Avoiding the 2015 MCAT

[HSShouldEnd]

I am a third-year undergraduate student at a public university. I have finished my pre-reqs (except biochemistry), and I plan to apply to medical school in the future. Due to personal circumstances, I will not apply while in school or shortly after graduation. I will have to go the untraditional route.

I spoke with my pre-med advisor, and she recommended I study for the MCAT this summer even though I will apply later on. According to her, my scores will be honored for up to 3 years. Additionally, studying for the exam while in school will be easier since the material will be fresher and I won't "forget how to study".

Therefore, I will use this summer to study for the exam. I need help deciding on an exam date. Since there is a chance I will need to retake the exam, I do not want to take the exam for the first time on the last day the current MCAT is administered.

According to AAMC, the new MCAT will be first administered in Spring 2015, so I am assuming that the current MCAT will end around February 2015.

Can anyone recommend a date I should take the exam for the first time keeping in mind that I may need to take the exam a second (and possibly a third) time?

FYI, although I have finished my coursework, I took some classes during my freshmen year, meaning I will need time to relearn or review the material extensively.

Thank you.

Here is the MCAT schedule.

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[frosted_flake]

Don't plan on retaking. Do it right the first time.

 

[bigDee]

Yeah start studying as soon as this semester is over. Since you have classes in the fall, I would plan on taking the MCAT about one week before your classes start. That's why I'm gonna do and I think it's a good idea to avoid the 2015 MCAT since it'll be significantly harder.

 

[infinitessimal]

End of august or early september. Ditto on not planning to retake. Also, if you learned how to study in college, you won't "forget how to study" if you're a year or two out of college, I can promise you that.

 

[NickNaylor]

The fact that you're specifically trying to avoid an exam because of some kind of delusional fear to the point that you would consider taking it before you're actually ready means you're already doing it wrong. Also, studying during school is not only entirely reasonable but should be expected. You should not develop a study plan with the serious intention of retaking. Instead, take the exam after you've had adequate time to prepare. To be frank, if you can't perform to a degree you're comfortable with after a couple of months of dedicated studying, adding more months onto that isn't likely to give you much more success.

 

[V5RED]

There is a difference between planning to retake and planning to be able to retake should the need arise.

If you try to take the current MCAT, by the time you get your scores, there will not be a lot of time left to study for a retake before you can never retake this version of the MCAT. Additionally, it seems likely that many people, like yourself, will be trying to take the MCAT much earlier than needed out of unfounded fear of the changes to the 2015 MCAT. This could result in a retake being impossible due to all the seats for exams you could make it to being taken by the time you realize you need a retake. If you can register for 2 dates at once, this won't be a problem, but I don't know if that is possible. If you end up needing to retake and you manage to get another testing reservation before this version of the MCAT goes away forever, you will be taking the test under the much added stress of inability to void or try again since this would be your last shot to improve your score on this version of the MCAT.

I called the fear unfounded for many reasons. There is still a lot of study material from the current version that will be relevant to the new version. They aren't throwing everything out, they are just adding some stuff. Like the current version, the new version will have a study guide of all necessary information. Unless you take the new version very shortly after it comes out, by the time you take it, prep companies will have had time to update their materials to reflect the changes to the MCAT. Everyone else will be in the same boat as you. It isn't like you are getting the new version and everyone else gets to take the old one. If average scores drop significantly for the new version, Adcoms will be aware of this fact and can adjust their assessments of applicants who took the 2015 MCAT accordingly.
I would recommend against trying to take the MCAT this year.

 

[LizzyM]

The AAMC posted a link on Facebook yesterday about the new MCAT and I found it very interesting.... the new test will put a focus on a score of 500 out of a possible 528.

https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/newsreleases/378450/04292014.html

 

[Lucca]

The AAMC posted a link on Facebook yesterday about the new MCAT and I found it very interesting.... the new test will put a focus on a score of 500 out of a possible 528.

https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/newsreleases/378450/04292014.html

Wow! So it is true. This is great, I am absolutely thrilled to hear this is coming. Do you predict a rise in the weight of GPA now that they are de emphasizing the differences in mcat scores or do you predict a stratification will arise naturally from competition?

