Which Exam Will You Take?

owlegrad

Uncontrollable Sarcasm Machine
Staff member
Administrator
Volunteer Staff
Lifetime Donor
15+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
25,314
Reaction score
11,929
I plan on applying in 2015 with (most likely) an old MCAT score. One issue I'm curious about is how admissions committees will view students with an old score vs students with a new score. Would one possibly be more advantageous over the other, hypothetically?
 
I plan on applying in 2015 with (most likely) an old MCAT score. One issue I'm curious about is how admissions committees will view students with an old score vs students with a new score. Would one possibly be more advantageous over the other, hypothetically?
Oooooh, that's a good question! I too am interested in applying in 2015 for 2016 entry (possibly 2014 for 2015 entry) and wanted to take the 2014 MCAT before the new changes are implemented. Hmmm, I honestly don't think it'll matter, nonetheless.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I plan on applying in 2015 with (most likely) an old MCAT score. One issue I'm curious about is how admissions committees will view students with an old score vs students with a new score. Would one possibly be more advantageous over the other, hypothetically?
Thanks for the question. Students who have taken both the current and the new MCAT exam will have all scored exams (current and new) reported with their AMCAS application. Scores for the current MCAT exam will continue to be reported to medical schools through the 2019 AMCAS application cycle. Again, each school will determine how old an MCAT score they will accept, so we encourage you to consult the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR). The information in the MSAR is updated each year, including the year and month of the latest and oldest scores accepted.
--AAMC Pre-Med Services Team
 
I plan on applying in 2015 with (most likely) an old MCAT score. One issue I'm curious about is how admissions committees will view students with an old score vs students with a new score. Would one possibly be more advantageous over the other, hypothetically?
Oooooh, that's a good question! I too am interested in applying in 2015 for 2016 entry (possibly 2014 for 2015 entry) and wanted to take the 2014 MCAT before the new changes are implemented. Hmmm, I honestly don't think it'll matter, nonetheless.

They would probably just use percentages until 2019 when all old administrations of the MCAT start becoming invalid. So by that logic, they would would be held on equal grounds.

I doubt Admissions will view the new MCAT favorably in the beginning (but most likely as equal) since scoring will be a little weird and we're used to the current MCAT being out of 45.
 
Thanks for the question. Students who have taken both the current and the new MCAT exam will have all scored exams (current and new) reported with their AMCAS application. Scores for the current MCAT exam will continue to be reported to medical schools through the 2019 AMCAS application cycle. Again, each school will determine how old an MCAT score they will accept, so we encourage you to consult the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR). The information in the MSAR is updated each year, including the year and month of the latest and oldest scores accepted.
--AAMC Pre-Med Services Team

With all due respect, this doesn't answer the question I asked. To clarify, I was wondering if admissions committees would view a score from one version of the MCAT more favorably than the other version during the time period that both scores are accepted.
 
They would probably just use percentages until 2019 when all old administrations of the MCAT start becoming invalid. So by that logic, they would would be held on equal grounds.

I doubt Admissions will view the new MCAT favorably in the beginning (but most likely as equal) since scoring will be a little weird and we're used to the current MCAT being out of 45.

Yeah, I think you're right that using percentiles would make the most sense during this time period.
 
With all due respect, this doesn't answer the question I asked. To clarify, I was wondering if admissions committees would view a score from one version of the MCAT more favorably than the other version during the time period that both scores are accepted.

From our FAQs about the MCAT2015 Exam:
What is the AAMC doing to help medical school admissions committees interpret applicants’ scores from the new exam?
The AAMC is currently developing new materials, specific to the interests and needs of medical school admissions committees. These will provide detailed information about the scoring of the new exam, and what test scores are and are not designed to tell them in a holistic admissions process.
 
Top