Preparation for Healthcare Careers
Pre-Health Professions
Pre-health professions students must contact the Pre-Health Professions Program at John Carroll University for more information and for assistance in planning their educational programs and applications to professional schools. Students are also advised to consult current publications and websites relevant to their proposed area of study and preferred colleges. JCU supports, assists, and advises students pursuing a wide range of health and wellness professions, such as allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, chiropractic, podiatry, veterinary medicine, physician assistant/physician associate programs, nursing, pharmacy, genetic counseling, physical therapy, occupational therapy, certified anesthesiology assistant, public health, and optometry. Shadowing, career exploration, clinical experiences, and community service are all important components of a health professions program application.
Pre-medical and pre-dental students must take biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. Students are strongly advised to take genetics, biochemistry, statistics, calculus, and psychology to prepare for these highly competitive programs. Academic and experiential requirements for health professional programs and the standardized tests required for application can vary substantially and change on a regular basis, so students must check the details of specific programs and schools before submitting applications.
For additional details, please see the information below and the Preparation for Graduate and Professional Study section of this Bulletin and the Pre-Health Professions website (www.jcu.edu/prehealth).
Early Acceptance Programs/Dual Enrollment Programs
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) and John Carroll University have an Early Acceptance Program (EAP) Agreement whereby up to twenty seats per year are reserved for John Carroll students to enter LECOM’s medical, dental, and/or pharmacy schools. High school seniors, current JCU freshmen, and current JCU sophomores are eligible for this program. See the JCU website or the Pre-Health Professions Program for current application requirements and further details
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM) and John Carroll University have an Early Acceptance Program Agreement whereby up to twelve seats per year are reserved for John Carroll students to enter OU-HCOM’s osteopathic medical school at any of OU-HCOM's campuses (Cleveland, Dublin, and Athens). Established Ohio residents who are high school seniors or current JCU freshmen and meet admission requirements may apply for the program. See the JCU website or Pre-Health Professions Program for current application requirements and further details.
Pre-Health Professions Pathways
Students pursuing full four-year degree programs such as pre-medical, pre-dental, or other health professions programs normally earn the bachelor of science degree with a major in program, program, or program with a biochemistry concentration. Depending on the student's intended career field, exercise science or psychology can also be feasible options.
Students should familiarize themselves with the general admission requirements of the profession which they aspire to enter in addition to those specific to the schools of their choice. The Pre-Health Professions team (prehealth@jcu.edu) is available for individual advising. In addition, meetings are held each year to provide information for each class level. Faculty advisors are also available to act in an educational and advising capacity. Students are encouraged to utilize these resources and to consult the Pre-Health Professions Program website (https://www.jcu.edu/academics/college-of-health/pre-health-professions) for more information.
A number of careers are available in health and wellness. Students are encouraged to explore different fields. Most of these occupations require a baccalaureate degree with additional education at the graduate level. Information and advising are available from Pre-Health Professions.
The Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) is the University mechanism that provides letters of recommendation to health professional schools that require or prefer recommendation letters from a committee rather than individual faculty members. The committee’s letters are based on academic performance, committee interviews, and factors such as integrity, industry, maturity, commitment to social responsibility, and judgment. The committee also supplies feedback to students regarding their preparedness for applying to a health professional program, personal statement, and interview skills.
Current admission practices of health professional schools indicate student qualifications considerably higher than the minimum C average are required for matriculation. Therefore, normally a letter of evaluation will be written to these schools only for applicants who have attained a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 overall and 3.0 in science courses (biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics).
John Carroll also offers a program designed for students who want to fulfill the requirements for admission to medical school, dental school, and other health professional schools. This program is appropriate for students 1) who possess a bachelor’s degree in a discipline other than biology or chemistry and wish to pursue a health professions career; 2) who majored in chemistry or biology but struggled with the coursework as a traditional undergraduate; or 3) who have not been enrolled in courses in these disciplines for over five years. Post-baccalaureate students who have not received their undergraduate degree from John Carroll are encouraged to use the Health Professions Advisory Committee as the source of their letter of recommendation. Normally, such students should have completed 24 credit hours of coursework at John Carroll, which may include the semester in which they interview with the committee. More details are available at https://www.jcu.edu/academics/prehealth/graduate/pre-medical-post-baccalaureate-program.