About Us

Welcome

Read the welcome message from Denis Larochelle, professor of biology and chair of the Prehealth Advising Program.

How We Can Help You

Since 1985, 75% of Clark students who applied only to U.S. M.D.-granting medical schools (excluding offshore schools and osteopathic, dental, or other allied health doctoral programs) have been accepted. It should be emphasized that virtually all applicants who excel academically, demonstrate appropriate strengths of character, and work with our committee throughout the application process will be accepted.
For nearly a decade, the five-year running average of acceptances/applicants for all Clark applicants to U.S. medical schools has been 20 to 50% above the national average.
Medical schools to which Clark students have been accepted since 1990 include Albany, Albert Einstein, Boston University, Brown, California-Irvine, California-San Diego, California-San Francisco, Chicago Medical, Chicago Pritzker, Columbia, Cooper, Dartmouth, Drexel, Florida International, George Washington, Georgetown, Harvard, Howard, Indiana, Jefferson, Louisville, LSU-NO, Medical College of Wisconsin, Michigan State, Mount Sinai, New York Medical, New York University, North Carolina, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Puerto Rico, Robert Wood Johnson, Rochester, Rush, Southern California, Stony Brook, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Downstate, SUNY Upstate, Temple, Texas A&M, Texas-Galveston, Tufts, Tulane, UConn., UMass, Uniformed Services, UPenn., Vanderbilt, Vermont, Virginia, and Yale.
Dr. Denis Larochelle, director of Clark’s Medical Careers Advising Program, is an active member of the Northeast Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NEAAHP) and the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP).

Clark University’s programs offer you individual attention, including:

Small classes: Commitment to excellence in teaching and elbow teaching — the close working relationship between students and faculty at Clark.
Research opportunities: Be part of a research team and experience the excitement of discovery.
Letters of recommendation: Get to know your professors, who also get to know you. Faculty can then cite specifics about your technical skills and personal strengths, helping to set you apart from others applying to medical or other professional schools.
Advising: Meet one-on-one with Clark’s medical careers (and premedical) adviser. Together, you will plan curricula, choose a major, set career goals, plan extracurricular activities, develop study skills, prepare for the MCAT, learn how to fill out applications, and practice interviewing.

All medical professions are looking for people who commit to excellence in whatever they do. As you think about your future, focus on what you do now and push yourself to do it as well as humanly possible. This investment of time and effort will reap enormous benefits down the road, regardless of your final choice of career path.

To use applying to medical schools as a specific example, you should strive for excellence in both academics and extracurricular activities. Doing well in courses (Getting the Grades) and on standardized exams will convince medical schools that you are capable of managing the intensity of medical school didactic years, and that you will remain a life-long learner. Acquiring an understanding of the medical field and demonstrating strengths of character that are required of successful physicians as part of your extracurricular activities and/or involvement in research opportunities are essential for making the strongest case possible that you are a competitive applicant. Especially important will be your ability to document and demonstrate your commitment to excellence in your personal essay and interview.

To document the importance of doing well in whatever you may choose to do, consider the following. Clark undergraduates have many opportunities to become engaged in scientific research, either at Clark or at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Those who invest passion and attention to detail in their research are often recognized for their commitment by being a co-author of articles describing their research in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Since 1985, at least 120 Clark undergraduates were co-authors on such journal articles. See a list of these articles.

As a case in point, consider the biology, chemistry, and biochemistry and molecular biology majors at Clark since 1985 who applied only to U.S. allopathic (M.D.) medical schools (excluding offshore, osteopathic, dental, optometry, veterinary, and other allied health programs): the success rate for being accepted was 86% for students who were co-authors on peer-reviewed scientific publications; yet, in contrast, the acceptance rate was 77% for these science majors who were not co-authors.

The relationship between research credentials (participating in research, receiving departmental honors, presenting results at on-campus research symposia (ASD), co-authoring published articles, or co-authoring meeting abstracts) and acceptance rates to medical schools is shown in the graph, below. The most pronounced correlations were evident for undergraduate journal article co-authors and, to somewhat lesser extents, students who received departmental honors or were co-authors on meeting abstracts.

graph chart for acceptance rates of scence majors - see alternative text file for details

DOWNLOAD ALTERNATIVE TEXT FOR ABOVE GRAPHIC

Research Opportunities

As a prehealth student, you’ll have the chance to join research teams on campus and learn state-of-the-art techniques and technologies. You may even become a co-author on a publication in a scientific journal. You also will have the chance to conduct research in off-campus settings, including UMass Medical School in Worcester.

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Pharmacy at MCPHS

Clark University and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) now offer assured admission for qualified Clark graduates to MCPHS pharmacy program.

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Traditional Advising Services

The Prehealth Advising Program can help current students and alumni explore medical careers, secure research opportunities, plan their programs of study, choose professional schools, and prepare for exams and interviews.

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Awards and Prizes

Clark premedical students are eligible for awards and prizes:

The Dr. Kenneth A. Senter ’43 Endowed Award for Premed Undergraduates provides an award to a premedical undergraduate student who is of high academic standing and deserving of financial assistance.
The Edward N. Trachtenberg Endowed Prize provides an award to a health professions applicant based on such factors as academic record, suitability for the profession, and financial need.
Students applying to Clark who are interested in careers in medicine may qualify for merit-based scholarships that provide substantial tuition discounts and financial support for doing research during the summer following the student’s junior year at Clark.

