New MCAT

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shahalam

brownmedstudent
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So who else is nervous bout the new MCAT where it will all be computerized. I can't stare at a damned computer screen for 8 hours! I'll go blind and can't do surgery then 🙁 Anyways, it'll be in 2.5 years but I'm just a worry wart and suck anyways. Just wanting your all's opinion on it.
 
isn't the USMLE all on computers? and isn't it 9 hours long?
 
coincidental said:
isn't the USMLE all on computers? and isn't it 9 hours long?

Sadly, I dont know what USMLE stands for and secondly, the "8 hours" was a very rough estimate.
 
coincidental said:
isn't the USMLE all on computers? and isn't it 9 hours long?
US Medical Licensing Exam...brutal...
 
Wait?! When Is The Mcat Being Computerized?!
 
There are 3 Steps to the USMLE -taken at different times in your med school career. For example, Step I is at the end of 2nd year. Of course now we also have the Clinical Skills portion of the USMLE as well.

For more info on the USMLE - www.nbme.org
 
swifteagle43 said:
Wait?! When Is The Mcat Being Computerized?!
I think a whole bunch of testing sites will have it this April and by next April, it will all be on computer
 
shahalam said:
So who else is nervous bout the new MCAT where it will all be computerized. I can't stare at a damned computer screen for 8 hours! I'll go blind and can't do surgery then 🙁 Anyways, it'll be in 2.5 years but I'm just a worry wart and suck anyways. Just wanting your all's opinion on it.

Now SDN is practice for the mcat 👍
 
Medikit said:
Now SDN is practice for the mcat 👍

Hey way to be an optimist.

I didn't know they were switching the MCAt to computers though. That sucks I'm glad I'm done with it. The USMLE step 1 is on computers though. Not sure about the others.
 
Won't the new computerized MCAT only be 4-5 hours long? I recall hearing that there will be morning and afternoon sessions.
 
I took the computerized GREs & to my surprise I liked the format. So you knows it might be OK.
 
shahalam said:
I can't stare at a damned computer screen for 8 hours! I'll go blind and can't do surgery then 🙁
Yes, you can. Every programmer and IT professional stares at a computer screen all day usually for a lot more than 8 hours in a row. So do most other white collar workers I can think of, at least fairly regularly.

Besides, when they switch over everyone will be taking the same test. It shouldn't matter if they beat you with a cat-o'-nine-tails during the test as long as they do it to everyone else too. (I'm sure someone from AAMC is reading this, thinking "hey, that's not a half bad idea...")
 
this kinda sucks: I use my finger or the tip of a pen to point at words for speed reading - also, I believe highlighting and marking passages is much easier and efficient on paper

on the other hand - scores will probably be computed pretty damn fast
 
If it becomes computerized, maybe folks will be able to take it anytime like the DAT. It wouldn't make much sense to still only have 2 test dates a year. They would have to comandear<sp?> entire campus cpu labs and install tons of programs as apposed to only having a few cpu programs at select locations.

Come to think of it, how does this work? will they use cpu labs at universities and install the MCAT programs the night before? Will it be on a disc? I think it would be easier to set it up like the DAT and have "testing cells" available on a reservation basis. Who knows maybe if it is computerized you won't have to wait so ridiculously long to get results. Im curious to see what happens in the next 5 years and glad to be done with the MCAT. 🙄
 
i took the GRE on computer and it was fine but:

1) the GRE is set up so that if you get a question right the next one will ne harder and if you get one wrong the next one is easier. the difficulty you attain is part of your score. will the new mcat be this way?

2) if not, will you be able to skip questions and come back later in the section? if not, that blows

3) as soon as you finish the GRE you get your score instantly. will we get our mcat score on the spot?
 
will you be able to go back to skipped questions?
yes, you can mark them.


will you get your score right away?
no, it still has to be heavily standardized. the mcat is figured out in a statistically different way than the GRE.


one thing to keep in mind: The essay section will be interesting since some people can type a lot faster than others.


my friend took a computerzied version of the MCAT because she had to take it while she was abroad in Germany. So I kind of know how it works. she said it was way more convineint than the paper version because you can mark questions and then go back to just the ones that were marked.


oh yeah, will the question level of difficulty increase dependent on whether you got the previous ones correct?
no, thats just the way the mcat works. the versions are written prior to each examination.
 
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