Medical, osteopathy, podiatry, optometry, dental and veterinary
schools require you to apply about a year in advance (summer prior
to the start of senior year). This means that you must complete the
required courses in three years. Absence of an important
prerequisite on your record at the time you apply may lead to
rejection (and will impair your performance on the standardized
tests), and will cost you a year's delay in entry to professional
school. The following principal requirements are common to most
professional schools:
A year of biology with labs: Bio. 1210 and 1220, including the
laboratory component, the basic principles of biology course
designed for prospective biology majors, is quite suitable for
pre-health professions students.
Two years of Chemistry with labs: CHE 1210, 1220 (General
Chemistry) and CHE 2230, 2240 (Organic Chemistry) which includes
labs.
A year of Physics with labs: either PHY 1610, 1620 (normally
taken by biology majors) or PHY 1930, 1940(normally taken by
physics and chemistry majors) which includes labs.
One full year of English, minimum.
Many schools require a year of mathematics. MTH 1210, 1220 will
fulfill this requirement. You ought to take a foreign language; if
you plan to work in the New York metropolitan area, a knowledge of
Spanish is desirable. Should you want to pursue research or apply
for an MD/Ph.D. program, you ought to study the languages
appropriate to the discipline. You will need to be reasonably
expert in appropriate computer languages.
Some health professions schools have additional requirements.
For instance, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
requires (in addition to animal experience) at least one semester
of Biochemistry and one semester of Microbiology. The SUNY State
College of Optometry requires, in addition to the general listing
of courses, at least one semester of General Psychology and one
semester of Abnormal Psychology, plus one semester of statistics
(MTH 1210) in addition to Calculus, and one year of social science
courses.
It is important for students to include courses that will
develop verbal and quantitative skills, such as those with
extensive reading and writing and those with statistical analysis
and interpretation of charts and graphs. Some of the departments
offering such courses include English, philosophy, history,
psychology, economics, sociology, and government and politics.
Apart from the fulfillment of their major and pre-health
profession requirements, students are encouraged to take courses in
the social sciences and the humanities. Professional schools state
their preference for "well-rounded" applicants and you should
certainly want to obtain a broad education from your college
experience. Be sure, as well, you have learned to write with ease.
Professional schools expect their students to be literate.
Major subject is unimportant (in spite of cherished beliefs to
the contrary). The professional schools accept all kinds of majors.
Naturally, biology is close to the interests of most students
planning a career in these fields. The best advice is to major in
whatever you like--your grades will be better and you will be a
better person for it. Whatever major you choose, be sure you take a
balanced program, i.e., take more than the minimum number of
courses in each of the three broad areas of knowledge--social and
behavioral sciences, arts and humanities, and science and
mathematics. Professional schools are looking for candidates whose
liberal arts background matches their strong performance in the
basic science requirements.
Students who are not science majors may want to take additional
biology courses. These could be chosen from Grnetics, Physiology,
Molecular Cell Biology, Embryology, or Biochemistry.
Admission to Articulation Agreement
Programs
St. John’s students wishing to participate in our of our
articulation agreement programs with such schools as Manhattan
College or NYU-Poly must meet minimum entrance requirements as set
by the articulation program schools before progressing into those
programs. Once a student begins their matriculation at one of
our articulation agreement program schools, he/she is no longer
considered a St. John’s University student and will be required to
pay all the cost associated with attending the articulation program
college/university. Students interested in obtaining financial aid
must apply for aid through the articulation program
college/university. For specific program information, please
consult the St. John’s College Dean’s Office.