Setting Yourself Up for Academic Success

With professional school admission becoming more competitive over time, prioritizing academic success is incredibly important for pre-health students. Below, you can see the recommended cumulative GPA for students applying to various professional school programs:

We know that maintaining an excellent GPA is a challenging task, especially when you are taking difficult science courses. It is common for pre-health students to reach a point in college where the study strategies they used in high school are not working for them anymore.

Pre-Health students don’t get great grades by trying to accomplish everything on their own—they get great grades by asking for help and using the resources available to them. We encourage you to reach out for help early and often so you can build study strategies that help you succeed in your classes and set you up to have a competitive GPA for your professional school application.

As a KSU student, all of these free resources are available to help you along the way:

Academic Achievement Center

Content Tutoring: Meet with a peer tutor to work through challenging course content together! There are drop-in and scheduled, in-person and virtual appointments available, covering 80+ courses at KSU. For some pre-health students, attending tutoring can bridge the difference between getting a B or an A in a class, which can help you maintain as high of a GPA as possible. You do not have to be failing a class to use tutoring resources!

In addition, working as a tutor is a great way to stay fresh in content you will need to know for professional school entrance exams. One of the best ways to learn is to teach!

Academic Coaching: An Academic Coach will guide you in creating and achieving an academic success plan based on your personal goals. Coaches help develop academic skills and connect students to resources. College is a marathon, not a sprint, and it's helpful to have a coach alongside you supporting you through it. Students who attend 3-4 academic coaching meetings at KSU report an average 0.5 – 1.0 GPA increase.

Success Tools: The Academic Achievement Center provides open access to their popular success tools, such as the Semester at a Glance academic planner, 7 Day Study Plan, and Backwards Mapping worksheets. Try them out and see what works for you!

Other Academic Success Resources

Office Hours: Each of your professors will offer office hours throughout the semester. These hours are usually noted on the course syllabus. During office hours, you can meet with your professors to ask questions about course content and assignments. Use this resource to learn how to make the most of office hours.

Writing Center: Make an appointment at the Writing Center to get feedback on writing assignments for your classes, and use the writing checklist tool to guide your writing process.

Library Services: At Hale Library you can get help from campus librarians to access books and databases for research, reserve private study rooms, or use the state-of-the art resources in the Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab.

Academic and Career Advising

Pre-Professional Advising: Meet with your Pre-Health Advisor at least once per semester to discuss prerequisite classes for your pre-professional designation and how to become a competitive applicant.

Major Advising: Meet with your major advisor to plan your coursework to complete your bachelor’s degree.

Career Advising: Sometimes, maintaining motivation to succeed in your classes can feel a bit easier when you are in a major you are excited about. If you are unsure whether your major is the right fit for you, consider scheduling a career exploration appointment at the Career Center.

These are just a handful of the many resources available to you as a KSU student. Learning to ask for help from others is an important skill to gain before going to professional school, so start using these resources now to set yourself up for academic and career success!

 

**Special thanks to Luke Matulewicz, Assistant Director of the Academic Achievement Center, for contributing to this blog.