Applying to Medical or Dental School

On this page:

• Eligible Students
• The Role of the Health Professions Committee
• The Role of the Student
• Forms

Eligible Students

In order to start the application process this spring for medical or dental school, you must:

• Be a junior or senior
• Have a GPA ≥ 3.00
• Have completed (or be currently enrolled in) the required courses for medical or dental school:
  • 1 year general biology with labs
  • 1 year general chemistry with labs
  • 1 year organic chemistry with labs
  • 1 year general physics with labs
  • *In preparation for the MCAT, students should plan to take one semester each of genetics, cell biology, psychology, and sociology. Two semester of biochemistry may substitute for cell biology.
• Plan to take the MCAT (spring or summer of 2026) or the DAT (spring or summer of 2026)
• Plan to apply to medical (allopathic or osteopathic) or dental school during the summer of 2026 for admission in the fall of 2027
• For your information, the following table shows GPA and standardized test scores for students accepted to medical and dental school:

The Role of the Health Professions Committee

• The purpose of the Health Professions Committee at Gettysburg College is to write composite evaluations for students applying to medical or dental school.
• The members of the Committee are Drs. Jameson, Kittelberger, Noreen, Powell, and Katy Mattson (Career Engagement).
• The Committee process is as follows:
  • Review applicant’s academic record
  • Review materials submitted by applicant
  • Review letters of recommendation solicited by applicant
  • Interview applicant
  • When the committee decides to recommend a student, write a composite evaluation (with excerpts from individual letters of evaluation) and send composite evaluation to medical or dental schools once the student has applied through the appropriate centralized application service

The Role of the Student

Return all completed materials to Olga Smith by Friday, December 5, 2025.

Email Olga Smith at osmith@gettysburg.edu to request forms to interview with the Health Professions Committee. For any questions regarding the interview process, please email Katy Mattson at kemattso@gettysburg.edu.

a. Information Form for Health Professions Applicants

b. Request, Waiver, and Inspection Form for Health Professions Committee Composite Letter of Evaluation

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Buckley Amendment) enables you to have access to your letters of evaluation. You have the option to either waive or retain the rights to read your letters. However, admissions committees prefer to receive confidential letters assuming that a more candid and helpful evaluation will usually be written if the recommender knows the confidentiality of the evaluation will be respected. Therefore, it is generally advisable to waive your Buckley Amendment rights.

In order for the Health Professions Committee to consider your request for a composite evaluation, it is necessary that you grant permission to the Health Professions Committee to inspect your academic records (including Honor Commission proceedings) and disciplinary records (including Student Conduct Review Board proceedings) at Gettysburg College.

c. Resume

• Resume Basics Checklist
• Step-by-step Resume Writing Guide
• Resume Writing

d. Autobiographical Narrative

Personal Background

Please provide an answer under each question below, ONE OR TWO SENTENCES MAXIMUM (all answers to these questions should fit on 1 page). If you have not participated in any experience, please feel free to write N/A.

Academic history

• Tell us about any research experience?
• Tell us about your study abroad?
• What are your feelings about your academic experience?
• Please explain any “withdrawal” or low grades (C- or lower) on your transcript.
• Please provide an explanation if any required courses for medical/dental school were taken off campus.

Medically-related experience

• What important lessons did you learn from your medically related (and/or community service) experiences which are not mentioned in your personal statement?

You!

• Provide one or two examples of how you have demonstrated any (not all) of the following interpersonal competencies: service orientation, social skills, cultural competence, teamwork, oral communication
• Provide one or two examples of how you have demonstrated any (not all) of the following intrapersonal competencies: ethical responsibility to self and others, reliability and dependability, resilience and adaptability, capacity for improvement

Other comments

• Please specify how you are planning for the MCAT/DAT and how you feel about your preparation. If you have already taken one of these tests, please elaborate.
• What plans do you have if you are not recommended or accepted to medical or dental school on the first try?

Personal Statement Draft

Please attach an initial draft of the personal statement you may use for medical or dental school. While this may not be the final statement you submit with your application, it is helpful for the committee to get a sense of what you plan to write. Please adhere to the appropriate character limits (4500 characters dental school or 5300 for medical school).

e. Letters of Evaluation (due to Olga Smith by January 18, 2026)

Each applicant must solicit four letters of evaluation from Gettysburg College faculty members to be submitted to the Health Professions Committee. Three of these letters should be from faculty members in the natural sciences, and one letter should be from a faculty member in the humanities or social sciences. If the applicant wishes, he or she may request a fifth letter from a member of the Gettysburg College community who is not a member of the faculty (for example, a coach, work-study supervisor, or a director of an immersion project)

All letters of evaluation must be submitted in a Word document to the Health Professions Committee electronically, along with the signed waiver form, by Sunday, January 18, 2026, to Olga Smith (osmith@gettysburg.edu).

1. Interview with the Health Professions Committee

Interviews will begin on or around January 30, 2026 (dates and times TBA). You will receive an email in advance from Olga Smith with the date and time of your interview.

2. Take the Appropriate Standardized Test

Applicants to allopathic or osteopathic medical school must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Applicants to dental school must take the Dental Admission Test (DAT).

MCAT Information

DAT Information

Please note: All students taking either the MCAT or the DAT are asked to release their scores to the Health Professions Advisor at Gettysburg College.

3. Apply to Medical or Dental School via the Appropriate Centralized Application Service

Applications to medical and dental schools in the United States are commonly handled by a centralized application service. The student submits a single copy of his or her application to the centralized application service. This is known as the “primary application”. The centralized application service ensures the application is complete and correct, and then distributes the verified application to the medical or dental schools designated by the student. Individual medical or dental schools may then request additional materials from the student. These additional materials are known as the “secondary application”.

The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) (www.aamc.org) is the centralized application service for allopathic medical schools. The on-line application becomes available on May 1.

The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS) (www.aacom.org) is the centralized application service for osteopathic medical schools. The on-line application becomes available on May 1.

The American Association of Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) (www.adea.org) is the centralized application service for dental schools. The on-line application becomes available on June 1.

4. Copy of Your Centralized Application

If the Health Professions Committee recommends a student, a composite evaluation will be sent to the appropriate medical or dental schools once the student has applied through the proper centralized application service. Therefore, it is essential each student provide the Health Professions Committee with a copy of their submitted (with date and time posted) centralized application, which includes a list of schools to which they are applying prior to the committee writing a composite evaluation. Please send a PDF of your centralized application to Olga Smith (osmith@gettysburg.edu) as soon as your application is submitted.

Forms