Comparing the effects of COVID-19 on the 2020/2021 cycle vs the 2021/2022 cycle

[deleted826437]

With fewer applicants, fewer opportunities for extra curricular activities, and fewer MCAT retakes, it seems like a given that this upcoming applicant pool will be weaker overall than an average year.

The opposite seems true for the 2021/2022 cycle: more applicants next year, more time for extracurriculars via gap years, more time to study for MCAT/retakes and so on. I assume this will mean next year's class will be significantly more competitive.

Realizing that all we can do is speculate and waste time at this point, which of these application cycles do you expect will see a greater variation from normal (+/- MCAT scores, overall quality of applicant/matriculant, etc.). Obviously, a 500 mcat isnt going to suddenly become competitive for MDs and its unlikely that DOs are gonna be competing for 90%le scores next year, but I think the differences will still be significant. Do you agree/disagree? Do you think top tier or low tier schools will exhibit these shifts more significantly?

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[KnightDoc]

I think it won't make a significant difference if at all. Only 2 MCAT dates were postponed and submitting July is not a dealbreaker. Plus, there are so many applicants that competitiveness shouldn't change signficantly espeically since those waiting last minute to finish ECs are probably weaker applicants. Then there's projected hours too and updates, etc.

Yes, yes, yes!!!! I think OP's question is predicated on many more dates being cancelled, and AAMC either not adding make up dates in time for use in the current cycle or the schools not extending the cycle to accommodate the later dates that are ultimately added. If the 4/24 and later dates proceed as scheduled (which seems highly unlikely since the President extended the social distancing guidelines through the end of April), then the effect on the next cycle will be negligible.

EC hours missed between mid March and mid summer should not break an otherwise viable application, since schools will surely understand the circumstances. You are absolutely correct about the status of applications that needed those hours to be competitive.

 

[deleted826437]

At this point, only 2 MCAT dates have been cancelled but I think there is <10% (made up number) that any of the April dates stick and May dates are unlikely as well. Even if AAMC can reschedule those dates for sometime in June/July, I think this is going to deter a fair chunk of applicants who aren't willing to risk their cycle with all of these unknowns. Ex: A couple of schools have decided to review MCAT scores after interviews. For applicants at top tier schools, it seems like a pretty bold move to assume you can get in with GPA/ECs alone. Especially if some applicants ARE able to submit their MCAT scores and have them reviewed at the normal time.

Maybe these effects will be more signifiant at top tier schools because these types of applicants are probably more invested in ensuring that they have the best shot at top tier schools so it might be worth the lost year. If there are enough of these people, I think its reasonable to assume that this will translate to a significantly more competitive applicant pool at the top end next year.

 

[efle]

Might be surprised. Periods of economic downturn usually cause a spike in medical applications

 

[efle]

I wrote this in another thread but it bears repeating

Let me say here that in my own opinion and personal speculation, that it is very possible that some medical schools, indeed a large fraction of them, may not be able to deal the admissions process this year and may not take applications for a class of 2025. This could in fact lead to the application services not having any admissions process this year.

The issues with MCAT are merely one factor. Colleges are closed, will transcripts be processed? can LORs be requested and written? can the systems that take this information such as AMCAS and AACOMAS, be able to process it? Can staff at medical schools take this in? Can faculty review and meet on these? This isnt simply being able to work from home, but how many people will be able to work? Millions will be sick, millions will be taking care of them. Many physicians who are part of the admissions process will be on the front lines and not able to be at the medical schools. Hospitals are filling up to "disaster" mode which, like a war zone, beds are double in rooms, filling up hallways, taking over Physical Rehab gyms, and even down to the lobbies with more in tents in the parking lots. Dorms at schools are being taken over for use as field hospitals as well as convention centers, arenas and stadiums. And the dead are being literally stacked up in trucks as the morgues are full. Make no mistake about we are at War as Corona has hit us no less than the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the attacks on 9/11. The scene in NYC today will be scenes all over the country for the next several months as this pandemic sweeps the nation. The disruption of our normal daily lives will last for longer than most of us realize

The more I think I think about, the less likely I see any admissions process this cycle. There may not be any medical school class for 2025

Don't the downstream ramifications make this an unacceptable option? Surely these institutions would rather cobble together a work-from-home admissions process, than have no intern class to replace their graduating senior residents in a few years?

