On test day, are there different versions of the MCAT?

[ConsultantMD]

I've been told that by a test prep 'expert' that no two exams are the same and there could be different questions on them during the same administration.

Ex: You and I take the MCAT on the same day and I have questions that you did not have and vice versa.

This is the first I'm hearing of this. It doesn't really matter I guess, but can someone confirm?

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[mrh125]

nvm missed a detail in your post. people say they're all the same on the same day, but idk.

 

[ConsultantMD]

My question though is if you and I take the test on the same day, will we have different questions?

 

[lysine9740]

The tests the same day I believe are the same. When I walked in after someone, I saw how her screen looked for a set of questions/passage. And I ended up getting to the exact same questions. So from that I think they are the same. But that was an extremely small sample size.

 

[dutchie000]

I think they are the same. Don't they base the curve based off the percentiles of how people did?

 

[ConsultantMD]

I think they are the same. Don't they base the curve based off the percentiles of how people did?

Right? I feel like this person, because they work for a test prep company, should know this. But they stated this as if I should've known and I was pretty sure that this was not the case.

Right, how would they curve the exam if everyone's was different?

 

[Gauss44]

Answer to title only: If you watch the official threads for specific test dates on here, you will see a pattern where everyone who takes the test at the same day AND TIME seems to have taken the same version. You need to look up an official thread for a past MCAT, or watch a thread the day of the test right after the test is over.

 

[faith hopelove]

I attended an AAMC conference and asked about this and they said that people are taking different exams at the same time. It does not mean that everyone is taking a different exam but that there is different versions taken on the same day.

 

[MedOldAge]

I attended an AAMC conference and asked about this and they said that people are taking different exams at the same time. It does not mean that everyone is taking a different exam but that there is different versions taken on the same day.

One of my friend who took the 8/22/13 test at a Midwest university campus confirmed that. The room was very tight as they could almost see each others screen. He finished early. He had to pass a few desks before reaching the front door. He was shocked to see that two desks had graphs he was absolutely sure he did not see on his test. He tried to tell us that must be his illusion. He still talked about it every time we talked about MCAT. He of course tried to convince us that he was not drunk at the time.

 

[justanotherday]

I will be the same test besides the experimental questions/passage. But that is not the case for some testing day with morning and afternoon admission. But it only happens once or twice a year that they have 8am and 2pm admission.

 

[lpp06]

One of my friend who took the 8/22/13 test at a Midwest university campus confirmed that. The room was very tight as they could almost see each others screen. He finished early. He had to pass a few desks before reaching the front door. He was shocked to see that two desks had graphs he was absolutely sure he did not see on his test. He tried to tell us that must be his illusion. He still talked about it every time we talked about MCAT. He of course tried to convince us that he was not drunk at the time.

If this happened as he was walking out, it means the people he passed were on the trial section. I believed everyone gets a randomized and different trial section.

 

[Jepstein30]

There are differences between tests on the same test day, even in the scored section. Whether these are experimental or not, we will never know but I'd assume they wouldn't be scored. The differences that I have heard of are minor though and only for the verbal section. Same test administration, six of the same verbal passages but one different (of two possibilities) Could be more than that, could be less.

I highly doubt that no two tests are the same though. That's asinine. More likely, there are several tests out there for each administration with some combination of limited variable questions.