Application Process

You are about to begin your Health Professions Application Journey, and we are sure you have many questions! The Center for Health Sciences Advising is here to guide current Notre Dame students through the entire application process. There are a lot of steps to take during this journey. We have done our best to lay them out in 9 steps below. To receive guidance from the Center, you must be in your Junior or Senior year at the University of Notre Dame and follow these steps. 

The application process starts in the Spring of Junior year for Notre Dame students who expect to matriculate immediately after graduation. Students who wish to take a Gap Year and matriculate a year later would start the process during their Senior Year at Notre Dame.

Are you applying to a Health Profession during the 2024-2025 Cycle?

The sign-up email on November 2nd, 2023, from prepro@nd.edu, was sent to all juniors and seniors at Notre Dame.  That sign-up email has now closed. The Intent to Apply & Questionnaire, required to receive the Pre-App Interview, was due on January 31st @ 12 pm EST. 

The Center is moving on to the next phase of this process; the Pre-App Interviews will be conducted until May 2024.  After May, the Center will no longer meet with students as we move into the letter-writing phase during the summer of 2024.

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The application process takes approximately 15 months.

Make sure you sign up for the SCPP 40001-01 Preparing for Health Professions offered every spring. If registered for this class, you must complete the Intent to Apply & Questionnaire Form regardless of whether you are applying this cycle or taking a Gap Year.

Your committee letter for Dental, Medical, and Podiatry schools will be formulated by one of the advisors in the Center, Father James K. Foster, CSC, M.D., Kathleen J.S. Kolberg, Ph.D., Maureen Dawson, Ph.D. or Professor Kristian Lax-Walker, M.S., One of them will be writing your committee letter. It would be wise to get to know them when you are ready to apply to a Health Profession (Junior & Senior Year of your undergraduate career at the University of Notre Dame).

We assist each student with the Health Professions Application process by:

• Advice on the process
• Specific coaching on preparation
• Information about particular schools and programs
• Continuous updates on trends regarding careers, training, and healthcare
• Composing the overall committee letter and managing recommendation letters

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*Please note: The following nine steps are for the University of Notre Dame students. These students of Notre Dame would be in their junior or senior year and actively ready to apply to a health profession in that upcoming cycle. 

If you are a first-year or a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame looking over this content, please remember that this is just an overview. Use this to reference what is expected of you in your Junior or Senior Year of your undergraduate career. 

If you are not a current Notre Dame student, please advise that you would need to be admitted to The University of Notre Dame for our Center to guide you through this process.

1. Sign Up

Juniors and Seniors of the University of Notre Dame will be emailed a sign-up form on November 2, 2023. You will be denied access to this form if you are a first-year or sophomore at the University of Notre Dame. If you are a Sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, applying through FlexMed or any other program, please email prepro@nd.edu to gain access to these forms. You must complete the required Sign Up Form, the Intent & Questionnaire Form, to receive guidance from the Center. We will not create a file for you until all forms have been completed.

2. Submit Intent to Apply & Questionnaire (1 Form)

• This form will be emailed to you immediately after signing up in November. This form is complex and is for students who have taken the steps to put themselves in a solid place to apply to a health profession in this cycle. Signing up for a Health Profession, Intent to Apply & Questionnaire form, and scheduling your pre-app interview is due by Jan 31st @ 12 pm (NOON) EST. If you do not follow this deadline, you risk not receiving a time for the required pre-app interview. Sign Up for Spring | SCPP 40001-01 Preparing for Health Professions.
• Intent to Apply 
  • This form will help you organize the information needed for the primary applications.
  • The Intent form tells us which programs interest you, your state of residence, and your activities.
  • You will also list your preliminary list of schools and your list of recommendation writers.
  • Carefully fill out this form and learn to categorize your experiences.
  • Your recommenders may also want a copy of this form, so keep a copy for yourself. Type the answers on the provided PDF and save them on your computer.
• Questionnaire
  • Carefully reflect upon these questions and fully answer them.
  • These questions will help you prepare to write your personal statement and answer interview questions.
  • We use this extensively in our interviews and letter writing.
  • The more self-awareness it conveys, the better for letter writers.
  • Your recommenders may also want a copy of this form, so keep a copy for yourself. Type the answers on the provided PDF and save them on your computer.

