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A student who plans to attend a professional school of medicine,
dentistry, optometry, pharmacy or veterinary medicine should plan a
program of studies at Oglethorpe in consultation with a faculty
member who is a designated pre-medical advisor. It is desirable for
the pre-medical student to have a pre-medical advisor from the
outset of the planning of his or her undergraduate program. It is
essential that the student establish contact with a pre-medical
advisor by the second semester of the student’s freshman year.
Professional schools of health science require for admission
successful completion of a specified sequence of courses in the
natural sciences, courses in the humanities and social sciences, as
well as the submission of acceptable scores on appropriate
standardized tests. However, pre-medical students have wide latitude
of choice with regard to the major selected. Students should
familiarize themselves with the particular admission requirements of
the type of professional school they plan to enter prior to deciding
on the course of study to be pursued at Oglethorpe. An excellent
starting point for this preliminary study is "Health Professions
Links" at
http://www.naahp.org.
Some schools of medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine will
admit highly qualified applicants who have completed all admission
requirements for the professional school during three years of study
at an undergraduate institution. (Four years of undergraduate work
and a bachelor’s degree are standard requirements; admission after
three years is highly atypical and is not available at all schools.)
It is possible for students to enter an allopathic, osteopathic or
podiatric medical school, dental school or veterinary school (no
other health professions schools are eligible) after three years of
study at Oglethorpe and to complete their bachelor’s degree under
the Professional Option. By specific arrangement between the
professional school and Oglethorpe University, and in accordance
with regulations of both institutions, after successful completion
of all academic requirements of the first year in the professional
school, the student receives a degree from Oglethorpe University
when certified to be in good standing at the professional school.
Students interested in this possibility should consult with their
advisors to make certain that all conditions are met; simultaneous
enrollment in several science courses each semester during the three
years at Oglethorpe likely will be required to meet minimum
expectations for taking professional school admission tests and to
meet admission requirements for the professional school. All
Oglethorpe core courses must be completed before the student enrolls
in the professional school.
An important note for international students: It is extremely
difficult for international applicants who are not citizens or
permanent residents of the United States to gain admission to
American medical schools. State-supported medical schools rarely
consider international applicants; private medical schools that
accept international applicants generally require them to place in
escrow the equivalent of one to four years tuition and fees (U.S.
$40,000 to $200,000). There are very few scholarships available to
support any students at American medical schools; in order to
qualify for loans that are sponsored by the United States
government, the applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident.
International students who plan to become medical doctors by
completing their education at an American medical school should
consider these issues very carefully before enrolling in an
undergraduate pre-medical program in the United States.
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