Eligibility Requirements

Admission as a non-degree student at the University of Colorado Boulder is non-competitive. To join theÌýIndividually Designed Post-Baccalaureate Program, students must have earned a bachelor's degree or above and must meet theÌýfollowing minimum eligibility requirements.

Students who do not yet meet the eligibility requirements for the Individually Designed Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Health program can get started by . Once the minimum eligibility requirements are met, students may proceed with applying for the Individually Designed Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Health program. Prospective and current students preparing to apply for the Individually Designed Post-Baccalaureate program are encouraged to for guidance on selecting your courses and navigating ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder's logistics. Note that academic advisors are not able toÌýoffer pre-health advising.

Eligibility Standards for Admission to the IDA Program

Mathematics

Although Statistics is a valuable math course for pre-health students, we regret that it cannot be used to fulfill the math prerequisite for this program.

We require ONE of the following with a grade of B (not B-) or higher:

  • One semester of College Precalculus (recommended), OR
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  • One semester each of College Algebra and College Trigonometry, OR
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  • One semester of College Calculus 1 or above

Chemistry

We require ONE of the following with grade(s) of B (not B-) or higher:

  • Full year of high school chemistry (please include this information when completingÌýthe Google Sheet in Step 5Ìýon the Get Started page), OR
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  • One semester of college Introductory Chemistry lecture that is designed to prepare students for General Chemistry 1 (lab is not required), OR
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  • One semester of General Chemistry 1 lecture or above. We do not accept chemistry courses intended for non-science majors.

Prerequisite Requirements

  • All prerequisites must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university. We are happy to accept community college coursework, online coursework, and AP, IB, or CLEP (precalculus only) credit to fulfill prerequisites, but please be advised that not all professional schools will accept online coursework or AP/IB/CLEP credit to fulfill their prerequisites.
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    • AP/IB credit must be documented in an itemized list provided by the Registrar's Office at the college that granted the equivalent college credit.
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    • We will accept a CLEP examÌýto fulfill our precalculus prerequisite if you received a minimum score of 74/80, or 92.5%. To use CLEP credit to meet this prerequisite, you must have an official score report sent directly from the toÌýthe University of Colorado Boulder. Your application will not be reviewed until we receive yourÌýofficial CLEP score report.
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    *We understand that many schools changed their grading schemes during the Spring 2020 semester. If you completed your math or chemistry prerequisite coursework in that semester, we will honor Pass/Fail grades for those courses. For all other semesters, we require letter grades.

Degree

To join the Individually Designed Post-Baccaluareate program, students must have earned a baccalaureate degree or higher from an accreditedÌýcollege or university. (An accredited college or university is one that is accredited by the U.S. Department of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.)

Academic History

The majority of our students have cumulative and math/science GPAs of 3.0 or higher.ÌýIn cases in which an individual's academic performance falls below 3.0 or has been highly variable over time, we take a holistic approach to reviewing the academic history, with aÌýfocus on the most recent coursework. WeÌýrarely accept students with GPAs below 2.70 unless there has been a significant, consistent upwardÌýgrade trend.

As you complete Step 4 in our onboarding process, you will be prompted to enter your complete academic history in your Pre-Health Advising Google Sheet to generateÌýyour current cumulative and science GPAs.ÌýIf you would like to provide context for your academic history, you will find an optional prompt in your Google Sheet that allows you to provide that information.

As you complete Step 4 in our onboarding process, you will be prompted to reflect upon your clinical experiences as you fill out your Pre-Health Advising Google Sheet. We require all incoming Individually Designed post-baccalaureate students to have engaged in sufficient clinical experience to inform their understanding of their intended profession.

Examples of qualifying types of clinical experience include:

  • Several hours of in-person clinician shadowing and/or informational interviews with clinicians. (Virtual shadowing, on its own, does not meet this requirement.)
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  • Volunteering or working in a patient-care role in a clinical setting (clinic, hospital, hospice, blood donation center, in-home caregiving, skilled nursing facility, etc.). If you are new to this type of experience, we require a minimumÌýof at least four shifts to be completed.
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  • Completing a CNA,ÌýEMT, or phlebotomy training program, including all required clinical rotations.

Please refer toÌýthis webpageÌýfor further suggestions on ways to gain meaningful clinical experience. Your clinical experiences must extend beyondÌýyour own health issues or those of a loved one.

Eligibility Standards to Retain Access for Individual Pre-Health Advising

Individually Designed Post-Baccalaureate students must earn term GPAs of 3.0 or above.