 

[squids82]

I wrote this in another thread but it bears repeating

Let me say here that in my own opinion and personal speculation, that it is very possible that some medical schools, indeed a large fraction of them, may not be able to deal the admissions process this year and may not take applications for a class of 2025. This could in fact lead to the application services not having any admissions process this year.

The issues with MCAT are merely one factor. Colleges are closed, will transcripts be processed? can LORs be requested and written? can the systems that take this information such as AMCAS and AACOMAS, be able to process it? Can staff at medical schools take this in? Can faculty review and meet on these? This isnt simply being able to work from home, but how many people will be able to work? Millions will be sick, millions will be taking care of them. Many physicians who are part of the admissions process will be on the front lines and not able to be at the medical schools. Hospitals are filling up to "disaster" mode which, like a war zone, beds are double in rooms, filling up hallways, taking over Physical Rehab gyms, and even down to the lobbies with more in tents in the parking lots. Dorms at schools are being taken over for use as field hospitals as well as convention centers, arenas and stadiums. And the dead are being literally stacked up in trucks as the morgues are full. Make no mistake about we are at War as Corona has hit us no less than the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the attacks on 9/11. The scene in NYC today will be scenes all over the country for the next several months as this pandemic sweeps the nation. The disruption of our normal daily lives will last for longer than most of us realize

The more I think I think about, the less likely I see any admissions process this cycle. There may not be any medical school class for 2025

Is this being considered? @LizzyM @Mr.Smile12 @Goro

Wouldn't that just cause a bad chain reaction for the future with a year of no residents and increase the impact of a possible physician shortage?

 

[Goro]

Is this being considered? @LizzyM @Mr.Smile12 @Goro

Wouldn't that just cause a bad chain reaction for the future with a year of no residents and increase the impact of a possible physician shortage?

Nobody has thought that far ahead in such a worst case scenario at my school. In fact, we're thinking of how to do all those interviews online.. Again, my wise colleague's comments were on the worst case scenario. The Arsenal of Democracy is slowing coming online.

 

[efle]

My school is currently recruiting MS3s to interview students in Autumn, so seems like at least our admissions department is planning on a cycle.

 

[meronebib]

Don't the downstream ramifications make this an unacceptable option? Surely these institutions would rather cobble together a work-from-home admissions process, than have no intern class to replace their graduating senior residents in a few years?

I think this will go even further. If there is no class of 2025, then the residency match for that year, as you alluded, will have less applicants. Hence, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of those in the class of 2024 decided to take a research year or something to delay their residency applications so that they can apply with less competition.

 

[openstage]

I know it seems impossible to manage, but since we’re in the speculation game, I’ll toss this out: Do you think AMCAS is researching a way to create a secure online version of the test? How could they do it? Perhaps tests taken on a laptop with the camera and sound enabled for surveillance? I was thinking about this because many states have high school students take national tests on apps and software that locks them into a test without any way to do anything else with computer.

As I said earlier, I know this is highly unlikely. But I’d rather talk about this than the relentless pandemic news.

 

[deleted826437]

I know it seems impossible to manage, but since we’re in the speculation game, I’ll toss this out: Do you think AMCAS is researching a way to create a secure online version of the test? How could they do it? Perhaps tests taken on a laptop with the camera and sound enabled for surveillance? I was thinking about this because many states have high school students take national tests on apps and software that locks them into a test without any way to do anything else with computer.

As I said earlier, I know this is highly unlikely. But I’d rather talk about this than the relentless pandemic news.

I feel like there is exactly 0% chance of an online test. Even if you have cameras and sound, it’s just too easy for people to cheat. You’re allowed scratch paper and could easily incorporate an equation sheet/notes etc into that or tape it to a wall of something. Completely unfair.

