Steps for individuals preparing to apply to enter health profession school in the fall of 2027:
If this is your first time submitting a Portfolio or;
If you previously submitted a Portfolio but you have not hit your lifetime Comprehensive Advising Appointment limit
1) Enroll in our Pre-Health 101 Blackboard page
2) Go to the 2027 Applicants page found in the Pre-Health 101 Blackboard site and complete only Module 1 (NOT Module 2) of the 2027 Application Module.
3.) Register for the 2027 Application Meeting.
4.) Review all the information below, the Instructions for Completing the Portfolio, and FAQs for Current Applicants
5). Submit the 2027 Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections by January 7, 2026, 5pm ET. Even individuals who have previously submitted a Portfolio must submit a 2027 Portfolio by the stated deadline.
Applicants who successfully submit the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections by the deadline (January 7 by 5pm ET) will receive:
- A Comprehensive Advising Appointment for the 2027 cycle (taking place in February – April 2026) and follow up appointments to review updated materials.
- A Letter Packet for the 2027 cycle (medical and dental applicants only)
- Access to the Interview Preparation Series for the 2027 cycle
If you have previously submitted a portfolio & hit your lifetime Comprehensive Advising Appointment limit (i.e. you are no longer eligible to schedule a CAA):
1) Enroll in our Pre-Health 101 Blackboard page
2) Go to the 2027 Applicants page found in the Pre-Health 101 Blackboard site and complete only Module 2 (NOT Module 1) of the 2027 Application Module.
3.) Register for the 2027 Application Meeting.
4.) Review all the information below, the Instructions for Completing the Portfolio, and FAQs for Current Applicants
5). Submit the 2027 Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections by January 30, 2026 by 5pm ET to begin meeting with a pre-health advisor in February – May. Even individuals who have previously submitted a Portfolio must submit a 2027 Portfolio by the stated deadline.
Applicants who successfully submit the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections by the deadline (January 30 by 5pm ET) will be eligible for:
- Regular advising appointments to review updated materials (see appointment limits).
- A Letter Packet for the 2027 cycle (medical and dental applicants only)
- Access to the Interview Preparation Series for the 2027 cycle
Please note:
To begin meeting with a pre-health advisor to discuss your updated application materials in December or January, you must submit the PAR by the optional early deadline of November 14, 2025.
To begin meeting with a pre-health advisor to discuss your updated application materials in January, you must submit the PAR by the January 7, 2026 deadline.
If you were a 2025 applicant to health profession school and missed the 2026 Portfolio deadline, please email preprof@bu.edu with your name, BU ID, and confirmation that you were a 2025 applicant to receive access to the 2026 Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections.
If you have any questions/concerns after you have reviewed these resources, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with a pre-health advisor via Handshake.
Application Module
You must complete the appropriate (see above) 2027 Application Module to get access to the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections. The 2027 Application Module can be found in the Pre-Health 101 Blackboard site under the 2027 Cycle Applicants page.
The 2027 Application Module consists of several episodes and a Self-Assessment exercise. We expect it may take several hours to complete the entire module. You may save your progress and return at any time.
We strongly encourage you to complete the 2027 Application Module before attending the 2027 Application Meeting in September and you must do so before you schedule a Pre-Application Assessment Appointment.
Self-Assessment
The Self-Assessment is NOT a graded quiz with right or wrong answers. We encourage you to apply when you can maximize your opportunities by submitting your strongest application. The Self-Assessment is a tool to help you evaluate whether this is the best cycle for you to apply based on your accomplishments thus far. Please answer the questions honestly and to the best of your ability as your responses will not impact your access to the Portfolio.
You must complete the 2027 self-assessment even if you’ve previously completed one. While some of your responses may not change, we expect that you will update responses as-appropriate.
The Self-Assessment consists of the following questions which we encourage you to prep ahead of time:
Experiences:
- How many total hours of clinical experience do you have since starting college?
- How many total hours of social/community service do you have since starting college?
- How many total hours of research experience do you have since starting college?
Academics
Please use our GPA Calculator to calculate your GPAs.
- What is your overall GPA?
- What is your science GPA?
Short Essays
Each essay question has a required minimum word count of 150 words and a maximum word count of 300 words.
- Please share the circumstances that have enabled you to become the person you are today (e.g. family background, childhood experiences, social/economic factors, etc.).
