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Pre-Health Advising is working to keep up with changes to how COVID-19 is affecting applications to health professions programs, mandatory standardized tests, and other programs. Below is a running list of links to various organizations and updates on information a we know it. As always, UIC students and alumni should reach out to Pre-Health Advising for an appointment or with questions or concerns. More programming will be coming to you via webinar and online resources throughout the rest of this semester as well.

Fall 2020 & Spring 2021 CR/NC Policy Heading link

UIC will return to the regular grading policy beginning in Summer 2021. This means that beginning with the Summer 2021 term, D grades will no longer be converted to CR and F grades will no longer be converted to NC. Grades of D and F will again be factored into your GPA.

Considerations regarding the Undergraduate Grading Policy Modifications for Fall 2020 Courses and Extension of Grading Policy to Spring 2021.

The Spring 2020 CR/NC policy and information from specific health professions programs may be found further down on this page. LAS students who have general questions about the CR/NC changes are encouraged to read through the Fall 2020/Spring 2021 Undergraduate Grading Policy FAQs put together by LAS Academic Advising.

CR Grades

  • Individual health professions programs will make final determinations on whether they will accept CR grades for prerequisite courses. If requested by a health professions program, Pre-Health Advising will submit a letter for applicants regarding the various CR/NC credit policies for Spring 2020 and Fall 2020/Spring 2021 semesters.
  • If you receive a CR grade in Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 in a pre-requisite course (such as biology or chemistry, for example) and are able to move onto the next course in a later semester, expect that any health professions program that you apply to will pay additional attention to grades in courses in the same subject area completed both before and after the CR grade.
  • Per the Fall 2020/Spring 2021 policy a CR grade will not  be accepted to fulfill a prerequisite course if a C or higher is required. This holds for LAS students who wish to take KN 251/252 at UIC. A grade a C or better in BIOS 110 is required as the prerequisite for KN 251/252. A grade of CR in Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 will not be sufficient to fulfill this requirement.

NC Grades

  • A grade of NC will not be reflected in your UIC GPA. When applying to a health profession program, you will need to list these grades in your application as they will appear on your transcript. In many cases (though not guaranteed and subject to change at any time), the NC will also not affect the GPA as calculated by the individual health professions application services. Again, this can vary by health profession application service and you should check the instruction manual in the year that you plan to apply to see how NC grades may be utilized.
  • NC grades will be visible to the health professions programs that you are applying to on your transcript and you should be prepared to answer any questions or concerns about them. You are welcome to make an appointment with a Pre-Health Advisor if you would like to discuss what to cover or how to address any NC grades.

Pre-Health Advising Appointments Heading link

Pre-Health advising appointments are available!

Pre-Health Advising is now offering both in-person and virtual advising appointments via Zoom. Continue to schedule an appointment in the normal manner via iAdvise.  Look for the location in the iAdvise appointment when you schedule to determine your location options.

Drop-Ins 

Drop-Ins have been discontinued as we are better able to answer quick, short questions by email and open more appointment spots on drop-in days.. Currently, appointments have been available; you may need to look beyond the current week to find open appointment spots. Advisors open new appointment times every Friday afternoon for two weeks in the future.

Volunteering in the time of COVID-19 Heading link

We in Pre-Health Advising want to make sure to acknowledge that the world is turned upside down right now. In no way should you feel guilty or forced to volunteer; especially if you are already working hard to manage all of your needs plus academics.

If you find yourself wishing to help or wanting to get involved, UIC does have some resources/suggestions available. Volunteer in ways that feel good and useful to you during this time. See the link below for some options.

Virtual Shadowing Opportunities Heading link

We have heard from a number of health professions programs that they understand the difficulty that students are having getting health care experience during the pandemic. Many are indicating that they will at least consider virtual shadowing and other options as one component of gaining exposure to health care during this time. We have found some options available (currently free of charge) for students below. If you know of others, please feel free to inform us at LASprehealth@uic.edu. We will only list as virtual shadowing opportunities those options that provide a certification for students. For other multimedia options that provide exposure to healthcare but do not provide a certification, please see the section on a Broader Exposure to Health Care (coming soon).

Because of the very new nature of these programs, Pre-Health Advising at UIC cannot comment on or guarantee the quality of the options.

CR/NC Policy Heading link

Spring 2020 CR/NC Policy & Considerations for Pre-Health Programs

With the new undergraduate CR/NC policy just released, Pre-Health Advising is working to find out as much information as possible regarding how pre-requisite courses for your health professions educational goal will be affected if covered with a CR/NC.

At this time, we are recommending that students keep a letter grade for the courses that are required for their health professions programs. You have until April 29, 2020 to make a decision regarding CR/NC, so it may be worthwhile to engage in your online courses right now as though you plan to earn a letter grade. However, this is subject to change as we learn more and we will update below as information becomes known. Please check back for updates regularly.

Unless otherwise stated, all health professions programs listed below are UIC specific.