 

[Goro]

I feel like there is exactly 0% chance of an online test. Even if you have cameras and sound, it’s just too easy for people to cheat. You’re allowed scratch paper and could easily incorporate an equation sheet/notes etc into that or tape it to a wall of something. Completely unfair.

I agree. It's just too logistically difficult

 

[Goro]

Gonnif and @Goro would you guys not just pull from the current applicant pool (e.g. WL -> deferred A next cycle) rather than completely cancel an entire cycle? I'm sure there are qualified applicants who interviewed this year that wouldn't mind deferring 1 year to get into a "better" school or just any school.

Why would they do that? The cancellation would be due to The pandemic and its threats to safety, not to a shortage of applications

 

[deleted947265]

I feel like there is exactly 0% chance of an online test. Even if you have cameras and sound, it’s just too easy for people to cheat. You’re allowed scratch paper and could easily incorporate an equation sheet/notes etc into that or tape it to a wall of something. Completely unfair.

IMO, just due to the nature of how the MCAT is written, it's really difficult to cheat on or at the very least and for that cheating have any meaningful impact on the exam. It might help you on one question but unless you're hitting 10 questions in less than 30 seconds you don't have time. If you're using a cheat sheet to look up neurotransmitters or amino acids, you're not gonna break a 500 anyway. The bigger problem would be stealing the questions and selling them online. As a general point of cybersecurity, anything that is on my box belongs to me, forever.

 

[meronebib]

IMO, just due to the nature of how the MCAT is written, it's really difficult to cheat on or at the very least and for that cheating have any meaningful impact on the exam. It might help you on one question but unless you're hitting 10 questions in less than 30 seconds you don't have time. If you're using a cheat sheet to look up neurotransmitters or amino acids, you're not gonna break a 500 anyway. The bigger problem would be stealing the questions and selling them online. As a general point of cybersecurity, anything that is on my box belongs to me, forever.

What if someone has like a dual-monitor setup, and has another, very competent test-taker, read from that second monitor and sign out the answers to each question? There are too many ways. Online standardized testing will not work.

 

[deleted826437]

Honestly, if you had print outs of enzymes, amino acids, metabolic pathways, physics equations, psych definitions, I think most reasonably smart people would be able to kill the exam. Nothing on the MCAT is so conceptually difficult that an average student isn’t able to comprehend it. Keeping the gazillion facts/definitions/equations straight is where the differences lie between a 510 and a 520, imo. If you didn’t have to worry about memorizing, I think it would eliminate a ton of test anxiety which is a large performance determining factor as well.

 

[MedStudent2301]

Genuine Question: Will people have fewer extracurriculars if suddenly 3 months before they apply they can't continue to do their extracurriculars? Anything done longitudinally will still be present, so this will only affect short-term things like maybe a shadowing experience. So in that sense, will there really be a class weaker in experiences by and large?

 

[squids82]

Genuine Question: Will people have fewer extracurriculars if suddenly 3 months before they apply they can't continue to do their extracurriculars? Anything done longitudinally will still be present, so this will only affect short-term things like maybe a shadowing experience. So in that sense, will there really be a class weaker in experiences by and large?

Exactly, my understanding is those scrambling at that minute traditionally don’t contribute to the upper end of competition because that lack of preparedness can give some foresight into their whole application

 

[deleted555445]

FYI the GRE is being administered online. I believe it both locks you into a secure app and has a proctor monitor you through your webcam similar to how there's a camera watching you while taking your MCAT in person. There are also some stipulations on what is in your room, what can be on your desk, etc.

 

[Goro]

Safety would prevent adcoms from holding interviews, reviewing apps, and dedicating the time necessary for a cycle. The current applicants have already been reviewed and don't need to be re-reviewed during the pandemic. Then I assume that the pandemic will flatten by August 2021.

We can do that from home and in fact, are doing that already for the tail end of this cycle.

 

[meronebib]

FYI the GRE is being administered online. I believe it both locks you into a secure app and has a proctor monitor you through your webcam similar to how there's a camera watching you while taking your MCAT in person. There are also some stipulations on what is in your room, what can be on your desk, etc.