 

[Goro]

100% concur, Do NOT take the MCAT until you are ready.

Don't plan on retaking. Do it right the first time.

 

[Narmerguy]

Some of this I buy and some of it I don't.

Because the 2015 exam will test new academic competencies, scores will be reported on a different scale than the current exam. Test takers will receive a score for each section, as well as a total score, along with improved score reports that provide more information to help examinees understand these scores and aid admissions officers when using them. Total scores will be centered at 500, with scores ranging from 472 to 528. Each section will be scored on a range of 118 to 132, with a midpoint of 125.

The new score scale emphasizes the center of the score range—rather than the top third—because students with scores at the center of the scale have historically performed well in medical school, typically graduating from medical school in four or five years and passing their licensing exams on the first try. The new scale is designed to draw attention to applicants who might otherwise be overlooked, and supports the holistic review of medical school applicants.

To develop the new score scale, the AAMC gathered data from multiple sources, including industry standards for score scale construction and reporting, as well as input from the association’s MCAT review committee (MR5), Council of Deans, admissions and diversity affairs officers, pre-health advisers, and other key stakeholders. Principles to guide the scoring and reporting solutions—industry standards, fairness, and flexibility—also were established. The score scales were selected to draw attention to the center of the scale and avoid overlap with the current scales, percentages, and other commonly used scoring systems.

Eh, centering the score on a round number isn't going to somehow cause admissions staffs to stop competing for the top performers. By their own admission they will continue to provide detailed scoring sheets with percentiles so applicants can be compared. They can draw attention to whatever they like, but if percentiles are being given, that's all a school needs to establish cutoffs just like any other standardized test (e.g. only interview students scoring in at least the 90th percentile) or numerically compare students (e.g. Johnny scored in the 92nd percentile, but Susan scored in the 95th percentile!). So long as the rankings and traditionalism favoring standardized tests persists, higher score students will always be sought out, whether that score is a 520 or a 40.

In addition, the new score reports will include percentiles so test takers and admissions committees can compare examinees to others who took the new exam. They also will include confidence intervals to serve as a reminder to score users not to over-interpret small differences between applicants’ MCAT scores.

This bit I really like. Confidence intervals! These tests are not perfectly designed (which is no knock against them, nothing is perfect), and thus we should not be so absolutist when using the numbers to compare students. Giving admissions staff confidence intervals allows a better interpretation of the true meaning of the test results, while also perhaps removing the incentive for applicants to retake the test just to show they can improve their score by a few points (now if they want to jump a large amount, a retake may make sense, though it will also be less likely to actually succeed).

The final content outline for the new test is evidence-based and reflects input from more than 2,700 survey respondents and input from 90 outreach meetings and events, as well as expert panels in medical education convened to identify the most important elements to test. Seventeen medical schools will collect validity data on the new exam when they begin admitting applicants with 2015 scores in order to study the relationships between MCAT scores and students’ performance in medical school and on licensing exams.

This is not the means by which we should be focusing on the "success" of the MCAT. For one, it's no surprise that students who perform well on one biomedical standardized test will perform better on another (licensing exams). Medical school performance is good, but ultimately what we care about is downstream of all this: are we selecting for better future doctors? Determining how we measure that is hard (though I'd say it's a good time for an ambitious, longitudinal project doing just that), but we should also be cautious in crowning the test a success just because we show that it better predicts test scores. In no medical school mission statement do I see anything about producing doctors with the best test scores. Test scores are useful to a point (for example, demonstrating a minimum competency that is needed), but let's also keep our eyes on the real prize.

