October Kicks Off Peak Advising Season!

October is a wonderful time to connect with your advisors and professors about your plans for the future. With midterms approaching, it's a great moment to check in with your professors, see how you're doing in their courses, and keep building those relationships. On the advising side, "peak advising" means Spring courses are now viewable in MyBama, and students typically meet with both their college advisor and their prehealth advisor. It may be a busy season, but there are still plenty of ways to connect with us.

What's new this year

This year, our services have shifted to focus on application mentoring. Registration holds are handled by your college or faculty advisor, with the exception of Mr. Worthy (see the chart below). We're still happy to talk about coursework, especially when it comes to planning your prerequisites and timing your standardized test and general "how is it going" conversations. Our goal is for our conversations to center on how you're building your résumé, strategies for test preparation, and how you're developing the professional school competencies that will make your future application shine.

Think of this season as a team effort: your professors can help with midterms and current progress, your college or department advisor can help with next semester's schedule and beyond, and your prehealth advisor can help you build toward your professional school application. We're excited to partner with you, and your collaboration in these conversations makes it work!

Four ways to prepare for your prehealth advising meeting

1. Look over your résumé or CV. Which areas would you like to grow?
2. Review your DegreeWorks and sketch out a plan. We'll help you fine-tune it and build a prerequisite plan that fits alongside the coursework you've discussed with your other advisors. Is your prehealth track listed? If not, we will work to get that added. 
3. Explore our website and your prehealth guide.
4. Use the comments section when booking your meeting. Want to discuss DAT, MCAT, or getting clinical experience? Put it in the notes! 

Key dates

Spring 2027 registration opens Monday, October 26, for graduate students and Tuesday, October 27, for seniors. You can find your registration day and time on the University Registrar website. It is based on earned hours, not any in-progress hours (this semester).

OPMA Prehealth Advising: October 26 – November 6

We'd love for you to meet with your college or department advisor first, so during this window, we're offering virtual Pre-Health Mentoring Check-Ups. These appointments are 15-minutes, but we will be able to cover a lot! These are meant to complement your departmental advising and give us time to talk through prerequisites, catch up on your activities, and map out your next steps together.

You can book a prehealth check-up on our advising website or stop by 200 Clark Hall, and our student assistant will be glad to help you find a time that works. When booking your appointment, select "Prehealth (no pin clear)" as the appointment reason and add what you want to discuss in the comments to help your prehealth advisor prepare for our appointment.

Drop-in advising will pause during this timeframe period, but if you'd like to meet before peak season begins, we still have some availability! Schedule an appointment.

Advising at a Glance

We're here to support you on your path to a career in health. Here's a quick guide to what we can help with, and who to reach out to for everything else.

The Office of Pre-Professional Mentoring and Advising will launch its Cycle 2028 application support program, Pre-Health Application Support and Education (OPMA P.H.A.S.E.) course modules, by the end of the business day on October 2, 2026.

This is a free application support program designed for students applying to medical, dental, and optometry schools in the summer of 2027 for matriculation in 2028.

By Wednesday, November 4, all registered students will be added to a no-credit Blackboard course titled OPMA PHASE Cycle 2028 (it will appear under Others near the bottom, with no year or date). Students will have four weeks to complete the first phase of the program in order to remain enrolled and proceed to the second phase.

Interested student-applicants will be required to review and complete modules within the course to begin the process of obtaining a committee interview and letter packet. Please register using the link below.

One of the most common questions pre-health students ask is, "What should I major in?" Some assume they need a traditional science major, such as Biology or Chemistry, but that is not the case. As your prehealth advisors, we encourage you to choose a major that genuinely interests you. When you enjoy what you're studying, it often shows in your motivation, your study habits, and even your grades.

You can pursue any major as long as you complete the prerequisite courses for your pre-health track. If you're still deciding, we recommend attending the Majors Fair hosted by the Capstone Center for Student Success (CCSS). This campus-wide event is a great opportunity to explore majors, minors, concentrations, and academic resources to support your success.

