Pursuing a career in medicine is a long and arduous process. The Prehealth Office advises, counsels, and provides resources for students about academic requirements and other credentials necessary for application to health professions schools. Students interested in Hunter’s nursing, public health, nutrition, or medical laboratory science programs should contact our advisors at the Brookdale campus on E. 25th Street.

The entire purpose of premedical planning is to become a competitive candidate. The medical profession (and the other professional schools of dentistry, veterinary, optometry etc.) attracts individuals with diverse backgrounds, talents and interests. Your undergraduate education should therefore include a variety of experiences, with a strong emphasis on communication skills, the social sciences, and humanities, in addition to your excellent foundation in the natural sciences. Towards this end the Prehealth Professions Office provides workshops on pertinent topics: interviewing techniques, writing the personal statement, financial aid for health professionals, as well as a credentials service which houses your evaluations and letters of recommendation in preparation for applications to your professional school. 

The prehealth program is NOT a major. Nor is it not necessary to major in a scientific discipline (biology, physics etc.) in order to be considered a serious candidate for medical school. However, you will need to demonstrate a strong showing in the science courses required of all health professions schools: general and cell and molecular biology, general and organic chemistry, physics and mathematics. Additionally, you will have to do well on the professional exam for the health profession you choose (the MCAT for medicine, the DAT for dentistry, etc.). These exams all require exceptional reading and comprehension skill and speed! Therefore, taking many courses that require lots of reading and writing will better prepare you for these entrance exams and for your career.

This website is not intended to substitute for seeing your premed advisor!! We only hope to give you information that you can explore at your leisure and that you can share with friends and relatives who may need to know just what you have committed yourself to for the next several years. It will also be helpful for you to share this information with other academic advisors you may see, including your major advisor.

We look forward to helping you with your dream as we have for many, many other students. Come see us and make that dream a reality. Good Luck!!

Mrs. L. Wood-Hill
Director of Pre-Health Advising
Pre-Professional Advisor and Director of Pre-Medical Committee