Many students have entered health professions after attending Bluffton University. Most of these students completed the requirements for a BA with a major in chemistry, or biology, or pre-medicine, or some combination of these.
Our graduates have been successful in:
Admission to professional schools after college typically requires good performance on an exam such as the Medical College Aptitude Test (MCAT) or the Dental College Aptitute Test (DCAT), and a good GPA, and good performance in specific chemistry, physics, and biology courses.
Chemistry majors who take several biology courses, or biology majors who take several chemistry courses typically have good success if they perform well in these courses.
Bluffton also offers a pre-medicine major. The pre-med coursework includes those courses most often expected by medical schools, and these courses provide a broad science preparation that should help the student perform well on any of the health-profession aptitude exams. However, medical schools do not require a pre-medicine major and most Bluffton students who have entered health professions have majored in biology or chemistry or both.
A student majoring in chemistry or biology has post-graduation options as a chemist or as a biologist if he or she elects not to enter the health professions whereas a student majoring in pre-medicine has fewer options. Therefore pre-health-profession students should carefully consider all options before choosing a particular major. Science professors are prepared to help students examine these options.
Announcing:
The Dr. John Kraft Award
Special support for Bluffton graduates who attend medical school
A university endowment, funded by Dr. John Kraft (class of 1958), provides a $5,000 loan/grant to a graduating senior who enrolls in and completes one full year of medical school. This financial support is awarded in the form of a loan that is cancelled upon completion of the first year of medical school. Recipients are chosen by a faculty award selection committee in consultation with the academic dean. Interested students should contact the pre-med program advisor for more information about the program or to apply for this award.
