Early Assurance Pathway Application Requirements

The Office of Admissions works with and processes first-year applicants who have qualified to be considered for the Early Assurance Pathway to the SU graduate health professions.

Please contact your Admissions Counselor or the Office of Admissions with any questions you may have about pathways to our graduate health professions. We look forward to working with you!

The Early Assurance (EA) Pathway is available to incoming first-year applicants who meet rigorous high school GPA and exam score requirements, and is highly competitive. This pathway guarantees an admission interview with a Shenandoah graduate program as long as criteria are maintained during the undergraduate years. The graduate schools reserve placements within their programs for all EA students passing their graduate school interview. Some graduate programs offer an EA pathway that accelerates a student’s transition into the graduate program by overlapping the first year of graduate school with the fourth year of undergraduate study.

This Pathway is Available to Incoming First-Year Applicants Only.

Students who do not qualify for consideration for the Early Assurance Pathway are welcome to pursue to the Articulation Agreement Pathway or the Traditional Pathway to the graduate health professions.

Transfer students are eligible for the Articulated Pathway and Traditional Pathway.

Process for Consideration for the Early Assurance Pathway

An incoming first-year applicant submits a regular first-year application for admission to Shenandoah.
The Office of Admissions reviews the applicant’s eligibility based on GPA, and course grades for each program described below.
Eligible applicants will be given information and deadlines regarding submission of additional required supplemental materials including:
- Required observation hours
- Campus visit for an in-person interview with the graduate program on select dates
All information regarding EA consideration will be provided via the student’s email address provided in the application.

After successful submission and completion of all required supplemental materials, and graduate faculty consideration, applicants may be offered a reserved seat — the Early Assurance Pathway — in the graduate program.

Early Assurance Pathway Programs at Shenandoah

Application & Material Submission Deadlines For Early Assurance Pathway Consideration

If a student qualifies to be considered for the Early Assurance Pathway option, they will be notified via email how to register for the required interview and how to submit the required supplemental documentation.

Students are strongly encouraged to apply and submit their application materials prior to completing any supplemental requirements.

The Final Firm Deadline for ALL application materials is January 17, 2022.

Application materials DEADLINE: Interview Registration & Supplemental Materials just be submitted	Accompanying On-Campus or Virtual Interview Date
Monday, November 1, 2021	Friday, November 12, 2021
Monday, November 29, 2021	Friday, December 3, 2021
Monday, December 20, 2021	Friday, January 7, 2022 (Virtual only)
Monday, January 17, 2022	Friday, January 28, 2022

View the Fall 2021 Early Assurance Pathway Information Booklet:

Benefits Of This Pathway

Students offered the Early Assurance Pathway are guaranteed a graduate admission interview with their graduate program, as long as required criteria for the program have been maintained during their undergraduate years of study at Shenandoah.

Undergraduate Academic Criteria

The criteria each student must maintain during their undergraduate years of study for each EA Pathway are provided to the student in the form of an EA contract. If a student fails to maintain the criteria for their EA Pathway during their undergraduate studies and they are removed from the EA Pathway, they are eligible for the Articulation Agreement Pathway or the Traditional Pathway.