Saint Vincent College has a long history of preparing students for entrance to health profession schools.
Pre-health profession students may choose any major and are guided by the Preprofessional Health Committee. The Committee consists of approximately eight SVC faculty and a physician. It advises students about coursework, clinical exposure, service activities, leadership roles, entrance examinations, applications and interviews. The Committee also conducts a comprehensive freshmen orientation program, maintains an extensive system of electronic resources for students and hosts speakers. Shortly before students submit their applications to health profession schools, the Committee assesses the candidacy of each prospective applicant and prepares detailed recommendation letters. The overall goal is to enable each student to put his or her best foot forward.
You'll need a strong foundation in mathematics and the sciences that relate most to medicine: biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. Entrance requirements at most medical schools include completion of course work in biology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, and English.
But a liberal arts education is a key ingredient to becoming a physician, so it's important for your college experience to be well-rounded. Taking courses in the humanities and the social sciences will help you prepare for the "people" side of medicine. The ideal physician understands how society works and can communicate and write well.
Extracurricular activities also are important. You may want to volunteer at a local hospital or clinic to gain practical health care experience.
Every student interested in the health professions must complete one year of General Biology with lab (BL 150-153), one year of General Chemistry with lab (CH 101-104), one semester of Calculus (MA 109), one year of Organic Chemistry with lab (CH 221-224) and one year of General Physics with lab (PH 111-114). Individual health profession schools may have additional requirements. More specific information about prerequisite coursework is available from:
In addition to preparing students for matriculation to health professions schools, SVC offers programs in some allied health professions. For more information about those programs, click on the links to the right.
| HEALTH PROFESSION | #MATRICULANTS/#APPLICANTS | % ACCEPTED |
|---|---|---|
| Human Medicine | 46/56 | 82% |
| Dental Medicine | 5/6 | 83% |
| Veterinary Medicine | 3/3 | 100% |
| Optometry | 6/6 | 100% |
| *Other (e.g. PT, PA Pharm, Chiro, Podiat) |
26/29 | 90% |
Drexel University
Georgetown University
University of Virginia
University of Pittsburgh
Penn State University
Penn State Hershey
Temple University
Jefferson Medical College
West Virginia University
Trinity School of Medicine
Ross University School of Medicine
Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
Commonwealth Medical College
The Ohio State University of Medicine
Uniformed Services University Of the Health Sciences: F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine
University of Maryland
PCOM
LECOM
Lincoln Memorial-DeBusk
Meharry Medical College
Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine-Virginia Campus
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine-Carolinas Campus
Touro COM
Ohio Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
University of Pittsburgh
Temple University
West Virginia University
University of California at San Francisco
Virginia Commonwealth
Salus University
Indiana University – Bloomington
University of Houston
Nova Southeastern University, College of Optometry
Ohio State University, College of Optometry
Kent State University
Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine
Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University
Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine
University of Illinois School of Veterinary Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine
National University of the Health Sciences- Chiropractic Medicine
New York Chiropractic College
Palmer College of Chiropractic