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Prehealth Advisors

• Prehealth Advisor Profile
• Getting an Advisor
• Advisor's Letter of Recommendation
• Student Responsibilities
• Advisor Responsibilities

Note: For Prelaw Advisor information see the Prelaw section of the web site.

Prehealth Advisor Profile

MIT draws its advisors from many groups: MIT faculty, physicians at MIT Medical, MIT Dental, and the MIT-Harvard Health Sciences and Technology (HST) Program, and research affiliates from HST, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Among the physicians, physician-researchers, faculty members, and others who make up the 50+ MIT advisors are people who balance their professional lives with activities that range from speed skating to playing the violin. Every year they find time to discuss health profession careers with their advisees and to write letters of recommendation for them. Their expectation in return: responsible, timely, and continuing communication with their advisees.

In addition to our prehealth advisors, MIT's Advising System includes an Advisory Council and the MIT Careers Office. The Advisory Council sets policies and standards for prehealth advising, including the selection of prehealth advisors and the procedures followed by the Careers Office Preprofessional Team in its day-to-day efforts on behalf of MIT students and their advisors.

Getting an Advisor

Students who are interested in a health profession career and want a prehealth advisor are encouraged to open a file and apply for a prehealth advisor two years prior to the year they are interested in matriculating at a health professions school. This especially holds true for those students who are planning on matriculating to medical, dental, etc., school right after graduation. For example, a class of 2008 prehealth student looking to matriculate in fall 2008 must request an advisor in Spring 2006. This early registration does not only enable the Careers Office to determine the number of Prehealth Advisors needed, but also provides an advisee with adequate time and opportunity to develop a nurturing and meaningful relationship with their advisor. Please be advised that we can not guarantee an advisor to all those with requests. Prehealth advisors are local area professionals and MIT faculty members who volunteer their time to the advising program. Many are only able to advise one or two students.

Steps to Requesting a Prehealth Advisor

February 2008 UPDATE:
The MIT Careers Office (MITCO) will be accepting prehealth advisor requests for individuals wishing to enter medical or other health profession schools in Fall 2010 as of Monday, March 17, 2008. Please carefully review all information below prior to submitting your advisor request.

Steps to Requesting a Prehealth Advisor

• Review the premed course requirements, premed timeline, and overall admissions criteria to determine if applying for 2010 is your best course of action.
• Review the Prehealth Advisor Profile and read both the student's and advisor's responsibilities.
• Read the information online about the credential service and its policies.
• Complete and submit the credential service form and advisor request form to the MIT Careers Office (MITCO) (12-170). REMINDER: Please save an electronic copy of your responses to the advisor request questions. Once our new online credential service goes live, you will be asked to resubmit this information electronically.
• After submitting your completed advisor request form, schedule an appointment (call 617-253-4733) to meet with a member of the Preprofessional Advising staff to review your form, your course requirements, and discuss the prehealth advisor assignment process. We strongly encourage individuals to schedule appointments prior to leaving for summer break. (Please note that MITCO is open all year round, and maintains its regular 9-5pm hours throughout the summer.)

Once you have submitted the 2010 advisor request and credential service form and met with a member of the Preprofessional Advising staff, your file will be open. Advisor requests will be processed throughout the summer and assignments will be announced at the Advisor-Advisee Mixer in early Fall semester 2008.

Important! Please note the following:

• It is important that you request an advisor earlier than later. The Preprofessional Advising Staff recruits Advisors based on the number of students we expect are seeking advisors.
• Requests for advisors made during or after the Fall semester (two years prior to intended matriculation) risk being waitlisted or unassigned. In order to ensure that the advisor and applicant have enough time to get to know each other prior to the application cycle, it is unlikely that the Preprofessional Advising staff will be able to provide an advisor to students who place their requests late in the process. Individuals who decide to apply to medical or health profession school later in the process are encouraged to meet with a member of the Preprofessional Advising staff to discuss their application timeline.
• Student to advisor matches are made based on interests in common or course number when possible. Please know that we may be unable to accommodate specific requests for an advisor.
• Students are expected to contact their prehealth advisor within two weeks of the date on their advisor assignment notification to set up an appointment. Failure to contact your advisor within that time frame may result in your advisor being reassigned to another student.
• Students are welcome to suggest local area physicians that are not currently members of the MIT Prehealth Advisory Council to serve as their advisor. All nominated physicians, dentists, etc., must be in the local Boston area and have to be approved by the Advisory Council. Please see a member of the Preprofessional Advising staff to learn more about this process.
• Alumni requests for advisors will be processed starting in September. Please know that alumni are not guaranteed advisors.

