Applying to Health Professional School

Applying to Health Professional School Hero Image

As a pre-health student, honest advising and access to a variety of resources will enable you to become more informed and involved in the health career world. When applying to a health professional school, your involvement and attention to detail, accompanied by strong academic performance, will make you stand out as an applicant. No matter where you are on the pre-health pathway, we can help you prepare.

Support Provided

The healthcare advisors work with all students and alumni applying to any health professional school. Areas of support include but are not limited to:

  • Application Preparation
  • Personal Statement Review
  • Recommendation Letter Support
  • Interview Preparation
  • Test Preparation Advising

Application Resources and Materials

Application preparation resource and materials, including workshop presentations application handbooks, are available on the Health Careers Advising Moodle site, which is accessible to all current Furman students that have registered with our office. Alumni preparing to apply to health professional school can contact the health careers advising team to gain access to these materials and resources.

General Application Timeline

Application cycles are specific to each health professional field, but in general you should plan to apply to health professional school during the summer one year prior to your intended start date. For example, applicants to medical school should submit application materials by the end of June for a fall semester start in the following year.

Professional Exams

Some health professional schools require applicants to take a professional exam specific to the field, such as the MCAT (medical), DAT (dental), OAT (optometry), TEAS (nursing), or PA-CAT (physician assistant). Other health professional schools require the more general Graduate Record Exam (GRE). In general, these tests are taken early in the corresponding application cycle. Furman has a partnership with a test preparation company to offer students a significant discount on health professional school test preparation materials and resources.