ProHealth Seminars: Med School Prep for Post-Bacc Students
In addition to having a top-notch curriculum, Northwestern’s Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medicine program offers Professional Health (ProHealth) proseminars that are exclusive to Northwestern University School of Professional Studies (SPS) Professional Health students and are offered at no additional cost.
SPS sat down with Pre-Medicine faculty member Kate Schultz, who teaches the ProHealth proseminar courses and has helped hundreds of career changers and post-bacc students navigate returning to school later in life. She shares insights on how students can set themselves up for success during and after the program, as well as build a competitive med school application that reflects not just their GPA and MCAT score, but their personal story.
What gaps do the ProHealth proseminar courses fill for students beginning a professional health careers journey?
Navigating the pre-medicine path is complex, even for traditional students. When you factor in the condensed timeline of the post-bacc program and the other life responsibilities that are in play for returning students—family, full-time jobs, life events like having kids or wedding planning, maintaining social connections with friends, changing career paths and the identity disruption that it can sometimes cause—it makes it even more complicated.
Proseminar I: adjusting to life as a science student
The first proseminar course helps students with the transition to being a pre-medicine student, kind of like an extended orientation to the program.
Our students are coming from strong academic backgrounds, but they have different responsibilities and schedules now than they did as undergraduates, so there’s a learning curve. How they studied for their finance or world history exams in college may not directly translate to how they’ll need to study for physics exams and labs. We discuss these nuances and strategies.
The course also helps separate facts from fiction about what they need to prioritize, how to plan their time in the program to be a competitive applicant, and to ask any questions they have.
The course also helps students understand the importance of other non-academic requirements, so they can start seeking out those opportunities early. The academic structure of Northwestern’s post-bacc pre-medicine program prepares students really well for the MCAT and gives them the academic prerequisite requirements for med school. However, students also need hands-on clinical experience, volunteer work, shadowing, research, etc. It can become really easy to let those other aspects fall to the wayside.
Proseminar II: preparing for the med school application cycle
The second proseminar course is entirely focused on completing the med school (or other professional health school) application, which is its own marathon and takes time to prepare for. The course really gives them the guidance and feedback they need to position themselves as the strongest applicant they can be, and it has built-in accountability.
How does ProHealth Proseminar II guide students through the med school application process?
I pitched the idea for this course to help build in a structured opportunity within the curriculum to guide students through the application process, getting feedback on each component of the application, and to help prepare them for what comes after they submit it. We walk through every component of the application and the overall process, from start to finish:
- Medical School Selection. We discuss considerations for selecting medical schools/professional programs, which can be different for a post-bacc student versus a traditional undergrad. For example, our students often have location restraints due to their partner's jobs and not being able to relocate for medical school, the financial component can be different for post-bacc students vs. undergrads, and other considerations.
- Personal Statement. We go through the writing process and the do's and don'ts of what should be in a personal statement. They'll write a draft, get my feedback on it, revise it, and then submit a second draft for additional feedback.
- Activities. We do the same thing with the activities section of the application, as that is an extremely important aspect of the application and can really set applicants apart from one another.
- Mock Interviews. They do mock interviews, which they reflect upon and get feedback on their performance. We discuss how to approach interview questions effectively and how not to fall into certain traps for different interview questions.
- Glide Year Plan. We plan how to spend their glide year (time between submitting the application and starting med school) effectively and prepare for the transition to med school.
What parts of the medical school application process surprise students the most?
I think students are surprised by just how long the application process is and how much dedicated time is required for it.
The written pieces of the application seem like they should be easy, because they're writing about themselves and the things they've done. But I always tell students that it's probably the hardest thing they've ever had to write. It's not a cover letter for a job. It's not a one-and-done draft that takes 30 minutes. It's absolutely not something ChatGPT can write or even draft for them. The activities listing is not just a copy-and-paste of the bullet points in their resume. It takes time to convey the information effectively in the character limits the application imposes on students.
And the application itself is super tedious. There's a reason why the application portal opens a month before students can even submit it—they need that time to start entering all the details. It's not something they should do hastily one afternoon the day before they want to apply.
The ProHealth Proseminar courses are offered at no additional cost. Why was it important to integrate this support into the curriculum?
