APPLICATION MATERIALS AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Application Opens: October 1st
Application Deadline:  FEBRUARY 1st

The Cardiovascular and Diagnostic Medical Sonography programs at GVSU are competitive and require completion of secondary application materials. Applicants must complete the prerequisites AND all of the GVSU General Education courses (excluding Issue courses) prior to the start of the program. Students may apply to the program February 1 if they can demonstrate that the prerequisites and general education courses will be completed by the time the program starts in August. There are no waiting lists.

Recommendations

Course Verification Form

 

Admission & Application Requirements:

• GVSU Admissions Undergraduate Application (only required for students who are not currently a GVSU student).  Students must be admitted to Grand Valley State University prior to the program application deadline
• Secondary Admission Application (link at top of page) for Cardiovascular Sonography & Diagnostic Medical Sonography 
  • Plan to fully complete and submit this online application in one sitting as it cannot be saved to return to later.
• Statement of Professional Goals 
  • (1 - 2 pages) - Why are you interested in this career?  What are your plans?  What influenced your decision to choose this career field? (attach to application)
• Two electronic recommendations are required:
  • Applicant will provide the full name and email address for their two recommenders in the application.
  • The College of Health Professions Student Services (CHPSS) office will send the "Recommender" a link to our electronic recommendation form. Once the "Recommender" completes the form, the CHPSS office will upload the recommendation to the applicant's file.
  • The recommendation link cannot be sent out until after we receive your completed application, therefore you are encouraged to submit your application no later than two weeks before the February 1st application deadline. Students who wait until the February 1st deadline to submit their application will have 5 business days for their recommenders to submit the recommendation form. 
  • It is your responsibility and a professional courtesy to notify your "Recommender" in advance that they will be receiving a link from our office and to respond promptly.
  • If you have any questions, please reach out to Emma Plummer in the CHPSS office by email at [email protected] or by calling 616-331-5683.
• Resume - (attach to application)
  • List ALL health care experiences in one specific section of your resume.
  • Please include the total number of hours, days, and visits, and whether the health care experience was volunteer, paid and/or job shadow.
• Grade of "C" or 2.0 higher for the following prerequisite courses (courses in parenthesis are GVSU equivalents)
  • Anatomy & Physiology I & II (BMS 250 & 251 or BMS 208 & 290 & 309)
  • Medical Terminology (AHS 100)
  • College Algebra (MTH 122)
  • General Physics I (PHY 220)
  • Introductory Psychology (PSY 101)
  • Social Problems (SOC 105) 
  • Applied Statistics (STA 215)
  • Introduction to Health Care Research (AHS 301 or BMS 301 or PSY 300)
• Minimum 3.0 GPA in the last 45 credit hours completed
• Healthcare Experience...16 hours of paid or volunteer experience to include a 2-3 hour job shadow is highly recommended (up to 5 points deducted if not completed prior to application deadline)
• Verification of Course Completion Form. (see link above) 
• Ability to complete all prerequisite courses, general education courses (except Issues) prior to the fall start of the program.  
• Official and updated copies of ALL non-GVSU transcripts need to be sent directly to the Admissions Office at:
  • Grand Valley State University, Attn: Admissions Office, 1 Campus Drive - 150 STU, Allendale, MI 49401, 
  • or by email to: [email protected]
• For those applicants not currently enrolled at GVSU or have not yet taken GVSU classes, you should meet with a CHP academic advisor as soon as possible to review your transfer course equivalencies and program eligibility.  Go to our CHP Student Services Office website or call our office at (616) 331-5900 to set up a prospective student advising appointment.
   

All program application materials must be submitted by February 1, preferably attached to the electronic application.  

If mailing materials is necessary, materials must be postmarked by February 1.
College of Health Professions - Student Services
Grand Valley State University 
301 Michigan St NE, Suite #113
Grand Rapids, MI 49503-3314

Questions about admissions and applications? 
Call the CHP Student Services Office at (616) 331-5900 or email Emma Plummer at [email protected]

 

Admission Considerations:

• Academic grade point average from prerequisite courses (40%)
• Academic grade point average from previous two calendar years (10%)
• Interview and Writing Assessment completed on-site at the College of Health Professions (30%)
• Health Care Experience – minimum of 16 hours volunteer or paid experience required with a 2-3 hours job shadow highly recommended (5%)*
• Recommendations (5%)
• Additional leadership considerations (10%)
• Physical Performance Requirements and Technical Standards  

Two SWS courses are required for graduation. It is the responsibility of the student to select courses that will fulfill all writing requirements.

There are no waiting lists for this program. Program class size limit is based on clinical availability. 

Once admitted to the CVS, DMS or RT program, students are expected to achieve a grade of B- or higher in all major courses to continue in the program.

 

FAQ:

Q:  Do students need to complete the required ‘experience’ hours before they can apply?
A:  Healthcare experience hours count for up to 5% of and applicants admission score. So the more hours (16 minimum) completed by the application deadline the better the chance to earn the full 5% points.   

Q:  Will students lose points if they don’t have the hours?
A:  Healthcare experience hours count for up to 5% of an applicants' admission score. If the applicant does not complete healthcare experience hours, no points will be awarded thereby reducing their overall admission score.

Q:  Does the program recommend an alternative to the experience hours?
A:  Healthcare experience hours are part of the admission score and applicants will not earn any points in this category unless they have completed at least a portion of those hours. Job shadow options are not as easy to find post-Covid so in lieu of a job shadow the programs recommends applicants learn more about the profession from the national associate: https://www.ardms.org/ or watch this SDMS video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K6tf27z6wU&t=61s.