"How the Coronavirus has Upended College Admissions"

 

NPR had a story on 8/12/2020 entitled, "How The Coronavirus Has Upended College Admissions." 

Read the story or listen here.

Much of the upheaval in undergraduate admissions mirrors what is happening in medical schools. There are both challenges and opportunities. Fewer students are taking standardized tests. There will be more emphasis on "minutia," i.e., the other clues about applicants gleaned from their activities, character, and writing. Here are a few comments:

Focusing on Diversity and inclusion

"I think there's actually a tremendous opportunity here to wed the deep interest in a more diverse, more interesting student body, and the opportunity to reconsider afresh what makes a student outstanding and well-prepared for Cornell.That's a good revolution."

Cornell University Vice Provost for Enrollment Jonathan Burdick 

Measuring Character in Admissions

"We're thinking about how we might extract characteristics that we would value at Temple, something perhaps like citizenship, or social justice, or tenacity," he said. "I think probably every college and university in America right now is having that kind of soul-searching conversation."

Vice Provost for Admissions, Financial Aid and Enrollment Management at Temple University Shawn Abbott

Celebrating Personal Qualities

"Whatever you call them, the take-home message is [that characteristics like grit, character skills, life skills, and noncognitive skills] matter, and in some cases, matter as much as IQ. ... We're really in the early, early stages of the measurement of personal qualities, and there is no panacea."

University of Pennsylvania Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology Angela Duckworth

These are the kinds of transformative opportunities from which both undergraduate and medical schools can benefit.