Pre-Health Professional Programs
A career goal in the health professions is a challenging and rewarding one for any aspiring student. If you are interested in careers in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dental, optometry, or veterinary medicine, our Pre-health Professional Program will help you prepare for these highly competitive career tracks through strong curricula, academic and professional advisement. Our Pre-Health Professional Program is a support program and not an academic major.
Although students from various academic majors are eligible to pursue most of these pre-health tracks, the curriculum for Hilbert students majoring in Biology and Forensic Science generally complement most of the course requirements for these tracks. In addition, the support program assists in advising students for graduate study leading to MS or Ph.D. degrees in the biological sciences and related fields such as genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, and neuroscience.
Advisement
We recommend all pre-health track students register with the Pre-health Professional Program during the first semester at college or as soon as they become interested in pursuing a health profession track by filling out the pre-professional declaration form. Specific admission requirements vary from one professional school to another. Therefore, we recommend all interested students make initial advisement appointments with the Pre-Health Advisor to ensure they understand the track-specific requirements set by their intended professional schools. Afterward, students should work closely with the Pre-Health Advisor and their Academic Advisor to discuss career goals and expectations, choose track-specific electives, and plan extra-curricular or supplemental academic experiences, including internship, research opportunities, and volunteer activities. The Pre-Health Advisor evaluates each student’s progress in the respective track to maintain their good standing status.
Additionally, the Pre-Health Professional Program provides individualized advisement to all registered students, offers specialized workshops, hosts various information sessions or academic seminars from time to time to assist students in learning about different health career options and professional schools, and helps them complete the application process
Requirements
The minimum GPA requirement for most health professional schools is 3.0. Students with a GPA lower than this should contact their Academic Advisor for academic assistance. Admission into these professional schools is highly competitive, and higher GPAs are needed for most health professions, with many programs looking for a GPA of 3.5 or better. In some programs, science GPAs are often evaluated separately. For example, a GPA of 3.75 is considered a competitive science GPA for most medical schools. In addition to GPA, some schools require competitive scores on professional exams such as MCAT, DAT, GRE, PCAT, OAT, etc., and evidence of the applicant’s professionalism, maturity, sound reasoning, integrity, and true commitment to helping others.
Some schools also require candidate’s shadowing experience with different health professionals over time, research experience in labs, and various types of volunteer experience. Our Pre-Health Professional Program will guide students to prepare for these qualifications as well. In partnership with other Hilbert College offices, the program also assists pre-professional students with:
- Interview Preparation
- Cover Letter, Resume, and Personal Statement Creation
- Observation and Connection to Experience Opportunities
- Financial Literacy
Pre-Law Professional Program
A career goal in the legal profession is a challenging and rewarding one for any aspiring student. If you are interested in a post-graduate legal education, our Pre-Law Professional Program at Hilbert College will help you prepare for a legal career through strong curricula, academic and professional advisement. Alternatively, the Pre-Law Professional Program is relevant to non-legal majors and can provide additional knowledge and skills to students majoring in programs such as English, Business, and Criminal Justice at Hilbert. Please note that the Pre-Law Professional Program is a support program and not an academic major. The support program guides all students interested in a legal track, and further assists in advising those students who are interested in graduate study leading to a JD or SJD (also known as a JSD) degree.
Advisement
We recommend all pre-law track students register with the Pre-Law Professional Program during the first semester at college or as soon as they become interested in pursuing a legal profession track by filling out the pre-professional declaration form. Specific admission requirements vary between law schools. Therefore, we recommend all interested students make initial advisement appointments with the Pre-Law Advisor to ensure they understand the specific requirements set by their intended law school. Afterward, students should work closely with the Pre-Law Advisor and their Academic Advisor to discuss career goals and expectations, choose track-specific electives, and plan extra-curricular or supplemental academic experiences, including internship, research opportunities, and volunteer activities.
Additionally, the Pre-Law Professional Program provides individualized advisement to all registered students, offers specialized workshops, hosts various information sessions or academic seminars from time to time to assist students in learning about different legal career options and law schools, and helps them complete the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) application process. All law schools require students to use the LSAC application process and pre-law students are advised on how to navigate this process. This process includes the extensive character and fitness portion required for admission to law school and forms the basis for the state bar application process required to sit for the bar examination and, ultimately, become licensed.
Requirements
The minimum GPA requirement for law schools varies between academic years, but generally UB School of Law targets a minimum of a 3.5 UGPA and a Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score of 155 as medians. Alternatively, some law schools accept a GRE score instead of a LSAT score. Some studies have found that your undergraduate grade point average and LSAT score are correlated to success in law school and on the bar examination which explains the emphasis by law schools on these two scores. Entry into law school is very competitive and based on quantitative and qualitative data. Students with a GPA lower than this should contact their Academic Advisor for academic assistance. In addition to your UGPA and LSAT score, law schools expect evidence of the applicant’s professionalism, maturity, sound reasoning, integrity, and true commitment to helping others. The Pre-Law Professional Program will guide students to prepare for these qualifications as well. In partnership with other Hilbert College offices, the program also assists pre-professional students with:
- Interview Preparation
- Cover Letter, Resume, and Personal Statement Creation
- Observation and Connection to Experience Opportunities
- Financial Literacy