Delayed MCAT 2015

[700003]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

.

 

[Pacna]

You can't name something "the [x] 2015" and delay it a year. That's just rude.

(I don't see anything about a delay on the AAMC site. https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/mcat2015/)

 

[edgerock24]

Source?

 

[PreMedOrDead]

You can't name something "the [x] 2015" and delay it a year. That's just rude.

(I don't see anything about a delay on the AAMC site. https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/mcat2015/)

It'd be less rude to just scratch the whole thing.

"I got a great idea, let's take the best current indicator of medical school success and completely change it for reasons that other parts of the admissions process covers! Genius!"

Might as well revert it back to how it was back in the 70s, with an entire section on pop culture and general knowledge. Essentially a game of Jeopardy determining who gets to scissor open your abdominal cavity when you're decrepit.

 

[700003]

.

 

[Narmerguy]

That thing is coming in 2015. I wouldn't count on any delays.

 

[knv2u]

I understand the need to reform current medical school curriculum, but does this necessarily entail altering the MCAT? The fields of sociology and psychology are so huge (and there is enormous variation among introductory courses) that it seems very difficult to study for. Moreover, unlike the science courses which might actually be built upon in your future curriculum (or at least, it will enhance one's understanding of the curriculum), I think medical schools just want to see that students are more well rounded. Couldn't this be accomplished by requiring a certain number of social science and humanities credit hours? Why must there be a test for everything?

 

[PreMedOrDead]

I understand the need to reform current medical school curriculum, but does this necessarily entail altering the MCAT? The fields of sociology and psychology are so huge (and there is enormous variation among introductory courses) that it seems very difficult to study for. Moreover, unlike the science courses which might actually be built upon in your future curriculum (or at least, it will enhance one's understanding of the curriculum), I think medical schools just want to see that students are more well rounded. Couldn't this be accomplished by requiring a certain number of social science and humanities credit hours? Why must there be a test for everything?

In my honest opinion, the MCAT is the best standardized exam currently available. The DAT, GRE, OAT, etc have some inherent flaws in the sections that make them not as effective as they could be. The MCAT, on the other hand, seemed to be doing a great job of being able to identify studied, excellent test-takers in the three major areas, physical and biological sciences, and verbal reasoning. With the MCAT being the statistically best metric to determine medical school success, I think it's rather foolish to drastically change its format to accomplish goals that may be more properly addressed through other compartments of the application cycle.

So, why change it? I would wager that those administrating the exam and its design saw many financial benefits. That tends to be the major motivator behind every large change, whether it's at the forefront or 'hidden' behind the scenes.

I think it will cause a bit of a SNAFU in admissions come 2015.

 

[Microglia]

If I had to take the 2015 MCAT and apply, I would be more than a little unhappy. Seems pretty crazy to completely change a test that is working well. Financial benefits or not, I'm sure of 2 things: that change will happen in 2015, and that applicants will have to work even harder initially to overcome it.

They weren't kidding about admissions getting more and more ridiculous every year. Next thing you know AMCAS will be asking for those standardized test scores from 5th grade...

 

[PreMedOrDead]

They weren't kidding about admissions getting more and more ridiculous every year. Next thing you know AMCAS will be asking for those standardized test scores from 5th grade...

To think that the entire admissions process is run monopolistically by the AAMC and the AMCAS service is pretty messed up, actually. They reap all the financial benefits and are capable of completely setting their own standards without much revision. At the best, it standardizes the system, at the worst it causes entire application cycles to be delayed and hinders application completion by months because of a poor verification process and absurd application costs. And to think you must pay not only for a primary, but also a secondary application just in order to be considered by a program? Pretty absurd.

I wouldn't mind a complete overhaul of the application process, but I don't think that's an option.

 

[Mad Jack]

A professional pre-medical advisor who claims to have done extensive research on this subject. She says not to worry about the old or new mcat because there is a chance they may delay it.

Your advisor sucks.

When the AAMC says the MCAT 2015 is going to happen and there is no public knowledge that says it will not happen, you don't advise someone to brush off the new standards. That's just dumb.

 

[Chillywilly]

How will Adcom view applicants that took the 2015 Mcat and the 2014 Mcat? Both type of meats will be in the same application pool. So how would Adcom view this? Just curious

 

[darklabel]

How will Adcom view applicants that took the 2015 Mcat and the 2014 Mcat? Both type of meats will be in the same application pool. So how would Adcom view this? Just curious

They'll use the percentages that the AAMC will provide for each medical school for the new MCAT vs. the Old MCAT.

