Advisors are available all summer—book an appointment through the Meet an Advisor page.

This page provides a general overview of Health Professions Advising and common pre-health planning principles. For profession-specific timelines (e.g., medicine, dentistry, veterinary), visit the timeline pages linked above from the dropdown menu.

The Health Professions Advising Program (HPAP) serves undergraduates and alumni of Yale College, students in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and Postdoctoral Associates who are interested in pursuing advanced study in the health professions.

  • We encourage you to meet with an advisor to guide you in making conscious and thoughtful decisions about your goals.

Pre-Health Studies Overview

The majority of health professions programs practice a holistic review of applications. Several factors contribute to success in their program, and they are looking for mission-alignment from the applicants to their schools.

Pre-health students major in any discipline without adversely affecting their admission into a health professions school. Each program has its own set of pre-requisite requirements, and school websites have the most current information. This document is provided by the AAMC for MD Programs.

🔔 Advanced Placement courses and/or Acceleration Credits often do not satisfy premedical requirements for admission to medical or other health professions schools. In some cases they may be used to elect advanced courses in those disciplines. Speak with a health professions advisor about how these credits pertain to your own individual plan.

To complement challenging coursework, look for opportunities to develop a range of competencies.

  • Volunteer in a direct patient contact setting
  • View webinars about health professions
  • Conduct research (bench and/or non-bench)
  • Community service, extracurricular activities or work experiences, both related and unrelated to medicine, will help broaden an applicant’s knowledge and development.
  • 👉Check out some healthcare & community related experiences.

Yale Alumni Health Professional School Enrollment

See where recent Yale College graduates have enrolled in health professions programs in the U.S. and applicant statistics.

Post-Baccalaureate Programs

Students who choose not to complete their science pre-requisite courses during their undergraduate years can complete the requirements in a Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program before applying to a health professions school. Learn more about Post-Baccalaureate options and how to find a post-bacc program.

MCAT and Financial Aid

News from OCS

HHMI Presidential Fellows Program

A selective fellowship at the intersection of science, strategy, and institutional leadership

The Opportunity

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is one of the largest private funders of biomedical research in the world, supporting hundreds of scientists at leading universities, hospitals, …

By Kristin McJunkins
Kristin McJunkins Director of Advanced Degree Applications & STEM Career Advising
Read more

MCAT FAQs

This resource was developed by Helen Cai, YC’20/YMed’26. During her time in med school, Helen worked for the Office of Career Strategy as a Quick Question advisor and spoke with many people about their MCAT Prep Plan.

Format and content

Read more

The Hospital and Healthcare Leadership Fellowship at Hale County Hospital

The Hospital and Healthcare Leadership Fellowship at Hale County Hospital offers recent graduates a unique, year-long opportunity to immerse themselves in the intricacies of healthcare while serving a rural community. This hands-on program is designed to deepen Fellows’ understanding of …

Read more

Resources

This resource was developed by Helen Cai, YC’20/YMed’26. During her time in med school, Helen worked for the Office of …

The Hospital and Healthcare Leadership Fellowship at Hale County Hospital offers recent graduates a unique, year-long opportunity to immerse themselves …

Interested in becoming a health professional?

Join us for virtual shadowing sessions. Pre-Health Shadowing can be completed from the comfort …

SERVICE HOURS

Day of the week
Academic Year Summer Hours
Monday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm 8:30am - 4:30pm

The office is closed weekends, holidays, and recess days.