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Pre-Professional Advisement Center

For Medical School Applicants

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1) MCAT Updates

All MCAT exams through May have been cancelled. The AAMC plans to add additional exam dates with early test dates to be emphasized. The most up-to-date information about MCAT dates is posted here: AAMC Coronavirus Updates

2) Addition to Applications

For the AACOMAS application, the following questions will be added to the primary application:

  1. Did your school move to offering only online curriculum during the COVID-19 crisis?
  2. Did you have an opportunity to receive a letter grade for any of your courses taken during the COVID-19 crisis?
  3. The third is an open response essay question prompting applicants to describe how COVID-19 has affected their pathway to medical school. The question is open-ended and allows applicants up to 2500 characters to describe any academic, personal, financial or professional barriers that COVID-19 may have presented for them.

3) AMCAS Additions

AMCAS will not be adding those types of questions to the primary application, but has encouraged the allopathic medical schools to add similar types of questions to their individual secondary evaluations. (We believe most schools will likely do so.)

4) AACOM Adaptations

Congruent with our philosophy, AACOMAS participating schools intend to adapt their application review process to the following to mitigate the many obstacles you may face:

  • Accept all pass/fail/satisfactory/unsatisfactory coursework, regardless of whether your school required this, including pre-requisite coursework in the context of your entire academic history
  • Accept all online coursework, including laboratory credits
  • Review your application without all required laboratory coursework, if you can demonstrate that your institution was unable to provide these courses due to COVID-19; proof of completion may later be required
  • Review your application and extend interview invitations prior to receiving your MCAT score, by evaluating experiences, academic metrics, and attributes that you have demonstrated in your application. In some instances, our colleges will accept you without MCAT scores, but many will await required MCAT scores before extending an offer to join a class
  • Consider reducing the required number of health care experience hours and other extracurricular experiences you planned to complete
  • Most of our schools will continue to require a letter of recommendation from a physician (DO or MD)

AACOM has a COVID-19 Resource Page, which may be found at https://choosedo.org/coronavirus/ Included is a letter from the AACOM president & CEO. There is also a link to register for an on-line event for students considering applying to osteopathic medical schools. The virtual event is scheduled for April 23 12:15-5:00 EDT.

5) Statement From California Schools

Joint Statement from the Admissions Deans of California Medical Schools Regarding Academic Work and MCAT Tests that are Affected by the COVID-19 Outbreak

The purpose of this message is to address concerns from prospective applicants who are experiencing unprecedented educational upheaval during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants for the upcoming application cycle can count on our common commitment to the following principles:

Pass/Fail Grades – Our schools will accept pass/fail grades, without prejudice, for courses taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has always been our practice to consider grades in the context of numerous other aspects of the application, and an international crisis certainly provides a unique and compelling context. In making this statement, we are cognizant of the fact that some undergraduate schools are providing an option for students to take courses either for grades or on a Pass/Fail basis. We therefore want to be explicit that applicants should not feel pressured by us to choose the graded option. Students and their families are facing many challenges at the moment – maybe even life and death challenges. The pressure for grades need not be one of them.

MCAT Tests – We will accept applications from individuals who were unable to take the MCAT due to COVID-related test cancellations. For these candidates, we will base secondary application decisions on the information that is available to us at the time of the application. Assuming that MCAT testing resumes prior to October, we will require applicants to have taken the MCAT before we make admissions decisions for the Class of 2025. Accordingly, applicants should not delay applying simply because an MCAT score is not yet available.

6) Current Recommendations

The general consensus is that professional schools will be accepting P/F grades for this Winter/Spring 2020 semester. Most would prefer letter grades in science prerequisite courses, but P/F grades will not have a negative impact. Online courses and labs for these terms also will not have a negative impact. Schools will also consider fewer activities in the areas of shadowing, patient exposure/clinical experiences, community service, research, etc. However, we strongly encourage you to consider "alternative" activities to show the professional schools your commitment to your intended profession, as well as showing your ability to adapt. Consider "on-line" community service, interviewing health professionals in your intended profession, read related blogs, etc., etc.