I agree that the change is stupid and truthfully I am happy that I avoided that mess. Never took a psych class in my life.

 

[Chillywilly]

They'll use the percentages that the AAMC will provide for each medical school for the new MCAT vs. the Old MCAT.

I agree that the change is stupid and truthfully I am happy that I avoided that mess. Never took a psych class in my life.

Consider how lucky we were to have only 3 sections with 40-52 questions. The doctors before and after us had more questions and sections.

In my opinion the Mcat should mimic the usmle step 1 (with bio topics appropriate for undergrads obviously)

 

[knv2u]

They'll use the percentages that the AAMC will provide for each medical school for the new MCAT vs. the Old MCAT.

I agree that the change is stupid and truthfully I am happy that I avoided that mess. Never took a psych class in my life.

It sounds like you missed out. At a good number of schools, sociology and psychology classes are easy. Now that the medical schools are officially requiring or recommending sociology and psychology classes, it sounds like medical schools are giving the thumbs up to taking easy classes with a lot of fluff that will inflate your GPA and freeing up time for more rigorous courses.

And before the sociology and psychology majors flame me, psychology was actually my second major so yes, I know about the "tough" research methods and statistics courses.

 

[Chillywilly]

It'd be less rude to just scratch the whole thing.

"I got a great idea, let's take the best current indicator of medical school success and completely change it for reasons that other parts of the admissions process covers! Genius!"

Might as well revert it back to how it was back in the 70s, with an entire section on pop culture and general knowledge. Essentially a game of Jeopardy determining who gets to scissor open your abdominal cavity when you're decrepit.

ugh I wish we had pop culture as a section. I'd ace it with my Kardashian/Shahs of Sunset facts 😉

 

[Mavs88]

Jee, I'd sure love it if it was delayed...but don't see it happening at all.

 

[Aerus]

At a good number of schools, sociology and psychology classes are easy.

Agreed.

And not only that, they are actually very useful for understanding patients. It's hard to imagine anyone fully understanding the struggles of diverse population groups without having some background in sociology. Hence, all the "they should remove AA since it's reverse racism!!" posts on SDN.

 

[darklabel]

Agreed.

And not only that, they are actually very useful for understanding patients. It's hard to imagine anyone fully understanding the struggles of diverse population groups without having some background in sociology. Hence, all the "they should remove AA since it's reverse racism!!" posts on SDN.

Agree to disagree. Most medical schools are incorporating such topics within their curriculum (such as during Doctoring). I remember how on some of my interviews they were really stressing how they wanted a diverse student body and trying to incorporate things to make future physicians into more compassionate individuals.

EDIT: Removed unnecessary comment

 

[Aerus]

Agree to disagree. Most medical schools are incorporating such topics within their curriculum (such as during Doctoring). I remember how on some of my interviews they were really stressing how they wanted a diverse student body and trying to incorporate things to make future physicians into more compassionate individuals.

EDIT: Removed unnecessary comment

I'm glad to hear that most medical students are being taught to be less ignorant of social phenomena, but there's probably still a reason why they're incorporating this into the MCAT. Otherwise, why isn't the fact that this is in the med school curriculum for most schools not enough for the AMA?

 

[darklabel]

I'm glad to hear that most medical students are being taught to be less ignorant of social phenomena, but there's probably still a reason why they're incorporating this into the MCAT. Otherwise, why isn't the fact that this is in the med school curriculum for most schools not enough for the AMA?

True, but the AMA also does change the MCAT frequently. It obviously isn't the same test as it was 20-30 years ago. I think they're adding it because not only are these important topics, but also because the average MCAT score has been creeping up so a sort of "reset" is necessary to keep the MCAT at a leveled playing field.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

True, but the AMA also does change the MCAT frequently. It obviously isn't the same test as it was 20-30 years ago. I think they're adding it because not only are these important topics, but also because the average MCAT score has been creeping up so a sort of "reset" is necessary to keep the MCAT at a leveled playing field.

The average MCAT is creeping up because it's the most important single number on your application and unveils the most about your potential in medical school. Both students and administration alike realize this, so people prepare for it more.

So, is changing it drastically a good idea?

Yeah...