{"id":17062,"date":"2025-06-27T13:22:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T17:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/?page_id=17062"},"modified":"2025-10-20T12:34:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T16:34:30","slug":"eligibility","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/eligibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Eligibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"cl-wrapper cl-boxout-wrapper\"><div class=\"cl-boxout  \"><h1>A note on eligibility:<\/h1>\n\n<p>At Pre-Health Career Pathways, our mission is to support and empower all students and recent alumni, helping you feel seen, heard, and guided throughout your journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We understand that the eligibility guidelines listed below may feel discouraging or even exclusive. Please know that these benchmarks are based on trends in <strong>URI and national acceptance data<\/strong>, and are meant to help you understand what makes an applicant competitive in these very selective admissions processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not meeting every requirement does <em>not<\/em> mean the door is closed.<\/strong> We&#8217;re still here to help you explore your options and build a plan that aligns with your goals. That might mean working toward strengthening your application over time, or discovering other rewarding paths within the health professions and there are <em>many<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;re not alone in this process and we&#8217;re here to help you navigate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16730\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-364x243.jpg 364w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-1280x854.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1746\/sp24_aperture.jpg 2560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In order to participate in PATH, applicants must meet the following for eligibility:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<section class=\"cl-wrapper cl-tabs-wrapper\"><div class=\"cl-tabs  \">\n<section class=\"cl-tab \"><h1>Prerequisite Requirements<\/h1>\n\n<p>Applicants need to have completed the majority of their prerequisite coursework for their intended health profession program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Must have no more <strong>than one (1) core science prerequisite course left to complete<\/strong> prior to participating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Acceptable courses to not yet have completed could include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Upper-division electives (ie: genetics, physiology, microbiology)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non-science courses (ie: second semester of English or statistics)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Applicants should also have completed at least four (4) semesters of study at URI.<\/p>\n\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"cl-tab \"><h1>Clinical\/Direct Patient Care Experience<\/h1>\n\n<p>Demonstrated clinical\/direct patient care experience that includes consistent, hands-on interaction with patients, clients, or healthcare providers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This experience is a key component of a competitive application. Substantive involvement in patient care or clinical settings, not just observation\/shadowing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Guidelines<\/strong> (<em>not <\/em>requirements) for recommended amount of hours:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Medicine (MD\/DO): 100-300+ hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dentistry: 100-200+ hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"cl-tab \"><h1>GPA Requirements<\/h1>\n\n<p>Applicants are expected to meet the following minimum GPA recommendations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Medical school applicants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Science BCPM GPA (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math): 3.3 or higher<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cumulative GPA: 3.3 or higher<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Dental, Optometry, and Podiatry Applicants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Science BCPM GPA: 3.0 or higher<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cumulative GPA: 3.0 or higher<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Important Note: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Competitive applicants that have been accepted in the past typically are 3.6 or higher<\/p>\n\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"cl-tab \"><h1>Competitive Standardized Test Scores <\/h1>\n\n<p>Test scores should reflect both academic readiness and alignment with current applicant pools. While score requirements vary by profession and school, successful applicants <strong>typically<\/strong> score at or above national averages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Guidelines (not requirements) for recommended scores:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>MCAT: 506+<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>DAT: 400+<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>OAT: 310+<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If applicants haven\u2019t completed these standardized tests at the time of completing PATH, they should indicate their plan to prepare for and take the MCAT, DAT, OAT or other required test.<\/p>\n\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"cl-tab \"><h1>Competencies<\/h1>\n\n<p>Ability to demonstrate, through experience and recommendations, meeting the <a href=\"https:\/\/students-residents.aamc.org\/real-stories-demonstrating-premed-competencies\/premed-competencies-entering-medical-students\">Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adea.org\/docs\/default-source\/uploadedfiles\/uploadedfiles\/adea\/site-pages\/adeacompetenciesnewdentist.pdf?sfvrsn=97ac4101_1&amp;id=45172\">ADEA Core Competencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"cl-tab \"><h1>Graduation Year<\/h1>\n\n<p>Status as a current undergraduate student, alumni who graduated no more than three (3) years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For students enrolled in graduate programs URI, students must have completed their undergraduate (Bachelor\u2019s Degree) from URI.<\/p>\n\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<p>In addition to these criteria, applicants are encouraged to review the technical standards for the schools to which they plan to apply. These standards are usually available on each school\u2019s website.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><a class=\"cl-button  \" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/institutional-action-ia\/\" title=\"\">Institutional action<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In order to participate in PATH, applicants must meet the following for eligibility:&nbsp; In addition to these criteria, applicants are encouraged to review the technical standards for the schools to which they plan to apply. These standards are usually available on each school\u2019s website.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5258,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-17062","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5258"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17062"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17403,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17062\/revisions\/17403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}