MCAT easier or are PEOPLE just smarter?

[yadave]

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Hey guys,

so out of curiosity, a lot of people i've talked to are doing fairly well on the MCAT as compared to many people I knew who took it back in the day when it was still paper pencil. Do you think it just got easier to take or are people just super smart now?😳

 

[DrMidlife]

Hey guys,

so out of curiosity, a lot of people i've talked to are doing fairly well on the MCAT as compared to many people I knew who took it back in the day when it was still paper pencil. Do you think it just got easier to take or are people just super smart now?😳

Scores have gone up a wee bit over the last 10 years. http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2008/2008mcatgpa.htm

I would not conclude that the test got easier. There are myriad other reasons for scores to go up. Start with ER and House, look at H1 immigration visa recipient demographics (and extrapolate what age their offspring are), consider the increased variety in test dates, what have you.

 

[NewmansOwn]

If anything, I think the MCAT has gotten harder. An opinion I share with quite a few others is that this year's MCATs have been notably harder than the AAMC practice tests, which are comprised of old test sections and supposed to be the most representative of the real thing.

Now, if you have yet to take the MCAT, don't let that worry you too much. The AAMCs are still the best prep out there and since the scale for the MCAT is based on everyone taking the test that day, you'll likely find (as I did) that your average on the AAMCs will end up being very close to your score on the real MCAT.

 

[drizzt3117]

If anything, I think the MCAT has gotten harder. An opinion I share with quite a few others is that this year's MCATs have been notably harder than the AAMC practice tests, which are comprised of old test sections and supposed to be the most representative of the real thing.

That's always the case, the AAMC tests are way easy compared to the MCAT.

Now, if you have yet to take the MCAT, don't let that worry you too much. The AAMCs are still the best prep out there and since the scale for the MCAT is based on everyone taking the test that day, you'll likely find (as I did) that your average on the AAMCs will end up being very close to your score on the real MCAT.

The MCAT isn't completely scaled based on the test performance, it also includes historical performance on certain questions. I think the main reason scores have gone up is simply that people have the opportunity to take the test more often.

 

[drizzt3117]

If anything, I think the MCAT has gotten harder. An opinion I share with quite a few others is that this year's MCATs have been notably harder than the AAMC practice tests, which are comprised of old test sections and supposed to be the most representative of the real thing.

That's always the case, the AAMC tests are way easy compared to the MCAT.

Now, if you have yet to take the MCAT, don't let that worry you too much. The AAMCs are still the best prep out there and since the scale for the MCAT is based on everyone taking the test that day, you'll likely find (as I did) that your average on the AAMCs will end up being very close to your score on the real MCAT.

The MCAT isn't completely scaled based on the test performance, it also includes historical performance on certain questions. I think the main reason scores have gone up is simply that people have the opportunity to take the test more often.