MCAT Rescheduled for Sept. 6 & 7

[Selisa]

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This just in from the AAMC:

"A special MCAT administration will be held September 6 and 7, 2003 for registrants who were unable to sit for the August MCAT due to either the blackout or hurricane. If you are among this group and have not received an email from MCAT please send your name, current email address and registered test site to [email protected]."

for those of you who didn't receive the message...

Good Luck! 🙂

 

[4 Ever]

now how exactly will the scale work with the retaking of the mcat? not everyone would have had the same amount of time to study for it

 

[spinestudent]

huh?? You had 1 year+ in most cases to study for it. Another few weeks shouldn't matter. It's not like you register in june and then they send you a surprise mcat date. Everyone who took it on the 16th knew they would have to take it the third saturday in august well in advance of registering. If it were me, I probably wouldn't have done as well several weeks later. From a mental perspective, many people prepare themselves for a certain date.


A real problem, however, is that I bet the mcat program office will give the same exact forms with the same exact passages they gave on the 16th. Same problem as with what occurs now with the sunday takers. The mcat refuses to believe(for whatever reason) that sites like examkrackers.com exist where every passage and many questions are discussed. If I could take my version again today I would score higher........not because I've studied more or gone over my errors. Simply because EK posters tell everyone what the answers to many questions are. That can be a HUGE advantage.

 

[jiy76]

Spinestudent you are incorrect in your thinking. AAMC is fully aware of websites like EK and SDN where questions are posted. The fact of the matter is it doesnt matter it will not affect your score or their scaling. How many questions can you remember if i told you some questions and you were taking it on sunday instead of saturday? How do you know you will get the same form? Even if you do are my answers correct? do they even count or are they experimental? As a matter of fact AAMC has informed EK that they will not give the same forms at all on sept 6 and 7 it will be an entirely new form so again the point is moot.

 

[4 Ever]

i doubt AAMC would have the time to quickly run up a few extra passages and make a different test for everyone in 3weeks... along with that they would be scaled against the small group retaking if its a different test.

and though you might state that people might not remember the questions, they can remember the topics to focus on and go from there... all it takes is about 3-4questions to move up a point on the scale and if u can manage that on both phys and bio sections, ure up 2points already with just 6-8questions. so jiy76, do u honestly think that that the extra questions right wont affect the score then? (and just knowing how important this test is, WILL make people remember questions or passages that were discussed... and if u notice on all the forms that were present, a lot of the passages were present on them so its not like each form is totally different

i agree that yes everyone has had the time to study for it but for some , the summer isnt just a free time to study for the test. i personally wasnt able to get out of things until 4weeks before the test regardless of how much advanced notice i had. i do disagree with your point that the extra 3weeks would not help much. with the information put on these forums along with the extra time to study with school for most not even starting until that week or the week after, it is enough time to improve scores...

 

[jiy76]

4 ever how do you know that the passage or set of questions similar on one form to another is not experimental? Even if they're not what can you study in the last few hours before the test that you didnt know already??!!! its not gonna help your score.How do you know the people who told you this stuff are accurate in their detail?. AAMC said the forms will be different whether or not all the passages will be different is another question. Rest assured AAMC is fully aware of all these websites and will compensate for the fact that students might be able to get info on questions. They are not stupid they've been administering this test for decades you think they were born yesterday? You guys think AAMC are a bunch of *****s. We've been bitchin about the exam the last week or so complaining how hard it was. If an AAMC guy saw this he would be laughing his ass off cause the test was no harder than AAMC 6R. If they are smart enough to make such a "seemingly" difficult test dont you think they are smart enough to find out ways students try to glean info about it.

Another point-The forms have a built in curve determined by AAMC before the exam. the small testing population means nothing.

 

[spinestudent]

jiy76,

I'm aware that sunday and sept 5-6 students will not affect my score. But by knowing many of the questions ahead of time it will be advantageous to THEIR score. If my score isn't affected at all but some students in a neighboring county get a 2 point bump, that could have some effect on everyone else.

