High School Early Assurance Pathway

An Early Assurance Pathway into the Accelerated Dietitian Nutritionist Program

The High School Early Assurance Pathway (HEAP) is for high school students who have been admitted into one of the tracks of the Nutrition & Dietetics undergraduate program who would like to secure their spot in the Accelerated Dietitian Nutritionist Program. Highly qualified candidates may be offered HEAP at the same time they receive first-year admission to the university. Acceptance to the pathway is limited to highly qualified incoming first year students only, and students are admitted to the pathway in the fall semester only. 

High School Early Assurance Pathway students must enroll in the undergraduate Nutrition & Dietetics program at the University of Cincinnati. Upon completion of this degree, students will have completed all of the necessary requirements to sit for the national registration examination to become a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN).

Two online letters of recommendation (these are in addition to those required on the University of Cincinnati Common Application)

  • At least one recommendation must be from a high school core subject teacher (science teacher prefered) 
  • Recommendations can not come from friends or relatives

You must have a high school GPA or 3.5 or higher to be eligible for the early assurance program.

  • In no more than 250 words, please explain your familiarity with the field of nutrition & dietetics and why you want to be a registered dietitian. 

Your resume should provide details on the following items:

  • Extracurricular activities
  • Work experience
  • Volunteer work
  • Honors and awards
     

Accepted Student Expectations

I understand that, if I am accepted into the High School Early Assurance Pathway program to the Accelerated Dietitian Nutritionist Program: 

  • I must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 for all subsequent semesters of study.  If I do not maintain a 3.0 following the completion of the semester, I will be placed on program probation during the next semester.  Upon calculating my combined GPA for the semester during which I did not earn a minimum 3.0 and the subsequent semester, I understand that I will be dismissed from the program if the combined GPA does not meet the minimum of a 3.0 average.  Should the GPA fall below 3.0 in my last semester of didactic work, I understand that I will be dismissed from the program and I will seek academic advising for transfer into the Dietetics or Food & Nutrition undergraduate program.
  • I must earn no less than a C- in any science or nutrition courses. 
  • I must earn no less than a B- in the following NUTR courses: Nutrition Care Planning, and Medical Nutrition Therapy I and II.  (Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the program)