Samantha Giordano-Mooga, Ph.D., launched a course this fall that focuses on preparation for professional schools — including access to leading test-preparation classes for the MCAT and more.As a faculty member in the Biomedical Sciences Program in the School of Health Professions and the school’s director for undergraduate research and honors, Samantha Giordano-Mooga, Ph.D., is “constantly helping students prepare for health professional schools,” she said.
No matter what program they are interested in, however — medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, physician assistant — one group of students always seems to perform best on the MCAT, DAT and other standardized tests that schools use to help select applicants. Those are the ones who can afford the several thousand dollars to enroll in specialized test-prep courses. “I have seen that it does improve their chances of getting into a professional school,” said Giordano-Mooga, an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences.
But because the fees for these private courses cannot be paid with student loans, not everyone can take advantage, Giordano-Mooga notes. “A lot of our students don’t have access to that kind of money,” she said. “This made me frustrated, because I am a big believer in making an equitable playing field. I want it to be fair for everybody.”
Test prep, mentorship and more
Starting two years ago, Giordano-Mooga began talking with representatives from a leading test prep company about embedding a prep course within a for-credit class in the School of Health Professions. This fall, the 4-credit-hour Preparation for Professional School and Exam Preparation for Health Professions class debuted in the SHP catalog. It is open to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students from across campus and includes a range of elements in addition to test prep. “For every 10 students, there is a mentor with a great deal of experience in working on professional school applications,” Giordano-Mooga said. “They work on personal statements and their CVs and do practice interviews and shadow professionals in their area of choice.”
The class “has offered many great resources in helping me prepare for the MCAT and medical school applications that I would not have had access to without it,” said Alexander Ritter, who is majoring in biomedical sciences.
“Preparing for medical school is an intimidating and challenging season of life,” added Rylie Scarbrough, another biomedical sciences major taking the class this semester. “Having the opportunity to take a prep class for course credits is not only rewarding but comforting to know that many others are working toward the same goal.”
The goal: "Seeing students succeed"
The class is a mix of juniors and seniors, along with some graduate students. “We created a graduate course with a cross-listed code,” Giordano-Mooga said. “The graduate students are required to do more home assignments, shadowing and informational interviews.”
Giordano-Mooga and her fellow mentors as part of the class “are all interested in seeing students succeed first and foremost,” she said. “Each mentor has read at least 100 personal statements and has extensive experience practicing interviews with students.” Nearly 50 students have enrolled for the first semester, and they are excited by the opportunity to boost their chances of fulfilling their dreams of professional school. “I have had plenty of students tell me they could not have afforded to take a test-prep course on their own,” Giordano-Mooga said. “This is my way of giving back to my undergraduate students. It is a labor of love.”
