COVID-19 Admissions Updates

We hope you and yours are safe and healthy during these challenging times. This webpage collects updates related to the impact of COVID-19/Coronavirus global pandemic on health professions application and competitive admissions processes. For information specific to Texas Tech University, please visit go.ttu.edu/coronavirus.

Application Timelines

One way institutions and application services are responding to COVID-19/Coronavirus disruptions is by extending application timelines. Be sure to check with both prospective programs and appropriate application services for updated application dates and deadlines.

Entrance Exams

If the health professions programs you intend to apply to require an entrance exam, there is a good chance those exam offerings have been affected by the global pandemic. Be sure to check with both prospective programs and appropriate exam services for updated exam dates and offerings.

Grading Options

Texas Tech University announced an adjustment to normal grading procedures that will apply to the Spring 2020 semester only. The new Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) grading option is the same as or similar to what other institutions have done recently and health professions programs, application services, and professional organizations continue to explore how non-letter grades will be handled in current and future application cycles.

While many institutions, programs, and services have announced their acceptance of non-letter grades for terms affected by the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic, that does not mean performance in those courses will not be considered during application evaluations. Rather, we anticipate that non-letter grades will be equally evaluated as letter grades usually are. If an applicant does not report or their transcript does not have a standard letter grade when applying, an understanding of that non-letter grade will likely be triangulated using other course grades, entrance exam performance, and/or interview questions.

PPHC strongly encourages all pre-health students to work as closely with faculty and instructors to ensure the highest performance possible in all courses at all times, including but not limited to accessing campus resources to support their learning, especially during this recent transition to distance learning. Students should understand all grading options in full, and they should check with both prospective programs and appropriate services and organizations for specifics regarding non-letter grade options before deciding which approach to take.

Professional Engagement & Volunteering

Competitive applicants are well-rounded, performing well both in the classroom and outside of it. While it may prove difficult in these times to develop your extracurricular profile by getting involved on campus, in your communities, and with your desired profession, the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP) has put together some suggestions. Be sure to also visit our Get Involved page for ways to connect with local options and see what opportunities they might also provide.

Pre-Health Advising

Pre-Professional Health Careers Advisors are available to discuss these and other concerns with you. However, it is important to recognize the often subjective, institution-by-institution or discipline-to-discipline differences in applying approaches to meeting these unique and challenging dynamics. Your PPHC Advisor may not be able to provide comprehensive, objective guidance for all situations. That is but one reason why it is important to check with both prospective programs and appropriate services and organizations for specifics about their application and admissions processes.

Disciplines

Below are discipline-specific links to resources and information provided by institutions, application services, professional organizations, and other entities in efforts to communicate responses to the COVID-19/Coronavirus global pandemic.

If you find a broken or out-of-date link, please email us at pphc@ttu.edu.