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Post-Baccalaureate
Pre-Health and Special Science Programs

Application Deadlines

Summer Admission: April 1
Fall Admission: July 15
Spring Admission: November 15 (Special Science Only)

* All applications materials must be received in our office by the application deadline.

Application

Applications may only be submitted through our online application system. To begin a new online application, click here. An application must contain all of the following in order to be considered complete:

  • Completed application
  • Current resume
  • Non-refundable application fee of $70.00 (Make checks payable to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania).
  • Application essays
  • Official transcripts from each post-secondary school attended, sent directly to CGS address at left
  • Score report for the SAT or ACT
  • Two letters of recommendation from professional or academic associates, or an employer
  • Copy of AMCAS application, if you have previously applied to medical school

Application Essays

Please respond to each of the following questions. If you are submitting your essays online, please upload them together in one document. Number your essays clearly and begin each essay on a separate page. Responses may be as long or as short as you feel necessary.

  1. Have you ever been placed on probation, dismissed or suspended from any college or university for reasons pertaining to academic integrity? If yes, please include any facts that you believe bear on the significance of this circumstance
  2. Describe the path that brought you to your current interest in the health professions. Give a brief personal history, describing your previous career (or career goals), explaining why you have decided to pursue professional training in the healthcare field. This should include a description of previous experience in health care; please be specific about the amount of time spent (either paid or volunteer).
  3. Describe an experience, event or person that has been important to you in your development. Please do not write an essay about why you want to enter the healthcare field. Any other topic will be acceptable.
  4. If you believe your transcripts and other records do not present an accurate picture of your ability, please explain.
  5. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
  6. Is there other information about yourself that you consider important that has not been covered in the previous questions?
  7. Please list the college-level science courses you have completed, noting grades earned for each course, as well as a cumulative science GPA.

Letters of Recommendation

You must submit two letters of recommendation. Recommendations should come from individuals with whom you have had a close professional or academic association and who know of your desire to enter the healthcare field. If you are applying as a college senior to the Special Science Program and if you have a Premedical Committee Evaluation, it must be submitted as one of your letters. Recommendations may be submitted online or by mail. For online recommendations, please follow the instructions in the Recommendations section of the online application. For paper recommendations, please print a copy of the University of Pennsylvania’s College of General Studies Official Recommendation Form and supply a copy to each recommender.

Standardized Test Scores

Request that your score report for the SAT or ACT be forwarded to CGS. High school transcripts that include official scores are acceptable. If you have taken the MCAT, you must send these scores as well. If you have taken any additional standardized tests (SAT, ACT, DAT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT) you may submit those scores as well. International applicants whose first language is not English must also submit TOEFL scores.Use ETS institutional code 2986 when requesting SAT, GRE, and TOEFL scores.

Interview

After a complete application is received and reviewed, candidates under further consideration are invited to interview with a member of the Admissions Committee. If it is not convenient for you to come to campus, we will arrange a telephone interview. Admissions decisions are generally made within two weeks of the interview.