PREMED STUDENT ADVOCACY
Our advocacy efforts started with the students. Our #WaiveTheMCAT campaign was supported by a handful of medical schools, many academic medicine community members, and even legislators. Unfortunately, despite our very best efforts, inequity in medical education continues on today.
Now, we are tackling the double challenge of completing the 2020-2021 admissions cycle and working with our peers applying in the 2021-2022 cycle. We have achieved quite a bit, but our work is not done yet. The fight continues.
Learn more about advocacy efforts from our supporters in the larger medical community here.
December 10, 2020
Our most recent open letter addresses ongoing concerns with the 2020-2021 application cycle, as well as upcoming concerns for 2021-2022. It also contains information about how you can take action and advocate on behalf of premed students.
ADVOCACY IN ACTION: SEA'S OPEN LETTERS
We asked AAMC, AACOM, TMDSAS, medical school deans and admission committees, and the academic medicine community at large to address premed student concerns. Our open letters are published in chronological order below, each pertaining directly to the national events that are unfolding during the 2020-2021 admissions cycle.
June 28, 2020
We address student concerns about the 2020-2021 medical school admissions cycle: receiving accomodations for the MCAT, AMCAS and transcript delays, AAMC's communication strategies with current applicants, applying for AAMC's Fee Assistance Program (FAP), MCAT administration, and the newly-introduced Virtual Interview Tool for Admissions (VITA).
July 12, 2020
We address MCAT exam administration safety in midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and strongly urge all organizations to #WaiveTheMCAT for this extraordinary admissions cycle.
July 16, 2020
We address four urgent concerns regarding the 2020-2021 admissions cycle: application and transcript delays, MCAT safety, MCAT standardization, and US News and World Report (USNWR) Rankings.
July 27, 2020
We formally introduce ourselves to AAMC's Board of Directors and call for actions to resolve the issues applicants face in the 2020-2021 admissions cycle.
August 6, 2020
We request schools to #WaiveTheMCAT amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, hurricanes and tropical storms, and wildfires.
August 20, 2020
We provide an update to the #WaiveTheMCAT campaign and shed light on MCAT safety as AAMC plans to resume administration of the shortened exams in September and full-length exams in January 2021.
August 18, 2020
We write to the Deans and Admissions Committees in California, addressing recent natural disasters in the state and asking them to #WaiveTheMCAT and to extend SJT/CASPer/VITA deadlines.
September 8, 2020
We provide an update regarding legislative involvement in the #WaiveTheMCAT campaign and ongoing efforts to reduce barriers for premed students.