August 06 MCAT vs 07 MCATs

[cobalt31]

So August 06 is the last time to take the paper and pencil 6 hr MCAT. I'm done with all my prereqs and I will be applying to Medical Schools Summer 07.

take the MCAT on its last paper run or wait until the CBT in 07? does it hurt to take it more than once?

(if this is already a thread, I apologize, i tried a search and came up negative)

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[KidCapri]

So August 06 is the last time to take the paper and pencil 6 hr MCAT. I'm done with all my prereqs and I will be applying to Medical Schools Summer 07.

take the MCAT on its last paper run or wait until the CBT in 07? does it hurt to take it more than once?

(if this is already a thread, I apologize, i tried a search and came up negative)

Go for the legacy, be part of the last paper MCAT group.

And yes, the MCAT hurts every time you take it.

Seriously, take the MCAT on paper is my suggestion, it allows you to flip through the pages, and come back to unanswered questions easily. I don't know how the computer system could accomplish the same thing.

 

[Bluntman]

does it hurt to take it more than once?

The MCAT is something you want to only have to do once. At the very least, taking it again costs you a bunch of time/money/stress, and if you don't noticeably improve your score, then it will be a huge red flag to schools as well. And if you should have a catastrophe on the second try (sickness/mis-bubbled/etc.) then you'd have to take it a third time, which is always a big red flag.

 

[Booyakasha]

I took it the summer before my junior year in college, which, of course, is considered early. I did well enough not to take it a second time, and I was very glad I got it over with. Also, even though I have not taken a standardized test on a computer, I think that it would be worse than taking it with pencil and paper for the reasons cited above.

I would agree that you only want to take it once for the sake of 1) maintaining sanity (most important reason I think) and 2) looking good on paper.

 

[DF38]

If you can devote enough time to study for it this summer, I'd take it in August. You can review for it without having to worry about taking classes at the same time. And like others have said, if you're taking it on paper you can write in the booklet, cross out wrong answers, flip forward or backward to do the questions in a different order, etc.

 

[snobored18]

I would go ahead and sit for the exam this summer if you are ready...if you rock it thats one less thing to worry about as you begin the application process...plus I would be scared taking the CBT test the first round as their are bound to be some hick-ups in the system...but the biggest key is to take it when you are going to be prepared...the great thing about taking it this summer is that if you mess up you can re-take in april instead of august and if you score well you basically have the last semester of your senior year to completely relax and enjoy college...

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Yeah take it in August. More time to study and you won't have to be late when you apply.

Although if you're worried about not being able to take a paper version, I'm pretty sure they are not discontinuing it for a year or so...I got the impression they will have an option to do it either on the comp or written, but I'm not sure.

 

[sit down lucy]

August.

All of the prep materials that are out there now are written based on the paper version of the MCAT. Content-wise the CBT should be similar, but you won't have as many opportunities to practice taking "realistic" full-length exams. There are tons of practice full lengths on paper written by everyone from the AAMC to Kaplan to TPR, etc, but there likely won't be many full-length computerized ones for you to practice on if you take it the first time around.

 

[ahumdinger]

pros of taking august 06: echo all of the above mentioned good things

cons of taking august 06: I'm not sure if CBT will turn out to be easier or harder than paper/pencil. For example, the USMLE got a lot easier when it went CBT, but that probably had more to do with cutting the questions down by half. One thing to consider may be that if CBT is even slightly easier, it may put you at a disadvantage when compared to other people (if you took paper/pencil) who took CBT.

Personally, I think the computer test will be horrid, you can't mark up pages, etc. Probably also straining on the eyes.

 

[Depakote]

I would do Paper.

The first time for everything always has kinks that take time and practice to work out. You do not want to be the experimental group to take the first computer MCAT, not for something that important.

Plus, all the prep classes have been teaching to paper testing for years, it will take them time to adapt to computer testing too, if you're taking a prep class that is.

 

[Bluntman]

Just to play devil's advocate for a second:

If you're someone who handles well under pressure and doesn't get flustered easy, then you might actually get a leg up on the competition by going with the computer test. After all, the exam is curved individually for each test date, so everyone is going to have the same lack of prep material, have to deal with the same kinks, not have the ability to underline/etc., so the playing field will still be level as far as all these things are concerned. If, however, you can handle those same adverse conditions better than your peers, then you will end up with a definite advantage.

Risky, yes, and certainly not something you'd want to take this big of a gamble on, but I'm sure there are going to be a bunch of people that will get a significantly better score on the first CBT than they would have (or did) on the last paper test for this very reason.

 

[sanford_w/o_son]

i took the gre cbt after practicing with paper exams. the gre cbt adjusts the difficulty of the next question based on whether your previous answer was correct (and also adjusts your score with each question). i dunno what the mcat cbt will be like. anyway, i did better on the gre cbt than i probably would have on the paper gre.

 

[MollyMalone]

i took the gre cbt after practicing with paper exams. the gre cbt adjusts the difficulty of the next question based on whether your previous answer was correct (and also adjusts your score with each question). i dunno what the mcat cbt will be like. anyway, i did better on the gre cbt than i probably would have on the paper gre.

The MCAT will not be a CAT (computer adaptive test), which is the kind that adjusts the difficulty based on previous answers. It's going to be a plain ol' CBT.

 

[zero2hero]

August!

 

[MN81]

When you are ready. As said before, only take it once if possible.

Don't take the August MCAT if you aren't ready. Waste of time and money.

 

[2Xtrouble2X]

i took the gre cbt after practicing with paper exams. the gre cbt adjusts the difficulty of the next question based on whether your previous answer was correct (and also adjusts your score with each question). i dunno what the mcat cbt will be like. anyway, i did better on the gre cbt than i probably would have on the paper gre.

this would be neat if the MCAT did this...