Building a Prehealth Foundation at Small Colleges: A Conversation with Dr. Chloe Lash

Last Updated on September 25, 2024 by Laura Turner

Prehealth advising offices are a hybrid of academic advising, career and student services, and scientific education to support dozens of students interested in the health professions. The first prehealth advisors were likely college professors who advised aspiring medical school applicants in the 1960s (as described in our previous article about Committee Letters), and the earliest administrative offices likely formed during the 1970s. Many serve as advisors to student-run prehealth affinity clubs and career-oriented programming. Over the years, many schools have set up support systems for prehealth applicants (with or without a formal prehealth office or committee); many applicants apply independently or find the resources lacking in the support they need.

Our 2022 Advisors of the Year have worked at small liberal arts colleges. With over 3000 colleges in the United States, many programs educate aspiring business leaders and health professionals, including nurses, pharmacists, and rehabilitation science professionals. Their upbringing may come from more rural or religious/faith-based environments. International students may land at these small colleges due to favorable financial aid set up with their home countries. Many students who attend enjoy the more personal touch a low student-to-faculty ratio provides compared to fighting for attention at large universities.

Health professions programs want future professionals who understand the needs of communities likely represented by students at these small colleges, but most success stories come from students attending more prominent universities. How can students at these small institutions with smaller support systems prepare a strong application? Our 2024 Advisor of the Year, Dr. Chloe Lash, offers advice for prehealth students where only a few science professors are available. Dr. Lash is the only environmental biologist among a few science faculty and limited research resources. She was nominated by a successful applicant to veterinary school.

This article includes edited comments from an interview with Dr. Lash (initially transcribed with Temi).

Opportunities in a Small School

As an undergraduate double-majoring in biology and chemistry, Dr. Lash took advantage of the guidance of her faculty mentors and research opportunities off-campus. 

[At freshman orientation], the faculty separated us into two rooms – you know, health professions and everybody else. That’s where I met my advisor, who really is the reason where I am today. … I started as just a biology major and then really enjoyed chemistry. At the prompting of one of the chemistry professors, I added that double major, which has been really helpful in my research.   

Individualized Advising and Mentorship is a Huge Asset

Like many science faculty members at small colleges, Dr. Lash was not interested in a health professional career. Instead, she focused on her passion for research and encouraged students to see how to apply the knowledge they learned in a classroom. Students serious about their science careers are strongly encouraged to join a faculty research lab to complement their career interests. All science students are paired with faculty at her college according to career interests as best as they can.

While I was at Valpariaso, I did some research experience for undergraduates. The National Science Foundation has research experience for undergraduates (REU programs). So I did one at the University of Michigan where I was really able to see a research lab for the first time and have strong women mentors who had families and lives outside of academia. They sat me down and said, here’s how you get into grad school if you want to go to grad school, and all the things you should be doing to get there. I did another REU at the University of Louisville, and that’s where I fell in love with research with ants and plants, which is my primary research area. Then I did some research back at Valpariaso with bird-seed dispersal.

Persistence and adaptability characterize the most enjoyable and successful mentees Dr. Lash has worked with. Before joining a lab, students often got a basic understanding of the research topics that the professors were investigating. Then, they would meet with the professors to discuss opportunities to work in their lab and why they were a fit. Such conversations set the stage for work expectations and attributes for a successful research experience.

I just want students who are going to be persistent. Give something a try, even if they’re not going to work, or they are not going to graduate school in ecology. That’s totally fine. They can at least get this experience.

One student who has been working with me the last couple of years is going to physical therapy school. So she’s not going to work with ants, but she wanted research experience on her resume. … Sometimes you get the pre-med students who are like, “I just want to learn a bunch of facts… just tell me what I need to know.” We’re like, well, we are going to push you a little bit beyond that.

To help her pre-vet mentee, Dr. Lash learned how the veterinary medicine application process worked, including expectations for desirable applicants. The student was not disadvantaged by her undergraduate research project, which had no bearing on issues facing veterinary medicine, but she benefited from Dr. Lash’s strong endorsement supporting her career goals and pre-professional preparation.

Students typically have … advising sessions every semester. So we plan their [courses] and get them registered for the next semester. So if you have 10 advisees, that’s also between five and ten hours of prep time. You go through their schedule and read through your notes from the last advising meeting. This student came…. We probably did a couple of extra meetings too, just to make sure things were on track.

She knew what she wanted, she knew how to get there. So we worked on some three-year plans for her. We got her out a little early with some summer classes; that was a lot of her own motivation. …

Part of our role as an advisor… when we have faculty meetings where we plan the schedule for the next few semesters, [I can say,] “I’ve got an advisee who is going to need [this class and that class] this semester, so we make sure [their scheduled times don’t conflict]. … I might [email the student] or have them come in and … say, here’s what I have you for next semester.

However, students also tend to meet the faculty advisor halfway by learning about what their desired programs want in their prospective students. Then, the advisor provides historical insight about courses the student should take.

[We aren’t saying,] “if you take these classes, you will definitely get into vet school.” We have looked at some high-ranking vet, med, PT, or whatever programs, and we are [noticing] the courses they most often require. It is also important for you as a student to think about where you want to go and look at those requirements. This student was really good about, “here are my top five schools. I need [to take] statistics, so I’m not going to take calculus.” Or, “I don’t need anatomy but I do need physiology.” For any good mentee-mentor relationship, it’s on the mentee to say, “here’s what I need from you.” … 

We don’t expect you to have all the answers, but come in as prepared as you can be. At least look at your degree audit and think about what you might want to take next semester. … Preparedness and just being comfortable asking questions, asking for help when you need it. … I think that helps the most.

