"When Valerie Gomez, a senior Molecular and Cellular Biology major, planned to apply to medical school in the fall of 2019, she felt anxious about how she would manage the interview process. Typically, attending so many interviews would force her to miss class days and spend a large amount of money on travel.
In a bittersweet twist of fate, this application cycle has little resemblance to the one Gomez envisioned for herself a year ago.
The road to medical school has never been an easy one, but this year’s applicants have faced a cycle unlike any other. According to a poll conducted by Kaplan, most schools have made their admission process more flexible in response to the school closures, test cancelations and shutdowns that took place in the spring due to COVID-19.
These changes include accepting pass/fail grades and taking a “holistic review” of applicants who may have struggled to fulfill clinical experience or other extracurriculars due to social distancing guidelines.
As a result of the increased accessibility of the application, the number of applicants has risen 17% from the previous year, meaning that this flexibility will in no way make the cycle a less competitive one." …
https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2020/11/applying-to-medical-school-during-covid-19