Advising Services for Pre-med/Pre-health Students
Advising
Pre-med/pre-health advisers can help NU undergraduates and alumni:
- Learn about the different health professions - i.e. medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physical therapy, veterinary medicine and a range of other health careers.
- Find ways to test their decision to pursue a career in the health professions.
- Prepare academically and non-academically to become a competitive applicant.
- Navigate the application process.
- Decide the best time to apply to a particular program.
- Improve their medical school or other health profession program application.
Appointments:
- Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 9am - 5pm. Students can sign up for appointments online; confirmations will be sent via e-mail.
- Freshmen premed students must first attend a general premed information session.
- Sophomores, juniors, seniors and alumni can schedule appointments without condition.
- Freshmen pre-health students (interested in any health profession other than medicine) may schedule an appointment with an adviser without attending an info session.
Drop-In Hours
- Drop-in hours are open to Northwestern undergraduates and alumni.
- Advisers are available Mondays, 3:00 - 4:30pm and Thursdays, 1:30 - 3:00pm (sessions are 5-10 minutes and designed for quick questions).
- Students are seen on a first come, first served basis; no appointments are necessary.
Events/Workshops
The University Academic Advising Center plans a calendar of events and information sessions every quarter for premed/pre-health students, including:
- Visits from medical school representatives
- Visits from health professions program representatives (e.g. dental, pharmacy)
- General pre-med workshops for freshmen
- Specific pre-med workshops for sophomores/juniors/seniors
- Applying to medical school
- Interview Preparation
- Medical School Selection
- Personal Statement Preparation
- AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) Overview
- Student Panels
Read descriptions of the premed workshops.
Sign up for an upcoming workshop or event.
Recommendation File Service
This service facilitates the collection and dissemination of recommendation letters needed when applying to medical and dental programs, as well as post-baccalaureate programs.
Learn more about using this service.
Weekly Update
Our Weekly Update is sent via e-mail once a week to interested premed/pre-health students. Weekly Updates typically include:
- Upcoming events/information
- Clinical experience and volunteer opportunities
- Research opportunities
- Job opportunities
- Pre-med/pre-health student organization events
You can view the Weekly Update online here. Interested in receiving our Weekly Update via email? Please click here to subscribe!
Frequently Asked Questions
Jump to a question:
- How do I schedule an appointment?
- Can I just drop by and speak with an adviser?
- Can I e-mail my questions to an adviser?
- I'm a freshmen premed, can I make an appointment to meet with a premed adviser before I attend a freshmen premed workshop?
- What's covered in your workshops?
1. How do I schedule an appointment?
The quickest way to make an appointment is by completing our online form or e-mailing premed-prehealth@northwestern.edu. Appointments are available in person (or by phone if off-campus).
2. Can I just drop by and speak with an adviser?
All NU undergraduates are welcomed to use our Drop-In Hours:
- Mondays, 3:00 - 4:30pm
- Thursdays, 1:30 - 3:00pm
Students are seen on a first come, first served basis; no appointments are necessary.
3. Can I e-mail my questions to an adviser?
Many times there's not a simple answer to the question and we need to have more information from you.
We find that it's more efficient for students to use our drop-in hours (see above) to get their initial questions and any follow-up questions answered right then. If they can't make it to drop-in hours, we're happy to set up a brief phone appointment for quick questions. Of course, if a student is not on campus (e.g. study abroad) we will do our best to correspond via e-mail. We also encourage students to read through the FAQs to see if their question is a common one.
4. I'm a freshmen premed. Can I make an appointment to meet with a premed adviser before I attend a freshmen premed workshop?
No, freshmen premed students must attend a freshmen premed workshop (a.k.a general premed information session) before making an appointment with the freshmen premed adviser. The freshmen premed workshops are designed to give a thorough overview of the premed process so subsequent individual appointments can be better used to answer questions specific to a student's concerns.
If freshmen have quick questions, they are welcome to use our drop-in hours (see above) without first attending a freshmen premed workshop.
If freshmen are interested in a health profession other than medicine, they may make an appointment without attending a freshmen premed workshop because those sessions are primarily focused on premed preparation.
5. What's covered in your workshops?
Here's a complete list of our workshops and the topics we discuss in each one.
