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Thinking About Pre-Med?

The Health Sciences major can be a great way to get the courses required by medical schools.  Many pre-med courses are part of the Health Sciences required curriculum:

  • General Biology (BI 121 + lab; BI 131 + lab)
  • General Chemistry (CH 101 + lab; CH 102 + lab)
  • Statistics (MA 207 or MA 315)
  • Psychology (PSY 105)

Other pre-med lab courses (Physics, Organic Chem, Biochem, and Genetics) meet required lab credits for the Health Sciences degree, or can be taken as electives.

In addition, Health Sciences students strengthen their medical school applications in unique ways by taking HS 230 Epidemiology, HS 303 Public Health Nutrition, HS 307 Evidence Based Research in Health Science, and PO 260 Health Politics and Policy. These courses give students a head start in understanding the issues that physicians deal with daily.  One student reported that the med school admissions committee smiled and said "enough!" when he was sharing ideas about how to improve the US health care system. 

Health Sciences majors can also easily add a Public Health minor or even double major, options that are not available at most undergraduate institutions. Public Health allows Pre-med students a chance to step back from a clinical perspective and gain a better understanding of the larger community issues that result in people needing health care in the first place.

 

Select each photo to see what our grads had to say...

Alex Downs
Alex Downs
Hannah Sylvester
Hannah Sylvester
Jenna Starke
Jenna Starke
Josh Turner
Josh Turner
Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson
 

Alex Downs

For anyone that has an interest in the clinical as well as the public health side of medicine, I would highly recommend a degree in Health Sciences at Carroll. While there are many prerequisites for medical school that must be fulfilled through the Chemistry and Biology departments, majoring in Health Sciences allowed me to take classes that gave me a much more comprehensive understanding of our current health system and challenges that we will face as medical providers. Additionally, faculty in the Health Sciences department have been incredibly supportive of my goal to become a physician and since graduating from Carroll have continued to be very helpful during the process. This past year I gained acceptance into Pacific Northwest University’s osteopathic medical program in Yakima WA where I will begin Fall 2021.

Alex Downs, Class of 2017. Health Sciences major; entered Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences Medical School in 2021.

Hannah Sylvester

I majored in Health Sciences and Biology at Carroll and will begin medical school this fall. Adding my Health Sciences major helped me be successful in my medical school acceptance process for two main reasons! In my Health Sciences courses, I gained a greater understanding of healthcare in general- from public health to health policy and everything in between. This meant that during the creation of my personal statement and in medical school interviews, I could demonstrate that I understood not just natural sciences, but the complex world of health disparities, nutrition, and health insurance.

Another benefit was the time we spent communicating concepts in healthcare during community and class presentations. Public speaking, portfolio building, presentations, and group work are valuable and applicable skills for pre-medical students that we frequently utilize in the Health Sciences program. I found that I grew in my knowledge, professionalism, and communication abilities through my Health Sciences courses and highly recommend pre-medical students add Health Sciences to their degree plans.

Hannah Sylvester, Class of 2019. Health Sciences and Biology majors; entered Washington State University Medical School in 2021.

Jenna Starke

While most pre-med students choose a more biology-focused major, I am extremely grateful for the Health Sciences education I received at Carroll. It has not only prepared me with the science coursework necessary for my med school curriculum, but has also given me a well-rounded, advanced perspective on healthcare that many of my med school classmates have not received. Ultimately, this will allow me to best help my patients as a physician.

Jenna Starke, Class of 2019. Health Sciences and Anthrozoology majors; entered University of Washington WWAMI medical school in 2020.

Joshua Turner

My education at Carroll College was an extremely positive and life-changing experience. Choosing my pre-med major as Health Sciences was a good decision and one I would recommend. The core Health Sciences curriculum is ideal for an aspiring physician. For example, one of my favorite courses of the four years was Introduction to Epidemiology -- a required class for the major. Other pre-med courses such as organic chemistry and cellular biology can easily be added as electives. In my opinion, a Carroll Health Sciences medical school applicant will have an exceptionally well-rounded education. I have been accepted to medical school and on my way to realizing my dream.

Joshua Turner, Class of 2021. Health Sciences major; entered Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences Medical School in 2021.

Paul Wilson

I graduated from Carroll in 2019 with a double major in Health Sciences and Chemistry, both degrees were central to my decision to pursue medicine. While my hard science classes were fascinating in their descriptions of the mechanics that drive medicine, my Health Science classes challenged me to understand medicine as more than biochemical processes. The Health Science curriculum gave me an understanding of the medical system that I desired to enter, and the opportunities for improvement that our generation must address. Within this system, there is also the crucial understanding that medicine is--above all else--a human science. Health Sciences helped me to appreciate this, by exploring the barriers to medicine that exist within our community, and thinking of the people first and the science second.

Paul Wilson, Class of 2019. Health Sciences and Chemistry majors; entered University of Washington WWAMI medical school in 2021.