MCAT Canceled

[stressed student024]

My MCAT on the 27th has been canceled. I saw that the April 4th test has been canceled too. I was able to reschedule for May 9th, but I am seeing on twitter that some people are getting their tests canceled as late as May 16th by their testing centers, so my hopes are not high. I am insanely frustrated. I, like many of you, have been studying for months and sacrificing a lot for this test. In addition, I am worried that this is going to force me to push off applying for a year. I know that COVID-19 is serious and that there are significantly bigger concerns than a girl and her MCAT, but man, this really sucks. Guess I am just seeing if anyone is in the same boat as me at this point. I really am worrying about not being able to apply anymore.

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[Startingover123]

I'd be surprised if they were. Honestly cancelling May tests seemed a little premature. If you been keeping an eye on the statistics, the number of new cases in the US has leveled out in the low 30,000 per day. So we're not out of the woods yet, but hopefully are close to the peak.

That is with shutting the country down and with social distancing. The minute things open up a second wave will come.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

That is with shutting the country down and with social distancing. The minute things open up a second wave will come.

Agreed. But it's inevitable. Whether the country opens up May 1st or August 1st, there will be a second wave. Hopefully enough of the necessary medical resources have been compiled this month to deal with the second wave.

 

[Startingover123]

Agreed. But it's inevitable. Whether the country opens up May 1st or August 1st, there will be a second wave. Hopefully enough of the necessary medical resources have been compiled this month to deal with the second wave.

You are right. I don’t understand why they don’t just put it online like all the other professional school tests are doing.

 

[macbookproretina]

You are right. I don’t understand why they don’t just put it online like all the other professional school tests are doing.

The MCAT online? From your house? Not a chance that would happen. While medical schools are administering NBME subject exams and shelves online and via webcam and locked down browser, they are an order of magnitude less important than the MCAT.

 

[Startingover123]

The MCAT online? From your house? Not a chance that would happen. While medical schools are administering NBME subject exams and shelves online and via webcam and locked down browser, they are an order of magnitude less important than the MCAT.

Obviously it would be proctored. Lsat,gre, and gmat are all doing it.

 

[mmchick]

I'd be surprised if they were. Honestly cancelling May tests seemed a little premature. If you been keeping an eye on the statistics, the number of new cases in the US has leveled out in the low 30,000 per day. So we're not out of the woods yet, but hopefully are close to the peak.

The exact models making peak predictions of the next 1-2 days are the same ones that annotate the integrity of their models being dependent on social distancing through May 2020. It’s not premature. I wouldn’t be surprised if this continues until mid-June with stratified openings starting with industries that are deemed far on the scale of “more to less essential”, moving towards the latter. No sure where ‘testing sites’ would fall on this.

 

[squids82]

Obviously it would be proctored. Lsat,gre, and gmat are all doing it.

How would they prevent people from stealing questions or cheating during breaks/leaving the room to cheat on discretes during sections?

 

[Startingover123]

How would they prevent people from stealing questions or cheating during breaks/leaving the room to cheat on discretes during sections?

That’s why it’s proctored? You would take breaks in between sections. It’s a little hard to cheat when you don’t see the Passages/questions. The mcat is second and third order questions. The Dat is going online and those questions are basically straight recall. It’s doable but your probably right it won’t happen.

 

[wysdoc]

I'd be surprised if they were. Honestly cancelling May tests seemed a little premature. If you been keeping an eye on the statistics, the number of new cases in the US has leveled out in the low 30,000 per day. So we're not out of the woods yet, but hopefully are close to the peak.

Quarantine measures will logically continue AT LEAST to the end of May. Now would be a great time to learn about statistics, epidemics, disease spread, mortality. Use VALID data sources such as CDC, NY Times, and your state's health department figures. Learn what graphs are saying.
The projections for expected spread and mortality many of you are seeing assume shelter at home measures through the end of May.
Okay, rant against dubious wishful thinking - vs - medical facts over.

From the AAMC, all tests through May 21 cancelled globally. They will add more interspersed future test dates to allow rescheduling.
You are being redirected...

