The Prehealth Experience at KU

When you study a prehealth pathway at the University of Kansas, you will receive the guidance, support, and excellent education needed to achieve a career in healthcare. At KU, we challenge our students to enhance their critical-thinking, problem-solving, analytical and statistical skills.

As a prehealth student, you will:

  • Earn a foundational education from a respected AAU institution
  • Study abroad or study away
  • Gain career experience through internships and job shadowing
  • Participate in undergraduate research
  • Work and learn side-by-side with faculty
  • Connect with peers through participation in over a dozen prehealth related student organizations

Expanding your Depth of Knowledge

As pre-health students we highly recommend using the opportunity during your undergrad to diversify your areas of study in order to expand your breadth and depth of knowledge about not only health field, but fields surrounding philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and more through the KU Core.

Students on campus watching faculty presentation

Steps to Thrive as an Undergrad in PreHealth 

 

1. Complete required prehealth courses

By completing the required pre-health courses you can qualify for the requirements in your given prehealth pathway.

2. Fulfill degree and major requirement

It is required to obtain a major for a bachelor’s degree at the University of Kansas.

3. Participate in volunteer service-learning

Volunteer for a specific number of hours required which can vary by pathway. Volunteering is also a pivtoal way to particapate in experiental learning.

4. Direct experience in a healthcare field

 Through the use of a specific number of hours required varies by pathway, gaining experience is a pivotal part of learning aspects in the pre-health field. 

 

5. Diversify your education

 Prehealth students should consider taking courses that expand their knowledge of social, cultural, and ethical issues in healthcare

 

NEXT STEPS

Here are the necessary procedures and information needed for prospective students as they consider embarking their journey to succeed as a PreHealth professional.
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Apply Here Apply Here
Finance Your Education Finance Your Education

Visit

Find out if KU is the fit for you with a campus visit, and while you’re here be sure to schedule time to visit with faculty in your proposed major, take a tour of the new Integrated Sciences Building or Earth, Energy, and Environment Center, and check in with KU’s Pre-Health Outreach Coordinator, Sheila Gulick, collegeinfo@ku.edu.

Apply

  • Freshmen apply by November 1st for priority consideration for scholarships and admission to the University Honors Program.
  • Transfer students apply by February 1st for priority consideration for scholarships, and admission to the University Honors Program.

Finance

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Academic Support Services, including low-cost tutoring for many introductory courses.
  2. Social Service Opportunities, e.g., Center Community Outreach.
  3. Research Opportunities, for example, Center for Undergraduate Research.
  4. Student Organizations, including more than a dozen medically-related clubs.
  5. Related courses, e.g., HEIM 210 Introduction to Health Care and many Undergraduate Biology Courses.
  6. Related Study Abroad Programs.
  7. Application Assistance, including essay reviews and practice interviews.

Anyone who applies and is accepted to KU is welcome to be a premedical student!

If students attempt 30 or more hours, and earn a KU GPA of less than 2.80 GPA, then premedical interest codes will be removed from their records.

We also encourage such students to seek career counseling to find more compatible interests, and/or academic support counseling, to improve their academic performance. 

From KU Endowment: "There are a limited number of KU scholarships available for premedicine students. Some require the recipient to have financial need, as verified by the FAFSA. Some require the recipient to reside in a specific Kansas county. All require the recipient to be scholarship-eligible as defined by KU Scholarship Grids. Please consult this grid to learn how much you will be eligible to receive. There is one general scholarship application for KU, so it is not necessary to apply for a premedicine scholarship separately. If you are eligible for a scholarship, KU will assign a scholarship to you, whether it be specifically for premedicine, or a more general purpose."

Many departments offer awards and scholarships for some of their majors, for example, Undergraduate Biology. 

Some KU schools offer scholarships, for example, the School of Engineering.

There are some state and private scholarships, and it’s well worth conducting free searches for external scholarships.

And, some employers have scholarships for the children of their employees.

You can find KU equivalencies for transfer courses, and credit awarded for test scores, on the Admissions CredTran System.

It's fine to take English, mathematics, and social sciences and humanities that meet KU Core General Education Requirements.

We usually recommend waiting until after graduating high school to take natural science courses for college credit, partly because natural sciences are sequential, and you'll transition between courses more smoothly if you complete all of a sequence back-to-back at the same college or university.

The KU School of Medicine accepts AP credit for entry requirements, but some medical and many dental schools do not. 

For the 2017 entering School of Medicine class, the average overall GPA was a 3.78. Please understand this is an average, not a minimum, and many candidates are accepted with somewhat lower GPA's. For more information, see the Association of American Medical College's MCAT and GPA Grid for Applicants and Acceptees(pdf). And, remember that admissions decisions are made by people, who consider many other factors. 

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), for the entering 2017 application cycle, 265 candidates who attended KU applied to U.S. MD-granting medical schools, and 125 were accepted (47%). This is slightly above the national acceptance rate of 43%. Additionally, 27 candidates matriculated at DO-granting medical schools, and some were accepted to international medical schools. So, about half the candidates who applied were accepted to medical schools.

Many colleges advertise misleading rates inflated by discouraging less competitive candidates from applying, converting small numbers into big percentages, including data from years ago when admission was easier, and talking about only those "qualified candidates" who met a GPA standard to be part of a formal premedical program, only those who applied through a premedical office (less competitive candidates often apply independently), and/or only those "recommended" by an advisor or "approved" by a health sciences committee. So, it's easy to manufacture a 90% or higher acceptance rate.

Behind the curtain of statistics, whether or not one is accepted depends mostly on one's own effort and abilities, rather than where one goes to college. As the saying goes, "Wherever you go, there you are."

As an example, for the entering 2017 application cycle, candidates who attended KU were offered acceptance at the following U.S. medical schools:

Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) Granting

  • Creighton University School of Medicine
  • Duke University School of Medicine
  • Eastern Virginia Medical School
  • Indiana University School of Medicine
  • Keck Sch. of Med.University of Southern California
  • Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
  • Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
  • Medical College of Wisconsin
  • Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
  • Rush Medical College
  • Saint Louis University School of Medicine
  • Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota
  • Texas A&M Uni. System HSC Col. of Medicine
  • The University of Oklahoma
  • The University of Toledo College of Medicine
  • Tufts University School of Medicine
  • UT Southwestern
  • UT Southwestern (AMCAS)
  • University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson
  • University of Arkansas College of Medicine
  • University of Chicago - Pritzker
  • University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
  • University of Colorado School of Medicine
  • University of Illinois at Chicago-College of Medicine
  • University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine
  • University of Kansas
  • University of Michigan Medical School
  • University of Minnesota Medical School-Minneapolis/Duluth
  • University of Missouri - Kansas City
  • University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine
  • University of Nebraska College of Medicine
  • University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
  • University of Utah School of Medicine
  • University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
  • Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
  • Weill Cornell Medicine
  • Yale School of Medicine

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) Granting

  • Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University
  • Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • A.T. Still University - Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University
  • Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University
  • Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Lincoln Memorial University–DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine - Utah

The KU School of Medicine shows a strong preference for Kansas residents, but does not select on the basis of whether or not a candidate completes an undergraduate education at KU. The medical school also shows favor for residents of other states who have significant Kansas ties, and one way to establish a tie is to attend a college or university in Kansas.

While it's possible to complete requirements for admission to other medical schools on the KU-Lawrence Campus, the KU School of Medicine considers only applicants who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States or have an approved DACA status.