The world today is in constant need of well-rounded, highly educated medical professionals, and the Honors College is proud to announce that it has recently implemented a program to help its pre-med students on their path towards becoming physicians. After meeting certain pre-requisites, Honors College students with a pre-med emphasis can apply for the Texas Tech University Health Science Center School of Medicine (TTUHSC) without taking the MCAT.

This exciting opportunity began in Spring 2019 with the establishment of an agreement and relationship between the Honors College and the TTUHSC School of Medicine, overseen by Dr. Kirk Martin. Students who meet the proper prerequisites can now apply and potentially be accepted to the TTUHSC School of Medicine without including an MCAT score, which allows these students to devote attention towards further educational enrichment. So far one student has participated, and several more are now becoming eligible to participate. While the Honors College traditionally graduated 1-2 pre-med students a year, there has been a recent increase in pre-med emphasis Honors students, so this opportunity could not have come at a better time for the students in the Honors College.

In order to participate in this program with TTUHSC, Honors students must meet several requirements, such as earning at least a 30 on the ACT or a 1360 on the SAT, maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.7, remaining in good standing in the Honors College, and entering LCU as a first time freshman. If accepted into the program, Honors pre-med students apply for the TTUHSC School of Medicine in their junior year and submit without an MCAT score. They then complete the application process with the CASPer (an assessment used to determine applicants’ non-academic attributes/people skills) and an interview. If at any point in this process the student is not accepted into the school, the student can apply next year with an MCAT score.

Maddie Hettick, the Coordinator for the Office of Health Professions, advises incoming freshman who are interested in this program to first interview or shadow a doctor before taking the pre-med path. “Coming into college with the hopes of pursuing a pre-med path is not for the faint of heart.” She advises students to take the time to decide if becoming a doctor is truly an ideal they wish to strive for. Once students have firmly decided on becoming a doctor, she then advises students to “study hard for their ACT and SAT because that is the requirement that usually deters students” from participating in the program. Any further questions can be referred to the LCU website or Mrs. Hettick.

The Honors College is proud of its pre-med students, phenomenal individuals who are going to change the world, one person at a time. Students grow exponentially while participating in the pre-med program and while participating in the Honors College’s agreement with the TTUHSC School of Medicine. The opportunity to waive the MCAT is rare, so the Honors College is excited to offer this opportunity to its pre-med students and hopes to help more students grow into the physicians the world will need tomorrow.

–Sarah Fantinel