Pre-health students at Kenyon are students who plan to go to medical school, veterinary school, dental school, or other health-related professional schools following graduation. They are not defined by a particular academic major but share a love of science, a passion for learning, and a profound drive to help others. Although most pre-health students major in the sciences, many of the best medical schools value students with diverse interests and recruit talented students from any major.
Academically speaking, a pre-health student designs a curriculum that includes courses required for medical school (or other professional school), and selects elective courses that broaden their academic experience and help them to prepare for entrance exams (MCAT, etc.). Beyond formal academic training, most pre-health programs expect applicants to have gained relevant clinical experiences, taken on research projects, to have evident leadership abilities and to have demonstrated strong interpersonal skills. It is important that pre-health students monitor their progress, reflect on their experiences, and keep careful records of their activities accomplishments.
To help students track their progress, we provide them with a pre-health checklist and recommend that students keep a pre-health portfolio. The pre-health portfolio is simply an electronic folder containing documents and artifacts related to a student’s pre-health training. This set of documents will form the basis of application materials needed to enter medical school or health professional school.
The resources here are a starting point for the detail-oriented planning process required to move forward as a pre-health student at Kenyon. Don’t go it alone! Learn from what is provided here and engage the pre-health advising network regularly for guidance.