If you are an undergraduate student at a New York college or university pursuing a healthcare career, this section provides state-specific guidance on course planning, clinical experiences, research opportunities, and financial planning. New York’s healthcare education ecosystem is the largest in the country, and the pages below help you navigate its resources effectively, whether you attend a large SUNY research university, a small private liberal arts college, a CUNY commuter campus, or anything in between.
Your New York Undergraduate Pathway
Freshman year: Complete general chemistry I and II, biology I and II, and math requirements. Visit your school’s pre-health advising office in the first few weeks of the semester. Begin exploring clinical volunteering at hospitals and community health centers near your campus. Sophomore year: Complete organic chemistry I and II, introductory physics, and begin psychology and sociology. Join a research lab by the end of this year at the latest. Build sustained clinical experience through volunteering or a paid clinical role (scribe, CNA, EMT). Junior year: Complete biochemistry, upper-level biology electives, and remaining prerequisites. Take the MCAT® in the spring or summer, ideally after finishing biochemistry and all prerequisite courses. Continue research and clinical activities. Begin preparing your medical school application. Senior year: Submit AMCAS® or AACOMAS® applications in June. Complete secondary applications and interviews in the fall. Continue all clinical and research activities. Apply for gap year positions if needed.
New York Undergraduate Sub-Pages
Academics and Planning covers pre-med prerequisite planning at SUNY, CUNY, and private institutions, pre-health advising resources, MCAT® preparation, and academic strategies for students at different types of New York schools.
Clinical Experience covers hospital volunteering, scribing, EMT work, CNA positions, free clinic volunteering, and other clinical opportunities available to New York college students.
Research and Internships covers on-campus research labs, REU programs, summer research at New York medical centers, pharmaceutical internships, and public health research positions.
Life and Financial Planning covers the Excelsior Scholarship, TAP, other New York-specific financial aid, cost of living considerations (particularly for students in New York City), and strategies for managing expenses while building your pre-health profile.
Pre-Health Advising at New York Institutions
The quality and structure of pre-health advising varies enormously across New York’s diverse higher education landscape. Large private universities (NYU, Columbia, Cornell, Rochester, Syracuse) and some SUNY flagship campuses (Stony Brook, Binghamton, Buffalo) typically have dedicated pre-health advising offices with experienced advisors who specialize in the healthcare application process. They provide committee letters, mock interviews, application timeline workshops, and individualized counseling. CUNY colleges and smaller institutions may have a single pre-health advisor or fold pre-health advising into general academic advising. Regardless of your school’s resources, take the initiative: introduce yourself to your pre-health advisor during your first semester, ask specific questions about prerequisites and timeline, attend advising workshops and information sessions, and supplement institutional advising with the resources on this site and our general undergraduate hub.
CUNY students face unique circumstances: many commute to campus, work part-time or full-time, and balance family responsibilities alongside academics. These realities can make it harder to accumulate clinical hours, conduct research, and participate in extracurricular activities. But CUNY’s location in New York City provides access to an unparalleled density of hospitals, research institutions, and community organizations within subway distance of every campus. Many CUNY pre-health students build outstanding profiles by working as EMTs, scribes, or CNAs during evenings and weekends while studying during the day. The key is consistent, sustained engagement over time, not a single intensive experience. See our Non-Traditional Students page for additional guidance relevant to students balancing work, family, and academics.
Why New York for Undergraduate Pre-Health
New York offers unmatched advantages for undergraduate pre-health students. The state has more medical schools than any other state, meaning that interview travel is minimized for students applying to New York programs and that medical school faculty and admissions representatives are accessible for networking and information sessions. The clinical exposure available in New York City is extraordinary in its diversity: in a single week, a student could volunteer at a major academic medical center, shadow a primary care physician in a community health center serving immigrant families, and participate in a free clinic for uninsured patients, each experience providing a different window into the healthcare system. Research opportunities span every biomedical discipline, from basic science at Rockefeller University to clinical trials at Memorial Sloan Kettering to public health research at Columbia Mailman School. And New York’s financial aid programs (Excelsior Scholarship, TAP) make public university education among the most affordable in the country.
For general undergraduate guidance that applies regardless of your state, see our For Undergraduate Students hub. When you are ready to explore specific New York programs, our New York Education Programs Directory provides a comprehensive listing of every accredited healthcare education program in the state.
The New York Advantage for Pre-Health Students
New York’s healthcare ecosystem provides advantages that compound over the course of your undergraduate education. The sheer number of hospitals, clinics, research labs, and healthcare organizations in the state means that you are never limited to a single source of clinical experience, research, or mentorship. If one volunteer position does not work out, dozens of alternatives exist. If one research lab is not a good fit, you can find another without changing institutions or cities. This abundance of options allows you to be selective about the experiences you pursue, choosing the ones that genuinely align with your interests rather than settling for whatever is available.
New York’s diversity is another significant advantage. Medical schools increasingly value applicants who have worked with diverse patient populations and who demonstrate cultural humility and awareness of health disparities. New York provides this exposure naturally: volunteering at a hospital in the Bronx, scribing in a clinic that serves a predominantly Spanish-speaking community, or conducting research on health outcomes in immigrant populations are experiences that are readily available in New York and that deepen your understanding of the social dimensions of healthcare. These experiences produce compelling application narratives and prepare you for the diverse patient populations you will serve as a healthcare professional.
The professional networking opportunities in New York are also exceptional. Medical school admissions officers, practicing physicians across every specialty, healthcare administrators, and public health leaders are all accessible through the state’s professional organizations, hospital grand rounds (many of which are open to students), pre-health conferences, and alumni networks. Building relationships with healthcare professionals during your undergraduate years provides mentorship, letters of recommendation, and career guidance that continue to benefit you throughout your professional life. Take advantage of your geographic proximity to these resources; students in other states often must travel to find the networking opportunities that exist right outside your door.
References
SUNY. “Pre-Health Advising Resources.” SUNY, 2025. https://www.suny.edu/. Accessed March 2026.
CUNY. “Health Professions Programs.” CUNY, 2025. https://www.cuny.edu/. Accessed March 2026.
HESC. “New York State Financial Aid.” HESC, 2025. https://www.hesc.ny.gov/. Accessed March 2026.