Information for Second Year Students
- Continue meeting with your HPAC advisor at least once per semester. You will want to discuss your strengths and areas to develop further, courses to take, other experiences to have (research, volunteering, clinical, shadowing, internships, work, leadership, etc.), and your goals, plans, and timeline. If you haven’t already, discuss with your HPAC advisor about studying abroad if you are interested and if you plan to take gap/glide year or two.
- Discuss your grades to date, goals going forward, and strategies to meet those goals. Grades are not destiny and programs are most forgiving of grades in your first year and lesser extent your second year. However, grades do impact acceptance rates. Be aware of the national statistics overall (AAMC Grid MCAT Score & GPA). Developing a plan is important.
- Reflect on your motivation to become a health professional. You will need to articulate your motivation when you apply.
- Continue to review requirements and expectations of the pre-health tracks you are interested in.
- Start investigating potential programs to apply to and their entrance requirements. As part of that, do review the relevant articualtion agreements Skidmore has with other institutions.
- Look for opportunities (research, clinical, volunteering, shadowing, internships, work, leadership, etc.) for winter break and summer, and apply as necessary.
- Review application process and discuss with your HPAC advisor as part of your planning. Be sure to use the HPAC Interview Timeline Excel Spreadsheet to assist you.
- Continue to explore opportunities on campus.
- If you haven’t already, explore research opportunities on campus.
- Explore opportunities off-campus during the academic year (clinical, volunteering, shadowing, internships, work, leadership, etc.)
- Continue to develop your Competencies and Experiences worksheet.
- Take advantage of the relevant opportunities, activities, and experiences offered. In particular, keep an eye out for e-mails from HPAC and the Career Development Center.
- Develop your resume/CV and use the resources available from the Career Development Center.
- Plan for when you are taking the relevant entrance exam if required (e.g., MCAT). For medicine, besides the MCAT, you do want to think about CASPER and AAMC PREview.
- Continue to develop professional relationships with faculty members and other professionals. These relationships serve as the foundation for letters of recommendation.
- If you have accomodations, please review the guidelines and requirements to apply
for accommodations on the relevant standardized tests. The MCAT for example needs
prior verification and a current evaluation.
- MCAT Accommodations Application Guidelines & Requirements - note, a current evaluation is required in addition to previous verification. Overview of MCAT Accommodations.
- DAT Accommodations
- OAT Accommodations
- PCAT Accommodations
- GRE Accommodations