We view our work as fostering a teaching and mentoring relationship rather than a screening process — a feature that distinguishes the Health Professions Advising Program from almost every other similar college program.
We encourage students to seek our advice on how to prepare themselves for a life of caring for others in a clinical environment through all four years at Holy Cross and beyond. Applicants from Holy Cross know their strengths and weaknesses when they apply, allowing them to submit stronger applications and address any weaknesses head on.
They are given clear advice on how to improve themselves. They know when it is the right time to apply for graduate health professions schools, so they have the best chance of gaining acceptance. We have applicants who are five or more years removed from earning their bachelor’s from Holy Cross, and most applicants are at least one year past graduation when they apply.
Health Professions Advising Office Staff
The Health Professions Advising Office has a committee of dedicated faculty and alumni who provide support for students looking to enter medical, dental, veterinary or optometry school. The office consists of a committee of eight full-time faculty members from a variety of disciplines, four alumni clinical advisors, and an administrative assistant.
Associate Director of Health Professions Advising
Keith Muccino, S.J., M.D., is the health professions advisor who assists applicants in discernment, preparing for medical school application, and navigating the application process, including helping with interviews. Appointments can be made by emailing kmuccino@holycross.edu.
Health Professions Advisor
Miles Cahill of the economics and accounting department is the health professions advisor. Appointments can be made by filling out this online request form.
The health professions advisor advises students in their third and fourth years — that is, when they are considering and actually applying to medical school.
The health professions advisor can advise you when you are making your decision about when to apply, can help you assess your application and help with the application process. The health professions advisor is also the director of the Health Professions Advising Office and chair of the Health Professions Advising Committee.
Associate Health Professions Advisors
Kirsten Hagstrom of the biology department is an associate health professions advisor. She specializes in advising students in their first years of college, including course planning. Appointments can be made by filling out this online request form.
These associate health professions advisors are the primary advisor for first- and second-year health professions students.
These associate health professions advisor can help you put together an academic plan to pursue the health profession of your choice and answer any questions you may have about your curriculum and cocurricular activities at Holy Cross. The first two years of class work and adjustment to college can be especially challenging, and the advisor is there to support you through the process.
Administrative Assistant
The administrative assistant is the primary contact for all health professions advising office related information.
The administrative assistant maintains the list of those interested in a health profession, distributes information about deadlines and special events, coordinates appointments for the advisors, manages documents for committee and health profession school applicants and submits applications to health professions schools among any other roles.
Health Professions Advising Committee
The Health Professions Advising Committee consists of eight Holy Cross faculty members and a number of health care professional clinical advisors.
Faculty include the health professions advisor (chair) and seven other full-time faculty members from various departments. In addition, the committee includes clinical advisors including an allopathic physician (M.D.), osteopathic physician (D.O.), physician assistant (P.A.), dentist (D.M.D.) nurse practitioner (N.P.), and other professionals.
Faculty who serve on the Health Professions Advising Committee act as individual advisors to juniors, seniors and alumni who are applying to health professions schools (medical school, dental school, optometry school) and guide them through the committee application process. Each advisor helps his or her advisees assemble the materials necessary for the full committee to evaluate application candidates, presents these materials to the committee at the evaluation meeting, and provides the committee feedback to their advisees.
The full committee then evaluates the materials and decides the appropriate level of recommendation for each potential applicant, as well as the tone and content of the recommendation letter. The committee's level of recommendation and the tone and content of the letter to be written is discussed with applicants as openly as possible while maintaining confidentiality of recommenders. Each advisor then writes the composite recommendation letter that is sent to medical schools for each of his or her advisees. Throughout the process, the advisors are a resource to their advisees for advice and support.
Students and alumni who wish to apply to medical and allied health professions schools do not have to be evaluated or recommended by the committee, though we believe doing so has substantial benefits. If an applicant does decide to apply without the committee's recommendation, we are still happy to provide advice and forward your recommendation letters to medical schools.
To be evaluated by the committee, applicants must request a committee advisor in early October and work with their advisor to submit materials by mid-February, two academic years before intended matriculation. See the Committe Application page for an overview of the process and important meetings and deadlines.
Committee Members (2024-2025)
Faculty Advisors
- Miles Cahill, Ph.D., Chair and Professor, Economics and Accounting
- Nancy Andrews, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Classics
- Alan Avery-Peck, Ph.D., Professor, Religious Studies
- Madigan Haley, Ph.D., Associate Professor, English
- Kevin Quinn, Ph.D., Professor, Chemistry
- Ann Sheehy, Ph.D., Professor, Biology
- Giovanni Spani, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Classics
- Ana Ugarte, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Spanish
Clinical Advisors
- Maryanne Makredes Senna '98, M.D., Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
- Peter Sell '95, D.O., Pediatrics, UMass Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts
- Patricia Cerreto '98, MPAS, PA-C, Instructor, MCPHS Worcester, Massachusetts
- Elizabeth Farrington Forkel '10, MSN, Adult/Geriatric Primary Care, Commonwealth Care Alliance, Boston
- Dr. Ivy Pruitt Ahluwalia '05, DMD, Associate at Perry Endodontics in Westfield, Massachusetts