As the country braces for COVID-19, our lives are changing quite a bit. For medical school applicants, there are special challenges. The MCAT has canceled its next two testing dates. International mission trips are being scrapped. As for local scheduled volunteering and shadowing opportunities, many are being postponed or canceled. Many of you are probably asking yourselves, “How is this all going to affect my application?”
Figuring out how you can volunteer
It’s unfortunate but understandable that regularly planned volunteer work and shadowing has been affected. With hospitals under pressure, limiting non-essential access is a vital step to protecting public health. As this situation progresses, stay in touch with your coordinators so that they know that you’re ready and willing to help out, whenever you’re needed.
While many volunteer opportunities have been suspended, others are still going strong – and need help. Across the country, from California to Texas to Vermont, organizations are looking for healthy volunteers. Food banks and Meals On Wheels have been hit particularly hard.
And don’t forget the people in your community. Check on elderly neighbors or anyone with compromised immune systems, or look to sites like NextDoor for people in your community who need support. Making grocery or prescription runs for them, or even offering to walk their dog, is an easy way that you can help.
Virtual volunteering is always an option, especially if you’re quarantined
There are lots of opportunities for working at home for organizations like the UN and the Red Cross, or you might find something that better fits your skillset here. Remember that a lot of these might be working on reduced personnel, so be patient with your queries.
How will these decisions affect your application?
Supporting others during this time is going to make a real difference for your community and your own mental health. And while it should not be your primary motivation, the initiative you show won’t go amiss on your application. I can easily see admission committees asking questions such as: “What did you do when your volunteer spot was canceled?” Instead of saying, “I worked on my application, studied for the MCAT, and watched Netflix,” you can impress with a great answer about how you stepped up and served in any way you could.
As for how this is going to affect your application, the honest answer is that nobody knows. However, medical schools are well aware of this situation and will, I believe, be very understanding about disruptions during this period. This should hopefully translate into being more accommodating about later MCAT scores and applications.
This is new territory for all of us, but making sure that you have the support you need while supporting those around you will help us all get through this.
As always, we are here for you. If you would like Cydney Foote to support you as you apply, just drop us a note. With our Medical School Admissions Services, you will work one-on-one (virtually, of course) with an expert advisor who will guide you through this tricky time, ultimately to acceptance at your top-choice med school.
Related Resources:
- What Do Medical Schools Look for in Applicants?
- Ace Your Medical School Application: A Q&A with 3 Med School Experts
- Med School Selectivity Index: Are You a Competitive Applicant to Your Dream School?
The post AMCAS in the Time of Coronavirus appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment