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UNT Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC)

HPAC is available to students who are interested in one of the following areas:

  • Dental
  • Medical
  • Optometry
  • Podiatry

These particular professional schools prefer a Committee Letter of Recommendation from your 4-year university, and the HPAC produces such a letter.  This video further explains the definition of a committee letter and its value.

HPAC is offered each spring semester for those getting ready to apply to their schools in the following summer. Students will have one interview with our Assistant Dean or Senior Academic Counselor and one interview with a faculty member on the committee. At the end of the semester, the committee will then meet to evaluate each applicant; the feedback received from the various committee members will be used to write the Committee Letter of Recommendation.

As an HPAC applicant, the Office of Health Professions will also submit all of your letters of recommendation on your behalf. These letters are included with the Committee Letter, also known as the Committee Letter Packet. Once all letters of recommendation are received by our offfice, the Committee Letter Packet will then be uploaded to your preferred application services.

How to Participate in HPAC for Spring 2026:

To participate in HPAC, you must apply for admission and meet the following qualifications:

Undergraduate (current students or alums)/Post-Baccalaureate Students

Minimum 3.3 Overall GPA

Minimum 3.5 Math/Science GPA

Minimum of 3.6 on the Last 45 Hours of Coursework

Note: all attempts at a course will be factored into your minimum GPA requirements. First attempted grades will NOT be reflected in the GPA listed in your degree audit; first attempts must be calculated back into the GPA by hand.

If you were an undergraduate at UNT and are currently enrolled in/have completed a graduate program elsewhere, transcripts from that graduate program are required for GPA calculation purposes, as your eligibility will be determined by both undergraduate and graduate coursework.

Post-baccalaureate students: must show proof of the 3.3 Overall GPA, 3.5 Math/Science GPA, and the Last 45 Hours GPA, as coursework from other universities will not be listed in our systems

The 3.3 Overall and 3.5 Math/Science GPA must be maintained through the end of the Spring 2026 semester, and if not, the participant will be dropped from HPAC at that time. The Last 45 Hours GPA calculation will include coursework up to December 2025.
Must complete 30 credit hours at UNT by the end of Fall 2025 (does not include wintermester 2025). At least 15 of those 30 hours must be in the sciences (biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, and math).

Must complete a minimum of 50 clinical hours by January 30, 2026; clinical hours include medical-related volunteering, shadowing, and jobs in healthcare.

25 of the 50 hours MUST be shadowing a professional within the student's pre-health interest.

Virtual experience will not count towards the 50 hours. To see if your clinical experience will meet this requirement, please e-mail healthcareers@unt.edu.

The deadline to participate in the cycle for professional school Entry Year 2026 is January 30, 2026 at 11:59PM. For more information on how to apply for HPAC this upcoming cycle, please attend one of our upcoming seminars:

To express interest in joining HPAC for the upcoming 2026 cycle, please fill out a request form:

Pre-Health C.A.R.E. Appointments

If you would like to evaluate your competitiveness for professional schools and gain some interview practice before participating in the 2026 HPAC cycle, please sign up for a Pre-Health C.A.R.E. (Comprehensive Assessment and Readiness Evaluation) Appointment. Each one-hour appointment will be conducted like an HPAC interview, and a few days after the interview, you will receive a quantitative assessment and evaluation of your candidacy, along with feedback on your strengths and some areas that need improvement.

To qualify for a Pre-Health C.A.R.E. Appointment, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • 3.3 Overall GPA (all attempts included)
  • 3.5 Math/Science GPA (all attempts included)
  • 3.6 on the Last 45 Credit Hours

To request and be approved for an appointment, please click HERE. If you have graduated from UNT and no longer have access to UNT login credentials, please click HERE and create an account. 

Note: When requesting a Pre-Health C.A.R.E. appointment, you are required to upload a completed copy of the Pre-Health C.A.R.E. Questionnaire. If you have attended one of our HPAC seminars and received a 2026 HPAC Questionnaire, you are more than welcome to upload a copy of that questionnaire instead. You can then update the HPAC questionnaire accordingly, when participating in HPAC next semester.

To receive a copy of the Pre-Health C.A.R.E. questionnaire, please contact us at healthcareers@unt.edu.

The last day to apply for participation in a Pre-Health C.A.R.E. interview is October 31, 2025. 

FAQs about HPAC

1 | "Is HPAC required for admission to professional schools? How important is the committee letter?"

If a professional school requires or strongly prefers a committee letter of recommendation, and your undergraduate institution offers an HPAC service, it is very important and will greatly support your application. The committee letter provides a thorough and objective evaluation of your candidacy for admission to professional programs.

2 | "Which health professional schools require the committee letter of recommendation?"

The only professional schools that require or strongly prefer a committee letter of recommendation are medical, dental, optometry, and podiatry schools. Other professional schools do not require the committee letter, and some will not even accept a committee letter.

3 | "Can I still participate in HPAC after I have graduated and/or decide to take a gap year?"

Yes! As long as you meet the minimum requirements listed above, you can participate in HPAC. Email HealthCareers@unt.edu for further instructions.

4 | "Is there a fee associated with HPAC?"

No, there is no fee required to participate in HPAC.