Preparing for a Career in the Health Professions

What does it mean to be a prehealth student at Princeton? It means that you are considering going to medical, veterinary, dental, or another health professions school sometime after you finish your undergraduate degree. And it is not just about academics! Usually, it means that you have a deep and abiding interest in science and humanity, that you have a particular interest in health and disease, that you have a desire to help others, and that you thrive on hard work, responsibility, and leadership.

What constitutes a successful prehealth student? There is no absolute definition. Students that tend to be successful in the prehealth journey are usually:

Excellent students in any discipline
Strong in the science courses they’ve taken, whether or not science is their concentration
Inclined to help others and take on leadership roles
Self-aware and interested in the challenges that face others in society

The Preparing Guide

Download a printable copy of the "Preparing Guide" for your class year.

Preparing for health professions school application includes engaging in course work and activities that will prepare you for your professional life. It should also include plenty of “soul searching” to determine that this is, in fact, the best path for you at this time. Don’t be afraid to explore other areas of interest along the way. Your prehealth preparation intersects with your overall personal and intellectual development at Princeton. The Office of the Dean of the College provides in-depth action plans for each academic year that should be consulted alongside our advice.

A Generalized Timeline

First Year	Read your Preparing Guide. Get to know your advisers: HPA, faculty, residential college and peer. Get to know your resources. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Get added to our HPA listserv. Start gaining clinical experience. Try out student organizations of interest. Find a few that appeal to you and stick with them.
Sophomore	Consider how different majors and minors/certificates may inform your future as a health professional. Take on leadership roles in organizations. Look into summer internships. Continue to gain clinical exposure.
Junior	Look into standardized test (MCAT, DAT, etc) prep. Register to take the exam over the summer. Check in with HPA to assess your strengths and areas to improve as a candidate. Continue to gain leadership and clinical experience. Foster strong relationships with faculty -- you'll need letters of recommendation soon! Come to an Applicant Information Session to get a sense of the application process. Look into fellowships with early fall deadlines (e.g., Fulbright, Rhodes).
Senior	Come to an Applicant Information Session. Schedule an Applicant Intake appointment to discuss candidacy. Ask for letters of recommendation. If taking one "glide year": Prepare pre-application materials and have pre-application interview. Apply for fellowships, post-bac programs, or other glide year activities. Come to Applicant Seminars in the spring, apply in the early summer.