FAQ

A student who is interested in pursuing a professional career in one of the pre-health fields: medical, dental, veterinary, optometry, podiatry, or chiropractic medicine.  Students looking to pursue careers in nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and pharmacy should contact the School of Nursing and Health Studies.

Yes. Before the start of each academic year the Office of Pre-Health Advising and Mentoring holds an orientation session for incoming and new Pre-Health students during the university's orientation week.

The pink sheet is an evaluation of your professional suitability based on a UM course instructor/faculty member’s observation.  It consists of a table where you are ranked superior, very strong, strong, average, poor, or no observation in the following categories:  character, emotional balance, maturity, motivation, communication skills, intellectual ability, judgment, and perseverance.  A pink sheet request form is submitted by the student to online to the professor/instructor. The professor/instructor will receive an email alert with instructions and link to complete their evaluation and upload the recommendation letter. Both are placed in the student’s pre-health file and posted on Blackboard upon receipt.

A maximum of six (6) individual letters of evaluation are submitted as part of your committee or cover letter packet:

3 from science faculty

1 from a non-science faculty

1 from a health professional

1 "wild card" (i.e. research mentor, employer, etc.)

Faculty who teach courses in the below departments count as science faculty for committee letter purposes:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Math
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Note: Science courses that count for committee letters may not be designated as a Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Math (BCPM) science course with the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS).

For additional information, please review the AMCAS Course Classification Guide.

Yes. However the evaluator should wait until the end of the course to submit the letter and pink sheet evaluation to the Office of Pre-Health.

Yes, but you also may request new or updated letters.

Each letter should be on the evaluator’s official letterhead, signed and dated by the evaluator. The letter should include your full name and C number and should comment on your suitability for professional school. Letters must be submitted directly by the evaluator to the Office of Pre-Health Advising and Mentoring as a pdf attachment via email to prehealth@miami.edu, fax (305-284-8278), or mail (1365 Memorial Drive, Ungar Rm 103, Coral Gables, FL 33146). Please note that email is the preferred method of letter submission.

Students should seek out varied clinical experience.  In addition to shadowing health professionals, you may volunteer at hospitals, clinics, private offices, institutions, nursing homes, hospice care facilities, and blood drives.  You may want to get certified as an emergency medical technician (EMT) or become a licensed certified nursing assistant (CNA).  Or you may want to participate in a medical mission trip.  We suggest students contact any of the pre-health clubs’ shadowing coordinators for opportunities.  Click here to visit our clubs’ page. Network and use your family contacts. What is most important in all these activities is to have patient contact.

Some do, but not all.  Contact individual schools on their policies regarding AP and IB credit.