Health Professions Advisory Committee

Our job

The Holy Cross Health Professions Program is unusual in that its committee consists of College faculty from a broad array of disciplines. The committee members serve as individual advisors to juniors, seniors and alumni who are applying to health professional schools (medical school, dental school, veterinary school, physicians assistant programs, etc.) and guide them through the application process. Each advisor helps his or her advisees assemble the materials necessary for the full committee to evaluate application candidates, and presents these materials to the committee at the evaluation meeting. The full committee then evaluates the materials and decides the appropriate level of recommendation for each potential applicant, as well as the tone and content of the recommendation letter. Each advisor then writes the composite recommendation letter that is sent to medical schools for each of his or her advisees. Throughout the process, the advisor is a resource to his or her advisees for advice and information.

Students who wish to apply to medical and allied health professions schools do not have to be evaluated by the committee, but it is very unusual to apply without the committee's recommendation. It often sends a "red flag" to medical schools, as almost all Holy Cross medical school applicants apply through the committee. If you decide to apply without the committee's support, the health professions office will forward your recommendation letters to medical schools for you.

To apply to medical school with the committee's support, students must be evaluated by the committee in the spring semester (no later than May) of the calendar year before intended matriculation. That means that students who wish to enter medical school (and most other health professional schools) in the fall of 2011 needed to be evaluated by the committee no later than May 2010. See the upcoming meetings and deadlines link on the right for specific deadlines.

Required materials to be evaluated

• Autobiographical statement: (up to 10 pages) one copy delivered to the Health Professions Office, one copy e-mailed to Ms. Mickie Casello, mcasello@holycross.edu
• List of courses with professors' names: one copy delivered to the Health Professions Office, one copy e-mailed to Ms. Mickie Casello, mcasello@holycross.edu attached to the autobiography
• List of extracurricular activities, employment, internships, etc. through high school: one copy delivered to the Health Professions Office, one copy e-mailed to Ms. Mickie Casello, mcasello@holycross.edu attached to the autobiography
• Letters of recommendation: a minimum of three letters sent directly to the Health Professions Office (PO Box Health Professions/Premed): one from a professor in your major department, one from a professor in a natural or physical science department, and one from another person who knows you well (who may or not be a professor). While these are the minimum requirements to be evaluated, we usually request at least one additional letter from a science faculty member (especially a laboratory science), and perhaps one or two more. Additional letters can be added to your file at any time. Forms are available at the Health Professions office, Fenwick 322.

Time line to be followed in order to be considered by the Health Professions Committee and apply to medical school, dental school, etc. Click on the image below to obtain a PDF version of the timeline for committee review and for applying to health professional schools.

• Early in fall semester: advisors are assigned after information meeting; alumni and those who cannot attend the meeting should contact the Health Professions Office to obtain necessary materials, get on e-mail notification list and open credentials file.
• Mid to late fall: students should set up a meeting with advisors and start soliciting recommendation letters.
• Late fall-early spring: students should work on and finish autobiographical statement and other materials; copies of all materials and recommendation letters should be sent to the Health Professions Office.
• Mid-late spring: students are given preliminary evaluation by the committee on a rolling basis. Letters specifying the evaluation level are mailed after each evaluation meeting.
• Late May: the committee assigns final evaluations after spring semester grades are reported.
• Late Summer: the committee mails recommendation letters.
• Refer to e-mails for all specific meeting and due dates: it is your responsibility to respond to e-mails sent by the program

Committee Members (2009-2010)

Prof. Andrew Futterman (Chair), Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology

Prof. Melissa Boyle, Ph.D., Dept. of Economics
Prof. Miles Cahill, Ph.D., Dept. of Economics
Prof. Alice Laffey, S.S.D., Dept. of Religious Studies
Prof. Ann Marie Leshkowich, Ph.D., Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology
Prof. Alison Bryant Ludden, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology
Prof. Paul Oxley, Ph.D., Dept. of Physics
Prof. William Stempsey, S.J.,MD, Ph.D.,   Dept. of  Philosophy