To the Editor:

We write together as the deans of the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Health, respectively, in response to “An Apple a Day”, published Dec. 4, 2025. 

Pre-health education and advising are vital components of both of our schools. This work is deeply collaborative. Our pre-health students exemplify Georgetown University’s Jesuit values and our shared mission to be people in service of others, and we are firmly committed to their success.

The Pre-Health Advising Office is housed within the College, but proudly and enthusiastically serves all Georgetown undergraduates, regardless of school affiliation. Pre-health advising is complex, involving careful navigation of curricular requirements alongside sustained mentoring around vocation and career discernment. 

Georgetown does not “gatekeep” access to pre-health advising. Any student who expresses interest in a pre-health pathway receives support. As a result, the advising team serves approximately 900 current undergraduate students who self-identify as pre-health, as well as 40 post-baccalaureate pre-medical students and alumni. That team holds over 1,200 advising meetings each year.

Within both the College and the School of Health, students also benefit from extensive mentoring provided through academic departments, faculty advising and co-curricular support structures. This mentoring — focused on intellectual formation, discernment and personal development — complements centralized pre-health advising and reflects both schools’ commitment to cura personalis.

The College’s science departments provide the majority of the foundational science coursework required of pre-health students. Faculty are expected to teach and mentor students equitably, independent of school affiliation. The School of Health also offers science courses that benefit pre-health students in the College. We are proud of the constellation of science courses, which distinguishes students and makes their medical school applications more competitive. 

We share ambitious plans for the future of pre-health at Georgetown. The College’s pre-health advising team is moving into a new physical space that will provide a better place for students to meet with their advisors and to conduct their medical school interviews. The College and the School of Health will continue to collaborate on both advising and curricular issues to the benefit of students in both schools, as well as pre-health students in other schools.

Georgetown is strongest when its schools work together. We are — and will remain — partners, united in our commitment to the success and formation of all of our students.

David M. Edelstein

Dean, College of Arts & Sciences

Christopher J. King

Dean, School of Health