Pre-Health FAQ

The Pre-Health Advising at UMass Lowell offers students information, advice, and support as they plan their coursework, get exposure to the profession, and prepare to apply to a variety of Health profession programs, including medical school, dental school, veterinary school, physician assistant programs, pharmacy school, optometry school, podiatry school, and other professions.  In addition to one-on-one advising, we offer workshops and programs for pre-health students and work with a variety of pre-health student clubs.

UMass Lowell students have been accepted to many medical schools, including:

• Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM)
• Brown
• Boston University
• Cornell
• Case Western Reserve University
• Dartmouth
• Drexel
• Harvard
• Jefferson
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM)
• New York Med
• Quinnipiac University
• Temple
• Tufts
• University of Connecticut
• University of Massachusetts
• University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM)
• University of Rochester
• University of Vermont
• And others

• Boston University
• Case Western Reserve University
• LECOM School of Dental Medicine
• Louisiana State
• Stony Brook
• Temple
• Tufts

You can major in anything you are interested in. There is no pre-med, pre-dental, or other pre-health major. There are certain science and other courses that you will need to take in order to apply to various Health professions programs. The Pre-Health advisors will help you understand what courses you need to take. If you are majoring in the sciences, many of the required courses for your major will cover the courses needed to apply to Health professions programs.

If you enter UMass Lowell as a freshman, you should attend the workshops we hold that cover what you need to know about preparing for health professions schools. Starting your sophomore year, you should make an appointment with one of the pre-health advisors each semester to make sure you are on track.  If you have transferred into UMass Lowell, you should also attend the workshops but also begin meeting with one of the pre-health advisors each semester to make sure you are on track.

You will find a list of the pre-health advisors on the Pre-Health Blackboard site and on the pre-health advising website. The advisors’ office location and link to schedule an appointment will be there.

MAGIC offers students individualized or small group support for introductory chemistry through organic chemistry II.

In addition, MAGIC prepares students for broader academic success by teaching learning strategies that can be utilized in any academic pursuit.

Allopathic medicine is the form of medicine we are most familiar with and focuses on diagnosing and treating disease. Allopathic medical schools grant doctors an M.D. degree. Osteopathic medicine approaches medicine from a more whole body perspective emphasizing how the different parts of the body influence the symptoms being seen. It gives specific training in manipulation as part of diagnosis and treatment. Osteopathic medical schools grant doctors a D.O. degree. Graduates with either degree are fully trained physicians and are found in all different areas of medicine.

A gap year(s) is the year (or two) between the time you graduate and the time you matriculate in your chosen health professions school.

The process of applying to many health professions schools (i.e. medical, dental, veterinary, podiatry, optometry) takes most of a year. In order to have no gap between graduating from UMass Lowell and matriculating at your chosen health professions school, you will need to apply at the end of your junior year. Many students are not ready and/or are not ideal candidates at that point and benefit in delaying their application until the end of their senior year or the year after they graduate.

This will result in a one or two year ‘gap’ between the time they graduate from UMass Lowell and they matriculate at their chosen health professions school.

Different pre-health events will be advertised on the ListServs, on Blackboard, through emails, and on University daily announcements.

Physician Assistants are healthcare providers who practice as an assistant to a doctor.  They are trained in a medical model (as opposed to a nursing model) to diagnose and treat illness, as well as provide preventative care in partnership with a physician supervisor. As members of healthcare teams, PAs take medical histories, examine and treat patients, make diagnoses, prescribe medications, order and interpret lab work and imaging, refer to specialists, assist in surgery, counsel patients and perform minor procedures. Physician Assistant programs are usually completed in 2 years after college as compared to 4 years for medical school.