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Quarantine measures will logically continue AT LEAST to the end of May. Now would be a great time to learn about statistics, epidemics, disease spread, mortality. Use VALID data sources such as CDC, NY Times, and your state's health department figures. Learn what graphs are saying.
The projections for expected spread and mortality many of you are seeing assume shelter at home measures through the end of May.
Okay, rant against dubious wishful thinking - vs - medical facts over.

From the AAMC, all tests through May 21 cancelled globally. They will add more interspersed future test dates to allow rescheduling.
You are being redirected...

The models/predictions that have been continually downgraded haha? Despite that, I'm not discounting the seriousness of the virus at all. In fact, I've been strictly quarantining myself since the third week of March, working from home, and warning anyone who will listen that they should do the same. To be honest, I'd be fine with my May test date being cancelled though; more time to study. No wishful thinking here.

I'm sure you're a great physician in whatever specialty you practice, but you aren't the only profession that can accurately interpret and/or provide an opinion on statistics. Also don't assume you're addressing a 19/20 year old pre-med undergraduate.

Here's a great place to start if you need aggregated stats with sources provided: United States Coronavirus: 520,238 Cases and 20,084 Deaths - Worldometer

 

[squids82]

That’s why it’s proctored? You would take breaks in between sections. It’s a little hard to cheat when you don’t see the Passages/questions. The mcat is second and third order questions. The Dat is going online and those questions are basically straight recall. It’s doable but your probably right it won’t happen.

You realize you can leave during sections of the test while the timer is running, right? Have you taken the MCAT or seen the test day procedure?

 

[wysdoc]

The models/predictions that have been continually downgraded haha? Despite that, I'm not discounting the seriousness of the virus at all. In fact, I've been strictly quarantining myself since the third week of March, working from home, and warning anyone who will listen that they should do the same. To be honest, I'd be fine with my May test date being cancelled though; more time to study. No wishful thinking here.

I'm sure you're a great physician in whatever specialty you practice, but you aren't the only profession that can accurately interpret and/or provide an opinion on statistics. Also don't assume you're addressing a 19/20 year old pre-med undergraduate.

Here's a great place to start if you need aggregated stats with sources provided: United States Coronavirus: 520,238 Cases and 20,084 Deaths - Worldometer

I did somewhat assume you were a naive pre-med undergrad. Your conclusions about when the restrictions should be lifted suggested wishful thinking, that's all. No put-down intended.

 

[Startingover123]

You realize you can leave during sections of the test while the timer is running, right? Have you taken the MCAT or seen the test day procedure?

You do realize you can change the test day procedures right? I am a bit confused by your logic. Every other professional test can be given online except for the MCAT?

 

[mmchick]

Here's a great place to start if you need aggregated stats with sources provided: United States Coronavirus: 520,238 Cases and 20,084 Deaths - Worldometer

More reputable sources: JHU, WHO, UWash, CDC.

"Worldometer" aggregates data in an unknown combination of these and lags in time.

 

[squids82]

You do realize you can change the test day procedures right? I am a bit confused by your logic. Every other professional test can be given online except for the MCAT?

The MCAT is uniquely more difficult than the GRE and LSAT so it’s really apples to oranges, but then how would you ensure that questions aren’t stolen (since they are reused) and that nobody can cheat on the passages without just saying webcam since that’s not a catch all solution?

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

More reputable sources: JHU, WHO, UWash, CDC.

"Worldometer" aggregates data in an unknown combination of these and lags in time.

Not unknown, the sources are prominently provided at the bottom of the page or if you scroll to the right on the countries overview page. The sources you provided are obviously great too.

I did somewhat assume you were a naive pre-med undergrad. Your conclusions about when the restrictions should be lifted suggested wishful thinking, that's all. No put-down intended.

I fully expect my May date to be cancelled. My first thought was just that cancelling dates that are 40 days out might be a little premature. Maybe not.

 

[mmchick]

Not unknown, the sources are prominently provided at the bottom of the page or if you scroll to the right on the countries overview page. The sources you provided are obviously great too.

Unknown. Their list of sources is from a hodgepodge of primary/secondary sources and ultimately those secondary sources (like random news outlets) are also unreliable with unclear reputations/legitimacy.

