General Application Information
Applying to health professional graduate programs is a long and sometimes complicated process, but Pre-Health Advising is here to help.
Building on the Mandatory Check-Up series from sophomore year, Pre-Health Advising supports applicants to further reflect on their journey and assess their application timeline. Between workshops and events, partnerships with alumni and healthcare professionals, individual advising appointments, and application walk-in hours, Pre-Health Advising provides a number of services and resources to help students and alumni navigate and prepare for the application process. This includes the Composite Letter service, which serves as both an applicant preparation tool and as a letter of recommendation that can be used in program applications.
One of the most important decisions you will make in the application process is deciding when to apply. There is no one timeline that fits all students. It all depends on when you can submit your strongest possible application.
A lot of planning must go into preparing a competitive application, so it's important to carefully consider your timeline. Pre-Health Advising emphasizes the importance of applying when you are the most competitive applicant you can be; do NOT rush your application timeline. Being competitive relies on both academic and extracurricular plans AND experiences. You will need to assess when you will be the most competitive applicant.
Things to consider when determining your application timeline:
Academic Accomplishment
- Have you finished ALL pre-requisites? When will these be completed?
- How have you performed in those courses? Do you need more time to improve?
- When will you be ready to take your admission exam? You should not plan to take these exams multiple times.
Experience
- Community Service should be substantial and consistent. If you just started, you’re not ready.
- Have you gained clinical experience? Some programs have specific requirements.
Support
- Do you have professors/PIs/supervisors who can write letters of support?
- Are your family/friends are supportive of your goals?
- Have you utilized the Emory's Pre-Health Advising services?
Your professional and personal goals
- Are you sure of your professional goal?
- Do you need/want some time for other experiences between undergrad and graduate school?
- Do you need time to save for/pay for your next program?
Many of the health professions utilize Centralized Application Services as their primary application. Centralized Application Services (CAS) provide standardized information to the individual health professions schools from a single application completed online. This allows applicants to submit one application to multiple schools. Although many individual schools will also require a secondary application, the CAS streamlines things by serving as a hub for transcripts, entrance exams, and letters of recommendation.
If a school participates in a CAS you MUST use that service to apply to the professional school. It is important to submit your primary application EARLY in the application process. Applications will take longer than just a few hours to complete. You should begin to prepare well in advance of when you plan to apply.
The websites for each Centralized Application Service include detailed instructions and information for students. It is critical that you read ALL instructions before beginning your application. The primary application will be the first thing schools see when evaluating your application, so it is critical that you utilize all the resources available to you to help you prepare an error-free application.
Most health professional programs require students to take a standardized admission exam as a part of the application process. Different programs require different entrance examinations. The entrance exam is a critical part of the application process and will be weighed heavily in the admission process.
Depending on your chosen profession, there may be a number of courses you need to complete in order to be prepared to start studying for your entrance exam. For most entrance exams, we recommend you begin studying 3-4 months in advance of the exam. You should plan to take your entrance exam when you are at your most prepared. If you find yourself rushing to take the exam in order to apply within a certain application cycle, you should talk with your pre-health advisor about your application timeline.
Adding Transcripts
Emory Continuing Writing Requirement
If the professional school you are applying to requests an explanation of Emory's Continuing Writing Requirement, click here to access a general explanation of our requirement that you can send directly to the school.
If the school requires a personalized letter detailing the specific courses you completed, please complete this CWRT Explanation Form. We will respond to these requests within 3 business days.