Students planning on attending medical school will soon be taking a new type of Medical College Admissions Test.
The Association of American Medical Colleges announced in July that by 2007, the MCAT will transition entirely to a computer-based test and eliminate pencil-and-paper exams. New features also include fingerprint identification and fewer questions for a shorter test-taking period. Students who are taking the MCAT in 2006 will not be affected by the change. The paper-and-pencil exam will be administered through 2006.
"Our goal is to enhance the testing experience for examinees and the usefulness of the results for the medical schools and other professionals schools that use the MCAT," said Ellen Julian, associate vice president for the AAMC and director of the MCAT.
The MCAT is a standardized, multiple-choice exam designed to assess a student's problem solving, critical thinking and writing skills in addition to knowledge of science concepts and principles that are needed to study medicine. Medical college admission committees consider MCAT scores as part of their admission decision process.
The computer-based test, which has already been available in selected cities for more than a year, takes five hours as opposed to the current eight hours reserved for taking the test. Under the new test, breaks are optional, while the old test called for mandatory breaks, Julian said.
The MCAT is offered twice a year, but the new computerized version may be offered up to 20 times a year, and students will receive their scores in 30 days instead of the 60-day turn-around for the old tests. The computer test will be administered in small, climate-controlled rooms instead of large auditoriums. The new MCAT will also include electronic fingerprint verification technology that should result in a quicker check-in process.
At most U.S. medical schools, MCAT scores are given as much weight as a student's grade point average, but the tendency is to give the MCAT scores more weight, Julian said.
The Association of American Medical Colleges announced in July that by 2007, the MCAT will transition entirely to a computer-based test and eliminate pencil-and-paper exams. New features also include fingerprint identification and fewer questions for a shorter test-taking period. Students who are taking the MCAT in 2006 will not be affected by the change. The paper-and-pencil exam will be administered through 2006.
"Our goal is to enhance the testing experience for examinees and the usefulness of the results for the medical schools and other professionals schools that use the MCAT," said Ellen Julian, associate vice president for the AAMC and director of the MCAT.
The MCAT is a standardized, multiple-choice exam designed to assess a student's problem solving, critical thinking and writing skills in addition to knowledge of science concepts and principles that are needed to study medicine. Medical college admission committees consider MCAT scores as part of their admission decision process.
The computer-based test, which has already been available in selected cities for more than a year, takes five hours as opposed to the current eight hours reserved for taking the test. Under the new test, breaks are optional, while the old test called for mandatory breaks, Julian said.
The MCAT is offered twice a year, but the new computerized version may be offered up to 20 times a year, and students will receive their scores in 30 days instead of the 60-day turn-around for the old tests. The computer test will be administered in small, climate-controlled rooms instead of large auditoriums. The new MCAT will also include electronic fingerprint verification technology that should result in a quicker check-in process.
At most U.S. medical schools, MCAT scores are given as much weight as a student's grade point average, but the tendency is to give the MCAT scores more weight, Julian said.
