Each program site considers a variety of factors during the admissions process. Students who have a GPA that is slightly lower than 2.5, but have demonstrated a strong interest in a health profession, are encouraged to apply.

SHPEP applicants must have earned a high school diploma or GED at the time of their application submission to be eligible for the program.

Community college students are eligible for the program if they have not exceeded 60 earned college credits.

SHPEP is exclusively for freshman and sophomore college students, i.e. students with a maximum of 60 earned college credits at the time of their application submission. Advanced Placement (AP) credits are not counted toward the 60 earned college credits. Please check our Resources page for other enrichment program opportunities if you are not eligible for SHPEP.

Students can only participate in the program once.

That National Program Office will only accept a paper copy of an official transcript mailed by an institution’s registrar’s office.

High school transcripts are not accepted. If you are a freshman and you have not received your first semester grades, please allow them to be finalized before you submit your transcripts.

The SHPEP program requires current transcripts for each application year.

Yes. An official transcript is required from each U.S., U.S. territorial, and Canadian institution at which you have attempted coursework.

If a recommendation cannot be submitted by a pre-health advisor or college professor within your major, the National Program Office will accept one from an employer that is within a health professions field or from a science high school teacher.

The National Program office will accept a recommendation from your teaching assistant if they are acting as your instructor.

A pre-health advisor can help you identify course requirements, help you seek enrichment programs and clinical experiences, prepare for application to a health professions school, write letters of recommendation, and assess the most appropriate career path for you. If you are unable to identify a pre-health advisor at your institution, contact the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions.

Please review each section of the application to identify any required fields you may have missed. The Schools Attended section is typically where applicants fail to select a response to the degree question or do not select the “I have entered all the colleges I attended” statement.

It can take up to 10 business days for the National Program Office to process application materials once they have been received. Please log into your application to check the Application Status for updates. However, the processing time is different if the application is submitted after the materials have been received. In this instance, it can take up to two business days to process materials and update the status in the application dashboard.

Program sites automatically receive applications once the National Program Office completes your application by processing all of your application materials.

The right side of your application dashboard will display the “Submitted” status.

Designated program sites cannot be changed once you submit your application.

All students must enter a GPA to proceed with the application. Please enter 2.50 for the GPA and email shpep@aamc.org once you have submitted your application. The SHPEP National Program Office will then inform your designated program(s) of your actual GPA status.

Each program site selects approximately 80 applicants.

SHPEP does not have an admissions test preparatory component. However, the program’s basic science curriculum covers content that is included on such tests.