Many students come to Brown hoping to pursue a career in health care. While some students choose to attend medical school, others look to less common pathways like dentistry and veterinary science.
This year, at least 16 Brown students are applying to dental school, and at least five are applying to veterinary school, according to Associate Dean of the College for Preprofessional Advising Ginger Fisher.
According to Fisher, Health Careers Advising wants students to “think broadly” about the ways they can pursue a career in health care.
“While an MD is one path to a fulfilling career supporting the health of others, it is really just one of many such careers,” she wrote in an email to The Herald.
The Herald spoke to pre-dental and pre-veterinarian students to learn more about their experiences pursuing these pathways at Brown.
Students find community during pre-dental journey
Matthew Fang ’28 began his journey to dental school thinking it would be an “easier route” compared to medical school, he wrote in an email to The Herald.
But he ended up finding that the dental school application process “is pretty intense,” he added.
Dental and medical schools have similar requirements for prospective students. For both programs, students are encouraged to take similar science courses, conduct research, volunteer and seek clinical experience. But instead of sitting for the Medical College Admission Test, pre-dental students take the Dental Admission Test, also known as the DAT.
While the pre-dental track has been “harder than (he) had imagined,” Fang’s passion for the field — which was sparked when he shadowed a dentist prior to attending Brown — continues to motivate him, he wrote.
Pre-dental students also find support among their peers, according to Fang, who is the underclassman representative for the Brown Pre-Dental Society. Prior to serving on the society’s executive board, Fang was “only really close with one or two other pre-dental students,” he wrote.
Lily Yu ’26, who is the society’s vice president, added that the club offers various opportunities for students to engage with the field. The society provides students with relevant information about American Student Dental Association events, dental school applications and volunteer programs.
Yu began considering dentistry after she met another pre-dental student on her dance team at Brown.
Dentistry, Yu discovered, has a “a very unique balance of long-term patient care and hands-on skills,” she said.
Pre-veterinarian students struggle with ‘less streamlined’ requirements
Compared to the requirements for medical school, dental school and other health care programs, the requirements for pre-vet students are “way less streamlined,” according to pre-vet student Sofia Kassalow ’26.
Some veterinary schools require prospective students to take classes not offered at Brown, such as animal nutrition.
Kassalow added that she studies environmental science because Brown does not offer a zoology concentration.
Tristen Ventura ’26 said he had to take some of these courses at other schools in order to apply to his top-choice veterinary schools. In addition, to accommodate the requirements of different veterinary schools, Ventura had to decide which schools he wanted to apply to early in his college career.
Fisher noted that while some Brown students take pre-vet classes outside of the University, she has “found this to be the case for only a small number of students and courses.”
Throughout his pre-vet journey, Ventura has looked to current and past pre-vet students for guidance, he said.
Until recently, there were no student-led organizations focused on the pre-veterinary track, according to Ventura. But he added that the Brown Veterinary and Animal Science Society, a new student group that he is helping organize, is having their first interest meeting this fall.
Kassalow “had a tough time the first couple years at Brown because (she) felt like there wasn't a central place (she) could go for information,” she said. But she eventually found that Brown’s pre-health advising resources were helpful once she figured out how to properly use them.
Being a veterinarian has been Kassalow’s dream since she was about five, she said. Similarly, Ventura grew up taking care of sick fish and hopes to go into aquatic medicine.
Ventura believes many children dream of being a veterinarian but eventually give up on this goal.
“When they hit college, they do not have the support and it just becomes an unrealistic goal,” Ventura said.
“The resources are there,” Kassalow said. “They are just tough to find.”
Alejandro Ruiz is a university news senior staff writer covering academics and advising. He is a junior from Edison, NJ studying biochemistry and philosophy. In his free time, he can be found with his friends or with an AirPod in.
