Back in my day...

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I got an S on my MCAT. I have no idea how since I bull****ted the whole thing. I don't even think they read them.
 
md-2020 said:
Back in my day (which was pretty darn recent) the SAT also had an essay section, was scored out of 2400 points, and penalized for incorrect answers.

But no, that would be much too harsh by today's standards
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Oh damn, have they changed the SATs again? I can kind of see why they changed the MCAT, dinosaur that it is, but f*ck, they only just changed the SATs less than a decade ago. What happened? 😵
 
Spinach Dip said:
The national average kept going down, which was an enormous embarrassment. In an effort to save face, they figured it would be simpler to make the test easier than it would be to make students smarter.
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They should've kept the writing section. Adcoms these days read heavily edited/exaggerated PS and secondaries which give them a distorted view of the applicant's ability to write professionally and under pressure.

I see accepted students on SDN following (maybe) 70% of English convention rules in attempt to fool people into thinking they are taking their grammar seriously but still making cringe worthy mistakes like forgetting to place a comma or not knowing the difference between "were" and "we're."

It's baffling that these people can get an A in Organic Chemistry but can't even remember the English grammar equivalent of 2+2=4, which they should've learned in Elementary School.

These days, you just throw some words into Microsoft Word and you let the program correct you. :yawn:
 
Udreamin said:
They should've kept the writing section. Adcoms these days read heavily edited/exaggerated PS and secondaries which give them a distorted view of the applicant's ability to write professionally and under pressure.

I see accepted students on SDN following (maybe) 70% of English convention rules in attempt to fool people into thinking they are taking their grammar seriously but still making cringe worthy mistakes like forgetting to place a comma or not knowing the difference between "were" and "we're."

It's baffling that these people can get an A in Organic Chemistry but can't even remember the English grammar equivalent of 2+2=4, which they should've learned in Elementary School.

These days, you just throw some words into Microsoft Word and you let the program correct you. :yawn:
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Lol wait till you read a physician's chart. You might have a heart attack
 
Udreamin said:
They should've kept the writing section. Adcoms these days read heavily edited/exaggerated PS and secondaries which give them a distorted view of the applicant's ability to write professionally and under pressure.

I see accepted students on SDN following (maybe) 70% of English convention rules in attempt to fool people into thinking they are taking their grammar seriously but still making cringe worthy mistakes like forgetting to place a comma or not knowing the difference between "were" and "we're."

It's baffling that these people can get an A in Organic Chemistry but can't even remember the English grammar equivalent of 2+2=4, which they should've learned in Elementary School.

These days, you just throw some words into Microsoft Word and you let the program correct you. :yawn:
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U honestly think the expectations is to write full grammar on an online forum? No offense but you are the one out of place here.
 
7331poas said:
U honestly think the expectations is to write full grammar on an online forum? No offense but you are the one out of place here.
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No offense, but proper grammar is ideal on a forum such as this. Using abbreviations such as "U" gives the impression that you are lazy or don't care...
 
Spinach Dip said:
The GRE still does...
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I took the GRE in 2012 and talked about Harry Potter in one essay and basketball the other... I ended up scoring in the 90th percentile for writing so how difficult is it really? :hilarious:
 
Udreamin said:
They should've kept the writing section. Adcoms these days read heavily edited/exaggerated PS and secondaries which give them a distorted view of the applicant's ability to write professionally and under pressure.
Click to expand...

When the writing section was introduced the essays were graded by humans, then the job was done by computers. That's right, for most of the existence of the writing section the essays were graded by a computer algorithm. Given that unfortunate fact, we could rationalize any writing score that appeared out of synch with the rest of the application. Hence, the writing score provided zero usable information to adcoms, and I'm glad it's gone.
 
TallPreMed said:
I took the GRE in 2012 and talked about Harry Potter in one essay and basketball the other... I ended up scoring in the 90th percentile for writing so how difficult is it really? :hilarious:
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For some people, using correct grammar and punctuation is quite difficult. :shrug: And maintaining a coherent thought? These are really tough things. I like peanut butter.
 
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URHere said:
Back in my day, the MCAT was on paper. And you had to copy an ethics statement by hand, in cursive, before you were allowed to start the test.

That was the only time I've legitimately used cursive in my adult life.
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I remember back when I took the SAT there was a section like that. Easily the hardest part of the exam. The Procter had to write a couple letters on the board because kids didn't know the cursive version haha.
 
Udreamin said:
They should've kept the writing section. Adcoms these days read heavily edited/exaggerated PS and secondaries which give them a distorted view of the applicant's ability to write professionally and under pressure.
Click to expand...