And your point that it will be hard to remember the questions is pretty hard to believe. On saturday by 9:00 there were already 10-15 questions from my form posted and discussed in detail. If I had looked at that site for a few hours saturday night, I would have had 10-15 questions right going in. And the questions that are being discussed a lot are usually the more difficult questions too. How do we know the posters are right when discussing the questions? I don't, but it stands to reason that if 6-7 people can reason through and agree on an answer, then you're in pretty good shape. The argument that you won't remember the questions is total BS. Unless you have no memory retention at all, it is very easy to skim 10-15 questions going in.

 

[jiy76]

spinestudent you are assuming all 10-15 questions that are posted (and subsequently remembered)are from the same form and that the student reading it has the same form the next day!. Both of these situations are unlikely. Yes there were many questions posted but they were from different forms. On top of it not everyone agreed what was the correct answer!!. It makes no sense to remember everything. Suppose i remember 10 questions from test AG(which is exorbitant, by 9pm there werent that many questions posted from just 1 form) and i get form CN where non of the questions are the ones i remembered. The people who took the sunday test did not get the same form as the saturday test, YES they did have similar passages but it would be totally pointless to memorize answers to questions you might not have. On top of that how many of the similar questions were experimental? Think about it if it were that easy to cheat, get info and improve your score don't you think AAMC would have done something about it by now? The test has been going on like this for decades. Or do you also think the people at AAMC were born yesterday? 🙂 I get your point and your frustration but be assured it is all for nought.

 

[4 Ever]

jiy76, then how do you explain the cheating that happened where there was a firedrill and the test takers broke out their books and were consulting other people about the test? (do you really think AAMC is going to be able to punish them? i highly doubt it)

 

[NotShorty]

huh?? You had 1 year+ in most cases to study for it. Another few weeks shouldn't matter.

Word.

I was so burnt, an extra DAY would have only hurt me.

I'm sure the AAMC will figure something out. They are the puppet masters, after all. As if they don't have hundreds of unused questions laying around...

 

[silenthunder]

just my .02.

Yes, I agree that seeing some questions on StudentDoctor.net, (or another site) will probably not make you suddenly kick ass on the MCAT.

But, I think it might make a difference between an 8 and a 9, or maybe an 8 and a 10. You don't need to MEMORIZE each question you see. Let's say that my weakest section is bio, and I took a look at all of the bio mcat info that was posted; in particular I examine all of the questions that people seem to be most concerned with.

Come test time, I'm a bit ahead of the game if I see that question. Perhaps it's easier to read because I saw a buncha people commenting on it. THe passage being easier to read gives me a lot more time to work on the actual questions. And some of the answers I saw on SDN may have actually stuck in my head.

Does this automatically mean that later date test takers have an unfair advantage? Not sure. Yes I guess they DO have an advantage, but NO I don't think that this advantage is going to make a significant difference to anyone's score.

Cheers all,

Silenthunder

 

[jiy76]

4 ever those that were looking up answers almost undoubtedly didnt know squat to begin with. The mcat tests understanding and interpretation of material and conceptual reasoning not memorization. It is highly likely that those looking for answers A) did not find them since the test is conceptual not based on rote memory. B)Thought they found what they were lookin for only to misinterpret the question. remember under intense nervousness and pressure do you remember the question asked in its entirety?? even if you do the answers are either based on passage info or understanding of basic science principles these 2 things cannot be found in prep books, especially not in the intense situation we were in during test day. and YES AAMC is aware of this and they will do nothing about it because as i have previously said numerous times IT WILL NOT HELP THEIR SCORE! You usually need 3-4 more correct answers to move from one point to another. Like i said this is extremely unlikely under the the situation and anyone who is scoring high on the exam understands what i mean when i say those who are looking up answers are lost to begin with.

 

[4 Ever]

the mcat does not ONLY look for conceptual understanding...

refer to the handful of discrete answers for further proof

 

[jiy76]

4 ever I didnt say it was the ONLY thing they test but it is the most important and the most heavily tested. Like i said if he cant answer a discrete question without help hes is in big trouble to begin with. They are the easiest because they require very little knowledge if it asked for something that could be found in a prep book and he didnt know it, he is in trouble because the question in that case should be almost instinctively answered it is so easy. The only time discretes are difficult are when you arent sure exactly what they are asking or didnt understand the question or cant find a way to solve the answer (usually a consequence of the first 2 problems.) All 3 pitfalls will not be helped by looking up something. Either way-no score improvement!