At smaller schools, faculty members may also be available to provide feedback about your application.

I started always with a caveat that I’m not a vet professional. If I give you feedback and it is contrary to what someone who is in that field has told you, then do not listen to me. You will not hurt my feelings. …

When students ask me for a letter of recommendation, I have them send me the application. … I usually offer to read through it if they need it at that point. I wouldn’t have gotten into those summer programs as an undergrad or into grad school without the help of mentors reading through things and saying, “You know, you should say ‘this’ this way, or this is a typo.”

I can’t do that for everybody, but those students had a course called Senior Seminar. … In that course, we’re trying to help them prep for the transition to the next stage. I don’t think I had my pre-vet student in senior seminar, but we do mock interviews with students in that class. We do CV, resume building, and feedback. We also connect them to the career center. … I had compiled some interview questions from vet school programs… most common questions, and then, give them a chance to run through it. You look for nerves and try to give some feedback, especially in the light of COVID where students are expected to hop on Zoom and do an interview. It’s not something that they’ve done before. Like I said, I wouldn’t be where I am if it hadn’t been for professors who were willing to do that for me.

Liberal Arts Colleges Sharpen Your Competencies

The student-centered learning environment of a small college helps students develop professional competencies and skills that prepare them for successful professional careers: communications skills, technical and analytical skills, teamwork, and a strong work ethic (adaptability, ethics/integrity, capacity for growth). Small liberal arts colleges are a significant source for future Ph.D. STEM faculty, and many alumni return to teach at similar institutions. Some argue that STEM education is better at liberal arts colleges (Cech, 2012), citing the ability to make strong connections with students as part of their educational excellence at a liberal arts college.

Furthermore, some small colleges are setting up postbac programs to help non-traditional students. For applicants pursuing postbac opportunities run by a small college, be comfortable with the faculty advisors and the small student cohort (How to Choose a Postbac or SMP). Many physician assistant/associate, physical/occupational therapy, communications and speech disorder therapy, health administration, and dental hygiene classes are run at small colleges, so their class sizes are smaller than medical, dental, pharmacy, or veterinary programs; generally, graduates from small colleges don’t feel as overwhelmed.

Small Schools Send Small Numbers of Applicants

Small colleges may graduate a handful of students who successfully matriculate to a health professional program, so it may take a lot of work to identify prehealth students in the more senior classes to anticipate challenges in upcoming required or recommended courses. Connecting with clinical experiences may also challenge students, given that many smaller colleges may have limited opportunities nearby.

Many seek insights from students and professionals from the SDN articles and forums community to gain affirmation about their career interests as healthcare professionals. Other students will find supportive peers through academic enrichment programs, social media connections with affinity or mentoring-focused groups, or a national affinity group.

Seek Summer Research Opportunities at Universities

Small college students aspiring to get exposure to a large academic university should consider applying for summer internships in research labs. Grant-funded undergraduate research opportunities and academic enrichment programs often prefer students from smaller colleges to encourage them in their STEM careers. Others seek summer clinical internships to shadow healthcare professionals. Working on summer research can significantly benefit one’s sense of purpose and application profile.

Small colleges, universities, and institutions host research showcases promoting student scholarship and creativity (Nebraska, Sigma Xi virtual Student Research Showcase). Your faculty advisor will likely be supportive if you can promote their research to a larger audience.

It takes time for us to train you, to work you up to the point where you can be more independent. If you’re at a bigger institution, you might start working with a graduate student, or you might just be cleaning dishes for a little bit or things like that. But see what opportunities are available to get your foot in the door. A lot of institutions have more formal summer programs that you can apply to. I would emphasize, make that connection to a professor’s work, even if you haven’t talked to that person.

Connect Directly with Schools and the Admissions Teams

Students should attend health professional career fairs at nearby colleges or universities. One can learn about recruitment opportunities, tour facilities, and network with current students or faculty by meeting recruiters. All schools want a diverse representation of educational institutions among their student body that reflect their local or mission-centered patient constituency, especially if their mission addresses workforce challenges in more rural areas.

Be Proactive and Respectful of Your Faculty’s Time

Because of the many responsibilities that faculty members must juggle, being respectfully proactive to ensure an on-time application.

I think she sent [her application] to me like three or four months before the app was due. It was to the point where I was like, “okay, you have to repeatedly email me and remind me to do this, because it is not due right now, I might forget about it.” I’ve had students who have a job opportunity pop up with a deadline a week ahead. … 

Start things early because it’s just going to be so much better for you. It’s going to be a better product at the end. You can have people read through it. I can write a letter of recommendation and then put it aside for a week and then come back and edit it… or add extra experiences or whatever has happened in that time. … The sooner the better just because you can do more revising, and listening to feedback and things versus if you got a week turnaround. You have to decide really quickly, are you going to take all my edits or not?

Watch our Interview Conversation

References

Cech, T. R. (1999). Science at Liberal Arts Colleges: A Better Education? Daedalus, 128(1), 195–216. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20027545.  Accessed August 30, 2024.

LiberalArtsColleges.com (n.d.) Liberal Arts Colleges Making a Big Impact. https://www.liberalartscolleges.com/liberal-arts-colleges-making-a-big-impact/. Accessed August 30, 2024. 
Rine, P. J., and Song, W. (2014, March 19).

Strengthening the STEM Pipeline: The Contributions of Small and Mid-Sized Independent Colleges. Council of Independent Colleges and the Lumina Foundation. https://www.luminafoundation.org/resource/strengthening-the-stem-pipeline/. Accessed August 30, 2024.

The background of the image of Dr. Lash was extended using generative AI tools.