- What do you value most in life? Please expand on what you mean, how you know, and where you learned/explored this.
- In what ways have you developed your resiliency and coping skills? What are you doing to reduce stress and manage anxiety?
- Complete this sentence: “I want to be a [doctor, dentist, PA, etc.] who…” Please expand on what you mean, how you know, and where you learned/explored this.
- Why will you be a good [doctor, dentist, PA, etc.]? Please expand on what you mean, how you know, and where you learned/explored this.
- What is an area in which you can continue to grow and improve and how do you plan to do so before you apply?
- What makes you a strong applicant for the 2027 cycle? Please expand on what you mean, how you know, and where you learned/explored this.
- What do you think is going to be the most challenging for you this cycle?
All questions in the Self-Assessment are required, and you must complete the entire Self-Assessment exercise to gain access to the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections.
We recommend you save a copy of your responses for your records. Not only will these questions be helpful when completing the Portfolio, but your responses may also be discussed with an advisor in a future Pre-Application Assessment, Comprehensive Advising Appointment, and/or a general appointment.
Application Timelines
Central Application Service Fee Assistance/Waiver Programs
Some applications/central application services offer fee assistance or waivers to financially qualified applicants. The process of applying for fee assistance/waiver programs, as well as the benefits they provide, vary by application/central application service. We encourage you to explore the relevant links below and be aware of the timelines/deadlines to apply.
- AACOMAS (Osteopathic Medical Schools)
- AACPMAS (Podiatric Medical Schools)
- AADSAS (Dental Schools)
- AMCAS & MCAT (Allopathic Medical Schools)
- CASPA (Physician Assistant Schools)
- NursingCAS (Nursing Schools)
- PharmCAS (Pharmacy Schools)
- VMCAS (Veterinary Schools)
OptomCAS does not currently offer application fee waivers. Individual Optometry schools may offer fee waivers.
Comprehensive Advising Appointment
Eligible applicants who complete and submit a Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections (PAR) by the January 7, 2026 5:00 pm ET deadline will qualify for an hour-long comprehensive advising appointment (CAA) in February, March, and April. Individuals who wish to qualify for an early CAA in December or January must submit a PAR by November 14, 2025 5:00pm ET (optional early deadline). A limited amount of early CAAs will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The CAA is an opportunity for you and a pre-health advisor to discuss your achievements in and out of the classroom and help you assess your preparedness for the application process.
You will receive an email, sent to the email address provided in your Portfolio, from the Preprofessional Advising Office concerning the status of your PAR. If you qualify for a CAA, the email will include instructions on how to sign up for a CAA with an advisor.
As a reminder, as of Fall 2023 and starting with the 2025 application cycle to health profession school, applicants are limited to a maximum of ONE (1) CAA in their lifetime. We encourage you to be thoughtful when deciding which application cycle you will be most competitive for and schedule your CAA for that application cycle. If you are unsure whether you will be prepared for the upcoming application cycle to health profession school, we recommend you schedule a “Pre-Application Assessment” with a pre-health advisor through Handshake (available October – January 2026) to review your academics and/or your most updated and comprehensive resume prior to submitting a PAR. At that appointment we will help you consider the best timeline for your application.
Individuals who have completed one or more CAAs before the 2025 application cycle (i.e. 2024 and earlier) may still be eligible for ONE additional CAA. If you are not sure if you are eligible for an additional CAA, please email us at preprof@bu.edu to confirm. If you have had at least one CAA(s) before, you may find that you do not need an hour-long appointment to discuss your PAR. Having completed previous CAAs assumes that you have put significant time and effort into updating your PAR so you may choose to schedule regular 20-30 minute advising appointments that focus on updates of your personal statement, significant updates to your activities/experiences or your school list. CAAs are not required to be completed in order to qualify for the interview preparation series or a Letter Packet.
Additionally, individuals who have already met their lifetime CAA limit are still eligible to meet with pre-health advisors throughout the 2027 application cycle. Students may schedule general advising appointments to discuss anything related to the 2027 application as well as appointments to receive feedback on:
- updated activities/experiences (limit of 2 appointments)
- personal statements (limit of 3 appointments)
- school lists (limit of 2)
- secondary/supplemental essays (limit of 1 appointment to review a small set of questions, see the “Secondaries” section of our FAQs for Current Applicants page for more information).