RIP graduate admissions.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

How long do you'll think this pandemic will last, beyond May or June? What percentage of expected applicants have not taken MCAT yet? I don't see any slowdown at my son's school as per getting LORs or appointments for committee letters.

 

[openstage]

I appreciate everyones mature, respectful answers previously.

Perhaps the solution to the MCAT dilemma is to keep the dates, but ramp up the safety and social distancing? I know that’s easier said than done, but maybe proctors could wear protective gear, or observe from behind a clear barrier? Could the test be given more often, in larger halls, with fewer takers, separated by partitions? Could takers pay a premium (an additional $100) to cover these added costs? Just brainstorming....

 

[bassil1991]

Hey everyone
I’m a reapplicant for this cycle
graduated in 2017 from uconn
I studied in a medical school in Syria for three years, but because of the war I had to leave in 2012 and started again from zero
I applied in 2018, but my bad mcat score (510 Cars 122) was probably my killer, yet I got two interviews but no acceptance
I was planning on doing my mcat in April, but I had to move it til July 7, and this is killing me because I took a cars course to improve my grade and I’m hoping I can get some 5 extra points at least
I did around 120 hours as a volunteer research Assistant
120 clinical experience shadowing a physician
Around 200-250 hours of volunteering as a translator and medical coordination for refugees
And I’m currently working for a covid-19 testing site
My bcpm gpa is 3.72, AO 3.44, and overall 3.66, not to mention that in my medical school in Syria I did around 132 credits with a 3.56 gpa
Do you guys think I have a chance with additional research and post bacc studies in the fall? And are there any considerations gonna be given for this cycle?

 

[Faha]

Hey everyone
I’m a reapplicant for this cycle
graduated in 2017 from uconn
I studied in a medical school in Syria for three years, but because of the war I had to leave in 2012 and started again from zero
I applied in 2018, but my bad mcat score (510 Cars 122) was probably my killer, yet I got two interviews but no acceptance
I was planning on doing my mcat in April, but I had to move it til July 7, and this is killing me because I took a cars course to improve my grade and I’m hoping I can get some 5 extra points at least
I did around 120 hours as a volunteer research Assistant
120 clinical experience shadowing a physician
Around 200-250 hours of volunteering as a translator and medical coordination for refugees
And I’m currently working for a covid-19 testing site
My bcpm gpa is 3.72, AO 3.44, and overall 3.66, not to mention that in my medical school in Syria I did around 132 credits with a 3.56 gpa
Do you guys think I have a chance with additional research and post bacc studies in the fall? And are there any considerations gonna be given for this cycle?

Where is your state of residence ? Where were your interviews in 2018 ?

 

[bassil1991]

Where is your state of residence ? Where were your interviews in 2018 ?

I’m from CT, and I got one from uconn and one from geisinger
Both waitlisted, but uconn places me in middle tier

 

[Faha]

I’m from CT, and I got one from uconn and one from geisinger
Both waitlisted, but uconn places me in middle tier

Your stats are fine for any DO school. Post your new MCAT score here when available and I can suggest MD schools. For DO schools include these:
UNECOM
NYITCOM
PCOM
MU-COM
CCOM
DMU-COM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
UIWSOM
CUSOM
VCOM (all 4 schools)
LECOM (all schools)

 

[bassil1991]

Your stats are fine for any DO school. Post your new MCAT score here when available and I can suggest MD schools. For DO schools include these:
UNECOM
NYITCOM
PCOM
MU-COM
CCOM
DMU-COM
KCU-COM
ATSU-KCOM
AZCOM
TUNCOM
UIWSOM
CUSOM
VCOM (all 4 schools)
LECOM (all schools)

I will consider DO schools for this cycle, but my priority is an MD school, I wanna know my chances for an MD school to be honest

 

[tri99]

Not having an MCAT to evaluate students is the least of the problems with this year's cycle

It won't matter what's on the application if there is no way for faculty to discuss the applicants. I don't foresee anything non-essential opening up before December, at least not permanently. The way things have been going I'm sure we'll have a disastrous "reopening of America" that's short-lived.

