Many pre-med students who took the MCAT on August 19th considered themselves lucky, as it was the last time the exam would be administered in the traditional paper-and-pencil form.
“As a Kaplan student not taught in manner of the computer version, I would have been uncomfortable if I had to take it on the computer. I was glad to be able to take it on paper,” says Mokerrum Malik a College senior majoring in Biology.
But starting this January, students will no longer have a choice. The Association of American Medical Colleges will only offer the exam at Thomson Prometric computer testing sites. The AAMC claims that the new format offers many advantages such as more frequent exam dates, quick grading and shorter exam duration.
 |
| (NYU MedEcs) |
Many pre-med students whom I spoke with expressed concern that the techniques they learned in Kaplan and Princeton Review courses–such as “mapping”– would no longer be applicable with the new format. As for anxieties of not being able to write in the margins or underline passages, these may not be obstacles for those who have never taken the test in its traditional form.
“Any exam presents a new experience” says Malik. ‘You just have to learn and practice how to take each format,’ adds Soham Dave, a College senior majoring in the Biological Basis of Behavior who took the MCAT in April. “Even with the mechanisms for Organic Chemistry, you are not required to draw out the arrows on the exam. The MCAT’s way of evaluating skills is different from in the classroom,” says Dave.
Adapting to the new digital form is inevitable. But the switch will be more problematic for those in their fifties who have to recertify for their Medical Specialty Boards on the computer, as they have spent their lifetime taking paper-based tests. So as you pre-meds start browsing MCAT test prep services, make sure that they are actually preparing you for the new test. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting your money.
An RSS feed of The Spin is available