My luck

[Without Wax]

I am quite unlucky. Good things always happen after I leave.

MCAT is going to be shortened to five hours and will be done on computer.




Computer-Based MCAT Planned for 2007

Students taking the paper-and-pencil MCAT


Aspiring medical students will soon say goodbye to the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT®) as they know it. The new test will have them putting down their pencils and sitting in front of a computer.

Through April 2006, a computer-based test will be available in more than a dozen sites in the United States and internationally. Implementation of the computerized version is scheduled to be complete by 2007, and the written version will be eliminated. Upcoming changes are designed to make the test more convenient.

With the computerized version, prospective students will take the test in smaller, climate-controlled rooms and receive their scores much more quickly, said Ellen Julian, Ph.D., AAMC's associate vice president and director of the MCAT examination.

"Our initial promise is to reduce score reporting time from 60 days to 30 days, with the ultimate goal of reducing the waiting time to two weeks," Dr. Julian said. "We hope this will facilitate the medical school application process for both examinees and admissions officers."

The biggest benefit for examinees, however, may be the revised length of the test. According to Dr. Julian, MCAT researchers have determined how to shorten the test while ensuring that it remains reliable, valid and useful. By waiting to implement the computer-based test until 2007, MCAT administrators can reduce test length at the same time. Timesaving measures inherent in converting a paper-and-pencil test to a computer version have already cut two hours off the test day, and with the planned reduction in test length, the test day should shrink to less than five hours.

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[AStudent]

That's all fine and dandy but you'll still need a paper and pencil for calculations. Plus, what happens when your taking your test and the computer crashes/power goes out/pop up window comes up?

I am quite unlucky. Good things always happen after I leave.

MCAT is going to be shortened to five hours and will be done on computer.




Computer-Based MCAT Planned for 2007

Students taking the paper-and-pencil MCAT


Aspiring medical students will soon say goodbye to the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT®) as they know it. The new test will have them putting down their pencils and sitting in front of a computer.

Through April 2006, a computer-based test will be available in more than a dozen sites in the United States and internationally. Implementation of the computerized version is scheduled to be complete by 2007, and the written version will be eliminated. Upcoming changes are designed to make the test more convenient.

With the computerized version, prospective students will take the test in smaller, climate-controlled rooms and receive their scores much more quickly, said Ellen Julian, Ph.D., AAMC's associate vice president and director of the MCAT examination.

"Our initial promise is to reduce score reporting time from 60 days to 30 days, with the ultimate goal of reducing the waiting time to two weeks," Dr. Julian said. "We hope this will facilitate the medical school application process for both examinees and admissions officers."

The biggest benefit for examinees, however, may be the revised length of the test. According to Dr. Julian, MCAT researchers have determined how to shorten the test while ensuring that it remains reliable, valid and useful. By waiting to implement the computer-based test until 2007, MCAT administrators can reduce test length at the same time. Timesaving measures inherent in converting a paper-and-pencil test to a computer version have already cut two hours off the test day, and with the planned reduction in test length, the test day should shrink to less than five hours.

 

[OrthoFixation]

That's all fine and dandy but you'll still need a paper and pencil for calculations. Plus, what happens when your taking your test and the computer crashes/power goes out/pop up window comes up?

I'm guessing you've never taken a computer based standardized test at a controlled test center? There are no popups and they likely have a generator backup.

 

[ktsou]

personally, i would much rather take the test with pencil and paper then on the computer (much easier to scribble down notes and such), but the 5 hour thing sounds good

 

[premedgeek]

Scores will become available within 30 days. That should be big relief for future test takers.

 

[ktsou]

oh yea, the shortened amount of days it takes to get your scores back is good too...makes we wonder why it couldnt be done with the original test....granted, the new one can be submitted right after youre done, but theres still 2 essays to correct, and couldnt the old one be submitted just a few days after you were done and ran through some type of scantron machine?

 

[txguy]

Call me old school, but I would hate not being able to do POE (process of elimnation) by writing directly on the test.........perhaps there will be a computerized way to cross out answer choices?

However, that shortened time to receive results is very appealing!!!

-tx

 

[shantster]

I am quite unlucky. Good things always happen after I leave.

MCAT is going to be shortened to five hours and will be done on computer.




Computer-Based MCAT Planned for 2007

Students taking the paper-and-pencil MCAT


Aspiring medical students will soon say goodbye to the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT®) as they know it. The new test will have them putting down their pencils and sitting in front of a computer.

Through April 2006, a computer-based test will be available in more than a dozen sites in the United States and internationally. Implementation of the computerized version is scheduled to be complete by 2007, and the written version will be eliminated. Upcoming changes are designed to make the test more convenient.

With the computerized version, prospective students will take the test in smaller, climate-controlled rooms and receive their scores much more quickly, said Ellen Julian, Ph.D., AAMC's associate vice president and director of the MCAT examination.

"Our initial promise is to reduce score reporting time from 60 days to 30 days, with the ultimate goal of reducing the waiting time to two weeks," Dr. Julian said. "We hope this will facilitate the medical school application process for both examinees and admissions officers."

The biggest benefit for examinees, however, may be the revised length of the test. According to Dr. Julian, MCAT researchers have determined how to shorten the test while ensuring that it remains reliable, valid and useful. By waiting to implement the computer-based test until 2007, MCAT administrators can reduce test length at the same time. Timesaving measures inherent in converting a paper-and-pencil test to a computer version have already cut two hours off the test day, and with the planned reduction in test length, the test day should shrink to less than five hours.

I heard about that and the first thing I thought was oh that's so nice for them to be able to have only 5 hours instead of 8. But then I took a multiple choice test the next day and remembered how much I like writing on the test and that if I have a prof. that decides that he/she wants to save the printed copies of the multiple choice questions for the next time he/she teaches that class, my score goes down. I need to underline key phrases in the questions and answers to make sure that I can answer the questions correctly, and especially if I was reading passages so that I can find key portions quickly. I could see if the questions were on a booklet and then all you need to do is click on the letters for each answer, but otherwise, I would hate that test. It will be interesting to see how the scores compare from right before changing it to right after.

 

[Blue Scrub]

so glad i dont have to take this test over!! but yeah i dont know how i would feel about taking the MCAT on the comp....im so used to doing it w/pencil and paper, being able to scribble stuff, underline, etc, etc. but the shortened test time and quicker scores do alleviate some of the stress i suppose....it'll be interesting to see what people think of it when it comes out

 

[VFrank]

You also have to remember that the computerized version seems scary and hard to some of us just because we prepared for the written exam. I'm sure those who sit with the computer version will take tons of computer-based exams so they can learn what strategies work best for them. I don't really see a big disadvantage for those working with a computer.

 

[fateema368]

Sounds okay, not that we have any choice in the matter.

 

[NPursuit]

Glad I'm past this garbage. Taking that exam on a computer would blow.

I absolutely despise the idea of computer exams.

And what's with even a 2-week wait? You take the GRE, and you get your scores right then and there.

Looks like that 5-hours still includes a waste of time for a written section or they're still trying to jerk you around.

Seriously, who cares about waiting a few days? I'd rather take this with pencil and paper.

 

[dr.z]

I personally like the current format. I hated taking GRE on computer.

 

[vikaskoth]

if they are shortening the test to 5 hrs and a computer, wouldn't they account for the fact that you can't write on the test and maybe decrease or eliminate questions that demand lots of calculations? I've never taken the GRE so i dont know if what a computer test is like and if you just have to do calculations on scrap paper to the side of your comp? what do yall think?