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Does this matter anymore?
- Thread starter 040111333
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It's not a matter of seeing a previous version. There are a multitude of AAMC practice tests that are quite similar to the real thing, so it's not like you walk into the testing center not knowing what you're getting into.
It's a matter of not being prepared enough the first time to do as well as you would like. Yeah sometimes people just have bad days, but the majority of people who prepare adequately will perform within +/- 2 points of their practice test average. I know plenty of pre-meds who didn't do enough practice tests or just did the free AAMC one (by far the easiest and usually overestimates your score) and then they walk out of the test wondering what went wrong. Not enough preparation.
If you took the current MCAT and retake it as the new MCAT, you still have to do better on the new MCAT to be any benefit.
It's a matter of not being prepared enough the first time to do as well as you would like. Yeah sometimes people just have bad days, but the majority of people who prepare adequately will perform within +/- 2 points of their practice test average. I know plenty of pre-meds who didn't do enough practice tests or just did the free AAMC one (by far the easiest and usually overestimates your score) and then they walk out of the test wondering what went wrong. Not enough preparation.
If you took the current MCAT and retake it as the new MCAT, you still have to do better on the new MCAT to be any benefit.
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It isn't about having seen a version of the test earlier, it is about not having done well earlier. If we have someone who scored a 32 and and a 3;7 compared with someone who took it once and scored a 37, are the two equivalent or is one of the two applicants stronger?
I have no idea how the new MCAT will be interpreted b;y the adcoms or how they will view applicants who took both the old and the new. It will be at least a year before anyone really has a feel for how the new MCAT will be received by adcoms.
I have no idea how the new MCAT will be interpreted b;y the adcoms or how they will view applicants who took both the old and the new. It will be at least a year before anyone really has a feel for how the new MCAT will be received by adcoms.
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I concur.
If you're at 50%ile in the old test, and come up with a 51st %ile on the 2nd test, that's not good.
100% agree with my learned colleague.
have no idea how the new MCAT will be interpreted b;y the adcoms or how they will view applicants who took both the old and the new. It will be at least a year before anyone really has a feel for how the new MCAT will be received by adcoms.
If you're at 50%ile in the old test, and come up with a 51st %ile on the 2nd test, that's not good.
100% agree with my learned colleague.
have no idea how the new MCAT will be interpreted b;y the adcoms or how they will view applicants who took both the old and the new. It will be at least a year before anyone really has a feel for how the new MCAT will be received by adcoms.
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A single strong MCAT is the best strategy because it eliminates the idiosyncratic evaluation of multiple scores.
No authority can mandate a particular methodology. The AAMC has made a recommendation for interpretation that is unknown to many!
Some schools have the luxury of interviewing and matriculating a significant proportion of the most competitive candidates. Others find themselves hoping for a few of these and a significant proportion of the next "tier" of candidates. This continues until all seats are filled.
Application missteps may not keep you out of medical school. Nor do they mean you won't be a fine physician. They do begin to identify you as someone more likely to find success at a different set of schools. With a strategy that fits your application, the chance that a school looking for students like you goes up. The more missteps, the more you have to make up for it with strategy, and the the harder you have to look for the places that might want you.
No authority can mandate a particular methodology. The AAMC has made a recommendation for interpretation that is unknown to many!
Some schools have the luxury of interviewing and matriculating a significant proportion of the most competitive candidates. Others find themselves hoping for a few of these and a significant proportion of the next "tier" of candidates. This continues until all seats are filled.
Application missteps may not keep you out of medical school. Nor do they mean you won't be a fine physician. They do begin to identify you as someone more likely to find success at a different set of schools. With a strategy that fits your application, the chance that a school looking for students like you goes up. The more missteps, the more you have to make up for it with strategy, and the the harder you have to look for the places that might want you.
