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Prehealth Advising

Early Assurance
Programs

Penn State has several early assurance opportunities for students interested in health professions. Check below for more information on these opportunities.

Established in 1996, this is an agreement between the Eberly College of Science and the Penn State College of Medicine.

University Park students within the Eberly College of Science can apply to the College of Medicine after their second year if they have met the following criteria:

  • completed 8 of the 12 following course requirements***
  • earned a Penn State cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or above

***Course Requirements

  1. General Biology with lab 1 - BIOL 110; For BMB students, MICRB 201 and 202 or 203

  2. General Biology with lab 2 - BIOL 230W or BIOL 240W; For BMB students, BMB 251 and BMB 252

  3. General/Inorganic Chemistry with lab 1 - CHEM 110/111

  4. General/Inorganic Chemistry with lab 1 - CHEM 112/113

  5. Organic Chemistry 1 - CHEM 210

  6. Organic Chemistry 2 with lab - CHEM 212, and CHEM 213W

  7. Physics with lab 1 - PHYS 250 or PHYS 211

  8. Physics with lab 2 - PHYS 251 or PHYS 212 (with PHYS 213/214 anticipated)

  9. Biochemistry (1 semester) - BMB 401 

  10. Statistics course (1 semester) - STAT 200 or 250

  11. English 1 - ENGL 15 or ENGL 30 (or ENGL/CAS 137H)

  12. English 2 - ENGL 202 (or ENGL/CAS 138T)

Students applying through the Penn State Schreyer Honors College’s early assurance opportunity for the College of Medicine cannot submit a second application through the Eberly College of Science.

There are no exceptions to these requirements.

If students are interested in this program, they must submit an application to the Prehealth Advising office with Dr. Melissa Krajcovic in their fourth semester at the University Park campus. Applications must include three letters of reference, and at least two of those three should be from Penn State faculty or staff, preferably from the Eberly College of Science, who can speak to a candidate’s potential to pursue medical studies. Interviews may be conducted by Dr. Krajcovic, and qualified applicants will then be forwarded to the College of Medicine for an interview. If students are accepted into the program, they would be notified during the summer. Accepted students would generally remain at the University Park campus for four years (but in an extraordinary case, a student could leave after the third year of the Premedicine major). The MCAT is not required for application to the program, but it must be taken in the junior year prior to matriculation.

Requirements if accepted:

  • maintain a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher
  • complete remaining requirements for their undergraduate degree
  • take the MCAT between junior and senior year and perform at or above a composite score of 511

Formal acceptance to the Penn State College of Medicine is contingent upon successful completion of academic requirements for the undergraduate degree, continued demonstration of personal integrity, and a submission of the final transcript.

Established in 2016, this is a memorandum of understanding between the Eberly College of Science and Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.

Students at the University Park campus can apply to the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine through the Eberly College of Science during the Spring semester of their second year, if they have met the following criteria:

  • completed first-year English
  • completed 8 of the 10 math/science requirements***
  • earned a Penn State cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or above

 

  1. MATH 140
  2. MATH 141
  3. BIOL 110
  4. BIOL 230W
  5. CHEM 110/111
  6. CHEM 112/113
  7. CHEM 210
  8. CHEM 212/213W
  9. PHYS 250 or PHYS 211/213
  10. PHYS 251 or PHYS 212/214

In the event of advanced placement (AP), international baccalaureate (IB), or advanced standing credit in the aforementioned courses, applicants will still be required to take substituted upper-level science courses with same amount of credit weight. For pre-approval of a course intended to substitute, consultation with the director of premedicine majors is required before the course is taken.

There are no exceptions to these requirements.

If students are interested in this program, they will submit an application to the Prehealth Advising office with the director, Dr. Melissa Krajcovic, in their fourth semester (spring semester) at the University Park campus. Interviews may be conducted by Dr. Krajcovic, and qualified applicants will then be forwarded to the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine for an interview. If students are accepted into the program, they will be notified during the summer. Accepted students complete their four-year bachelor’s degree at the University Park campus. The DAT is not required for application to the program, but it must be taken in the junior year. Required DAT performance level will be designated by the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.

Established in 2017, this is a memorandum of understanding between the Eberly College of Science and Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Drexel University.

Penn State students from any campus can apply to Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Drexel University via the Eberly College of Science during the Spring semester of their second year. Because there is some flexibility in prerequisite course selections, interested students are encouraged to discuss their intentions as early as possible with the Director of Science Premedicine Majors to optimize course selection plans that will fit with the student’s intended academic major. General criteria include the following:

  • must have completed first-year English
  • must have completed at least eight of the following preparatory course requirements*
  • must have a Penn State cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or above
  1. MATH 140 (highly recommended)
  2. BIOL 110
  3. BIOL 230W or BIOL 240W
  4. CHEM 110/111
  5. CHEM 112/113
  6. CHEM 210
  7. CHEM 212/213W or CHEM 202/203 or CHEM 210 (or 202)  with biochemistry**
  8. PHYS 250 or PHYS 211/213
  9. PHYS 251 or PHYS 212/214
  10. MICRB 201/202 or MICRB 106/107
  11. PSYCH 100 or higher
  12. STAT 200 or 250

**For other accepted course combinations in organic chemistry, biochemistry, and cellular and molecular biology, consult with the director.

In the event of advanced placement (AP), international baccalaureate (IB), or advanced standing credit in the aforementioned courses, applicants will still be required to take substituted upper-level science courses with same amount of credit weight. For pre-approval of a course intended to substitute, consultation with the director of premedicine majors is required before the course is taken.

There are no exceptions to these requirements.

If students are interested in this program they will submit an application to the Prehealth Advising office with the director, Dr. Melissa Krajcovic, in their fourth semester (spring semester) at the University Park campus. Interviews may be conducted by Dr. Krajcovic, and qualified applicants will then be forwarded to Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Drexel University for an interview. If students are accepted into the program, they will be notified during the summer. Accepted students complete their four-year bachelor’s degree at the University Park campus. The OAT is not required for application to the program, but it must be taken in the junior year. Required OAT performance level will be designated by Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Drexel University.