Note that successful professional school applicants typically earn term GPAs of 3.5 or above for the three consecutive semesters immediately prior to submitting their professional school applications.

Any Individually Designed post-baccalaureate student who has term GPAs that fall below 3.0 for two consecutive semesters will become ineligible for individual pre-health advising and application/interview coaching services until they complete one academic term with a term GPA of 3.0 or higher, while taking 5+ credit hours of prerequisite coursework and/or additional BCPM coursework.

  • During this time, the student is invited to continue to attend program social events and Pre-Health Advising group meetings. Sign up for group meetings by calling (303) 492-5148.
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  • Students who fall below our GPA threshold are strongly encouraged to work closely with Continuing Education's team of academic and career advisors, who can offer guidance and resources to support the student's academic success. Academic and career advisors do not offer pre-health advising.

Individually Designed Post-Baccalaureate students are expected to continually engage in at least 6 hours per month of direct patient interaction in clinical settings. Those who are taking a break from clinical work/volunteering may have no more than a two-year gap, as of the start of each academic term. Note that, for the purposes of becoming a strong candidate for professional school, we do not recommend exceeding a one-year gap in regular clinical experience.

Examples of qualifying clinical experiences include volunteering or working in a patient-care role in a clinical setting (clinic, hospital, hospice, blood donation center, in-home caregiving, skilled nursing facility, etc.). Clinical experiences must extend beyond the student’s own health issues or those of a loved one. Please refer to this webpage for further suggestions on ways to gain meaningful clinical experience.

Those who do not meet the eligibility standard for clinical experience may resume individual pre-health advising and application/interview coaching once they have resumed regular engagement in direct patient interaction in a clinical setting for at least 6 hours per month

Continuing Education's individual pre-health advising services are available to our currently enrolled students as well as to our former students who have completed at least 18 credit hours of pre-health coursework (in any format) in one of our post-baccalaureate pre-health programs.

  • Currently enrolled students must take at least one in-person course each fall/spring to qualify for ongoing pre-health advising.

In rare cases, we may grant exceptions to these enrollment requirements forÌýstudents who have special circumstances. If you would like to be considered for an exception, please discuss with your pre-health advisor who has been working with you most closely.

Prospective IDA Students

  • Until you become eligible for pre-health advising in the Individually Designed post-baccalaureate program at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder, check with your alma mater to see if you are eligible to meet with their pre-health advisors. Many institutions offer pre-health advising to alumni.
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    • If you check with your alma mater and find that you are not eligible for pre-health advising through that institution,Ìýyou may submit a request forÌý. Note that the NAAHP does not have on-staff advisors; rather, it is a professional organization that seeks to connect students with pre-health advisors who have offered to volunteer some of their time to help students who wouldn't otherwise have access to pre-health advising.
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  • As you prepare to apply for the Individually Designed Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Health program, we encourage you to complete the steps in our onboarding process. Details are posted on ourÌýHow to Get StartedÌýpage.
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    • Upon completing and submitting the required tabs in our Pre-Health Advising Notes Google Sheet, our staff will review your academic and experience history to determine if you currently meet the eligibility requirements to join the Individually Designed post-baccalaureate program.
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    • The required video series for incoming post-baccalaureate students (Step 4) provides detailed advice on the following topics:
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      • Guidance on your selection of pre-health extracurricular experiences, such as clinical experience, non-clinical interpersonal service to others, research, etc.
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      • Academic objectives to become a strong candidate for professional school, including advice onÌýprerequisite sequencing
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  • If you are planning to take/retake prerequisite courses for professional school as you prepare to apply to the Individually Designed post-baccalaureateÌýprogram, refer to ourÌýProfession-Specific Details and PrerequisitesÌýpage for a list of ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder course numbers for the most common prerequisites for your intended profession.
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  • ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder's degree-seeking students are eligible for pre-health advising through the Office of Pre-Health Advising (OPHA)Ìýon ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder's main campus for up to two years post-graduation. ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder alumni who have graduated within the past two years may work with either pre-health advising office, but we ask you to choose either one or the other.

International Students

We regret that we areÌýunable to provide immigration support or documentation (such as F-1 visas or I-20s) for students in our Post-Baccalaureate Health Professions programs.

Please be aware that it can be difficult for international students to gain admission to professional school in the United States. For those seeking admission to allopathic medical students (those granting an MD degree), it can be particularly difficult. For more information, please visit the webpage.