• Your first year is important.  Develop good study habits and establish your reputation as a good student as early as possible.  The best preparation for professional school aptitude tests is really learning the material in your introductory science courses and reading as much as possible, so take your course work seriously.

• Begin taking the basic science prerequisite courses.  This will not only help you to complete the prerequisites in good time, it will test aptitude and interest in the sciences. Don't overload you schedule the first year unless you are a strong student in the sciences. Balance your schedule with courses in humanities, arts, and social sciences.

• Develop a long-term academic schedule that includes all required courses. Talk with advisory committee members and your academic advisor regarding how  mode/category courses can be an integral part of your preprofessional curriculum.

• Explore community volunteer/service opportunities.  Don't pick something just to "check off a requirement;" instead, find activities that match your interests (tutoring, child care, carpentry, etc.).

• Find a few campus organizations/activities that  parallel your interests.  Get involved and volunteer for leadership positions with the organizations. 

• Begin reading about issues and advances in health care.

• Obtain health care experience. Investigate various options in the health field and don’t limit your career choices to the few health careers with which you are familiar.  The type of experience isn't as important as exposure to patient care and to the health care environment.  (Medical research is not the same as patient care experience.)

• Explore lab/research opportunities if this is an interest (it is not a requirement except for dual-degree applicants).

• Start collecting evaluation letters from employers and health care professionals with whom you have worked.

• Obtain a copy of the previous year's professional school application from the appropriate web site and use it to assess how well you will be able to present yourself to admission committees.  If you are deficient or weak in any areas, begin working immediately to strengthen them so you can submit as strong an application as possible.  

• Continue obtaining health care experience.  Continue your community service/volunteer activities and campus organization/leadership activities.  Continue reading about health care issues.  

• Be certain the science courses needed for your specific aptitude test (MCAT, DAT, OAT, etc.) will be completed by the end of the year.  Try to take a reading-intensive course to help prepare for the reading section of your aptitude test.

• Begin a program of weekly, focused review of aptitude test material and begin taking mock tests so you will feel as prepared as possible when it is time to take the real test.

• Register to take the Spring offering of your aptitude test (or plan to take a computerized test in the summer). Waiting to take tests in the fall often means that scores are not available until mid-October. Taking an earlier test permits a second chance in the Fall if your initial scores are not competitive. It also permits early consideration by professional schools because your application file is complete. However, the most important thing is to not take the test until you are fully prepared.

• Begin your Advisory Committee applicant file. Make sure that you have evaluation letters submitted from faculty, employers, and your health care experience supervisors.

• Upon receipt of your test scores, review your selection of schools and submit applications as soon as possible. Many schools use a centralized application service, so make sure you know how to access the appropriate application(s) before you leave campus in May.

• Submit your application(s) early regardless of whether or not you are taking a Fall aptitude test.  Early applications receive the strongest consideration.

• Take your aptitude test in August or September if you did not take it in the spring or early summer.

• For non-medical/dental school applicants, complete your primary applications. For medical/dental school applicants, submit your secondary applications within a few weeks of receiving them.  Don't recycle your primary application essay but do keep a folder of secondary application essays so you don't need to recreate them for each school.

• Prepare for Fall and Winter interviews. Utilize the Career Development Office’s mock interview service.  

• Continue reading about health care issues and be prepared to discuss particular issues during an interview.

• Expect to hear admissions decisions anytime from late Fall through early Summer.  Patience helps at this stage.

• Submit new information that could strengthen your application (semester grades, additional health-related experience, research projects, etc.)  when appropriate.  If you have not yet been accepted by late spring ,send a letter to the schools that still have you on a waiting list and indicate your continued interest in their programs. 

• Prepare backup plans. If you choose to reapply that summer, you will need to have an improved application, so start the improving now. If you are rejected, don't panic; talk to admissions officers and Advisory Committee members then decide on a course of action. 

• If accepted, celebrate! Investigate financial aid, housing, etc., if you have not already done so. Finish your courses with good grades; many medical schools require you to submit a transcript so they can view your final grades (especially the grades of any prerequisite courses you have yet to complete).

NOTE:   This timeline presumes you plan to enter professional school immediately following graduation. In fact, an increasing number of students apply a year or two following graduation, allowing them to utilize the full four years of college to complete their academic requirements and/or to use the year(s) following graduation to gain further service or health care experience (e.g. Peace Corps, Americorps, Teach for America, employment, etc.).