Pre-Med/Pre-Health

Our pre-health advising program provides personal, individualized academic counseling to help you create a comprehensive long-term strategy that assists you in building successful applications to medical schools or health professions programs. Our pre-health advisors will have in-depth conversations with you around critical topics, such as:

• Academic planning and course selection
• MCAT and other admission exams
• Undergraduate research opportunities, including summer research experiences and REU’s (Research Experiences for Undergraduates)
• Clinical experiences through employment, internships, co-ops, or volunteering
• Filed work, community service, and volunteering opportunities
• Application strategies and timelines
• Leadership and critical thinking skills
• Events, alumni mentoring panels, guests lecturers, and presentations

The pre-health advising program is open to students in any major at RIT.

How Does Pre-Health Advising Work?

Preparation: Follow a Proven Path to Medical School

RIT students routinely build highly competitive medical school applications and excel at entrance exams like the MCAT. Students choose from a wide array of science and health science majors, including biology, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, exercise science, global public health ,medical illustration, neuroscience, nutritional sciences, psychology, and the individualized program. RIT’s top ranked co-op program (#6 nationally by U.S. News & World Report, 2025) opens up pathways to relevant real-world experience. Faculty connect students to research opportunities in areas critical to a medical school education or a graduate school in the health professions. Each step of the way students work with advisors from the RIT Office of Pre-Health Professions.

• Review requirements for medical school and graduate programs in the health sciences.
• Engage in 1:1 advising to plan out course selection, clinical experiences or internships, co-ops, hands-on experiences, community service, research, and more. 

Guidance: Manage Entrance Exams and Applications

With the dream of medical school comes the reality of entrance exams and applications. It’s hard for you to know what to prioritize and when. That’s why advisors from the Office of Pre-Health Professions connect with you during your first year. We can provide you with a sense of timing on when to secure research or clinical opportunities, when to switch gears and begin to study for entrance exams and when to begin your applications. Advisors guide you through the process with information sessions, personal statement workshops, mock interviews, and tips on exam prep.

Experience: Acquire Impressive, Hands-On Experience

A strong GPA is key to getting into medical and graduate school, but students need to accomplish so much more to build an application that stands out. In their first year at RIT, students work with advisors in the Office of Pre-Health Professions to build a strategy that lines up the academic and real-world experience medical and graduate school admissions are looking for. Advisors focus on pre-planning and frequent check-ins to make sure students capture opportunities for research, course work, and exam prep.

• Focus on Meaningful Clinicals: Getting to know the real-world of medicine is critical to making the right academic and career choices. That’s why advisors in the Office of Pre-Health Professions work with you early in your second year to identify the most meaningful clinical opportunities. Advisors know these experiences are highly prized by medical schools and graduate programs in the health professions, so they collaborate with you to find clinicals that immerse you in patient experience and clinical teamwork. And if you’re on a co-op path, students can meet that requirement with clinicals.
• Gain Hands-On Experience: At RIT, you have a range of opportunities to gain hands-on experience that can set you apart from other medical and graduate school applicants. 
  • RIT Ambulance: Composed of state-certified students, staff, and alumni volunteers, RIT Ambulance: is a community run Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agency which responds to emergency medical calls primarily on the RIT campus.
  • Human Anatomy and Physiology Courses: A selection of hands-on dissection courses enable you to gain experience in histological examination, actual and simulated anatomical dissections, and physiology experiments with human subjects.
  • Learning Labs and Facilities: Science and Health Sciences labs and facilities provide tactile exploration of human anatomy, ultrasound, kinesiology and exercise science, patient care, and more.
  • Undergraduate Research Opportunities: With research initiatives spread across all nine colleges, you’ll have ample opportunity to engage in undergraduate research in key areas such as biomedical and health care engineering, community nutrition, chemistry and biochemistry, global health issues, personalized health care technology, autism and neurodiversity, the life sciences, and neuroscience, among others.

Community: Join a Strong Support Community

When you connect with the Office of Pre-Health Professions you automatically join a powerful support community. Advisors know the value of connecting you to peers and mentors who are near the end of their undergraduate journey. That is why we pull cohorts together, to collaborate on applications, share tactics on getting experience through clinicals, and build a network that will help you long into medical and graduate school. Our alumni are also valuable resources for advice on their experiences. They also serve as guests on panels and participate in mock interview sessions.

 In addition, clubs and student organizations build peer relationships and support systems, encourage knowledge sharing, and establish student peer networks. Some popular clubs include:

• Global Public Health Association
• Health Science and Technology Student Association

LECOM Early Acceptance Program 

RIT has a partnership with Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in which RIT students may be offered conditional or guaranteed acceptance to graduate-level medical programs in medicine, dentistry, podiatry, or pharmacy. Learn more about the LECOM Early Acceptance Program.

How to Get Started

To participate in the pre-health advising program, contact the pre-health advising office and enroll as soon as you decide you want to pursue an advanced degree in a medical or health care profession. Pre-health advising is open to all majors.

Starting the process early has added benefits. It ensures that you can organize your curriculum early in your major to meet the requirements for admission to medical schools and/or advanced degrees in the health professions. It also gives you time to plan for and complete additional learning experiences, such as research, community service, and patient care experiences, which all strengthen your application.