The thing is, you never have to write well "under pressure". The whole idea of "timed writing" on the whole (not just the SAT, MCAT, AP exams etc) is pretty bogus. People should be able to think on their feet, but when you are grading a standardized exam you can't actually grade for the content of an essay. That's why you could write whatever you wanted in a very specific format and get a 12/12 on the SAT essay 100% of the time. The only context in which timed writing makes sense is in a short answer format for a midterm where content is actually important because that's where the quality of thought shines.
 
Spinach Dip said:
The national average kept going down, which was an enormous embarrassment. In an effort to save face, they figured it would be simpler to make the test easier than it would be to make students smarter.
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So, like the opposite premise of Step 2 CS. Too many people passing a require test that costs $1200? Grade it harsher and bring that passing rate down!
 
ThoracicGuy said:
No offense, but proper grammar is ideal on a forum such as this. Using abbreviations such as "U" gives the impression that you are lazy or don't care...
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dude I actually think it's stupid to spell "you" when the letter "u" does the same job and that "u" really doesn't have another meaning besides serving as an alphabet for us to memorize. Also, we are typing things in this forum and not actually carving them like we would with a pen, so it is very easy to misstep in the editing process.
 
Petrichor1 said:
dude I actually think it's stupid to spell "you" when the letter "u" does the same job and that "u" really doesn't have another meaning besides serving as an alphabet for us to memorize. Also, we are typing things in this forum and not actually carving them like we would with a pen, so it is very easy to misstep in the editing process.
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It's the internet. Anything goes -- as long as you get the message across clearly.

I maen, you udnersantd waht I am syaing?
 
ThoracicGuy said:
No offense, but proper grammar is ideal on a forum such as this. Using abbreviations such as "U" gives the impression that you are lazy or don't care...
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Sorry, if you aren't speaking to me in Shakespearean prose then I auto discredit your opinion.
 
Spinach Dip said:
Hark! Doth the vulgar tongue of the 21st century assault mine ears in the most lugubrious fashion!
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You bite your digital thumb at me sir for mine plebeian language? You bite your thumb in my general direction? Quarrel, sir?
 
millennials-millennials-everywhere-9beniz.jpg
 
I was going to take the paper version of the MCAT, glad I didn't....
 
Udreamin said:
They should've kept the writing section. Adcoms these days read heavily edited/exaggerated PS and secondaries which give them a distorted view of the applicant's ability to write professionally and under pressure.

I see accepted students on SDN following (maybe) 70% of English convention rules in attempt to fool people into thinking they are taking their grammar seriously but still making cringe worthy mistakes like forgetting to place a comma or not knowing the difference between "were" and "we're."

It's baffling that these people can get an A in Organic Chemistry but can't even remember the English grammar equivalent of 2+2=4, which they should've learned in Elementary School.

These days, you just throw some words into Microsoft Word and you let the program correct you. :yawn:
Click to expand...

If you expect people to use proper grammar and spelling on an internet forum then Udreamin
 
Lucca said:
The thing is, you never have to write well "under pressure". The whole idea of "timed writing" on the whole (not just the SAT, MCAT, AP exams etc) is pretty bogus. People should be able to think on their feet, but when you are grading a standardized exam you can't actually grade for the content of an essay. That's why you could write whatever you wanted in a very specific format and get a 12/12 on the SAT essay 100% of the time. The only context in which timed writing makes sense is in a short answer format for a midterm where content is actually important because that's where the quality of thought shines.
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Well, there are a lot of things on the MCAT that you do "under pressure" but never have to do IRL with similar pressure. Grading essays, of course, has no universal standard and is a little questionable solely due to that. But, if the MCAT rubric for grading essays was as simple as "Does this person understand the rules of their language? How advanced is their lexicon on a 1-3 scale?" - I would not be surprised if the majority of SDNers fail it or struggle to pass the section.

Med Ed said:
When the writing section was introduced the essays were graded by humans, then the job was done by computers. That's right, for most of the existence of the writing section the essays were graded by a computer algorithm. Given that unfortunate fact, we could rationalize any writing score that appeared out of synch with the rest of the application. Hence, the writing score provided zero usable information to adcoms, and I'm glad it's gone.
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That's unfortunate. If they were human-graded, then would you still consider the section viable?

idontwatchgreysanatomy said:
If you expect people to use proper grammar and spelling on an internet forum then Udreamin
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I just don't like seeing proponents of the twitter generation tainting a resource as fine as SDN with terrible grammar and spelling. Then again, the internet, old SDN included, was always kind've like this..
 
Med Ed said:
When the writing section was introduced the essays were graded by humans, then the job was done by computers. That's right, for most of the existence of the writing section the essays were graded by a computer algorithm. Given that unfortunate fact, we could rationalize any writing score that appeared out of synch with the rest of the application. Hence, the writing score provided zero usable information to adcoms, and I'm glad it's gone.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's crazy! How did they grade the essays with a computer? I can't imagine something sophisticated enough to do more than spelling/grammar checks.
 
