Students planning to take the Medical College Admissions Test will have many more opportunities to take the exam this year.
The Association of American Medical Colleges, which manages the MCAT, is administering all exams on computers. The change will allow 22 opportunities each year to take the MCAT, which was previously offered only twice per year. The computer-based test allows the change because it eliminates the need for large proctored exams, according to the AAMC's Web site.
Kaplan, a company that sells test preparation courses on the MCAT, recently released a study of pre-medical advisers that finds 80 percent of respondents were concerned that the new format will require more preparation time.
"With this added level of complexity that a computer gives you it adds an added complexity to the test," said Amjed Mustafe, MCAT program manager for Kaplan. "We surveyed a bunch of students, over 300 students, recently. Eighty-two percent of them said they have not taken a college exam on a computer before."
Professor Jason Zara, an adviser in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said that his biomedical engineering students will need to study more for the test.
"I mean, the last thing they need is more stress," Zara said. "I think it has the potential to be that way."
Zara described the changes as a trade-off between the new, unfamiliar format and the freedom to pick from a wider range of test dates.
"I do think it will be very good for them because, you know, their whole semester is around taking the MCAT," Zara said. "They're effectively making their own decision on the classes they're taking to study (for the MCAT)."
Kate Zapf, GW's pre-medical adviser said she is not concerned that the students will be unprepared.
"The students have had a computer in front of them for most of their lives, and I think being in front of a computer and taking a test is easy," she said. "I think that they understand that the flexibility in the new test is beneficial."
The Association of American Medical Colleges, which manages the MCAT, is administering all exams on computers. The change will allow 22 opportunities each year to take the MCAT, which was previously offered only twice per year. The computer-based test allows the change because it eliminates the need for large proctored exams, according to the AAMC's Web site.
Kaplan, a company that sells test preparation courses on the MCAT, recently released a study of pre-medical advisers that finds 80 percent of respondents were concerned that the new format will require more preparation time.
"With this added level of complexity that a computer gives you it adds an added complexity to the test," said Amjed Mustafe, MCAT program manager for Kaplan. "We surveyed a bunch of students, over 300 students, recently. Eighty-two percent of them said they have not taken a college exam on a computer before."
Professor Jason Zara, an adviser in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said that his biomedical engineering students will need to study more for the test.
"I mean, the last thing they need is more stress," Zara said. "I think it has the potential to be that way."
Zara described the changes as a trade-off between the new, unfamiliar format and the freedom to pick from a wider range of test dates.
"I do think it will be very good for them because, you know, their whole semester is around taking the MCAT," Zara said. "They're effectively making their own decision on the classes they're taking to study (for the MCAT)."
Kate Zapf, GW's pre-medical adviser said she is not concerned that the students will be unprepared.
"The students have had a computer in front of them for most of their lives, and I think being in front of a computer and taking a test is easy," she said. "I think that they understand that the flexibility in the new test is beneficial."
