CHM Admissions Statement Regarding COVID-19 and Winter/Spring Coursework for Current and Future Applicants

These continue to be very unusual times. As such, we recognize that the COVID-19 crisis is life-disrupting for everyone and that colleges and universities are navigating this crisis in varying ways.  Many of our current and future applicants are facing uncertainty about how 2020 winter and spring courses will continue and be graded, including coursework that is traditionally considered prerequisite or recommended for many medical school admissions processes.

The challenge for medical school admissions committees is that accurate and specific information is always preferred.  When committees are faced with ambiguity, their bias may factor a pass as a “C/D” or 2.0/1.0 rather than a higher grade.  So, if you have an option to proceed with a letter grade for prerequisite coursework, many schools (including the College of Human Medicine) would prefer this option.
 
For those of you in which a Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade is rendered for any of these courses, CHM will work with you.  Since we require prerequisite coursework be assessed at a “C or 2.0” grade or higher, we would kindly ask that your home institution (registrar or course instructor) provide written verification that the Passing or Satisfactory grade met this standard.

We would be remiss if we didn’t recognize that there may be several advantages and disadvantages when considering your grading options.  We also recognize that every applicant has his/her/their own set of strengths and areas for growth.  Maintaining a healthy mentoring/coaching relationship with your pre-health adviser will be key as you proceed with decisions about your Winter/Spring 2020 coursework.

Best of luck!

Also see: 2020-2021 Applicants: A Statement from the CHM Assistant Dean for Admissions

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