Pre-health Program

Competition for admission to medical school or any professional health sciences school is very high; however, Texas A&M University-Texarkana offers a Pre-health program which can prepare students to be competitive applicants for medical, dental, pharmacy or other health related professional degree programs. In the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education (CASE) , the Pre-health program prepares students to meet the application requirements for medical or other health sciences professional schools. Additionally, the Biology Department provides pre-health students with one-on-one guidance and advice through Pre-health advisory committee comprised of experienced professors. Finally, the low student to faculty ratio at A&M-Texarkana provides students with opportunities to work with professors on undergraduate research program, or at medical facilities in the region, both of which give students an additional competitive edge for admission to health professions programs. TAMUT’s academic majors, Pre-health minor in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, and the prospect of working with professors on undergraduate research programs or at medical facilities in the region can give you that added competitive edge.

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Program Details

This program provides experienced guidance and the right combination of skills and knowledge--experience that you will need for future professional studies and careers in the health sciences.

A&M-Texarkana offers all the prerequisite courses for medical, pharmacy, dental, physician assistant, and physical therapy schools. If you major in one of the disciplines within College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, you can fit these courses into your normal degree and major requirements. If you are interested in majoring in engineering, business, or the social sciences, you can still complete these admission requirements by careful selection of your elective courses. In fact, most medical schools encourage students interested in a medical career to pursue a broad undergraduate study in the humanities and social sciences, as well as the sciences. Furthermore, as new areas in technology emerge, a functional understanding of engineering and technology is becoming an increasingly more important component of background education of Pre-health students. All of these essential courses, Pre-health advising, and opportunities for student research can be obtained at A&M-Texarkana.

The basic requirements for most medical, pharmacy, dental, and physical therapy schools as well as other health sciences professional schools are:

• General Biology with laboratory (2 semesters, 8 semester credit hours, should be taken in college)
• General Chemistry with laboratory (2 semesters, 8 semester credit hours, should be taken in college)
• Organic Chemistry with laboratory (2 semesters, 8 semester credit hours)
• College/University Physics with laboratory (2 semesters, 8 semester credit hours)
• Calculus (2 semesters, 6 – 8 semester credit hours)
• English, Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences (at least 24 semester credit hours, with a minimum of 6 semester credit hours in English)

However, a number of medical, pharmacy, dental, physical therapy, and veterinary schools may also require a semester of biochemistry, human anatomy and/physiology, and microbiology, cell and molecular biology, and/or advanced vertebrate biology. To expect to be competitive for admission to many medical/health sciences schools you should expect to maintain a “B” or better average in all these core courses. Some pharmacy schools require one semester of economics (micro/macro) and/or accounting.

Medical

The national standardized Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is required by almost all medical schools. This test emphasizes facility in scientific problem solving, critical analysis and reasoning skills, and a strong mastery of basic biology, chemistry, and physics concepts.

Recent accepted applicants to Texas medical schools had an average GPA of 3.78/4.00 and MCAT score of 29.9/45 (old MCAT) and 507.2/528 (new MCAT). Nationally the acceptance rate has been around 44% of all applicants, with 26% of those as re-applicants.

Since spring 2015, a new section, physiological and social behavior, was added to the MCAT test.

Dental

The general requirements for dental schools admission are similar to those for medical schools except  that they require the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) and the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT).  Recent accepted applicants to Texas dental schools had average GPAs of 3.51-3.74/4.0; an average DAT score of 19.5/30; and an average PAT score of 17.8.

Veterinary

Veterinary schools look at a number of different criteria in considering an applicant.  A strong and focused GPA and competitive scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) are important factors for admissions. However, it is essential to demonstrate a genuine familiarity and interest in the profession as confirmed through documented exposure to practice, research, or other areas of veterinary medicine. Acceptance rate is generally about one-half that for medical schools

Physical and Occupational Therapy 

Physical and occupational therapy schools offer a wide variety of professional training and career opportunities.  For example, athletic training, physical therapy, occupational therapy, molecular pathology, communication science and disorders, rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation sciences, audiology, clinical laboratory science, clinical practice management, speech-language pathology, and physician assistant represent some of the many careers available to those interested in the health sciences. Admission requirements are similar to those for medical schools, but require the GRE, rather than the MCAT, and often require additional coursework in anatomy & physiology, psychology and/or statistics.  Recent successful applicants to Texas schools had an average GPA between 3.0 – 3.6/4.0 and an average GRE score of 1162(527 verbal).  Acceptance rates vary depending on programs, but most are similar to those for medical schools.

Volunteer/Work Experience

In addition to demonstrating a high level of scholastic achievement and intellectual potential, all health profession schools look for significant and documented participation in volunteer or employment in health care activities, letters of recommendation from the institution’s pre-health sciences advisory committee and individuals with whom the candidate has had course work, experience in research, medical profession involvement, etc., as well as, information on extracurricular activities, and a strong personal statement supporting their interest in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, etc..

It should be noted that most medical schools will not accept College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits based on “life” experience to fulfill any of the premedical course requirements. Preparation at foreign universities, in most cases, must be supplemented by at least a year or more of course work at an accredited institution in the United States, and candidates must be proficient in both spoken and written English. Specific entrance requirements for medical schools are listed in Medical School Admission Requirements: United States and Canada.

Pre-Health Contact

If you have any further questions about our Pre-Health Program, please contact Dr. Nurul Alam, Professor of Biology in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education (CASE); Office: SCIT 318E; Tel: 903-334-6671,  E-mail-nurul.alam@tamut.edu.