Pre-Professional Programs

Since entrance requirements among professional schools vary considerably, Hope College provides students with extensive planning assistance. Faculty members help to tailor a program that meets the requirements of the professional school of your choice. The Career Planning Library offers a collection of resources to assist in all phases of your career search.

No matter what area of the health professions interests you most, Hope College can help you design a course of study that meets professional school requirements. You’ll be assisted by the Hope Health Professions Advisor, a Clinical Professor and Assistant Advisor, and by knowledgeable faculty members. The College’s Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, nationally recognized for excellence in education and research, has carefully structured its course offerings to strengthen your chances for acceptance to professional programs. Hope also offers many opportunities for internships and other experiences in the health professions, including health mission trips abroad.

The following statistics reflect a 10-year average:

• In a typical year, 20 to 30 Hope students apply to medical school.
• The medical school acceptance rate for students with a GPA of 3.4 and higher is 89 percent.
• The medical school acceptance rate for first-time applicants at Hope with a GPA less than 3.4 was 76.5 percent.
• The overall acceptance rate of Hope College medical school applicants was 85.3 percent.
• The dental school acceptance rate for students with a GPA of 3.2 and higher is 78 percent.

Download Hope's most recent medical school and dental school placement statistics (PDF files).

Law

Hope has a rich pre-law program, the success of which is reflected in the high rates of admittance by Hope students into law school. Hope’s pre-law program is far more developed than programs at most liberal arts institutions of its kind. Among the opportunities afforded by the pre-law program are:

• In-depth advising from Hope faculty on a range of issues related to preparing for and getting into law school.
• An impressive array of law-related courses — Constitutional law, the Judicial Process, Law & Society, The Philosophy of Law, and more — for those students who wish to cultivate substantive knowledge of the law and legal systems.
• An active student-led campus organization, the Pre-Law Club, affords students frequent opportunities to interact with lawyers from a variety of professional backgrounds.
• Internships, externships, and other hands-on experiences are available to students. Particularly noteworthy is Hope’s Washington Honors Semester, which gives students the opportunity to work and study in the nation’s capital. The internship opportunities available in D.C. include the U.S. Attorney General’s office, the Washington D.C. Public Defender’s office, the American Bar Association, the D.C. Attorney General’s office, the Georgetown Criminal Law Clinic and a host of legal advocacy groups, just to name a few.
• Perhaps most valuable, however, is the rigorous, broad-based liberal arts education Hope students receive. More than anything, it is designed to give prospective law students—regardless of major—the writing, public speaking and analytical thinking skills that are critical to success in the legal profession.

Studies in Ministry

The Studies in Ministry minor is dedicated to preparing students theologically and practically for entry-level ministry positions in churches and Christian organizations. It aims to provide students who are discerning a call to  Christian ministry with the theological framework, practical experience, spiritual discipline, and mentoring guidance necessary to embark upon a lifetime of involvement in Christian ministries. Through coursework, yearlong internships, and relationships with each other and mentors, students in this minor will be prepared for possible future theological education and various non-ordained ministry positions in churches and organizations — locally and worldwide.