Questions to Ask Pre Med Advisor
Questions for a pre-med advising appointment, covering prerequisites and course order, committee letters, MCAT timing, clinical hours, recommendation letters, and what applying costs.
20 questions, each with the reason to ask it · includes a conversation guide
The questions
Open any question to see why it works.
- 1
What does your office do, and what am I expected to handle myself?
Pre-health offices differ enormously: some track your requirements and coordinate letters, others give general advice once a term. Knowing which you have prevents you from assuming someone is watching your file when nobody is.
- 2
Does our school write a committee letter, and what do I have to do to get one?
Where a committee letter exists, schools notice its absence, and eligibility often depends on deadlines and a minimum GPA set locally rather than by any medical school. Missing that internal deadline is a self-inflicted wound that no later effort fixes.
- 3
Which prerequisites do I still need, and are any of our courses not accepted?
Substituted, online, or pass-fail versions of a science requirement are sometimes rejected by individual schools. Your advisor is the person most likely to know which of your institution's courses have caused problems before.
- 4
Are there courses here that premeds regularly take in the wrong order?
This asks for local knowledge rather than a plan you could read online. Advisors usually know which sequence overloads a term, which lab is only offered in the spring, and where students get stuck a year behind.
- 5
What GPA and MCAT range do applicants from here usually have?
Institutional context matters more than national averages, since your grades sit next to those of your classmates in the eyes of an admissions committee. If the advisor cannot answer, that itself tells you how much data the office keeps.
- 6
How many students from here applied last cycle, and how many were accepted somewhere?
A school quoting only an acceptance rate for committee-endorsed applicants is reporting a filtered number. Ask for the denominator, since the difference between those two figures reveals how much screening happens before the letter.
- 7
When should I sit the MCAT relative to my coursework?
The answer turns on which content you have covered, not on your year of study. Sitting it before biochemistry or psychology, depending on the exam's current content, means studying two subjects from scratch on top of a full course load.
- 8
Is there a term when I should avoid the MCAT because of my class load?
Advisors see the same collision every year: a heavy lab term plus MCAT preparation, and both suffer. This question turns generic timeline advice into a decision about your actual schedule.
- 9
What counts as clinical experience here, and how many hours is enough?
Definitions vary, and hours spent where you never speak to a patient are weaker than fewer hours with real contact. Ask what the advisor considers thin, because that threshold is what a screener applies to your file.
- 10
Which hospitals or clinics near campus actually take undergraduates?
This is the most practical thing an advising office holds: current contacts, and knowledge of which volunteer programs have long waiting lists or a minimum commitment. Cold-emailing departments wastes months by comparison.
- 11
How much does research matter for the schools I am likely to apply to?
Research weighs very differently at research-intensive schools than at those focused on primary care. An advisor who says it matters everywhere has not asked where you intend to apply.
- 12
Will my major help or hurt me, and should I change it?
Medical schools accept applicants from any major provided the prerequisites are done, so the real question is whether your major protects your GPA and leaves time for clinical hours. Watch for advice driven by departmental habit rather than your case.
- 13
How do I tell whether a professor will write a strong letter or a lukewarm one?
A polite yes from someone who barely knows you produces a letter that quietly weakens your file. Advisors can usually tell you which faculty write in detail and how much interaction they expect first.
- 14
Who should my letters come from, and when should I ask?
Requirements differ on science faculty, non-science faculty, and non-academic writers, and asking during the term you finish a course produces a better letter than asking a year later. Get the combination confirmed before you approach anyone.
- 15
What does the application year look like month by month?
Because most schools review on a rolling basis, submitting late in the cycle competes for interview slots that are already partly filled. Seeing the year laid out shows how early the preparation actually has to start.
- 16
What does applying actually cost, from MCAT registration to interview travel?
Registration, preparation materials, primary and secondary applications, transcripts and travel add up well beyond what students expect. Getting a realistic figure early lets you plan or seek assistance rather than cut your school list at the last minute.
- 17
Should I apply for fee assistance, and what is the deadline?
Assistance programs have their own timelines and documentation requirements, and approval can affect how many schools you can afford to include. Advisors know who has qualified before and how long the process takes.
- 18
What is the weakest part of my application as it stands?
This invites the assessment most students avoid asking for. A specific answer gives you something to work on; a reassuring non-answer means you should seek a second opinion from someone who has read files.
- 19
Would a gap year help me, and what would I need to do with it?
Taking time is now common enough that it carries no stigma, but an unstructured year does not strengthen anything. The useful part of the answer is what the year would need to contain to change your file.
- 20
Should I be considering osteopathic programs as well, and how would that change my plan?
The application service, letter expectations and timelines differ from the allopathic route. Deciding late usually means missing a requirement, so ask while you still have terms in which to fix it.
Getting Value from Pre-Med Advising
Practical guidance for the conversation itself.
Before the Appointment
Before the Appointment
Bring your transcript and a draft plan
An advisor reacting to a written plan gives you far more than one asked what you should do. Two columns, terms remaining and what you intend to take, is enough.
Send your questions in advance
Numbers about past applicants, prerequisite exceptions, and committee deadlines often need looking up. Emailing beforehand converts the meeting from record-hunting into advice.
Book earlier in the term
Advising offices are busiest immediately before registration and application deadlines. A meeting six weeks earlier is usually longer and less rushed.
In the Meeting
In the Meeting
- Ask which parts of the advice are institutional requirements and which are the advisor's opinion. The two carry very different weight when they conflict with something you read elsewhere.
- Write down every deadline mentioned, including internal ones, and add them to a calendar before you leave the building.
- Ask for a name whenever a resource is mentioned. A person to email is worth more than a department.
- If you are told your numbers are competitive, ask competitive for which kinds of school. The word means little without a list.
- Send a short summary by email afterwards and ask them to correct anything you misheard. This creates a record you can return to a year later.
Common Mistakes
Common Mistakes
Treating one advisor's view as the whole picture
Advisors vary in how current their knowledge is, particularly on exam content changes and osteopathic requirements. Check anything decisive against the official application service documentation.
Waiting until the application year to make contact
Committee letters, prerequisite gaps and clinical hours all need lead time measured in terms. A first meeting in the final year mostly produces a list of things it is too late to change.
Asking only about requirements
Meeting every requirement produces an application that is complete rather than persuasive. Ask what makes a file from your school memorable, not just acceptable.
Hiding a poor grade or a withdrawal
Advisors cannot help with something they only learn about after the fact, and academic records are visible to admissions committees regardless. Raise it early and ask how it is usually addressed.