Centralized Application Services Processing Information
Pre-Health Opportunities during COVI-19
AMCAS - Coronavirus (COVID-19) and AMCAS Coronavirus (COVID-19) and The MCAT Exam
- The AAMC has decided to delay transmitting AMCAS applicant data to medical schools by two weeks.
- The AMCAS application will open for applicants to begin their applications on May 4th. Applicants will be able to begin submitting their applications to AMCAS for processing on May 28th and transmission of these applications to medical schools has been moved from June 26th to July 10th.
- AAMC Fee Assistance Program Expands Income Eligibility Requirements
- Medical Schools Participating in the AAMC Video Tool for Admissions
AACOM - Coronavirus
Congruent with our philosophy, AACOMAS participating schools intend to adapt their application review process to the following to mitigate the many obstacles you may face:
- Accept all pass/fail/satisfactory/unsatisfactory coursework, regardless of whether your school required this, including pre-requisite coursework in the context of your entire academic history
- Accept all online coursework, including laboratory credits
- Review your application without all required laboratory coursework, if you can demonstrate that your institution was unable to provide these courses due to COVID-19; proof of completion may later be required
- Review your application and extend interview invitations prior to receiving your MCAT score, by evaluating experiences, academic metrics, and attributes that you have demonstrated in your application. In some instances, our colleges will accept you without MCAT scores, but many will await required MCAT scores before extending an offer to join a class
- Consider reducing the required number of health care experience hours and other extracurricular experiences you planned to complete
- Most of our schools will continue to require a letter of recommendation from a physician (DO or MD)
If you plan to take an MCAT exam, please ensure you are currently registered for an upcoming exam and
indicate your planned MCAT date in your AACOMAS application. We encourage you to apply early and
when ready without MCAT scores. As in previous application cycles, AACOMAS does not delay the
delivery of your application without MCAT scores.
If any of your institutions cannot provide official transcripts due to this pandemic, the AACOMAS
application will provide an exception process for you to get your application verified and delivered to
the colleges you select in your AACOMAS application. Keep in mind that our colleges will require official
transcripts when operations resume at your previously attended institutions.
It would add value to your AACOMAS application to answer the COVID-19 essay that will be presented to you. This is your opportunity to highlight how you have dealt with and shown perseverance during this pandemic.
MCAT
- Information regarding MCAT Registration on May 7th
- Information on shortened MCAT (May 29th – the end of 2020 testing year)
- Updated 2020 MCAT Schedule
ADEA General Information - https://www.adea.org/GoDental/AADSAS-Update/
- ADEA AADSAS ® (ADEA Associated American Dental School Application Service) will open on time. Applicants can open an application on May 12 and start submitting on June 2. While applicants are still encouraged to apply early, please stay safe and know that when you are able to apply, the schools will be ready to review your application.
- A new question will be added to the application. The new optional question in ADEA AADSAS prompts applicants to share how COVID-19 has affected their preparation to apply for dental school.
- Dental schools are being flexible. Disruptions to transcripts, the Dental Admission Test (DAT) and letters of evaluation are causing anxiety, yet schools are reviewing policies and deadlines to accommodate those affected by the pandemic. For updates from each school, please check the school website or the text listed in the Program Materials section of ADEA AADSAS.
- Things are changing daily. The only constant is change. ADEA and the dental schools are committed to informing applicants of updates made throughout this year. Please check our ADEA AADSAS updates page regularly.
PA-CAT
Given the uncertainty around the duration of the social restrictions required for COVID-19 suppression, we have arranged with Prometric to allow PA-CAT candidates to use their remote proctoring system, ProProctor, for PA-CAT examinations. Remote proctoring technology has gained more favor in recent years and is becoming more widely adopted for higher stakes examinations. The National Commission for Certifying Agencies, for example, is looking closely at whether remote live proctoring is an acceptable delivery method for computer-based testing.
While some remote proctoring technologies do not involve the use of live, remote proctors, at Exam
Master we believe that only live remote proctoring can be a suitable alternative to in-person testing.
The ProProctor system from Prometric offers the following features:
- 100% live-monitoring
- Comprehensive environment readiness checks
- Live security agents
- Proactive protocols including device lockdown
- Record and review functionality.
In short, if you have students who need or desire to take the PA-CAT when the testing window opens
May 1st, they will be able to do so with the availability of live proctoring. Due to the rapid change in
circumstances, we do expect live proctored PA-CAT seats to be available initially on a limited basis.
However, Prometric is taking concerted steps to scale up its remote proctoring capability to meet the
demand.
All the information your pre-PA candidates might need is available on our website:
https://www.pa-cat.com/register-and-schedule/
PTCAS General Information - www.ptcas.org/covid-19/
No update at this time.
PharmCAS COVID Information - COVID-19
Admission Policies - COVID 19 Pharmacy School Admission Policies
PharmCAS - The 2020-2021 PharmCAS application for the 2021 entering class is still scheduled to launch on time on July 14, 2020
PCAT
Due to the temporary closure of Pearson VUE test centers through April 30, PCAT registration will open to students on May 4, 2020 for the testing dates in July 2020, September 2020, and January 2021. Pearson has also extended the registration and schedule deadline for the July administration to June 1, 2020. Pearson strongly suggests that you register and schedule as soon as possible to get your preferred testing date, time, and location. Visit the PCAT website at pcatweb.info for the latest information.
The PCAT testing dates on April 2 and 3, 2020 were previously cancelled. Registered candidates have
been notified by Pearson VUE via email. Affected students should contact PCAT Customer Relations at Scoring.Services@Pearson.com, if questions.
PharmCAS will be able to match July 2020 PCAT scores to applicant files in both the 2019-2020 and
2020-2021 cycles, based on the applicant’s account. All PharmCAS applicants should continue to send their official PCAT scores to School Code 104. Review the Pharmacy Admission Policies section above to view school-specific PCAT policies for the remainder of the 2019-2020 admissions cycle.
No update at this time.
No update at this time.