I'm firmly in favor of the new changes and the new MCAT. I like the work that they put into this, I like what they're trying to promote, and though I think the MCAT is a flawed way to assess students, there's no use pretending that such testing will go away. I'm excited to see how this experiment goes.

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

Whoah, looks like the MCAT will be quite different. I've already got my MCAT which I'm comfortable with, but I like this change:

"the focus will shift from testing what aspiring medical students know to testing how well they use what they know." I don't think you should be so worried about it OP.

 

[Dochopeful13]

If adcoms devalue the importance of the Mcat it stinks for non trad students who used the Mcat as an equalizer.

 

[Lucca]

Some of this I buy and some of it I don't.





Eh, centering the score on a round number isn't going to somehow cause admissions staffs to stop competing for the top performers. By their own admission they will continue to provide detailed scoring sheets with percentiles so applicants can be compared. They can draw attention to whatever they like, but if percentiles are being given, that's all a school needs to establish cutoffs just like any other standardized test (e.g. only interview students scoring in at least the 90th percentile) or numerically compare students (e.g. Johnny scored in the 92nd percentile, but Susan scored in the 95th percentile!). So long as the rankings and traditionalism favoring standardized tests persists, higher score students will always be sought out, whether that score is a 520 or a 40.



This bit I really like. Confidence intervals! These tests are not perfectly designed (which is no knock against them, nothing is perfect), and thus we should not be so absolutist when using the numbers to compare students. Giving admissions staff confidence intervals allows a better interpretation of the true meaning of the test results, while also perhaps removing the incentive for applicants to retake the test just to show they can improve their score by a few points (now if they want to jump a large amount, a retake may make sense, though it will also be less likely to actually succeed).



This is not the means by which we should be focusing on the "success" of the MCAT. For one, it's no surprise that students who perform well on one biomedical standardized test will perform better on another (licensing exams). Medical school performance is good, but ultimately what we care about is downstream of all this: are we selecting for better future doctors? Determining how we measure that is hard (though I'd say it's a good time for an ambitious, longitudinal project doing just that), but we should also be cautious in crowning the test a success just because we show that it better predicts test scores. In no medical school mission statement do I see anything about producing doctors with the best test scores. Test scores are useful to a point (for example, demonstrating a minimum competency that is needed), but let's also keep our eyes on the real prize.

I'm firmly in favor of the new changes and the new MCAT. I like the work that they put into this, I like what they're trying to promote, and though I think the MCAT is a flawed way to assess students, there's no use pretending that such testing will go away. I'm excited to see how this experiment goes.

I totally agree that top schools will still use percentiles to sive for that top 1% but it seems to me like we will have a lot more admits with borderline scores who are breaking psychological barriers. For example, 29 and 30 are similar as far as percentile goes, if not identical, but breaking 30 is, or atleast was, a big milestone in your competitiveness for medical school. Now, a 500 and a 503 will probably be very similar in percentile and in "confidence interval" and viewed as such instead of someone tossing an app because it doesn't have a "3" in front of the mcat box.

 

[Goro]

That's not going to happen.

If adcoms devalue the importance of the Mcat it....

 

[QuentinT88]

If adcoms devalue the importance of the Mcat it stinks for non trad students who used the Mcat as an equalizer.

I don't think it devalues the MCATs importance at all. In addition, the percentiles still provide a way for adcoms to compare candidates.

So no, the MCAT will still be an equalizer in a sense. It will just be a very different test, which adcoms are aware of.

 

[LizzyM]

Where's Aladdin singing "A Whole New World"?
I feel like it's time to retire -- or rethink how I approach admissions.

 

[QuentinT88]

Where's Aladdin singing "A Whole New World"?
I feel like it's time to retire -- or rethink how I approach admissions.

@LizzyM and @Goro How do you see the new MCAT impacting the evaluation process for candidates?