With so many adcoms being physicians they will likely be stretched to their limits on the frontline somewhere. And if not to their limits, then stretched beyond holding weekly admissions committee meetings via zoom.

Side-note: Over/under 75% of personal statments next cycle mention COVID-19

 

[KnightDoc]

It won't matter what's on the application if there is no way for faculty to discuss the applicants. I don't foresee anything non-essential opening up before December, at least not permanently. The way things have been going I'm sure we'll have a disastrous "reopening of America" that's short-lived.

With so many adcoms being physicians they will likely be stretched to their limits on the frontline somewhere. And if not to their limits, then stretched beyond holding weekly admissions committee meetings via zoom.

Side-note: Over/under 75% of personal statments next cycle mention COVID-19

Are you suggesting next year's cycle is going to run from December to the first day of classes?

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

It won't matter what's on the application if there is no way for faculty to discuss the applicants. I don't foresee anything non-essential opening up before December, at least not permanently. The way things have been going I'm sure we'll have a disastrous "reopening of America" that's short-lived.

With so many adcoms being physicians they will likely be stretched to their limits on the frontline somewhere. And if not to their limits, then stretched beyond holding weekly admissions committee meetings via zoom.

Side-note: Over/under 75% of personal statments next cycle mention COVID-19

Not every adcom/faculty spends majority of their time in patient care. Lot of them have research and admin time.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

In my own view and speculation
It isn't simply faculty and physician at medical schools. When, not if but when, millions are sick, not working remotely or otherwise, and those staying home to care for them, not working remotely or otherwise, and the likely lower productivity of those left working remotely without full teams, the entire overall process that is at risk simply by having too few people at all points to run it. Simply the gears will grind and come to a halt at many points. While much of the process is automated and/or online, you still need significant staff to run it. You should all read the FAQ on AMCAS about this and they raise the same issues
(The AAMC overall page on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Hub is also quite useful)

1) all the college are online, with reduced administrative staff as well. Will the hundreds of thousand of transcript requests be processed in a timely manner from the from the thousands of colleges and universities?
2) With all classes online, will letters of recommendation be written on time?
3) will AMCAS and their verifiers be able to get thru the the approximately 140,000 transcripts, half of which are still paper? Not too mention the 10,000 letters of recommendation and the 80,000 phone calls remotely?
4) will the third party vendors, such as interfolio and NSCH get have staff to do their major role in this?
5) will the 150+ medical schools, who get all this electronically, have sufficient staff and ability to take this all in remotely
6) Additionally will the medical schools be able to screen, evaluate, review, meet, etc sufficiently to process this
7) Interviews again rely on staff to do so.

This isnt an issue of can this all be done remotely. The question is can it done sufficiently in a remote manner with the limits of doing so (none of these processes were setup expecting remote) and, more importantly, will their be enough staff who arent ill by COVID-19 to do it?

My own insights based on my own attempts to move as much of my admissions processes online when I had the chance to do so:
1) Electronic transcript delivery has improved over the past couple of years. I routinely got transcripts delivered electronically from high school applicants to my direct-admit tracks. We held accounts for electronic receipt of transcripts which we could keep in a secured drive. The rate-limiting step will be getting grades recorded into registrar systems so that grades could be posted and placed on those transcripts, in my opinion. With many undergrad programs giving pass/fail options, it should make some of that reporting a little quicker, but no guarantees.

2) I expect LOR's will be written on time ... or rather, at the pace dictated by the reference, which has always been the case. Many professors I know developed mail-merge templates with customizable areas to help craft their letters and electronically sign them. Unless there has to be some weird authentication watermark, I don't think this is a problem except for the technologically challenged. Committee letters have been written and transmitted online for many years now.

3) Liaison had issues a few years ago because they didn't ramp up their capacity for scanning and verifying transcripts, which caused a real drag in some schools' processes. So I think with that lesson learned, I don't anticipate any slowdown in receiving, scanning (if necessary) or verifying transcripts.

4) Same thing with Interfolio and NSCH.

