Stanford University’s School of Medicine announced this week that it is temporarily suspending the MCAT requirement for new applicants. The MCAT is a comprehensive standardized test that provides insight into an applicant’s ability to succeed in medical school. The Stanford College Republicans criticized the decision, arguing: “It’d be a shame if unqualified applicants come to Stanford as a result of this policy and we suffer the consequences in the coming decades.”
According to a report by Campus Reform, Stanford University has abandoned the MCAT requirement for students applying to its medical school before October of this year.
In a press release published to the Stanford website, medical school officials announced that applicants to its medical school that submit an application before September 30 will not be required to submit an MCAT score.
With regard to the 2021 application cycle, applications may be submitted without an MCAT score taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, March 14 – September 30, 2020. For Stanford Medicine applicants without any prior reported MCAT scores, MCAT is optional for the 2021 application cycle. For Stanford Medicine applicants who have tested, all MCAT scores will automatically be sent to Stanford Medicine. The choice to take or re-take the MCAT examination is up to the applicant. In fairness to all applicants, the MCAT will not be part of the screening and initial review process for interview decisions.
The Stanford College Republicans pushed back against the decision, arguing that MCAT scores help admissions office staffers select the most qualified applicants. The organization claimed that the suspension of the requirement could result in the admission of unqualified applicants to Stanford’s School of Medicine.
“The move by Stanford’s medical school to drop the MCAT is a mistake. America needs her future doctors to be the most knowledgeable and well trained in the world. Out of Stanford medical school come many of the doctors and researchers on the front lines of working to combat the China Virus,” the organization wrote in a statement. “It’d be a shame if unqualified applicants come to Stanford as a result of this policy and we suffer the consequences in the coming decades.”
The Chicago Tribune reported in July that students around the nation would be required to take the MCAT exam in person. Some students expressed concerns about the possibility of contracting coronavirus during the in-person MCAT administration.
“We’re forced to choose between our livelihoods and our lives,” one student said.
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