Program Highlights
Innovative and Unified Curriculum
Our freshman chemistry course is unusual in that it focuses on organic chemistry. Organic Chemistry Concepts I and II provides a very useful background for further study in upper level biology courses. In addition, those students in fields that require only one year of chemistry will acquire excellent preparation for professional school.
Juniata's introductory biology and chemistry laboratories feature modules that integrate concepts from these two fields in an interdisciplinary perspective and promote critical thinking, teamwork, and research design. This approach gives our students a valuable edge in preparing for summer research opportunities. It also encourages them to problem-solve together, an indispensable asset for their roles in tomorrow's health care teams.
At Juniata the same science courses are taken by students in every pre-health professions program, regardless of the field. This leads to rigorous preparation for everyone and fosters an enhanced sense of camaraderie among students interested in diverse health care specialties.
Health Professions Affinity Group
The Health Professions Program enjoys an excellent relationship with our alumni. These alums, some of whom are practitioners and others who are currently in professional school, are willing to have students contact them with questions, shadow their practices or visit them at their schools, and submit their personal statements for critique. Affinity group members are invited to join our students during a brunch at Homecoming weekend and at the end-of-year HOSA awards celebration.
Student-Friendly Focus
Professors have an "open door policy" and are accessible and committed to helping our students succeed. Juniata does not subscribe to a "weeding out" philosophy. On the contrary, we attempt to help all students meet their goals, even before they matriculate. In this regard, each incoming freshman interested in health professions or the sciences is screened with respect to his or her aptitude for chemistry. If there is a concern, the student registers for a one credit "Extra Help" section in chemistry for the first semester to get them on board. In addition, we cultivate and encourage a student ethos of cooperation rather than competition.
Extracurricular Activities
Students in the health professions programs are encouraged to join and support those extracurricular activities that interest them. In addition to athletics the College offers a wide range of clubs, many of which are health-related. The latter include the Emergency Services and Safety Club and HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America).
Co-curricular Transcript
As an affirmation of the importance of extracurricular activities in the development of each student as a person and as a future health care professional, the college offers a co-curricular transcript. This is an official document that describes the student's activities outside the classroom. The co-curricular transcript is appended to the letters of recommendation and makes an impressive statement about the student's involvement outside the world of academics.
Study Abroad
The International Programs Office at Juniata College offers a wide variety of excellent opportunities for students to study abroad for a semester, a year, or a summer.
As one example, many health professions students elect to spend a year at Leeds University in England where they have the opportunity to take Human Anatomy in a medical school setting. Students who study and live in unfamiliar cultures gain a wealth of experiences that can enhance their ability to provide health care in an increasingly multicultural environment.
Proactive Advising
Good advising is crucial for success in gaining admission to professional school. At Juniata we demonstrate the priority we put on advising students in the health professions by:
- Providing each student with a Health Professions Committee member to serve as one of her or his academic advisors.
- Holding annual meetings for students from each class.
- Ensuring that each health professions student is on an in-house electronic list-server for the distribution of up-to-date and comprehensive information in every health field.
- Providing a formal progress check for all sophomore students.
- Sponsoring student workshops for personal statement writing, interview training, and application submission.
- Providing a full-time Director of the Program, who is an active member of the National and Northeast Associations of Advisors for the Health Professions. The Director also serves as Health Professions Committee Chair and general advisor for all students in the program.
- Offering a special Health Profession resource section of books, admission guides, journals, and CD-ROMs
Admission Exam Preparation
Freshmen through junior students are given a summer reading assignment to enhance their verbal reasoning and reading comprehension scores. In the fall there is a follow-up meeting that includes the administration of the verbal portion of the admission exam for which they are preparing. In addition, all students planning to take MCAT, GRE, DAT, OAT, or PCAT exams in a given year are encouraged to participate in our non-credit in-house prep course from November to April, taught by Juniata faculty.
Training in Interview Skills and Personal Statement Writing
Students planning to apply in a given year receive interview training as a group and then one-on-one sessions with members of the Health Professions Committee. Students who need additional training are referred to the Career Services Office, where they can be videotaped and given further guidance. Juniata also holds two Personal Statement Workshops, in which students learn the "ins and outs" of writing a Personal Statement (Workshop I) and then critique each other's statements (Workshop II).
Special Programs At Affiliated Institutions
Students may attend up to a week in professional school as part of an internship or Prospective Student in Residence Program through our affiliated institutions at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Drexel University School of Physical Therapy, Widener University School of Physical Therapy, the New York Chiropractic College, Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine, and the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine.
Excellent Placement Statistics
All this translates into success for our students (see acceptance rates from the past five years). If a student is not successful the first time we will continue to provide advising and updated letters of recommendation (free of charge) after they graduate, for as long as necessary.