5) It's hard to say for all the individual schools. Some have already dedicated the last few years towards making as much of their process paperless (I pretty much did it except for insistence for certain things to remain on paper). A lot of admissions offices only have a bare minimum of people running in the office, so I suspect they'll make it work with whatever they have. You also have admissions committee members (faculty) who should also likely be chipping in at the insistence of the admissions dean and director. How that is managed will be very school-specific.

6) Yes. I suspect every school already has its baseline minimum considerations which won't really change. You don't know what scoring rubrics each school uses to narrow down their pools, but I personally could triage applications very efficiently (as probably shown by my responses in WAMC).

7) Those that use CASPR, SJT's, Kira Talent, or similar video interview screening software will be at a distinct advantage. Those that require in-person large group interview dates will need to find alternatives. Doing interviews by Skype or Zoom requires a little more setup than faculty or administrators can handle, and there is a need for appropriate security, privacy, and oversight (no Zoombombing). Furthermore, if the stay-at-home mandates are gradually lifted, one has to consider the issue of fairness of evaluating some candidates with online interviews and others with in-person.

That's why I think nothing related to timelines or requirements will change.

 

[Goro]

I will consider DO schools for this cycle, but my priority is an MD school, I wanna know my chances for an MD school to be honest

With a 122 CARS score, chances are not good.

 

[bassil1991]

With a 122 CARS score, chances are not good.

Which is why I’m retaking my mcat and hoping to get an extra 4-5 points on my cars

 

[Goro]

Which is why I’m retaking my mcat and hoping to get an extra 4-5 points on my cars

We can't deal with hypotheticals. Come back when you have an MCAT score and then we can assess chances for MD.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

The critical path here I see are the fully half of all transcripts are still paper according to AMCAS. The chain of these from the colleges to AMCAS and AMCAS processing. If a majority of these college finally see the light and do electronic transcripts less of an issue. The personnel issues still remain depending on numbers of people ill throughout the country at all points of these system. To be put it in military terms, its gonna be a "Cluster Freak" either way.

I'm totally in agreement with you if that is still how colleges are transmitting transcripts. I think the current situation will motivate some C-suite administrators to pay the money to get electronic transcripts and diplomas ready to go in a month or so.

I do agree that we have no clue how personnel issues are going to be managed; they're already laying off or furloughing janitorial and food service staff. The implementation of a virtual office shouldn't be that hard, but it will be from what I see of my peers teaching classes online. The lack of a timeline makes things challenging if a critical person doesn't properly make their home computer connections safe enough with a VPN or an upgraded OS to handle FERPA-regulated information. For me, when I was able to get a second monitor for my home office... that was a game-changer for my efficiency. I couldn't buy one for my office; I had to beg my IT friends to find a surplus one for my office.

 

[Maimonides1]

 

[Maimonides1]

As we are still debating the true effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical schools applicants this cycle and beyond, AAMC just announced in apology posting on their website after their short MCAT registration fiasco yesterday, that they managed to register over 78 thousand applicants to test in the next four months!!

This is a tsunami number of applicants to go through this summer.. and it might slow things even further on the AAMC and medical schools schedules alike.. who are stretched thin and working in less than ideal conditions with less staffing!
I am expecting delays in the verification process and possible further delays in the transmission and application reviews/ interviews that might even push the 2020-2021 cycle later in the fall!

 

[Maimonides1]

Medical schools are gearing up to reopen back to new normal in direct patient care in post Covid19 era..,
77% will be back by end of July!
20 schools allowed early graduations with special license to join the fight against Covid19.

AAMC is expecting a tsunami of year in a interest and applications to medical schools with increase of MCAT registrants to 78 thousands and %50 increase in applications registrations on May 4!!

Med Schools Bringing Back Students, Flooded With Applicants

Removed from patient care in March, students at many medical colleges will begin seeing patients again in the next few months.

www.medscape.com

 

[KnightDoc]

Medical schools are gearing up to reopen back to new normal in direct patient care in post Covid19 era..,
77% will be back by end of July!
20 schools allowed early graduations with special license to join the fight against Covid19.

AAMC is expecting a tsunami of year in a interest and applications to medical schools with increase of MCAT registrants to 78 thousands and %50 increase in applications registrations on May 4!!

Med Schools Bringing Back Students, Flooded With Applicants

Removed from patient care in March, students at many medical colleges will begin seeing patients again in the next few months.

www.medscape.com

So much for this year being easier, and applications being down due to the crisis!

 

[openstage]

I don’t think applying to Med schools is done on a whim, or fluctuates a great deal based on recent developments. Perhaps this could be the tipping point if you weren’t ready by now? Like if you didn’t complete shadowing, volunteer work or research. But most qualified candidates have been preparing for at least 2 years or more.

It will be a different kind of cycle for sure, and that may make it more challenging.

 

[deleted1044561]

So much for this year being easier, and applications being down due to the crisis!

That's what I was thinking. With 70k tests, this might be shaping up to be the toughest cycle in history.

 

[squids82]

This is an interesting turn from everyone saying that it would be a cakewalk for us that had already taken the MCAT

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

So much for this year being easier, and applications being down due to the crisis!

With no shadowing and clinical volunteering available due to Covid, how will last minute applicants acquires these experiences?

 

[squids82]

With no shadowing and clinical volunteering available due to Covid, how will last minute applicants acquires these experiences?

It is possible people are just taking advantage of a less taxing MCAT and taking it now in advance of a coming cycle

 

[deleted1044561]

With no shadowing and clinical volunteering available due to Covid, how will last minute applicants acquires these experiences?

I think many are relying on adcoms 'cutting them some slack' which I personally wouldn't do considering more than half of an applicant pool any given year are reapplicants and can fill an entire class themselves. These reapplicants have also been continuing activities and addressing weaknesses in their app.

 

[KnightDoc]

I don’t think applying to Med schools is done on a whim, or fluctuates a great deal based on recent developments. Perhaps this could be the tipping point if you weren’t ready by now? Like if you didn’t complete shadowing, volunteer work or research. But most qualified candidates have been preparing for at least 2 years or more.

It will be a different kind of cycle for sure, and that may make it more challenging.

I've been saying the same thing, but how does that explain 78,000 people being registered for the MCAT between now and the end of September, plus those who took it from January through March, when a typical year sees around 70,000 people take it? It might be that people are using the time this summer to push forward an exam they were going to take next year, or it might be people impulsively getting ready to throw in an application that isn't quite ready, but something is definitely going on right now.

 

[KnightDoc]

That's what I was thinking. With 70k tests, this might be shaping up to be the toughest cycle in history.

I really don't think so. Even though it looks like there might be more applications, it is tough to see how there will be more highly competitive applications, given how the world changed out of nowhere only two months ago. We all know it takes way more than four months to compile the record necessary to constitute a good application.

 

[AegonTargaryenVI]

I've been saying the same thing, but how does that explain 78,000 people being registered for the MCAT between now and the end of September, plus those who took it from January through March, when a typical year sees around 70,000 people take it? It might be that people are using the time this summer to push forward an exam they were going to take next year, or it might be people impulsively getting ready to throw in an application that isn't quite ready, but something is definitely going on right now.

At first, I read the registration increase as perhaps owing itself to those being canceled in March and April, therefore the number of test-takers who would have normally taken it during then registered on May 6 instead which increased the usual number, though I could be wrong of course.

 

[Maimonides1]

Just for the record and as a correction to your posts above:

Beside the large number of Covid19 MCAT registrations 78K+

- You can’t ignore the fact: 50% more applicants started the process on May 4, 2020 compared to last year!
- Out of the the 53,371 applicants last cycle only 14,043 were reapplicants almost 26.5%!
- 31,749 applicants did not matriculate last year for all different reasons, almost 60%!
32% due to low MCAT scores, 18% low GPA and the rest for other reasons.
- Over 50% of non Matriculants did not apply next cycle or the next!

We should wait and draw no conclusions till after May 28 and to the end of the application cycle to see how all these initial numbers are going to pan out?

2020-2021 cycle will be interesting to say the least..!!