 

[la flame]

You are right. I don’t understand why they don’t just put it online like all the other professional school tests are doing.

there is so many ways to cheat on the exam as well as copy questions down and sell them to other people ( I believe someone said ITT that MCAT reuses questions). You can easily use glasses with a tiny camera in them to record, have an equation sheet taped to your wall, have a friend with high yield topics written down on big whiteboard behind your labtop. I know this sounds silly but keep in mind, premeds are some of the most competitive students out there who would do ANYTHING for an advantage. I've already seen premeds in facebook premed groups ask if they should volunteer without pay to screen Covid patients even though they have immunocompromised family members (lol).

Now if the MCAT is done online, should it be looked at differently than someone who made the same score in person? I don't know too much about the LSAT but from what I've heard, it's basically CARS 2.0 so that might be the reason Law schools aren't that scared of people cheating.

 

[NY_Med]

Anyone know if they are letting June (5) test takers reschedule for free? I tried calling AAMC but I could not get through. I get they are adding more test dates to accommodate, which I am thankful for, but realistically I feel like they can only add so many before they hit a ceiling... and I don't want my date to get canceled after that ceiling comes haha

 

[KnightDoc]

Anyone know if they are letting June (5) test takers reschedule for free? I tried calling AAMC but I could not get through. I get they are adding more test dates to accommodate, which I am thankful for, but realistically I feel like they can only add so many before they hit a ceiling... and I don't want my date to get canceled after that ceiling comes haha

At this point, everyone can reschedule for free, but they took the system down until next Friday so they can load additional dates. So, there is no need to waste your time calling, because you won't be able to reschedule until they bring system back up, at which point you'll be able to do it yourself online.

 

[mmchick]

Honestly it would feel unfair to have people taking MCAT at home while the rest of us were in a testing center. Part of the whole struggle was the dimensions on the old monitors was stretched out and difficult to read, you had to raise your hand and lose seconds of break while the proctor came by, and factor in going through the ID and scanning timing for breaks, being in a unfamiliar place with other distracting test takers making noises, tapping their feet, etc.

Like someone mentioned, I can think of a million ways to cheat while taking the exam at home and I’m sure many people will. Aside from the benefits of being in a familiar environment using a familiar computer, the opportunities for rigging certain things are endless. If you used a desktop computer, you could tape flashcards, equations, AAs to the desktop monitor and no one would ever know.

It takes away the standardized from the standardized testing location when people can do the test from home. Med schools aren’t going anywhere and I doubt the system will sacrifice the integrity of the MCAT process for the purpose of getting the later test takers on a more convenient ticket.

I think this subject has been beat to death already on that the situation is a crisis and unfair and widespread for many people all around the world. Premeds wanting to take their MCAT at certain times are not the exception.

 

[Foggybrain]

One must also be cognizant of the fact that studying for the MCAT exam during a pandemic is no easy task never mind the continuous MCAT date cancellations. A balanced solution is needed at some point which may not appease everyone.

 

[KnightDoc]

One must also be cognizant of the fact that studying for the MCAT exam during a pandemic is no easy task never mind the continuous MCAT date cancellations. A balanced solution is needed at some point which may not appease everyone.

Yup, but the balanced solution we are getting is some slack with respect to schools accepting applications with scores to follow, possibly a delayed cycle, and make-up test dates.

This thread is quite interesting, with valid points for and against online testing, waiving the MCAT this year, etc., but this is what we are getting, so we need to learn to deal with it, and keep in mind, just a few short weeks ago, most of the adcoms on here were saying "tough, it's a seller's market, we don't need you if you haven't met all the requirements necessary to apply, and waiting an extra year is nothing in the context of the tragedy all around us, so get over it." Compared to that, this accommodation provided by AAMC and the schools seems very reasonable.

 

[Foggybrain]

The one unknown variable is the length of the pandemic given the possibility of a second wave etc...

 

[KnightDoc]

The one unknown variable is the length of the pandemic given the possibility of a second wave etc...

That's correct, but, it looks like the powers that be are setting up for the second wave to be managed by testing, isolating and treating those that are infected rather than by shutting everything down again once things open back up. The plan apparently was never to shut the country down until we have effective treatments and a vaccine.