You must continue to meet with the same advisor to review any 2027 application materials.
Please note that if you miss an appointment to review your application materials (e.g. your CAA, and/or any follow-up appointments to review your personal statement, activities/experiences, school lists, and/or secondary/supplemental essays) because you did not cancel the appointment in advance, that missed appointment will count toward the limit for that appointment type.
Financing Health Profession School
- Medical
- AAMC Physician Education Debt and the Cost to Attend Medical School: 2020 Update
- AAMC 7 Ways to Reduce Medical School Debt
- 5 Things I Wish I knew as a Premed About How to Pay for Medical School
- Financing your Osteopathic Medical School Education
- Medical School Financial Aid
- Paying for Medical School
- The White Coat Investor 10 Reasons Doctors Spend Too Much Money
- Dental
- Nursing
- Optometry
- Physician Assistant
- Pharmacy
- Podiatry
- Veterinary Medicine
Interview Preparation Series
Applicants who successfully complete the PAR, will have the opportunity to sign up for the interview preparation series. The Interview Preparation Series will begin during the summer and provide you with an opportunity to learn how to prepare for interviews as well as practice your interviewing skills with peers.
In order to qualify for the interview preparation series, you must complete and submit a Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections by the stated deadline.
Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are an important component of the application process. Students who qualify may request that the Preprofessional Advising Office submit a packet of up to five letters of recommendation to certain central application services of health profession schools.
Individuals must submit a Portfolio by the appropriate deadline (see section “Steps for individuals preparing to apply to enter health profession school in the fall of 2027”) in order to qualify for a Letter Packet. For individuals who qualify, Letters of recommendation must be received by the Preprofessional Advising Office no later than June 10, 2026 11:59 pm ET to be included in a Letter Packet.
Letters of recommendation must be written on letterhead stationery, must include a signature, and must be accompanied by the Preprofessional Advising Office’s Recommendation Waiver Form. Recommendation Waiver Forms, available on our website, should be given to each of your recommenders and submitted by them to the Preprofessional Advising Office. We strongly encourage recommenders to submit their letters and the waiver form electronically as PDFs to hlthrecs@bu.edu. Alternatively, physical copies of recommendations may be dropped off by the recommender or mailed to the Boston University Preprofessional Advising Office at 100 Bay State Road, Room 428, Boston, MA 02215.
Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections
The Portfolio will provide you with an excellent opportunity to thoughtfully reflect upon your accomplishments and to organize much of the material required in primary (and some secondary) applications. It will also provide pre-health advisors with important information to help you assess your preparedness for the application process and your personal statement.
You must be a BU student or an alumnus who has received a bachelor’s degree from BU and be applying to enter professional school in the fall of 2027 to submit the Portfolio.
By completing and submitting a PAR by the appropriate deadline (see section “Steps for individuals preparing to apply to enter health profession school in the fall of 2027”) , you may qualify for a CAA in February, March, or April, a Letter Packet, and the interview preparation series.
Individuals who wish to qualify for an early CAA in December or January (if they have not yet met their lifetime CAA limit) must submit a PAR by November 14, 2025 5:00pm ET (optional early deadline). A limited amount of early CAAs will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Requesting Transcripts
It is your responsibility to request that all official transcripts from the appropriate institutions be sent directly to central application services. We cannot submit official transcripts on behalf of applicants.
Official Boston University transcripts are ordered online, directly from Parchment. Additional information about ordering transcripts can be found on the Boston University Registrar’s website and our Ordering Transcripts page.
Some central application services may require you to include a “Transcript Request Form” with your Boston University transcript. This form is usually available directly from your application portal or the national association’s website. For more information, contact the appropriate organization directly.
Standardized Tests
Different health professions and schools require different types of standardized tests. Detailed information about the different types of exams is available on our Standardized Tests page.
Note for alumni who are not yet in our 2027 database: It is imperative that you request that we change your year of application. Please email this information to the Preprofessional Advising Office at preprof@bu.edu. By doing so, you will ensure that you receive important email notifications from us. If you prefer to use a personal email address, we recommend you updated your preferences to ensure your BU emails are forwarded to your personal email address as we send email notifications to our applicants’ BU email addresses.
Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections
Enroll in our Pre-Health 101 Blackboard site and complete the 2027 Application Module found in the 2027 Cycle Applicants page to get access to the Portfolio of Accomplishments and Reflections.