I feel very strongly that any pre-medicine post-bacc program should fully prepare its students for the med school process, including both the academics and the application itself.
I proposed these courses a decade ago because I saw during my time as an advisor that students needed additional guidance beyond advising appointments to really be ready to apply as soon as the program was done. Structuring these components like a course helps ensure students are making progress and not pushing it off until the very end of the program. It also gives them a few built-in checkpoints within the program.
Students really need personalized guidance through this process. It's not something they can do entirely on their own. Career changing post-bacc students already are trying to navigate this complex process and can feel like they're already behind, so they can be tempted to hire a consultant to help them stay on track and set themselves up for success.
Students in a formal post-bacc program shouldn't have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to an outside pre-med consultant to learn what they need to do to get into medical school. If a pre-med program doesn't offer pre-med specific advising services as part of its offerings, it's doing a disservice to its students.
Beyond grades and test scores, what qualities or experiences help med school applicants stand out?
The intrinsic motivation to pursue this path is important, as is demonstrating that applicants know what they're getting themselves into. That's why clinical experiences are so important. They need to be able to articulate why they want to be a physician (or a PA, PT, or whichever clinical career they're pursuing). It's not an easy question to answer, and the admissions committees want to see that reflection.
The MCAT changed in 2015 to include psychosocial components, so it's not all about the core sciences and grades anymore. Yes, you need to have a strong GPA and a good MCAT score, but the life experiences, exploration of the field, and those other interpersonal competencies are extremely important.
What makes a personal statement memorable and effective?
Essentially, your personal statement needs to tell your story. I love it when I read a personal statement in my course and think, "there is no other student who could have written this personal statement, because it's truly unique to them."
My favorite personal statements are the ones I read that make me feel like I've gotten to know the student, make me really understand why they want to pursue this career, and would make me want to talk to them in person in an interview. That's really hard to do in 5300 characters, which is why my proseminar course goes through several drafts over several months to let that develop.
In a class of 20 students, I'll have 20 very different personal statements, which is a good thing. There isn't an exact formula for an effective med school personal statement, so it's hard to say, "do these three things, and you'll have a perfect personal statement." It's an iterative process.
What advice would you give someone considering a career in medicine who isn’t sure where to start?
- Connect with a healthcare professional. If you know someone who works in healthcare, ask if you can shadow them for a day and/or if you can buy them a cup of coffee and do a 30-minute informational interview to learn more about what their real work looks like. Or at a minimum, when you go in for your annual physical and you're talking with the various providers, ask them a few questions about what they like and don't like about their jobs.
- Find volunteer and clinical opportunities. I also always recommend that folks start volunteering at a hospital or a clinic as soon as they start thinking about becoming pre-med. You'll need shadowing and clinical experience when you apply to medical school, so it's important to start early to have enough hours on your application —it’ll be time well spent.
- Most importantly, it's critical to know if you even like the work.
Sometimes students have a glamorized view of medicine because of media portrayals and because, for better or worse, physicians are put on a pedestal as one of the most prestigious careers, not to mention the potential salary can be alluring.
It's an extremely important career that can do a lot of good in the community, and yes, it eventually pays well, but you must truly love the work. It's a career that comes with a lot of student loan debt, a high risk of burnout, and a lot of stress and scrutiny.
Ensuring that you know what you're getting into and that you really love the patient care aspects and everything that comes with the role is important. It's worthwhile to explore that before you invest in the tuition, application costs, etc. that comes along with the pre-med and medical school journey.
There are also a lot of other careers besides being a physician that are integral to the healthcare system, directly impact and work with patients, and can be more flexible and take less time than becoming a physician. I think it's important to explore those options as well to find which one best aligns with your values, your interests, and your goals.
Healthcare is a noble profession—no matter what your role is. Being a doctor is great, but it's not the only option.
Interested in other types of medicine? Explore other SPS professional health programs
Post-Bacc Certificate Programs:
Preparatory Coursework Programs:
- Pre-medicine Completion
- Pre-physical Therapy Completion
- Pre-physician Assistant Completion
- Pre-speech Pathology
Designed for career changers, courses in these programs are primarily offered in the evening, with some labs held during weekends. To learn more about the professional health careers programs, fill out the form below and we will be in touch with you soon.