COVID-19 and Medical School Admissions: A Conversation

What will be the impact of COVID-19 on the admissions process for medical schools – and at NEOMED in particular? James Barrett, Northeast Ohio Medical University’s senior executive director for strategic enrollment initiatives, responds to questions and concerns he has been hearing.

Q: How might the stay-at-home orders issued across the country due to COVID-19 impact the medical school admission cycle?

A: The short answer is that the stay-at-home orders both will and will not impact the medical school admission cycle scheduled to open in early May.

Q: That’s pretty vague. What do you mean?

A: Any sound admissions process should have this philosophical underpinning: Admission consists of a holistic candidate review with the goal of finding the right fit between the learner and the school. The ramifications of the stay-at-home orders don’t impact the goal. They only influence the available paths to that goal. This admissions cycle will require admission committees to be flexible while not abandoning core philosophies or goals.

Q: I see. What are some concrete examples?

A: The most obvious is the availability and use of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).

MCAT test dates from mid-March through most of May were cancelled. This impacted many prospective students’ plans to present scores when the cycle opens in early May. The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) has announced that additional MCAT dates are being added. Candidates for 2021 admission may select a new test date if they have yet to sit for the MCAT.

Q: How do you think medical schools will treat applicants without MCAT scores?

A: People may not know, but medical schools have always had applicants without MCAT scores. So, the phenomenon is nothing new – only the potential volume. It’s relatively early in the application process. The early decision application deadline is September 1, and I understand that AAMC is evaluating that date for this cycle. The regular decision deadline is November 1. There will be many  opportunities to take the MCAT before those deadlines.

Medical school admission is a two-part process. First, the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) applications are screened to decide whether to extend candidates an institutional secondary, or supplemental, application. If MCAT opportunities are delayed until late summer, a simple accommodation would be to just set aside the MCAT element of the screening process and extend the secondary application opportunity to candidates who are receiving it, based upon other factors. This would allow candidates to buy some time to test. The MCAT metric could be added to the holistic process at a later date, when determining interview eligibility – well before any admission decision.

Q: Will late MCAT testing cost candidates interview opportunities?

A: If you ask 10 admission professionals this question, you may get 10 different nuanced answers. The competitor in me says, “I hope so,” because it would mean there might be more fantastic candidates available to join us at NEOMED. (That is a short-sighted tack to take.) The colleague in me says, “I hope not,” because the process is grueling and already overly competitive.

Each year, tens of thousands of worthy candidates who could be great doctors never receive one offer of admission because we don’t invest enough in medical education as a matter of public policy, despite looming physician shortages. So, it’s not moving heaven and earth to change an interview day and adjust the timing of when we offer admission to be sympathetic to circumstances beyond candidates’ control.

At NEOMED, we’ll aim to accommodate so we achieve the same goal as always: to shape the best possible M1 class, aligned with the college mission.

Q: Does this include possibly waiving the MCAT requirement?

A: The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (an accrediting body for schools of medicine in the United States and Canada) is quite clear about faculty authority regarding admissions. We meet that expectation is spirit and deed. My role as a staff resource rather than a voting faculty member is to steward my admissions committee, not to make admission decisions. So, I’m not speaking for the committee here, only offering my opinion that I don’t see waiving the MCAT as a realistic possibility. Even in the context of a holistic admissions process, there’s simply too much evidentiary, sound data that indicates the value of the MCAT in predicting student success.

Q: What MCAT score does NEOMED require?

For early assurance candidates from our partner pathways, the required MCAT score is published annually in the NEOMED Compass. There is presently a sliding scale dependent upon certain grades and grade point averages. For traditional admission candidates, the screening and reviewing processes are more holistic.

There is no single MCAT score cut-off line that either admits or denies a candidate. I think that is a misperception. But in general, there is a definite pattern nationally to where offers of admission occur. For all candidates, the average MCAT score for matriculating medical school candidates is 511. Most recently, NEOMED’s average for traditional candidates has swung between 509 and 510. Candidates that vary a great deal from the M1 profile should probably not accept an offer of admission, nor should candidates above the profile feel entitled to an offer without a well-rounded set of experiences preparing them for NEOMED. We are very transparent with our College of Medicine eligibility guidelines.

Q: So how would you encapsulate your advice to candidates?

A: Stay focused. Remember that your credentials entail many facets and admission practices are holistic – and that the specific qualities valued at each institution are different, reflecting each particular institution’s mission. As the adage goes, accept the things you cannot change, have the courage to change the things you can, and develop the wisdom to know the difference! One aspect within your control is to stay current with fluid dates and deadlines, both from the AAMC/AMCAS and your schools of choice.