Study Abroad Students

Opportunities for individuals to expose themselves to different cultures and methods of learning, like study abroad, are excellent. Prehealth students who are considering study abroad are encouraged to first meet with the Preprofessional Advising staff to strategize their application timeline to best incorporate a study abroad experience. It is important that the intended study abroad experience does not conflict with the actual application cycle to a health profession program. In addition, please note that the completion of prehealth course requirements should not be done while abroad, as health profession application services (AMCAS, AADSAS, etc.) and health profession schools do not accept foreign transcripts.

It is important that students considering study abroad apply for a prehealth advisor in March or April of the semester/year prior to their study abroad experience, to receive an advisor prior to leaving.

Alumni Seeking Prehealth Advisors

Preference is given to undergraduate and graduate students in the advisor assignment process. However, when possible, local area alumni may be provided an advisor based on availability. Once the majority of assignments have been made for undergraduates and graduate students, local area alumni may request an advisor in late September. Please know that Alums are not guaranteed advisors.

We encourage alumni/ae applicants living outside of the Massachusetts area to utilize the resources offered through ICAN (Institute Career Assistance Network). The ICAN database will allow alumni to find physicians in their area to conduct informational interviews, and possibly organize shadowing and/or volunteer opportunities.

Advisor's Letter of Recommendation

Your Prehealth Advisor's letter is not a composite letter (a letter that compiles information from your other letters and is sent on its own to a given school or program), as it is at some other schools. In addition, your advisor's letter is not a Prehealth committee letter. Rather, it serves as a letter from the Advisory Board at MIT, and is sent with all of your other letters including a form that explains Prehealth classes at MIT. Your Prehealth Advisor has access to all of your letters of recommendation, and we feel that it is to your advantage that he or she reads them. Many advisors do quote students' other letters of reference in their own letter. Nevertheless, your advisor's letter is not considered a composite letter, because all your letters are sent to the medical, dental, or other health profession schools.

Student Responsibilities

• Register with the Careers Office; start a file and request a Prehealth Advisor in the Spring semester two years prior to your intended matriculation year (e.g., Spring semester of Sophomore year if you plan to matriculate immediately after graduation). Advisors will be assigned during the Fall semester two years prior to your intended matriculation (e.g., Fall semester of Junior year if you plan to matriculate immediately after graduation) at the Advisor / Advisee Mixer.
• Set up an appointment with your prehealth advisor within two weeks of receiving your advisor assignment. Failure to contact your advisor within that time frame may result in your advisor being reassigned to another student.
• Inform Prehealth Advisor and the Careers Office of any changes re: when applying; if not applying: throughout process.
• Set up and maintain contact with Prehealth Advisor, apprising him or her of application progress, MCAT preparation and results, and names of additional recommenders: Fall, Junior year (or two years prior to intended matriculation) and throughout process.
• Supply a copy of your personal statement, resume, transcript, and MCAT scores to the MIT Careers Office by the end of June of your application year (e.g., June 2009 for 2010 matriculation). These items will be sent along with your letters or recommendation to your prehealth advisor for his/her use when writing your advisor letter.
• Complete application process and have all letters of recommendation sent to the Careers Office: by the end of June of your application year (e.g., June 2009 for 2010 matriculation).
• Keep Preprofessional Team and Advisor informed of progress through interviews, medical school acceptances, school chosen: throughout application cycle.

Advisor Responsibilities

• Establish regular communication with your advisee, seeing him or her at least once or twice a semester, and keeping in touch via e-mail and phone.
• Explore advisee's motivation for medicine, encouraging advisee to gain exposure to medical, dental, or other health profession, settings through volunteer work and shadowing.
• Assess your advisee's qualifications and fit for a career in the health professions.
• Discuss realities of profession with advisee and generally gain a sense of the student's progress through the application process: date of exams, choice of recommenders, exploration and selection of schools to which the student is applying.
• Attend programs and events offered by the Preprofessional Advising Team, review periodically the Preprofessional Website, read and respond to e-mail from the Preprofessional Team.
• Write a letter of recommendation for each prehealth advisee, after reviewing the other letters of recommendation that each student receives.
• Review applicant personal statements/essays and provide guidance and feedback to help the student prepare for their school interview.
• Conduct practice interview or discuss the interview process with advisee using the following sample interview questions.

Last updated on Monday, April 28, 08 at 02:54:22 PM EDT.