Congratulations on reaching the exciting stage of preparing to apply to a health professional program!
This journey requires commitment, time, and ownership of your goals and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
Applying to health professional schools is both competitive and demanding; financially, emotionally, and mentally. Our goal in Pre-Health Career Pathways is to help you apply when you are truly ready, which should be when your application reflects your strongest, most competitive self.
While reapplying is sometimes necessary and can be successful, it’s best to avoid having to apply more than once. The application process can be time-consuming, expensive, and at times, stressful. If you do reapply, schools will expect you to show clear, significant improvement. That makes the second round even more challenging.
Why We Use the PATH Process:
PATH is designed to help you assess your readiness to apply. Through this, you’ll work with our Health Professional Advisory Committee (HPAC) to receive a comprehensive and honest evaluation of your strengths, weaknesses, and overall candidacy.
It’s valuable practice to be competitive in your interviews and when to apply.
After participating in the PATH process, applicants will receive an HPAC Committee Letter that will be submitted to their health professions application, along with their individual Letters of Recommendation.
Receiving an HPAC Committee Letter
After participating in the PATH process, Pre-Health Career Pathways will write a comprehensive HPAC Committee Letter to include in your application. The letter is about a page and a half in length, highlighting your experiences and readiness for the health professional program you will apply to.
The letter will be sent directly into your application for you, along with the individual letters written by professors, mentors, and/or supervisors that you will request.
Admission committees rely on these committee letters to holistically evaluate a candidate’s attributes and experiences as they relate to their undergraduate experience at URI.
The letter is based on:
- All information gathered on the candidate as a part of the PATH process
- Individual letters of recommendation you’ll request to be submitted on your behalf
Medical (including MD and DO), dentistry, optometry and podiatry programs prefer to receive a committee letter. Committee Letters are most appropriate for applicants who graduated from URI within the past three years. Beyond that timeframe, your professional and clinical experiences typically carry more weight than letters tied to your undergraduate institution.
The following programs do not ask for a committee letter and do not require applicants to participate in the PATH process:
- Physician Assistant (JWU PA Affiliation Agreement nomination process uses a similar process)
- Physical Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Public Health
- Anesthesiologist Assistant
- Nursing
- Pharmacy
When Should You Apply for PATH?
You should only apply when you can meet, and ideally exceed, the eligibility listed below that is required to receive an HPAC Committee Letter.
For some students, the application process may be during junior year, especially if you’re planning to enter a health profession program right after graduation. However, most students will be more competitive applying during senior year or later.
This is actually the more common timeline amongst most applicants and in most cases, beneficial. HPAC and Pre-Health Career Pathways are available to current students and alumni, and we work with many successful applicants each year who took time to strengthen their application after college.
