Pre-health students at Brown rely on Health Careers Advising for everything from first semester course selection to support during the application process to medical school and other health-related programs.
But for years, HCA had a poor reputation among students, the Herald previously reported. In both 2016 and 2022, students cited insufficiencies with the advising support on campus, emphasizing a lack of appointment availability and difficulties in securing necessary application components from HCA in a timely manner.
Now, updates to HCA’s resources and student support could change that.
In the past two years, HCA has made a number of updates to their advising process that Ginger Fisher, assistant dean of the college for pre-professional advising, believes will “support students in their journey to a healthcare career,” she wrote in an email to The Herald.
During the 2015-16 school year, 258 students applied to medical school from the University, according to the Association of American Colleges’ website. Sarah Taylor, a senior teaching associate and academic advisor, told The Herald at the time that HCA was “severely under-resourced” to meet the advising needs of pre-health students on campus.
Due to the small size of the HCA staff, she said, pre-med students who were also biology concentrators turned to the biology department for advising support.
In 2016, HCA was led by George Vassilev, former associate dean of the college for pre-professional advising, whom students said was largely unavailable for support. One student interviewed at the time referred to Vassilev as “more the bouncer at a club” than an advisor.
Pre-health students interviewed in 2016 also highlighted the HCA committee letter as a source of stress in the application process.
Prior to starting the formal application process in June, students had to complete the HCA Dossier, which “is essentially a rough draft of the application to medical or dental school,” Fisher wrote. In 2016, students submitted a draft of their personal statement and activities list as part of the dossier.
Applicants had to then complete an interview with the HCA committee, who would write an individual committee letter informed by each student’s interview and application materials. HCA would ideally submit the committee letter to the students’ American Medical College Application Service portals before the applications closed in September.
But some students noted that their letters were sent as late as early October, which they believed negatively affected their chances of admission. A few of these students speculated that an applicant’s perceived likelihood of acceptance to medical school influenced how quickly the HCA submitted their committee letter, as medical schools do not consider an application until all materials — including the letter — have been submitted.
Six years later, students interviewed by The Herald in spring 2022 echoed these same concerns.
“I think to some extent, (people) have to kind of come to terms with understanding that their committee letter might not come at the earliest date possible, and it's kind of out of their control,” Lang Liang ’22, who had just applied to dental school, told The Herald at the time.
Students also expressed that advising appointments — both for committee letter interviews and for individual meetings — had limited availability, making it difficult for them to seek support throughout their pre-health journeys.
In the past two years, HCA has undergone a number of changes in both staffing and the advising process.
In August 2022, Vassilev departed from the University. His role was temporarily filled by Allan Tunkel, who was named the new health careers advisor expert in residence for the 2022-23 academic year.
That fall, HCA made the decision to replace the committee letter after “reviewing data from other schools and much discussion of the role of the committee letter,” wrote Fisher, who arrived in January 2023 to serve as the assistant dean of pre-professional advising.
In the place of writing a committee letter for each prospective applicant, HCA now compiles a packet of letters for each student. The packet includes a cover letter explaining Brown’s open curriculum, as well as any letters of recommendation that students have requested from faculty or supervisors.
A main reason the HCA transitioned towards utilizing letter packets is because the committee letter process “created a significant amount of stress among students” and was perceived by students as “very evaluative,” Fisher wrote, noting that student-advisor relationships also benefit from “a much more relaxed environment.”
Additionally, the time that used to be allotted for writing HCA committee letters can now be spent on advising appointments with students to discuss their dossiers with an advisor to strengthen their application.
Students are also able to meet with an advisor for a mock interview, in which they will receive “immediate feedback so that they can improve their interviewing skills,” Fisher wrote.
Still, these advising appointments are “in short supply,” pre-health student Zoe Siegel ’25 wrote in an email to The Herald.
Isaac Jin ’27 said that there are limited time slots to meet with the advisors. But he was able to schedule an appointment with Tunkel and received helpful advice about resources and clinical experience.
In the last two years, HCA has also created a Google Classroom that professional health school applicants join in January before they apply. The Google Classroom organizes the resources and information applicants need and enables the HCA to set up advising meetings with students and compile their letters of recommendation.
This past August, HCA launched an updated version of their website with informational sessions on careers in healthcare and application processes.
The new website “is actually what I would have loved to have” while an undergraduate, said alum Saradha Miriyala ’23, who applied to MD/PhD programs this cycle, in an interview with The Herald. She said she wished there was more “specialized” support for students applying to MD/PhD programs and other non-MD professional schools.
According to Fisher, the Health Careers Peer Advisor program has “really taken off in the last two years.”
As HCPAs, a team of seven upperclassmen host open hours to “handle most of the first years’ (and sophomores’) questions and overwhelming feelings” while the advisors assist the upperclassmen with their medical school applications, peer advisor Samira Lakhiani ’25 said.
“As a pre-med, you not only need advising, but you also need community,” Lakhiani added, noting that HCPAs host events to help build community among pre-health students.
Being a pre-health student can be “just kind of challenging” and can involve a “culture of gatekeeping,” peer advisor Mmesoma Nwokolo ’26 said. “Our job is to quiet that noise and help students focus on their passion.”
Kate Rowberry is a senior staff writer at The Herald.
