Planning Your Career
Junior Students
  1. Attend the MCAT/DAT/VCAT/OAT/PCAT Junior Jumpstart information session held near the beginning of Fall Term. You should make your career choice intentions known to the Chief Health Career Advisor at that time. Review methods in preparation for the tests will be discussed as well as planning your year so that you can apply to professional school in a timely manor. Make sure you are on the mailing list for the AED Newsletter in order to receive notification of this meeting.
  2. Investigate specific professional schools. Check out web sites and visit some schools. Correspond with students you may know who are now attending professional school. Obtain a copy of the Medical Professions Admission Guide edited by Brice W. Corder and available in the Furman Bookstore. Also peruse the admission requirement books pertinent to the professions of your interest. They can be obtained by ordering via telephone, fax, or internet using the information provided below:
  3. Be sure to check the dates for the Professional School Exams (MCAT, DAT, PCAT, OAT,GRE). Many are only given twice per year. Register on-line for your appropriate Professional School Exam. Nearest test centers: MCAT (Clemson & Wofford), DAT (Sylvan Learning Center ), OAT & PCAT (USC in Columbia ). Pre-Medical students should look at MCAT Student Manual and Practice Test. Pre-Dental students should work on perceptual motor skills. Be sure to get a good night's sleep before taking the test.
  4. Have your picture taken so that you will have passport size photos of yourself for inclusion with your MCAT or DAT registration and for any later applications requiring a picture.
  5. Attend the AMCAS/AADSAS/ACOMAS/AACPMAS information session that is held early in the Spring Term. During this session the Chief Health Career Advisor will go over the process involved in applying to professional school. Most applications are web based.

    Medical School, AMCAS

    www.aamc.org

    Dental School,  AADSAS

    www.adea.org

    Osteopathic Medical School, AACOMAS

    www.aacpm.org

    Podiatric Medical School, AACPMAS

    www.aacpm.or g

    Veterinary Medical School, VMCAS

    www.aavmc.org

    Also during this meeting you will sign up for a pre-application interview session with the Chief Health Career Advisor. Bring with you your completed Evaluation Sheet and the Extracurricular Activity Information Sheet as well as the Personal Comments Outline Sheet. You will be responsible for obtaining letters of evaluation from at least two science faculty as well as others who know you well. These letters of evaluation will be sent upon your request to the professional schools to which you apply at the time those schools send you their request for a committee report or evaluations from faculty members.

  6. You may choose to submit a final draft of your application essay to the Chief Health Career Advisor and/or Dr. Bainbridge of Educational Services for critique before you complete your application.
  7. Participate in AED's mock interview program. Seniors who have already gone for an interview at a school you are interested in will conduct the mock interview. This experience along with your appointment with the Chief Health Career Advisor will help you prepare for an interview.
  8. Attend the Application Essay Workshop given by Educational Services. Write a rough draft of an essay and turn it in to the Chief Health Career Advisor who will check its content. Then turn it in to Educational Services for a check of style and grammar.
  9. Consider doing an internship (e.g. Biology 83 - for Biology Majors), finding summer employment in a hospital, or doing summer research. Such experiences will be invaluable and will give you something to include in your essay as well as something to talk about in your medical school interview. You should start making arrangements for such plans during Winter Term. For those students interested in obtaining Bio 83 credit for their work, you must fill out a course agreement form before you begin your work. During the spring term, the Chief Health Career Advisor will have a meeting for all those students who plan to do a Bio 83. At that meeting students will be given guidelines for setting up, carrying out, and reporting on their work.
  10. If you have done poorly on the MCAT, but have a competitive GPA and other factors such as experience and recommendations in your favor, you may wish to arrange for some formalized review before retaking the MCAT in August.
  11. Applications to take the August MCAT, the DAT etc. must be mailed about 5 weeks before the testing. Be sure you get your application packet before leaving Furman for the summer.
  12. In May, if any of the school to which you intent to apply are not a part of an application service you will also need to request application material. This can usually be done via the World Wide Web.
  13. If your GPA and MCAT scores are high, you may want to apply for early decision. Check to see which schools permit this option. The deadline for applications for early decision is August 1.
  14. If you plan to apply to professional school during the summer you can arrange before leaving the campus in May to have your transcripts sent by the Academic Records Office to AMCAS etc. Otherwise check the cost and do the transaction by mail.
  15. If your GPA and MCAT scores are very high and you wish to compete for scholarships and fellowships offered by a medical school, then you should apply during the summer months and not wait until Fall.