What is the impact of novel coronavirus on pre-med students looking to take the MCAT?
The MCAT is only offered a few times a year, which makes any uncertainly in the process that much more difficult. Unfortunately, at this current time there is a lot of uncertainly in the world with COVID-19, or coronavirus, causing issues that reach far beyond just MCAT test dates.
UPDATE: as of April 10th, all MCAT exam administrations through May 21, 2020 have been canceled globally. You will receive a cancellation email if you haven’t already. Flexible rescheduling has been extended for exams taking place through the end of May.
Hospitals across the world are bracing for the impact of the virus. We know a lot of people will be affected in one way or another, but many students are concerned about one specific situation: What should they do if their MCAT date is canceled?
The answer is a moving target.
- Earlier this week, the AAMC and Pearson were allowing students to reschedule their MCAT dates for free.
- On March 14, the MCAT was canceled in some counties in Pennsylvania.
- On March 15, it was announced that multiple states were reducing the number of seats available to follow the 6 feet social distancing rule.
UPDATE: as of March 18th, the March 27 and April 4 MCAT exam administrations have been canceled globally. You will receive a cancellation email if you haven’t already. Flexible rescheduling has been extended for exams taking place through the end of May.
The situation will likely only get worse in the coming days with more states requiring closures and cancellations of any group gatherings. While the MCAT may not seem like a group gathering, Pearson testing centers certainly have lots of people in them at once.
Access the most current information MCAT test delivery pertaining to COVID-19 (coronavirus).
What should you do if your MCAT is canceled?
- See if you can postpone to May – You may have been scheduled to take the MCAT in March or April, but if you can postpone to an open seat in May, it should provide enough time to see where things settle out. It may be that your MCAT test day will still be canceled then, but it gives some more breathing room.
- Don’t reschedule to another part of the country – It may be tempting to reschedule to another part of the country if you see an open seat for the MCAT. You should avoid doing that that seat may get canceled too. Further, you don’t want to be traveling away from home or where you are currently just to take the MCAT.
- Don’t panic – Everyone is going through this together. COVID-19 (corona virus) is such a novel problem that the whole world is dealing with. Schools are affected, students are affected, literally, everyone is. While your current problem may be MCAT related, medical schools are dealing with a whole host of issues around COVID-19. Bottom line, breath. Everyone is in this together and we’re all going to be understanding at the end of the day about hiccups in the road at this time. The anticipation would be that medical schools will be more lenient this year in terms of medical school application timeline.
- Use the extra time to improve your score – The worst thing you can do is panic about a canceled MCAT. The best thing you can do is use the time to improve your score! Whether that is getting an MCAT tutor or watching more Khan Academy videos, doing more AAMC tests or reviewing a course, take the extra time to boost your score.
Medical School Admissions, MCAT and COVID-19 – What You Must Know
In this video, you’ll learn:
- How will med school admissions be impacted by students going through the process this year?
- If my school gives me the option of taking classes pass/fail, what should I do?
- What should I do if my MCAT date is postponed or canceled?
- How will restrictions on travel impact my medical school interviews?
- How do you evaluate a school if you can’t be there physically?
- How should I answer medical ethics questions around COVID-19?
- How will you get clinical experience this summer during a shutdown?
Good luck out there!
