Breadth in well-rounded learning:

You’ve explored meaningful coursework outside the sciences.

• Shows you’re a curious, culturally aware thinker through coursework outside of the sciences, or through your experiences.
• Consider upper-level courses in the social sciences, humanities, or languages.
• Examples could include: Death, Dying, and Bereavement (HDF 421) or Health, Illness and Medical Care (SOC 224), or any class that deepens cultural or behavioral understanding.
• Tip: Get a letter of recommendation from a non-science professor to reflect your engagement in these areas.

Depth of subject mastery

You’ve gone beyond the basics in a specific area of interest. This may demonstrate commitment and the ability to think like a future expert.

• Choose upper-level courses that build on earlier ones (examples might include Immunology and Serology, Inorganic Chemistry or Pharmacology).
• Consider getting involved in research to further deepen your expertise.

Rigor and Academic Challenge

You’ve taken, and succeeded in, challenging courses.

Important note: Whenever possible, your prerequisite coursework should be taken at URI—your four-year, degree-granting institution. This demonstrates your ability to handle the full academic rigor of foundational science courses. Taking prerequisites during summer or J-Term sessions, or at other institutions like a community college, may raise concerns about course intensity and consistency.

• Health professional schools want to see that you’ve challenged yourself in a traditional academic setting, so plan to complete these key courses during the regular fall and spring semesters at URI.
• Shows schools you can handle the intensity of health professional programs.
• Your science GPA (BCPM) matters, so be strategic with your STEM course choices.
• Take more 300- and 400-level courses as you advance, especially in biology, chemistry, physics, or math.

A Level of Awareness

There should be a level of “knowing” that this is the career for you.

• You can show you are passionate about pursuing this health profession, more than just “wanting to help people”
• Building a passion for the field by doing work through direct patient care/clinical experience to know what the work is like.
• Own your journey! Research professional associations to find out as much as you can about the career you are pursuing from resources available online: AAMC, ADEA, PAEA and more.

AP Credits

AP credit can be a great way to move ahead in your academic requirements at URI. However, that’s not always the case when it comes to applying for health professional programs.

• Many schools do not accept AP credit in place of required science or math courses and may expect to see that you’ve completed these subjects at the college level. 
• AP credit may also impact your preparation for entrance exams like the MCAT, DAT, or GRE, which assume a college-level foundation in core sciences.

Some programs will accept AP credit if it is supplemented by higher-level coursework in the same subject area. For example, if you have AP Chemistry credit, taking upper-level Chemistry classes, like Inorganic Chemistry, which can help demonstrate your academic readiness.

When in doubt, plan to take the full sequence of prerequisite courses here at URI. This not only strengthens your application but also ensures you’re fully prepared for the academic rigor of professional school.