Did you know that since 2011, Baruch students have a first-time acceptance rate of 68% to medical and dental schools? In contrast, the national average is below 50%, according to Baruch Weissman Chemistry Professor and Health Professions Advisor Keith Ramig.
“We know our students are just great, so that is undoubtedly a factor in the high acceptance rate,” Ramig said. But just as important, Baruch has dedicated professors and small class sizes that allow faculty to get to know every student. That enables professors to write effective recommendations to graduate schools.
One alumnus, Dr. Hanen Yan, put it this way in a recent thank-you note to Natural Sciences Chairman John Wahlert: “The Department of Natural Sciences really helped set the foundation and prepared me for the hardships of medical school. Part of my success during my pre-med days was due to the supportive atmosphere of the faculty and students. To this day, my foundational classes in biology, chemistry, physics, and microbiology are applicable to my daily life.”
Katsiaryna (Kate) Milashevich (’21), who just won a Salk Scholarship for her scientific research, plans to go to medical school in Fall 2022. She said that the small size of Baruch’s Natural Sciences Department creates a family-like atmosphere where “the students all know each other and gather to study in groups allowing for different opinions and resources to coexist and flourish. The faculty know each student and are more than accessible and considerate. They reach out to you with your best interests in mind, to ensure no opportunity evades you.”
Katherine Chemas ’20, who’s now studying to be a veterinarian at Cornell University, credited her success in science to Baruch’s small class sizes.”You’re never going to have more than 20 to 30 students,” she said in a video testimonial, “which is really an advantage when you need to seek out help from your professors.”
Dr. Mark Smiley, who practices emergency medicine in North Carolina, had only taken one science class in his life before entering Baruch. But within 15 years of his time at Baruch, he was practicing medicine. He credits CUNY’s SEEK program with supporting his goals, and he earned a Jack Cooke Kent Graduate Scholarship to fund his studies at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, where he also earned an MBA.