It looks like AAMC is planning on starting testing up again sometime after May. Whether or not that is June is still TBD, but, it looks like once it starts up again (with social distancing and whatever other measures they put in place at the test centers), they are planning on keeping it going through the end of the test year, as evidenced by their taking the registration system down to load new dates, as well as by exactly zero schools indicating that they would not require an MCAT this upcoming cycle, even though this has been a known thing for around a month now.

 

[MyOdyssey]

Anyone who has to refer to cheat sheets during an exam like the MCAT is already lost. The MCAT is very much a reading comprehension and analysis test - not a memorization test.

They really should move the test online with online proctoring like the other professional exams.

 

[Startingover123]

Anyone who has to refer to cheat sheets during an exam like the MCAT is already lost. The MCAT is very much a reading comprehension and analysis test - not a memorization test.

They really should move the test online with online proctoring like the other professional exams.

Thank you. That is what I was trying to get across earlier. The mcat is mostly critical thinking questions and not straight recall.

 

[Son of Zeus]

I've had to reschedule 3 times now. First exam date was late March, second date was April 25th, and finally May 21st.

It's very aggravating not knowing when I will be able to take this exam, as a post-bacc student the MCAT is a disproportionately larger part of my application compared to traditional students. We just have to take it on a day-by-day basis at this point. Will med schools look at our applications differently because we've been impacted by this? Maybe, who knows. There are already many people who have taken the exam & will be ready for the application date so some schools might not even bother with us. Interview invitations start going out in August, which means if we take the exam in June or early July schools will have everything before that happens. This is of course assuming that the June & July dates hold. If they don't hold then this cycle is toast. Most applicants take the MCAT in April/May the year they apply so there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of people who are impacted by this and with every new cancellation it gets worse. It's going to be a chaotic application cycle for everyone.

The AAMC has already stated that they plan to add more exam dates & expedite getting our scores back, let's hope we can take the exam in June.

 

[123456student654321]

I've had to reschedule 3 times now. First exam date was late March, second date was April 25th, and finally May 21st.

It's very aggravating not knowing when I will be able to take this exam, as a post-bacc student the MCAT is a disproportionately larger part of my application compared to traditional students. We just have to take it on a day-by-day basis at this point. Will med schools look at our applications differently because we've been impacted by this? Maybe, who knows. There are already many people who have taken the exam & will be ready for the application date so some schools might not even bother with us. Interview invitations start going out in August, which means if we take the exam in June or early July schools will have everything before that happens. This is of course assuming that the June & July dates hold. If they don't hold then this cycle is toast. Most applicants take the MCAT in April/May the year they apply so there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of people who are impacted by this and with every new cancellation it gets worse. It's going to be a chaotic application cycle for everyone.

The AAMC has already stated that they plan to add more exam dates & expedite getting our scores back, let's hope we can take the exam in June.

Exactly! So even though schools have tried to be accomodating and announced they'll allow students to submit without an MCAT, It's frustrating for post-bacc students or students who need the MCAT to make our applications competitive! I wish they wouldn't do rolling admissions this year or just pushed back the beginning of the app cycle!

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

So AAMC didn't reopen registration today, despite what they said last week.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

AAMC_MCAT tweeted an update. Three new MCAT dates, no estimate of when registration will re-open.

MCAT (@AAMC_MCAT) | Twitter

The latest Tweets from MCAT (@AAMC_MCAT). MCAT Staff are happy to answer your questions M-F, 9a-5p US ET

twitter.com

 

[stressed student024]

AAMC_MCAT tweeted an update. Three new MCAT dates, no estimate of when registration will re-open.

MCAT (@AAMC_MCAT) | Twitter

The latest Tweets from MCAT (@AAMC_MCAT). MCAT Staff are happy to answer your questions M-F, 9a-5p US ET

twitter.com

Bigger problems in the world right now, so I am not complaining too much, but this is kind of frustrating *sigh*

 

[la flame]

AAMC_MCAT tweeted an update. Three new MCAT dates, no estimate of when registration will re-open.

