He told more than 150 Touro University undergrads, “Everything. We look at it all.” The quality of your course selection, your grades, your MCATs or your dental admissions test (DAT) or other standardized tests, your essay, and your references; they all matter.”

Dr. Halperin went on to say, “Are you more likely to get an interview at a Touro-associated medical, dental, podiatry, or pharmacy program if you are a Touro undergraduate? Yes. We have policies in place that give preferred interview status to Touro undergraduates.”

Dr. Halperin shared his insight and experience as part of an information session for students who came to learn about their career options, what it takes to gain admission into highly competitive programs, and how to become candidates for professional schools in growing fields. Dr. Halperin was one of several academic leaders, deans and representatives of Touro’s medical, dental, podiatry, and pharmacy schools at the event.

Dr. Halperin said that for candidates it comes down to finding the right fit. He noted that there are 172 MD-granting medical schools in the U.S. and Canada, 80 schools of dentistry, 141 schools of pharmacy in the US, and nine schools of podiatry in the US.

“But people will select an institution of higher education based on an impression obtained during a walk-through or the advice of well-meaning friends and relatives,” he said.

Instead, he recommended that applicants evaluate graduate health sciences schools based on each school’s mission, curriculum, clinical material, location, association with other schools and training facilities, and tuition.

Stellar Results

Touro’s results demonstrate that the students would do well to listen to the wisdom dispensed by Dr. Halperin and the other members of the faculty in attendance: More than 90% of undergrads at Touro’s Lander Colleges who apply to medical school and 98% who apply to dental school secure spots.

After hearing from Dr. Halperin and others, the students were invited to meet with the representatives of Touro’s medical programs in attendance—New York Medical College, Touro College of Dental Medicine, Touro College of Pharmacy, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Touro-affiliated New York College of Podiatric Medicine—to learn more and ask individual questions.

“You’ve got some heavy hitters here tonight,” said Halperin. “And I feel comfortable saying that you’re not going to find any other university where the deans of this many professional schools come such a considerable distance to meet with undergraduates.”

The sentiment was echoed by the students in attendance.

Supporting Students’ Career Aspirations

“This was an amazing opportunity to actually meet the deans,” said Tzion Masri, a junior from Brooklyn who is pre-dental. “I learned that Touro Dental School has a program where I actually get to experience four days on campus and get a hands-on feel for what dental school is going to be like. Just for that it was already worth coming to the event.”

And Tzion said it was worth it for him to come to Touro if only because its students get preferential consideration for interviews for its medical and dental programs.

“Dental school is super competitive to get into, and it was important to do everything in my power to succeed,” he said. “It shows that Touro is going out of their way to support their students and ensure they look out for us to help us succeed. It almost feels like we’re part of a large family, with everyone having our best interests in mind.”

Ezra Masri plans to pursue a career in pharmacy, and hadn’t realized the deans would be there when he decided to attend the information session. He was particularly excited to speak to Dr. Henry Cohen, dean of the Touro College of Pharmacy, who told him about some of the opportunities available within the field.

“I wanted to know about eventually building a business within the industry,” said Ezra, from Brooklyn, who is in his second year at Touro in Flatbush. “It was good to hear from an expert that there is upward mobility within the profession, that you can work in many different settings and that there are opportunities for growth and entrepreneurship.”

The deans stressed to the students that that upon becoming medical professionals, they’ll be treating people from many different backgrounds.

“One of the implicit messages communicated is that if you choose medicine or healthcare health, you have to be prepared to serve the totality of the New York City community, or whatever community you live in,” according to Dr. Robert Goldschmidt, Executive Dean of Touro’s Lander College of Arts & Sciences, who organized the program. “You have to be ready and prepared to accommodate and treat patients of diverse backgrounds, with diverse perspectives.”

The message resonated with Shaina Borisute, a senior from Crown Heights. She said that, although she is pursuing a career in nursing, there was plenty of applicable information to glean from the presentation. “I grew up learning a set of values, and my parents taught me to live a certain way,” said Shaina. “And tonight, they talked about how we can hold on to those values, while following professional standards at the same time.”

Chanee Slapochnik, a senior from Crown Heights, arrived at the information session still in the process of determining which field to pursue within the medical profession. Listening to the presentations and meeting with representatives from different schools didn’t make her decision for her. But it did make it a little easier.

“The truth is that ultimately I need to be the one to decide on my future career path,” Chanee said, “but having these experts in so many fields available to talk with will help me figure it out for myself.”