List of Award and Prize Winners

David Doran Trager ’64 Memorial Prize for Excellence in Biology was awarded each year through 2010 to a senior accepted to a medical school:

2010 – Papiya Sinha
2009 – Salvatore Pezzella (University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine)
2008 – Shyamal Asher (The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University)
2007 – Peter Abdalla (University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine)
2006 – Kasmir Ramo (University of Massachusetts Medical School)
2005 – Mary Badon (Yale U. School of Medicine)
2004 – Andrew Max Somberg (Albert Einstein School of Medicine)
2003 – Julia Crawford (Tufts U. School of Medicine)
2002 – Victoria Byfield (Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine)
2001 – Rachel Peragallo (Harvard Medical School)
2000 – Amy Pritchard (Oregon Health & Science U. School of Medicine)

2024 – Carolynn Steffens and Luz Suarez-Canton Trueba
2023 – Hannah McLeod, Beshair Nurhussien, and Jamie Stern
2022 – Katherine Gross, Thuy-Mi Le, and Ivana Lopez Nieves
2021 – Samantha Brown and Kendyll Smith (University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine)
2020 – Shelby Spohn (Boston U. School of Medicine), Vivian Thu (Penn State College of Medicine), and Mariana Torres (Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine)
2019 – Zaza Gelashvili (Gerstner Sloan-Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center), Chloe Kellum (West Virginia U. School of Medicine), and Amaan Quraishi (Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine)
2018 – David Berry (Lincoln-Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine), Lucyna Kogut (University of Massachusetts Medical School), and Jordan Majka
2017 – William Hawkins, Iva Hoxha (New England College of Optometry), and Andres Torres (University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine)
2016 – Phoebe Hughes (Florida International U. Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine), Claire Krasinski (Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine), Meghan Monk (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences), Courtney Pharr (University of Maryland School of Medicine), and David Powers (Tufts University School of Dental Medicine)
2015 – Kasiemobie Nwaedozie (New York Medical College), Shivani Patel (Tufts University School of Medicine), Kayli Schulz, Elizabeth Severson (Western U. of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest), and Ying Ge Wang (Cooper Medical School of Rowan University)
2013 – Evan Foley (Pennsylvania State U. College of Medicine) and Samantha Zorn
2012 – Brianna Anthony (Rocky Vista U. College of Osteopathic Medicine) and Simone Palladino (Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine)
2011 – Margo Sheck (Stony Brook U. School of Medicine)
2010 – Tara Devaraj (Jefferson Medical College)
2009 – James Wilson (Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine)
2008 – Miranda Simon (Medical College of Wisconsin)
2007 – Rebecca Louzan
2006 – Peter Abdalla (University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine)
2005 – Kasmir Ramo (University of Massachusetts Medical School)

2024 – Sabaa Belkadi, Bianca Binns, and Laila El-Samra
2023: Ji Wong Chung, Tamanna Gurung, and Nardin Sayoufi
2022 – Casey Arruda, Adam Jamal (Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine), and Henna Patel
2021 – Jeanne Kim
2020 – Dillon Prus (State University of New York Upstate Medical University)
2019 – Rylee Simons (Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine Carolinas Campus)
2018 – Kole Brownstein (University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine) and Ogechi Ezemma (Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University)
2017 – Vladislav Kiveliyk (University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine)
2016 – Elizabeth Chan (St. George’s U. School of Medicine) and Ethan Wainblat (Ohio U. Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine)
2015 – Matthew George (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences) and Yadana Khin (Georgetown U. School of Medicine)
2013 – Alison Berlent (Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine) and Jeffrey Medoff
2011 – Alexa Navasero (University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry)
2010 – Papiya Sinha
2008 – Shyamal Asher (The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University)
2007 – Sara McNiff (New England College of Optometry)
2006 – Matthew Phillips (University of Texas Medical School at Galveston)

News

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Upcoming Workshops

MCAT and AMCAS Workshops

Preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) – MCAT Workshop
Central Application and Personal Essay – AMCAS Workshop

View Workshops

Upcoming Events

Invited Speakers

Presentations by invited speakers provide insight into how to prepare for the challenges of the health professions and how to take advantage of the rewards.

Upcoming presentation:

To be announced.

List of previous speakers

Contact Information

Prehealth Career Advising Program

Office Location

Arthur M. Sackler Sciences Center, S228
950 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610
1-508-793-7119
1-508-793-7117

Office Hours

Monday through Friday
8 a.m. – noon

Helping You Design Your Path to Medical School

Welcome

How We Can Help You

Research Opportunities

Pharmacy at MCPHS

Traditional Advising Services

Awards and Prizes

David Doran Trager '64 Memorial Prize for Excellence in Biology

Dr. Kenneth A. Senter '43 Endowed Award for Premed Undergraduates

Edward N. Trachtenberg Endowed Prize

News

Upcoming Workshops

Upcoming Events

News

Marimo Oka puts patients’ welfare first

Ethan Lutz earns top award during Ureka Challenge

Dispatches from an ER in the time of COVID

Dr. Jessica Israel '90 leads on end-of-life care

Upcoming Workshops

MCAT and AMCAS Workshops

Upcoming Events

Invited Speakers

Presentations by invited speakers provide insight into how to prepare for the challenges of the health professions and how to take advantage of the rewards.

Upcoming presentation:

Prehealth Career Advising Program