As adcoms, do you see these changes as beneficial? Do you think the new scoring will provide a more holistic perspective on candidates? It would be interesting to hear you opinions

 

[Goro]

To tell you the truth, I think you AdCom member knows what to make of the new MCAt until we see at least 102 cycles of results. I read over the AAMC page ont he new test and my gut reaction was "all schools will look for that top 10th percentile".

I suspect that the exam may shift from asesing your ability to memorize facts to a 2nd order thinking whereby the ability to apply is assessed. For example:

Old MCAT
Wildeeeset are the primary food source for
A Lions
B Tigers
C Bears
D Oh my!

New MCAT
A decline in wildebeest populations will have the most adverse affect upon which of the following?

A Lions
B Tigers
C Elephants
D Boabob trees

"center of the score scale?" I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around that.

@LizzyM and @Goro How do you see the new MCAT impacting the evaluation process for candidates?

As adcoms, do you see these changes as beneficial? Do you think the new scoring will provide a more holistic perspective on candidates? It would be interesting to hear you opinions

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

@LizzyM, first of all, you can't leave us! At least not this year when I'm applying! I'm also counting on you to create a new "LizzyM score". But, I hope, or assume, that schools are looking at the application holistically and not simply by a few numbers. I heard it said over and over that you've got to do more than just the cookie-cutter check-offs. That's what, it turns out, I've done.

 

[Kochanie]

If adcoms devalue the importance of the Mcat it stinks for non trad students who used the Mcat as an equalizer.

Seriously, if this is true, I'm taking the MCAT in January.

 

[LizzyM]

Seriously, if this is true, I'm taking the MCAT in January.

January is 2015.

 

[Kochanie]

January is 2015.

Isn't the old MCAT still administered in January?

 

[petyr_baelish]

I'm so happy they changed the numbers. Imagine comparing an old 30 to a new 30. *shudders*

 

[Dochopeful13]

Seriously, if this is true, I'm taking the MCAT in January.

If I had to guess ugpa will be given more weight in the future and the mcat will not be as important as it currently is.

 

[Kochanie]

If I had to guess ugpa will be weighted more in the future then the mcat.

Well, then I'm screwed.... A test that is the same for everyday should be weighed equally, if not more, than a GPA from various schools/classes/institutions.

 

[Wasted Energy]

Isn't the old MCAT still administered in January?

Yes

 

[Dochopeful13]

Well, then I'm screwed.... A test that is the same for everyday should be weighted equally, if not more, than a GPA from various schools/classes/institutions.

Me too and I totally agree. I am very thankful for DO grade replacement.

 

[Kochanie]

Yes

I may have to start studying for it, even though I'm not applying until 2016.

 

[HSShouldEnd]

Don't plan on retaking. Do it right the first time.

Yes, of course. I would love to take it once. However, there is always the possibility that I may have to retake the exam.

 

[repititionition]

Where's Aladdin singing "A Whole New World"?

ETA: I was wrong. Very wrong

 

[V5RED]

If I had to guess ugpa will be given more weight in the future and the mcat will not be as important as it currently is.

I seriously doubt this. They will still report percentiles, so schools will be able to compare candidates' MCAT scores just as easily with the new MCAT as they can now. If anything, the MCAT might be given more weight if this new version is a better indicator of medical school success than the current version.

 

[QuentinT88]

^ Agreed

 

[rolliespring]

"A Whole New World" is from The Little Mermaid.

/shame

 

[repititionition]

my god. how have these two disney memories been conflated in my mind? original post edited to acknowledge error and save face.

 

[repititionition]

my god. how have these two disney memories been conflated in my mind? original post edited to acknowledge error and save face.

Aaaaand we've hijacked the thread.

 

[plumazul]

Yes

And it appears they've added many more dates.

 

[Espadaleader]

The current MCAT has confidence intervals too that is published by the AAMC. MCAT is 95% certain your score is 2 points above and below. 35 95% CI (33-37)

 

[Espadaleader]

Nobody knew or talked about them though