Dr. Maurer, Asst. Dean for CHM Admissions, Reveals Solutions Made by Admissions Team in Adapting to Pandemic Via Virtual Interviewing

Among the countless aspects of life disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, one posed a significant problem for the College of Human Medicine: how to continue interviewing students who apply for admission.

Until this year, top candidates were invited by the Office of Admissions to our East Lansing or Grand Rapids community campuses for a series of interviews.

“I actually thought about this way back at the end of March when I saw that this was not something that was going to go away magically,” said Joel Maurer, MD, the college’s assistant dean for admissions.

The answer, he and other administrators decided, was to interview applicants online, which posed multiple technical and logistical obstacles.

Before the pandemic, applicants underwent a series of one-on-one interviews with faculty members, each on a specific topic. The college first tried to duplicate that approach online, but it quickly proved unworkable, Maurer said. A better approach was to have each student interviewed through an online Zoom conference with one faculty member who would cover all topics.

A related problem was figuring out how to show off the campuses to prospective students. Pre-COVID, they would tour the college while visiting for interviews. The solution, Maurer and his colleagues decided, is virtual tours of the Grand Rapids and East Lansing campuses conducted by current students, which went online in September.

Even that posed a challenge, Maurer said, because the college buildings were closed to students due to the pandemic, requiring special permission for the students to conduct the video tours. With a very tight budget, Francisco Velazquez, communications coordinator for the office of admissions, arranged to record four students on each campus conducting the tours.

“Medical students are the biggest sellers of a medical school,” Maurer said.

The changes in the admissions process come as the College of Human Medicine and other medical schools are seeing a large increase in the numbers of students applying. The Association of American Medical Colleges recently reported that applications to medical schools are at an all-time high.

Applications to the College of Human Medicine increased from 8,800 last year to more than 11,200 this year, a jump of about 27 percent, Maurer said. Exactly why is uncertain, but he speculated that some students might have decided against taking a year off between undergraduate and medical school due to the pandemic, while others likely were inspired by the heroism of healthcare workers and a desire to help relieve patients’ suffering.

“I’m seeing more applicants this year in their essays expressing more of a passion to serve disadvantaged communities,” Maurer said.

He said he is “extremely satisfied” with how the admission process has adapted to the pandemic, but he added: “I hope that a year from now we are in a different place and can resume in-person interviews.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

After Another Strong Match Day, CHM Seniors Set to Take On Residency Positions Throughout the Nation

Image
Not many things came easy this last year. Yet despite plenty of disruptions and challenges, the Class of 2021 responded honorably in every way. That included displaying high levels of poise and patience during a residency selection cycle steeped in uncertainty amid a global pandemic that has upended life beyond just medicine. While the 2021 edition of Match Day marked the second in which fourth-year College of Human Medicine (CHM) students and their families were forced to celebrate virtually on the account of the pandemic, this year's seniors were the first to see their entire residency match process pivot to virtual.  Going online certainly presented it's hurdles, but the virtual nature of this year's interviews also helped to eliminate some of the larger barriers—time and cost—that are associated with the process during more traditional cycles.  The 2021 Main Residency Match became the largest in National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) history, with 38,106 total p
Read more

So You've Been Put On The Waitlist: What's Next?

Image
You've  waited for a decision and word has finally arrived: you've been placed on the waitlist. It's okay for applicants to feel some anxiety when placed as an alternate. That's normal. More uncertainty isn't something an applicant begs to endure. But don't necessarily take it as a bad omen either. More than disappointment, you should have hope. You still have a chance, after all. Considering the sheer number of applicants across the country each year, the truth is that it's actually pretty common to be in this situation. Thousands of accepted students matriculate off the waitlist each year. With only 5-10% of students matriculating from the waitlist at some schools, others accept as high as 50-60% of their incoming class from waitlisted applicants. The question then is, "What should I do now?" Remain Positive Waitlist does not mean rejection. While this isn't ideal, getting your name onto a waitlist is an accomplishment and shows
Read more

New Situational Judgement Testing Requirements for the 2023 Cycle: Additional Options and Recommendations

Image
While the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) has been a standard of the medical school admissions cycle, additional testing on top of academic metrics has more recently begun to show value as institutions aim to assess applicants more holistically and equitably.  To better provide care for patients in an ever-evolving health care industry, the next generation of doctors must understand far more than chemistry and human anatomy.  The College of Human Medicine began requiring in 2021 that all candidates take the Casper Test, an open-response situational judgment test administered online. Innovative responses to educational imperatives have been an important trait of the college, extending that spirit to the admissions office.  The college, for instance, was one of the initial medical schools in the U.S. to implement the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) as part of its interview process and has continued with the effort now for close to a decade. So, including a situational judgment te
Read more