Prehealth Program
Brandeis has an excellent record of preparing midyear students to pursue science degrees and education in the health professions, including medicine and dentistry.
With some careful planning, midyears can position themselves to attend top medical schools or other science graduate programs. There are a number of benefits to starting your academic career in the spring. The senior year of high school is often filled with tough AP courses, the stress of college admissions and other high-pressure situations. A semester off gives you time to refresh mentally and get ready for your college studies.
Beyond perhaps taking a course or two in the fall, you can focus on other prehealth or science-related activities, such as gaining EMT certification, working in a hospital or doing research full time. Such experiences can help strengthen your understanding of the health and science-related professions and improve your candidacy for professional school.
Students wishing to major in the sciences, social sciences or humanities and also be on the prehealth track will find they have several options for pursuing their studies. However, it is important to note that because of scheduling for science classes, midyear science students may need to be proactive and take a chemistry class approved by Brandeis during the fall before they enter Brandeis or over a summer. For example, students can:
- Decide to attend a first-semester general chemistry class and lab at Brandeis during the summer after high school. (This allows them to continue their study of general chemistry immediately when they arrive on campus in the spring term.)
- Complete a year of general chemistry during the summer following their first semester at Brandeis, and then start organic chemistry and biology during their second (fall) term.
- Take a year of prehealth courses during the summer after their third semester at Brandeis, allowing them to complete the prerequisite courses.
- For more information on majoring in prehealth at Brandeis, consult the Prehealth Advising Website.
