About Health Professions At Gordon College 

(Printable Version of this Information)

The following is a brief overview of the history of health professions advising at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts, composed by the current advisor, Dr. Craig M. Story, who took over the reins during the summer of 2004.

I. History of Gordon College

Gordon College itself was originally established as a school of Christian theology and missions in 1889 in Boston, Massachusetts. As the institution grew and desired a more rural location, the current Wenham campus site was purchased from Frederick Prince. The land, including several buildings and a large polo field, was originally known as Princemere. In 1970 the theological seminary was established as a separate institution and moved to a location in nearby South Hamilton, Massachusetts, and is known as Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Gordon College has since become widely known and respected for its quality liberal arts curriculum and rigorous academic standards.

II. The Percentage of Gordon Students that get in to Medical School

Around 1995, with Dr. Don Munro as the new pre-health advisor, an informal retrospective study was done to determine the answer to the first question everybody asks: "What percentage of Gordon students get into medical school?" It turns out the answer to this question is not a simple one, as it depends on how you define the question. For example: Do you mean successful on the first attempt? Do you mean only students who were included in the pre-health advising program? Do you include allopathic and osteopathic schools? The best answer I can give after poring over the information is that PLENTY of Gordon students do get into even the most competitive of medical schools. The first record on the "history list" is of a 1975 graduate who matriculated to Pennsylvania State University in 1977. There are a total of about 45 different allopathic medical schools that have accepted Gordon students, including acceptances to Harvard Medical School, Tufts, Cornell, BU, Georgetown, Albany, UMass, UConn, and many others. A total of 78 Gordon grads have matriculated to allopathic medical schools (which includes three in combined MD/Ph.D programs) as of 2003. Gordon students have also entered Osteopathic medical school, dental school, optometry school, pharmacy school, and physician assistant school. For prospective students entering Gordon, I would say that if you maintain high academic standards and take advantage of the many opportunities available at Gordon, I am very confident that you WILL get into medical school.

III. History of Health Professions Advisors at Gordon

As is the case at most small schools, at Gordon health professions advising is typically a part-time position taken on by a professor in the Natural Science Division, or an adjunct faculty. The first faculty to have this official role was Dr. Richard Wright, now retired, of the Biology Department. Dr. Robert Herrmann, who remained active as an adjunct professor of chemistry until 1995, succeeded Dr. Wright in 1981. Dr. Herrmann came with experience as a former member of the Admissions Committee of Boston University of Medicine from 1969–1976. As part of his role at Gordon, he placed several premeds in university laboratories and local medical practices each summer and in some cases during the school year. Dr. Herrmann also established a premedical seminar course, which provided a forum for students to receive direct advising as well as meet various working health professionals who came to share their experiences with the students. Dr. Don Munro took over as prehealth professions advisor in 1995. Dr. Munro also came with much prior experience, having served in this role for many years at Houghton College. Dr. Munro continued the premedical seminar course, renamed Health Professions Seminar, which incorporated a weekly discussion of issues in biomedical ethics.

I have continued leading Health Professions Seminar, and I consider it a privilege to help students develop realistic goals and career direction through the course. I strive to direct students to the most up-to-date information and study preparation resources and to provide good general advice about medical school. I regularly attend meetings of the National and New England Associations of Advisors for the Health Professions to keep up on the latest changes and developments in the field. Seeing our students successfully enter health professions careers is a highly rewarding part of my job as a Gordon professor.

Craig M. Story, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biology
Pre-Health Professions Advisor
Gordon College, Wenham, MA

craig.story@gordon.edu
978-867-4393

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updated 9/25/07 cms