
Wooster maintains a steadfast commitment to educating students -- enabling them to become creative, critical, and independent thinkers -- rather than simply training them for a job. Many pre-medical students at Wooster choose to major in the physical sciences, but there is no required major for admission to medical school and other programs. A degree from a strong liberal arts college like Wooster can be attractive to an admissions panel looking for well-rounded and broadly educated students. In fact, the advantages of a liberal arts education have been widely recognized for many years.
THE WOOSTER ADVANTAGE
The educational experience at Wooster has been nationally acclaimed as among the very best in the country. Pre-Health students at The College of Wooster enjoy:
Wooster also offers two other substantial opportunities:
1. Independent Study
Senior Independent Study (I.S.) is the most distinctive feature of a Wooster education. Each Wooster senior creates an original research project on a topic or idea they care about supported one-on-one by a faculty mentor. Wooster's I.S. program has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report, college presidents, and deans as one of the best senior capstone programs in the country. Senior I.S. provides the opportunity to accumulate more substantial and independent research experience than students may acquire at comparable schools. Wooster students do more than just collect facts about a specific topic; they evaluate information, analyze complex problems, propose solutions, and develop unique plans of action. The I.S. thesis is tangible proof of our students' skills and marks them as independent scholars who can communicate clearly and are ready to take on higher-level study or the beginning of a career.
Recent projects by Pre-Health students have included:
Characterizing the Interleukin-16 Signaling Pathway in Neurons and Interleukin-16’s Affect on Neuronal Morphology
Carl Fry '08, Neuroscience
Investigating the Role of the C-Terminal Domain in McsB, a Structurally Unique Tyrosine Kinase Found in Bacillus Subtilis
James Graham '08, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Historical Perspective and Modern Realities: An Analysis of Health Insurance in Rural Tanzania
Nicholas Weida '08, Historical Economics
Eicosapentaenoic Acid Does Not Reduce Immobility in the Mouse Forced Swim Test
Salim Abboud '07, Psychology
An Investigation of the Effects of Statins on Exercise Capacity, with a Subsequent Study of the Use of Creatine as a Potential Intervention
Katie Wieferich '07, Chemistry
2. Dual Degree Programs
The College of Wooster has partnered with Case Western Reserve University to offer two dual degree options for students:
Seven-Year Pre-Dental/Dental Program
Students in this program will spend three years at The College of Wooster followed by four years at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, culminating in the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from Case Western Reserve University. Students accepted to this program will have guaranteed placement in the first-year class at the School of Dental Medicine at Case upon completion of their junior year at The College of Wooster, provided that they meet certain academic guidelines. Interested prospective students should indicate their interest in the Seven-Year Program in their application to The College of Wooster and must apply to this program before starting at Wooster. Further information is available online or from a member of the Pre-Health Advising Committee.
Francis Payne Bolton School of Nursing 3-4 Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program
Students in this program will spend three years at The College of Wooster followed by four years at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, culminating in the Doctor of Nursing (DNP) degree from Case Western Reserve University. Interested students should apply as early as possible, but no later than the end of their sophomore year at The College of Wooster. Further information is available online or from a member of the Pre-Health Advising Committee.
For both these programs, the Bachelor of Arts degree from Wooster is awarded upon successful completion of the first year of professional school. Students pursuing these plans are required to meet specific admissions requirements and should begin working closely with the Pre-Health Advising Committee as early as possible.
PREPARING FOR A HEALTH CAREER
An effective way to prepare for a career in health care is to educate yourself about the admissions requirements for the programs in which you are interested. Admissions panels will verify that you have met the course requirements, but are also interested in your academic performance, entrance exam scores, and motivations for pursuing a career in health care. They want to ensure that you have a good understanding of the field and that you possess the characteristics needed to succeed in the program.
The most successful applicants are those who:
- engage in course planning early in order to fit in the requirements
- employ good time management and study practices to do well academically
- prepare well for the entrance exam
- obtain exposure to the field through volunteer, paid, internship or shadowing experiences
- hold leadership positions in extracurricular activities
- get to know faculty so they can get to know you
- possess self-knowledge and can clearly articulate their motivations for pursing a particular career
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