MCAT (@AAMC_MCAT) | Twitter

The latest Tweets from MCAT (@AAMC_MCAT). MCAT Staff are happy to answer your questions M-F, 9a-5p US ET

twitter.com

They said they were adding afternoon testing dates. Aren't the exams about 8 hours long and normally start around 8am? Anyways, they mentioned they will not be providing an online-proctored exam (apparently they visit SDN and got scared of all the hypothetical cheating scenarios posted)

 

[NY_Med]

They said they were adding afternoon testing dates. Aren't the exams about 8 hours long and normally start around 8am? Anyways, they mentioned they will not be providing an online-proctored exam (apparently they visit SDN and got scared of all the hypothetical cheating scenarios posted)

Coming from someone who isn't a morning person. I am hyped about those afternoon sessions though lmao.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

I'm not worried, but I am wondering if I should reschedule my May 29th test. Trying to determine the probability of it getting cancelled two weeks before and not having any open slots to reschedule to.

 

[wysdoc]

Another thread just started up today about revised MCAT schedule for this year. Registration site should re-open May 7 but the site is down right now for revision.

Here is the link to the newer thread and the contents of a letter. Night-owls, there will be an available start time of 6 pm!
MCAT will be 5 hrs 45 minutes...

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Just received the email, my May 29th exam was cancelled.

 

[NY_Med]

Just received the email, my May 29th exam was cancelled.

Did they say whether or not their will be more seats given the new dates/times? Mine is the next date up (June 5th) and I would hate for it to get canceled after May 7th when registration opens and all the spots to be full and be SOL.

 

[la flame]

Just received the email, my May 29th exam was cancelled.

are you able to travel to a different state and take it? Not saying you actually want to but are you giving the option to?

 

[wysdoc]

Did they say whether or not their will be more seats given the new dates/times? Mine is the next date up (June 5th) and I would hate for it to get canceled after May 7th when registration opens and all the spots to be full and be SOL.

After May 7th there will be new dates, and even if your June 5 date is still good you will probably have a starting time change.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

are you able to travel to a different state and take it? Not saying you actually want to but are you giving the option to?

Did they say whether or not their will be more seats given the new dates/times? Mine is the next date up (June 5th) and I would hate for it to get canceled after May 7th when registration opens and all the spots to be full and be SOL.

Here's what they sent me. I'm planning to register for a mid-Summer date on the chance things get cancelled due to the second wave.

Dear Examinee,
The AAMC is actively monitoring the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and following guidance from national and local health authorities. Due to restrictions on non-essential activities in your test center’s locality, your May 29 MCAT administration has been canceled. Your health and safety are our top priority.
Your current appointment has been placed on hold with the date September 30, 2020 at Pearson VUE Test center and the country of your appointment. This is not your new appointment date; it is a placeholder. Scheduling features within the MCAT Registration System remain temporarily unavailable as we adjust appointment availability and prepare for the re-launch of our new testing calendar. During this time, you will still be able to edit your registration information.
The MCAT Registration System will reopen for scheduling on May 7, 2020. You may reschedule your held appointment into any available appointment at that time, free of charge.
If you no longer want to test, you may cancel your exam for a full refund of your base registration fee. We recommend you do so online once scheduling becomes available again. Note that the system will only provide a partial refund at the time of your cancellation, but we will work diligently to refund the balance of the fees for all who cancel out of a September 30, 2020 hold date. There is no further action needed on your part, but please allow up to two weeks for processing.
We know this is a challenging and disruptive time for examinees preparing for the MCAT exam and applying to medical school. Medical schools are aware of changes to the MCAT administration dates, and the AAMC is working with the schools as they begin to prepare for later test score availability for the upcoming application cycle. The AAMC will provide updates here as new information is available.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to slow the spread of COVID-19. Please visit our MCAT Coronavirus web page for more information and FAQs.
Sincerely,
The MCAT Program

 

[NY_Med]

After May 7th there will be new dates, and even if your June 5 date is still good you will probably have a starting time change.

New dates in addition to the 3 they are adding?

 

[wysdoc]

New dates in addition to the 3 they are adding?

As far as I know, just the 3 dates they are adding, but they say they plan several start times on each date. Everyone should have a chance to reschedule. Hope the site doesn't crash on y'all May 7th!

 

[KnightDoc]

New dates in addition to the 3 they are adding?

Yes and no -- you seem to be misunderstanding what they are doing.

