However, the MCAT being a test to admit people into a science based profession consisting of 60% pure English comprehension is what I have a problem with. Someone asked how I came up with that 60% number. WS and VR make up 50% of the exam. Then ~10% of the BS/PS are purely passage based which no amount of prior science work will help you answer those questions. I understand that the exam can't be fair to everyone. What IS fair to everyone. But, what does get my attention is the AMOUNT of emphasis on English rather than science concepts. I do understand why some of you'd say I'm whinning. But, unless you have been in similar situation, you'd not truly understand it or empathize with it. Am I a hard worker and will I try to get the best score I can? Sure. I didn't get straight A's in my prereqs or get to TA a organic chem lab section without a chem degree for slacking off.
Well this is one heck of a beehive you kicked out of the pandora's box you opened.
Just as a precursory note, one thing I find interesting in this thread is that you are extremely articulate. It's ironic that your superior English language skills are what concern you.
So my $0.02:
1) The test is not 60% English based. The writing sample is just not that significant, so it can't be considered a quarter of the exam. So, there are 144 multiple-choice questions to consider. Verbal makes up 40 of these. In the BS section, you can figure that 20 questions are reading comprehension dependent. In PS, the questions are often answered by having a solid understanding of the definitions and concepts. Reading comprehension plays a minimal role. So let's say it's 60/144, which is slightly over 40% of the exam questions, depend on reading comprehension.
2) You are overestimating the primary and secondary educational systems in this country. While no one can deny that being a native speaker will help in your ability to read English, the average graduate from an American high school has less ability to reason than graduates from pretty much any industrialized nation. There was a National Geographic study that listed us as next to last when it came to understanding the globe and the world around us. High school math and science here equates to middle school studies in many other countries. Granted, the top students here are on par with the top most anywhere in the world (and that is where the premed pool predominantly spawns), but on the whole we have an educational crisis in this country. So the advantage you speak of for native speakers could very well be a placebo effect.
Which leads to a question posed in an early response. "What do you propose to be more fair?" The exam is an analytical, thinking exam. Such an exam is going to require reading, especially if they intend to test you on basic concepts in unfamiliar settings. With substantial number of the test takers being non-native speakers, how do we adjust the exam to make it more fair in your eyes? It will always have a cultural bias. It will always be unfair to someone. Is there a way to balance things for everyone?
If you ask me, I think the MCAT is an amazingly well-written exam that should be used as an exit exam from college and not an admissions exam for medical school. It would make far more sense to make an admissions exam for medical school have something to do with the basics of medicine and medical common sense. Case-based MCAT passages would make the greatest sense for determining a candidate's worthiness for medical school. If all of the passages were case-based, and the all of the questions could be answered by combining the information in the passage with fundamental science concepts, then it would seem that such an exam would be ideal for determining a candidate's qualifications for entry into medical school.
But alas, the test is what it is. Good luck getting a handle on the parts that bother you most, because you would/will make a terrific doctor.
