Health Professions Recommendation Committee (HPRC)

SMU has had an active Health Professions Recommendation Committee (HPRC) for more than 25 years. Each spring, members of the Committee meet to interview students applying to medical and dental schools. Interviews may also be arranged for students applying in other areas, for example, veterinary medicine, physician assistant, or optometry.

To be eligible to interview with the HPRC, students must:

• Be currently enrolled at SMU as a degree-seeking undergraduate student*
• Have a minimum GPA of 3.30** (cumulative and science)
• Attend an application workshop (offered between January and February each year)
• Have completed at least one semester (including 6 hours of science credit) prior to the spring of HPRC application
• Have completed at least 50 hours of healthcare experience (shadowing, volunteering, employment) and 50 hours of volunteering (non-clinical setting)
• Complete and submit a Health Professions Recommendation Committee (HPRC) application packet by the due date and time.

The HPRC interview provides an opportunity for students to sharpen their interview skills and receive valuable feedback. Committee members review the student's academic progress, extracurricular activities, essays, and letters of recommendation. Students are required to have a minimum of three academic letters of recommendation, including two letters from science professors, when HPRC application packets are submitted in March. Students should also be prepared to discuss personal attributes, motivation, goals set, and experiences. Committee members provide comments to the HPRC Chair, who writes a committee letter of evaluation. This letter, accompanied by individual letters of recommendation, is submitted to medical and dental schools upon the student's request.

Students must interview with the HPRC to receive a committee letter of evaluation. Second interviews are not guaranteed, therefore, students should only interview in the cycle in which they plan to apply. Priority is given to undergraduates and alumni (within three years of graduation) who have not previously interviewed with the HPRC. Alumni should contact the Office of Pre-Health Advising for additional information and requirements by February 1st of the year they would like to interview and apply.

We encourage students to be informed about the HPRC process and begin to establish meaningful relationships with professors and mentors early in their academic careers. Medical and dental schools will often expect a letter of evaluation from the undergraduate institution if it is known that the institution has a Health Professions Recommendation Committee.

*Non-degree seeking students are not eligible to interview with the HPRC.

**ALL grades will be used to determine the minimum GPA requirement (including repeated courses at SMU under the Grade Replacement Repeat policy).