 

[4 Ever]

see, your argument holds water only if ure assuming the people were not prepared to begin with. ive seen smart people in college that cheat even though they have studied for a long time for tests... they care so much about every point that they want to get every question right. that being the case, do you really think that all of the people that cheated werent ready to begin with? many smart students have cheated in the past on numerous types of tests and i dont see how this would be any different

 

[indo]

they have back up forms...don't worry.

 

[jiy76]

4 ever obviously i dont agree that all those who cheated were unprepared to begin with however those who are scoring well should and usually do know better than to look up answers since they realize they wont find them. This is getting redundant, 4 ever i know you get my point i really hope you are not seriously worrying about people getting better scores as a result of this. If this were the case wouldnt AAMC have done something by now? What use is their scale then? It dosent make sense, the test has been administered for decades and this issue has been going on for decades and AAMC has done nothing about it, why?? There could be 2 reasons 1) the AAMC was born yesterday and are totally oblivious to all things around them or 2).............................. BECAUSE IT DOESNT AFFECT YOUR SCORE!

 

[spinestudent]

jiy76, every form doesn't have completely different passages. Some of the more common passages in the august exam(drosophilia, optics bug, shakespeare) appeared on 8-10 different forms. While form AS and form AG may not be identical, there will be a lot of overlap between many forms.

And people who are smartly trying to skim answers wouldn't just focus on one form. They would read the comments made about AS, CK, BK, etc.....doing this would give them a pretty decent shot at having a good number of exposed questions. It's not like the mcat makes out 220 different bio section passages(~20 forms x 11 passages/form) for each test date.

 

[jiy76]

Spinestudent i dont work for AAMC. I am as ignorant to the methods they use to experiment passages and scale their scoring sheet as the next guy. However, I am sure that taking the test on Sunday or any other day besides Saturday puts the student at no advantage, and i mean zero!- not even a 1 point advantage. It would cause too many problems to AAMC's credibility and scoring reliability. The fact that AAMC has done nothing over the years to counteract this obvious problem leads me to believe that this is true. Yes there are overlap passages but be assured AAMC is aware of it and has a method to deal with this issue. Like i said i dont know what this method is, no one does except those who work for AAMC.

 

[MeowMix]

just to add - if I were the head of AAMC, I would certainly have additional tests prepared just for emergencies, which I didn't plan to use on the day of the test.

Suppose that a whole shipment of tests got stolen two days before the test, and suddenly all of form XX is posted on SDN? Do you suppose AAMC would just go right ahead and administer form XX anyway?

 

[spinestudent]

meomix/jiy,

We already know from people who took sunday test that some of the passages were similar to those taking the test the day before. And there are enough overlapping passages so that they can't all be experimental.

I just don't think it is fair to assume the aamc has done something to solve this potential problem. All of the evidence seems to suggest that they are not concerned with it.

Is it a huge problem? I doubt it. While EK is a popular premed site, it still only reaches a small percentage of the premed population. And a very very small percentage of students opt for a sunday test. So looking at those two percentages together means that a very small number of people are at a possible advantage.

 

[jiy76]

spine student thats my point exactly. AAMC might not have done ANYTHING to correct it simply due to the fact they dont consider it a problem to begin with. Their "apparent" indifference may be due to some of the reasons you mentioned or something that we dont know about the way they score the test. Like i said this is really not something you should spend your time worrying about.

 

[4 Ever]

Originally posted by MeowMix
just to add - if I were the head of AAMC, I would certainly have additional tests prepared just for emergencies, which I didn't plan to use on the day of the test.

Suppose that a whole shipment of tests got stolen two days before the test, and suddenly all of form XX is posted on SDN? Do you suppose AAMC would just go right ahead and administer form XX anyway?

but like jiy76/spine have stated, it wont matter if its posted here since SDN is a small population of the test takers and it wont affect the overall outcome even if the test is posted online right guys?