Accelerated Dual Admission

Some of NSU's Dual Admission Programs in the health and medical professions offer accelerated tracks, which allow students to transition into their professional program after three years, or as little as two for pharmacy. Eligible students will typically have the option to select from:

A traditional 4+ track - 4 years of undergraduate coursework, then professional school, or
An accelerated 3+ track - 3 years of undergraduate coursework, and skip the senior year before professional school, based on availability

To be eligible for an accelerated track offered by a Dual Admission Program, a student must:

Be admitted to NSU, then apply, interview for, and be selected by the Dual Admission Program
Meet the more stringent requirements for the accelerated option (including higher ACT/SAT scores)
Have completed coursework that supports the required academic plan (refer to 3+ track details below)

The accelerated option allows a student to transition into their professional program without completing the senior year of the undergraduate degree. All degree requirements and program pre-requisites must be completed but some open electives will not be. Ultimately, the senior year of undergraduate education will be covered by the first year of professional school, and the undergraduate degree will be awarded after the first year of professional school is completed. In some cases, students bring in enough college credits to graduate in three years and will be awarded the degree at that time.

If offered the accelerated option, this decision should be carefully considered. While it is possible to request a change at a later date while in the program, the likelihood of approval is not certain and will depend on several factors, so it is important that students carefully consider the options prior to enrollment.

Accelerated 3+ Track Details

Available for Dental Medicine, Optometry, Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, and Law.

Since this is an accelerated track, it is typically selected by students for whom the following apply:

Are committed to transitioning to professional school one year earlier and foregoing the undergraduate senior year.
For students in the medical programs: Are bringing in a substantial amount of college earned credits (usually 30 or more), specifically in chemistry and other sciences. In some cases, these students may be able to actually graduate in three years.
If necessary, would take Summer courses to stay on the accelerated 3+4 track.

VERY IMPORTANT:

Dual Pre-Health Professions Programs: We do not recommend selection of the 3+4 track if a student will not be able to take BIOL 1500 and CHEM 1300 during the first semester.
For Dual Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) Students: It is very important to take the chemistry sequence of courses without interruption beginning the first Freshman semester on. CHEM 3650 Biochemistry should be completed prior to taking the MCAT. Based on this timeline, unless a student transfers in college level general chemistry credit, they will have to take at least one summer chemistry class at NSU in order to stay on track to be prepared for the MCAT if they are following the 3+ program.

Traditional 4+ Track Details

This is the “traditional” path in which students will take 4 years of undergraduate level courses and upon graduating and meeting all requirements for their graduate program, will move on to graduate/professional school for an additional 4 years.

Typically selected by students from whom one or more of the following apply:

Are not transferring in many college-level credits through advanced high school programs such as AP, IB, or college academy.
Would like to experience a full 4-year college experience (allows for more time to participate in extracurricular activities such as athletics, student organizations, leadership opportunities).
Prefer more flexibility in their schedule for study abroad opportunities and/or research with faculty.
Are not interested in taking Summer term classes at NSU.

Applying College Credits through Dual Enrollment, AP, and IB

We have a growing number of students who are bringing in more and more college credits to NSU. Once these credits are applied, if they are equivalent to NSU courses, students will not have to retake them at NSU, even if they are pre-requisites for their dual admission program.

College credits that were earned through advanced high school programs such as AP, IB or college academy—or in summer coursework following high school graduation, prior to attending NSU—may transfer to NSU. However, we strongly encourage students to take a majority of their specific science program pre-requisites at NSU to highlight their competency in these critical domains and maximize their long-term profile for future graduate/professional school candidacy.

However, students may choose to “retake” these courses if they wish to ensure that they have a firm handle on the academic material. This is not required but some students do decide to do this in courses such as chemistry. If this is decided, it should be discussed with the academic advisor and a “credit award adjustment form” may need to be filled out to avoid possible financial aid implications.

Review NSU's Transfer Evaluation Services for undergraduate students for more information regarding transferring college credit and credits based on examination scores.