Dear Middlebury College Health Professions Student:
Short Version:
We’ve got this!
Longer Version:
We are in a time of profound uncertainty with countless unknowns and have very little definitive information to share. That being said, here’s what we do know:
• We’ve got a very strong network of colleagues in undergraduate advising roles and professional school admissions with whom we are in frequent contact. Through our twice yearly Northeast Consortium on Medical Education (NECOME) gatherings, active membership in the National Association for Advisors in the Health Professions (NAAHP), reading and contributing to robust daily listserv conversations, and nurturing our personal relationships with med school folks, we are well informed and poised to provide timely, thoughtful and accurate information in unprecedented times.
• We believe in you, a valued member of the Middlebury College pre-health community. We believe in you and your ability to navigate these immensely difficult waters. We believe in your adaptability and resilience, and your ability to endure and persevere. We will be here to support you.
Together, we’ve got this!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pass-Fail Classes:
You have received communication regarding the Middlebury College P/F policy, and many of you have asked us to walk you through how to decide whether to take a letter grade or a P/F. The good news is that this decision, while important, is not urgent as you are allowed to invoke Pass/D/Fail gradinguntil May 1, 2020. While we suspect that under these extraordinary circumstances P/F will be acceptable for completion of a prerequisite, we recommend opting for a letter grade when at all possible. We borrow heavily from Carnegie Mellon’s Health Professions message:
As of March 20, 2020, there have been no official announcements from medical or dental schools regarding whether P/F grades will be accepted in place of letter grades for pre-req courses. If you are wondering about completing courses as P/F, keep this in mind: as a pre-health student, you are going to face tremendous challenges in a health professions school, residency and medical practice where you will not have the P/F option. You will have to perform in situations where human well-being is the outcome, not a grade. You likely will have to conduct your medical duties under stress, such as during an acute emergency or extended pandemic… Strive to complete Spring 20 courses for a grade; doing so will minimize/eliminate any potential confusion about whether schools will accept the courses. We know that some students might face unavoidable obstacles to continued academic success and we are here to support you in navigating the remainder of this semester and beyond.
MCATS:
We refer you to the AAMC MCAT information page which is being updated frequently. While we typically advise students planning to apply for August 2021 matriculation to take their MCATS no later than June 2020, these are extraordinary times, and we do anticipate that the cycle will be more forgiving with what would ordinarily be considered “late” applications. You should prepare for the reality, however, that the MCATS might not be offered anytime soon which could preclude you from applying to medical school this cycle.
Health Professions Committee:
If you were a member of the 2020 Health Professions Committee cohort, we have plans underway to hold a virtual committee meeting. We want to assure you that we take this process very seriously and ensure that there is a fair, unhurried and careful review of each and every candidate. In due time you will be getting emails about next steps, school lists, etc.
Tough to Hear:
As health care providers, you will learn to deliver tough news on a daily basis. Whether sharing a new cancer diagnosis or walking into a family waiting room to explain that you did all you could, you’ll deliver tough news with great empathy and your patients will appreciate your honesty. So with that preamble, here’s some tough news: There is going to be a tremendous amount of uncertainty and upheaval in the next several months. From MCAT cancellations to revised interview schedules, to lost jobs and internships, to unfulfilled letters of recommendation, and no clinical shadowing opportunities; you name it, it might happen. If you are comfortable with this sort of messiness you should proceed with your application timetable. If what we are sharing seems overwhelming, it might be worth setting up an advising appointment to explore whether it makes sense to revisit your timetable and delay your application by a year. This is not fair, to be sure, but here we all are.
We’ll be sending out regular updates, but please feel free to reach out anytime.
We’ve got this!
Hannah and Mary