COVID-19 Updates Health Professions

Update 4/5/2020

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.

Raquel Arias, MD Associate Dean of Admissions Keck School of Medicine at USC

John Balmes, MD Director, Joint Medical Program UC Berkeley/UC San Francisco 

Clarence Braddock III, MD, MPH Vice Dean for Education David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Daphne Calmes, MD Associate Dean for Medical Education Charles R. Drew University of Medicine

Iris C. Gibbs, MD Associate Dean of MD Admissions Stanford University School of Medicine 

Kama Guluma, MD Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs UC San Diego School of Medicine

Mark Henderson, MD Associate Dean for Admissions University of California Davis

Megan Osborn, MD, MHPE Associate Dean for Students University of California Irvine

Sarah Roddy, MD. Associate Dean for Admissions Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Emma M. Simmons, MD, MPH Senior Associate Dean, Student Affairs. University of California Riverside

Lindia Willies-Jacobo, MD Associate Dean for Admissions Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
David Wofsy, MD Associate Dean for Admissions University of California San Francisco

Updated 4/6/2020 HB