Please see the flyer below for details.

Trying to get some medical shadowing experience to see what a physician's life truly looks like? Apply for the Spring 2027 CHS 230 Medical Shadowing class. Applications will open on Monday, October 5, and will be accepted through Monday, October 19. Accepted students will be notified by 4 PM on Thursday, October 22. 

Visit the College of Community Health Sciences Shadowing Program page for more information. 

The SGA and the Shelby Institute are teaming up to bring you From Application to Admission: Medical School, an event for undergraduates who want to understand the medical school application process and how to prepare for a career in medicine.

Hear directly from Dr. Christina Grabowski and Dr. J. Russell Guin of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and Family Medicine Residency Program as they share insights on medical education and practical advice for future applicants.

📅 Monday, October 12
🕓 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
📍 Tuomey Hall

RSVP to reserve your spot and see the flyer below for more information. 

The College of Communication and Information Sciences is exploring a new minor in Health Communication designed with prehealth students in mind, covering skills like explaining diagnoses to patients, running effective public health campaigns, and communicating across healthcare teams to reduce errors.

As a prehealth student, strong communication skills are essential for patient care, interprofessional collaboration, and your professional school applications, and this minor could give you a competitive edge. The college is gauging interest before moving forward, so please take 5 minutes to complete this short survey. 

The Department of Communication Studies offers courses that develop essential knowledge and skills aligned with key pre-health competencies, including interpersonal communication, oral communication, teamwork and collaboration, understanding others, and empathy and compassion. Several of these courses also carry a core attribute that may count toward your General Education requirements. The Spring 2027 course offerings include:

Spend four weeks in Elmina, Ghana, taking part in a medical mission at a local District Health Center. You’ll be involved in day-to-day clinical activities, support public health outreach in rural communities, and have opportunities to visit specialized healthcare facilities.

Led by UA faculty, this six-credit-hour international health elective offers a firsthand look at healthcare in a different cultural setting. With English as the official language and Akan commonly spoken among patients, you’ll also develop practical cross-cultural communication skills. For more information, see the flyer below and contact Dr. Thaddeus Ulzen.

October 14 - Midterm Grades Available

October 26 - Registration for Spring 2027 begins. Ensure all holds are resolved, and see an advisor to discuss your course plans.

Check your registration date and time based on your student classification and earned hours. 

October 28 - Last Day to Drop a Course with a Grade of "W" for the Fall Full Term

October 29 & 30 - Mid-Semester Study Break (No Classes!) 

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has released its testing calendar for the 2027 testing year. Students planning to take the exam are encouraged to create an AAMC account now to help minimize potential delays when MCAT registration opens.

The AAMC will also host a free webinar, "2027 MCAT® Testing Year Update for Examinees", at 4:00 PM CST on Tuesday, October 6. The webinar will provide additional information about the 2027 testing year and the registration process.

Scheduling for the 2027 MCAT test dates will open October 20 -22. Read the Getting Ready for October Registration to better prepare yourself. 

For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit the AAMC website.

Pre-Health Shadowing invites you to upcoming free virtual shadowing sessions, open to all students, including undergraduate and graduate students interested in healthcare! Each session allows you to earn a certificate for shadowing hours, making it a valuable addition to your résumé or application as you explore and apply to different healthcare careers.

Here are the upcoming sessions for October:

If craniofacial biology, tissue engineering, or cancer research excites you, consider the Oral Health Sciences (OHS) PhD Program at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, which is now recruiting prospective graduate students.

Admitted PhD trainees receive full tuition coverage, health insurance, and a stipend. Dual-degree pathways (DDS/PhD), other PhD programs, and a one-year master's program are also available.

To learn more, register for an upcoming information session and see the flyer below.

Upcoming Deadlines

Dual Degree Programs (DDS/PhD): October 15

Standard OHS PhD Track: December 5

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