Selective Admission Allied Health and Healthcare Education Program Information
STOP and REVIEW The Information Below and Linked From This Page
Information in a Downloadable Portable Document Format (PDF)
Watch an Overview of the College's Selective Admission Information and Your Need to Have a Back-up Plan (YouTube Channel)
Educational Pathways to Allied Health Careers Chart (also at the bottom of this page)
Thank you for your interest in one of Virginia Peninsula Community College’s allied health selective admission programs. As you prepare to review the selective admission criteria for your program(s) of interest, we strongly encourage you to think and plan beyond the scope of a selective admission program. Selective admissions programs have stringent criteria, application processes, and a limited number of available seats during each application session per program. These variables, coupled with a history of each program having many more highly qualified applicants than available seats for all qualified applicants, lead to a situation wherein not all applicants are accepted into a selective admission program. It is for these reasons that we strongly encourage all selective admission candidates to plan early and broadly with regard to their academic program.
The College is pleased to offer four associate degree programs, each program provides students the opportunity to complete selective admission program pre-application prerequisite courses required for selective admission program application eligibility. The Associate of Science - Science degree, the Associate of Science - Social Science degree, the Associate of Science - Health Science, and the Associate of Applied Science – Emergency Medical Services degree are academic programs which support continued pursuit of an allied health/medical-based career, as well as support your continued program enrollment in a degree program at Virginia Peninsula Community College.
Aligning yourself in a program of study that will support your continued education is as important as completing your selective admission prerequisite courses and, the Associate of Science - Science degree, the Associate of Science - Social Science degree, and the Associate of Science - Health Science are degree programs that may support transfer options to one or more of Virginia’s four-year institutions of higher education. The Associate of Applied Science – Emergency Medical Services degree may support articulation to one or more of Virginia’s four-year institutions of higher education, and many of the courses that you successfully complete in each of the above degree programs may also satisfy many of the pre-requisite requirements for other two and four-year allied health selective admission programs. While it is our hope that you will complete your degree program at Virginia Peninsula Community College, we also understand your desire to seek admission into a selective admission program and Virginia Peninsula Community College may have one or multiple programs for which you plan to make your application.
If you are seeking entry into an allied health/medical-based career prior to completing a degree, Virginia Peninsula Community College has three career/workforce programs that can typically be completed in one academic semester. Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), which can be completed through enrollment in the EMS 111 and EMS 120 courses (or complete the entire Career Studies Certificate while completing selective admission pre-requisite courses), provides successful candidates the opportunity to test for a National Registry and Virginia certification as an EMT. The courses completed as part of the EMT certification are also required in the Associate of Applied Science – Emergency Medical Services, allowing you to earn degree credit while earning a credential that will allow you to seek employment. You can also complete the Nurse Aide Education Program and/or the Medical Assisting Program; each program is typically a semester or less in length, each program may provide successful candidates the opportunity to test and earn an allied health/medical-based credential. All three of these programs may allow successfully certified and qualified students the ability to seek immediate, gainful, and in-demand employment; while continuing to pursue a degree or selective admission program admittance.
What are your first steps:
Visit our website www.vpcc.edu and review each of the above referenced programs.
If you plan to pursue selective admission and complete your pre-requisite courses at Virginia Peninsula Community College, you are strongly encouraged to review the webpage(s) relevant to the program(s) for which you plan to make application for consideration.
If you are going to pursue a selective admission program, you will be required to declare a program of study, i.e. the Associate of Science - Science degree, the Associate of Science - Social Science degree, the Associate of Science - Health Science, or the Associate of Applied Science – Emergency Medical Services degree. Refer to the info sheet below, as well as review each of these programs through the College’s website or College Catalog.
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) and make certain that Virginia Peninsula Community College is selected as an institution to receive your FAFSA information.
- Complete an application to the College.
- During the College application process, you will be required to select a program of study, if you select nursing or dental hygiene, your program of study will be defaulted to the Associate of Science Health Science degree, and you will be advised to consult with an academic advisor about your program selection.
- Meet with an academic advisor as quickly as possible.
- Familiarize yourself with the requirements of your program of study, as well as the pre-requisite requirements of the selective admission program(s) for which you plan to make your application.
- Select your courses and enroll for the upcoming semester.
- Continue to work closely with an academic advisor to ensure that you complete the appropriate courses for your program of study.
- When you are eligible, follow all of the selective admission program steps to application and processes to submit your application for selective admission program review and consideration.
If you are selected for admission into a selective admission program:
You will receive a letter of conditional acceptance.
The letter of conditional acceptance will include additional details regarding next steps, conditional acceptance requirements, additional pre-requite requirements, and information regarding orientation for your program of study.
Once you have completed all of the program requirements and have been fully accepted, the program of study for the degree program of the selected admission program for which you applied will be added to your programs of study. You will be required to meet with an academic advisor to determine if you would like to continue to maintain the initial program of study and only add the selective admission program of study; or, drop the initial program of study and continue only with the single selective admission program of study. This decision will be different for each student depending upon future educational goals, career aspirations, and degree progress.
- It is possible that you may be selected as an alternate, which means that should one of the candidates selected for conditional acceptance decline or have their conditional acceptance rescinded, you may be eligible for conditional acceptance. Alternates receive a letter outlining the process and requirements to maintain alternate eligibility and potential conditional acceptance processes.
If you are not selected for admission into a selective admission program:
You will receive an email indicating that the selection process had concluded and you were not selected.
You are encouraged to meet with an academic advisor to continue your studies in your current program of study.
In consultation with an academic advisor, you may decide to pursue one of the single semester career/workforce pre-certification programs in EMT, Nurse Aide, and/or Medical Assisting.
It is our hope that you will allow Virginia Peninsula Community College to help you achieve your educational goals and remain an active and productive student at the College.
Workforce Development Allied Health Education Programs