URHere said:
Back in my day, the MCAT was on paper. And you had to copy an ethics statement by hand, in cursive, before you were allowed to start the test.

That was the only time I've legitimately used cursive in my adult life.
Click to expand...

Yup. Back in the days, MCAT were only held twice a year on a saturday (April and August). If you plan to go straight to med school after college, you either have to take it summer after sophomore year, or spring during Junior Year. It would take months to get results back. If you took it Summer after Junior Year, results would not be available until Halloween or after.

And it was an all day affair - started at 8, and ended around 4-5PM. 2 sections biology, 2 sections physical sciences, 2 section verbal, and 2 essays (1 hr total 30 minutes each). Hand was tired after writing 2 essays in 1 hr. Hour break for lunch. And all were scantrons. So if you made a mistake, better hope you brought a good eraser (and #2 pencils although the proctors usually brought extras)
 
Udreamin said:
Well, there are a lot of things on the MCAT that you do "under pressure" but never have to do IRL with similar pressure. Grading essays, of course, has no universal standard and is a little questionable solely due to that. But, if the MCAT rubric for grading essays was as simple as "Does this person understand the rules of their language? How advanced is their lexicon on a 1-3 scale?" - I would not be surprised if the majority of SDNers fail it or struggle to pass the section.


That's unfortunate. If they were human-graded, then would you still consider the section viable?


I just don't like seeing proponents of the twitter generation tainting a resource as fine as SDN with terrible grammar and spelling. Then again, the internet, old SDN included, was always kind've like this..
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What you say is true about the MCAT except for the notable exception of the Step exams and other standardized licensing exams! Also, @gyngyn once made the argument that interpreting complex verbal information and quickly deciphering the immediate and implied messages within it from a patient is somewhat mirrored in the CARS section. It's not a perfect comparison I don't think but I can see the reasoning.
 
Udreamin said:
They should've kept the writing section. Adcoms these days read heavily edited/exaggerated PS and secondaries which give them a distorted view of the applicant's ability to write professionally and under pressure.

I see accepted students on SDN following (maybe) 70% of English convention rules in attempt to fool people into thinking they are taking their grammar seriously but still making cringe worthy mistakes like forgetting to place a comma or not knowing the difference between "were" and "we're."

It's baffling that these people can get an A in Organic Chemistry but can't even remember the English grammar equivalent of 2+2=4, which they should've learned in Elementary School.

These days, you just throw some words into Microsoft Word and you let the program correct you. :yawn:
Click to expand...
Why do you think people are trying to "fool" others? That's very presumptuous. Maybe they are trying to write to the best of their abilities? Moreover, I'm sorry I grew up in a terrible neighborhood with poor education. I may not know the exact placements for a perfect comma. However, I do know the difference between your, you're, were, we're, etc. I do my best. Just because some don't understand grammar above 70% doesn't mean they're stupid.
 
If anyone is interested, I googled the SAT change and came up with this NYT article! Pretty interesting stuff.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html

Apparently, you could score really high on the writing section if you wrote really long essays, used big 10 dollars words, and used pre-selected quotes from FDR, whether they fit the essay theme or not. Also, you could make up facts and that wouldn't affect your score at all. Huh.
 
Mad Jack said:
It would make sure that your physician isn't completely braindead when it comes to writing things- and we do a whoooooole lotta writing, so that is kind of important.
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Until you discover Dragon and dictate your notes. Reading ED and surgery notes where they dictated but never went back to correct can be hilarious, frustrating, or even sometimes dangerous for the patient.
 
Ismet said:
Until you discover Dragon and dictate your notes. Reading ED and surgery notes where they dictated but never went back to correct can be hilarious, frustrating, or even sometimes dangerous for the patient.
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At an academic hospital I shadowed at every physician dictated and there was someone on the other line of the phone transcribing the recording. It was sort of absurd because the physicians spoke so fast I could hardly make out a single word
 
Back in my day, the MCAT took me 3.5 hours instead of ruining my entire day
 
Dr.NickRiviera said:
If anyone is interested, I googled the SAT change and came up with this NYT article! Pretty interesting stuff.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/the-story-behind-the-sat-overhaul.html

Apparently, you could score really high on the writing section if you wrote really long essays, used big 10 dollars words, and used pre-selected quotes from FDR, whether they fit the essay theme or not. Also, you could make up facts and that wouldn't affect your score at all. Huh.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of a friend who took the MCAT writing section (the last year they had it) and whose sole strategy was "write a lot". They practiced writing speed more than staying on topic and even took a speed-typing class as "practice" for the MCAT.

They got an S.
 
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