3. Health Professions Pre-Application Interview (Required to Receive Committee Letter)

• January through the first week of May, the Pre-App Interviews are occurring. During the first week of February, the Center is typically packed with interviews until May.
• Once the Intent to Apply & Questionnaire Form has been turned in, you will schedule a 1-hour Health Professions Pre-Application Interview. This is required for students/alums who are seeking a Committee Letter. These interviews will be with one of the following advisors: Fr. James Foster,  Dr. Kathleen Kolberg, Dean Maureen Dawson, and Professor Kristian Lax-Walker.
• Please physically stop by 219 Jordan Hall of Science (office hours 8 am to 5 pm) to schedule your Pre-Application Interview. You have until January 31st @ 12 pm EST (NOON) to schedule this Interview. Those that are not local may call the office to schedule. 
• Interviews are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis beginning in January. January 31st @ 12 pm EST (NOON) is the deadline to schedule. Scheduling late will put the applicant at a disadvantage in the process.
• 219 Jordan Hall of Science is the location of the Pre-Application Interview—or over Zoom for those not local. 
• Out of the four advisors conducting the Pre-Application Interview, whomever you meet with will write your Committee Letter. 
• This interview is to make sure you have all requirements completed before applying to a Health Profession. 
• Formal attire is not required for this interview, but be presentable.
• This is the perfect time to ask all your questions, as the advisors will have limited availability to meet again during the cycle. 

4. Take MCAT

January through May

5. Request Supporting Letters of Evaluation

• Start requesting supporting letters of evaluation that will accompany your committee letter from professors in February
• https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/preparing-letters-evaluation-amcas-application

6. Submit Primary Application

• June for Medical, Dental, and PA.
• July through September for Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Post-Bacc Nursing Programs, Podiatry, Optometry, Public Health, and Audiology.
• Applications must be submitted on time through a service or to schools, depending on the application.
• Filling out the application completely and accurately, without typos, is essential.
• Timing is essential – look at your selected schools' deadlines, including rolling admissions.
• MCAT scores of at least 127 across the board are good.
• DAT scores above 20 are suitable.
• The reputation of an undergraduate school is a factor in the initial screening. Notre Dame has had a robust preprofessional training reputation with more medical centers for nearly a century.

7. Submit Secondary Application

• July through October
• The application demonstrates knowledge of and fit for a particular school.
• Questions vary by school. They are trying to ascertain why you are choosing this specific school.
• This stage is highly variable. Some schools send secondary applications to everyone. Some schools pre-select their applicants.
• Fill out the forms as quickly as possible.
• Fees range from $50 to $195.
• Convince the admissions committee that they want to meet and interview you.

8. Med School Interviews

• It can start as early as August and run as late as April.
• You must receive an interview to be considered for acceptance at medical schools.
  • Budget for this travel and a suit.
• Contact the Career Center at Notre Dame to have mock interviews.
• Read and prepare (the course will help for medical school).
• After reviewing secondary applications, applicants may be offered an interview, placed on hold for further consideration (usually due to waiting for summer/fall grades or repeat MCAT scores), accepted, rejected, or put on hold.

9. Get Accepted

• October 15 through the first week of classes.
• After the interview, the applicant can be accepted, placed on hold for further consideration (because of grades or committee conversations), placed on the waitlist (with changes most likely between May 15 and June 15 and just before classes begin), or rejected.
• Depending on the application, students may hold multiple acceptances until a specific date. For AMCAS (MD schools outside of TX), students must give up only one before April—Traffic Rules.
• Texas can hold multiple acceptances through January.