They are only adding the 3 dates you referenced, but every date is going to have three start times where before they only had one, so that's a lot of new dates and times to register. I'm sure the gotcha is going to be that there will be far fewer seats available for each date and time due to social distancing requirements. So, in response to your earlier question, I doubt there will be more seats than before. The goal is likely to replace the seats that were lost due to the prior cancellations.

If you are worried about 6/5 being cancelled later you might want to consider rescheduling it yourself when registration reopens on 5/7. On the other hand, if they have new cancellations in the future it is also likely that will add more new dates and times to compensate. No guarantees, so do whatever makes you comfortable.

 

[NY_Med]

Yes and no -- you seem to be misunderstanding what they are doing.

They are only adding the 3 dates you referenced, but every date is going to have three start times where before they only had one, so that's a lot of new dates and times to register. I'm sure the gotcha is going to be that there will be far fewer seats available for each date and time due to social distancing requirements. So, in response to your earlier question, I doubt there will be more seats than before. The goal is likely to replace the seats that were lost due to the prior cancellations.

If you are worried about 6/5 being cancelled later you might want to consider rescheduling it yourself when registration reopens on 5/7. On the other hand, if they have new cancellations in the future it is also likely that will add more new dates and times to compensate. No guarantees, so do whatever makes you comfortable.

That makes sense! I would hate to lose optimal time because of a neurotic reschedule though. I just hope if they cancel June 5th they do it before the 7th, It seemed like we were in the clear with May 29th but then they dropped that bomb on us so now it has me tweaking haha.

 

[Future_Bone_Docta]

Yes and no -- you seem to be misunderstanding what they are doing.

They are only adding the 3 dates you referenced, but every date is going to have three start times where before they only had one, so that's a lot of new dates and times to register. I'm sure the gotcha is going to be that there will be far fewer seats available for each date and time due to social distancing requirements. So, in response to your earlier question, I doubt there will be more seats than before. The goal is likely to replace the seats that were lost due to the prior cancellations.

If you are worried about 6/5 being cancelled later you might want to consider rescheduling it yourself when registration reopens on 5/7. On the other hand, if they have new cancellations in the future it is also likely that will add more new dates and times to compensate. No guarantees, so do whatever makes you comfortable.

Can you reschedule without actually dropping ur already scheduled date? So that way you don't have to worry about getting no date?

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Can you reschedule without actually dropping ur already scheduled date? So that way you don't have to worry about getting no date?

When you reschedule, you get the date you reschedule for and lose your original date.

 

[KnightDoc]

Can you reschedule without actually dropping ur already scheduled date? So that way you don't have to worry about getting no date?

Think of all the people who would be shut out if they allowed you to hold more than one date!! They don't even allow that under normal circumstances (i.e., if you wanted to schedule two dates in case you need to retake it, they don't allow that -- you can only ever have one appointment at any given point in time).

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

If practicing doctors outside of SDN are talkinga bout their MCAT scores then they are doing something very very wrong considering that the MCAT is even before med school.
But it's fine - you guys are talking like clueless not even med students.
Good luck to you guys- you will one day realize how wrong you are. I suggest that for those of you who might get into med school, don't argue as petulant children with your attendings/professors or you will be back on the "what do i do now that I got canned"threads.
Good luck.

Aren't you a "practicing doctor" who is talking about the MCAT? Whether someone asks them about the MCAT at SDN or somewhere else, I'm not sure it matters. I appreciate their opinions the same. Your opinion is different than other opinions I've heard, and that's okay. I'm sorry if you are hurt that people like me seek multiple opinions. But I will say that when you describe me and my peers using words like "clueless" and "petulant", I'm not as inclined to weigh your opinion as highly.

 

[Future_Bone_Docta]

Think of all the people who would be shut out if they allowed you to hold more than one date!! They don't even allow that under normal circumstances (i.e., if you wanted to schedule two dates in case you need to retake it, they don't allow that -- you can only ever have one appointment at any given point in time).

Sorry I should have worded better. I understand that when you sign up for one it'll pull you out of your previous. But what I meant to ask is when I reschedule, will I have too pull out of my current and be unregistered completely for a period of time to be able sign up for the next date? Or does it save my date, and then if I can't reschedule a June 15th date before it fills up I keep my previous test date?