Once your decision is made in pursuing a health professional school, the next step is to research programs that are best fit with your interests and needs. Each professional pathway may have a lot of programs that you can apply to but there are many factors that you may want to consider when deciding on which schools you really want to attend. It may be costly with the application process and you want to apply to the school(s) that are right for you.
To start researching schools, you would do the following:
Use the Researching Schools Template to organize your long and short lists with the different factors to consider.
Step 1: Consider ALL Schools
You can start by reviewing your options and making an initial list with all professional schools in the United States, U.S. Territories, and internationally (e.g. Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand).
- Many professional programs have admission requirement books
- Some have a general website where you can find the listings of the different schools and general information such as
- Pre-requisite courses needed
- Areas of specialization
- Tuition cost
- As you compile a shorter list of your choices for professional school, you might want more detailed information about each school
- Search through schools' individual websites
- Visit the schools themselves to see their facilities
- Talk to admissions directors
- Chat with students
Remember, it is important to find the right fit; big name schools do not always mean a successful future.