According to Kaplan Test Prep’s 2013 survey of medical school admissions
officers*, 43% expect the revamped MCAT coming in 2015 to be more
difficult than the current one. This is a near doubling of the 22% who
held this view in Kaplan’s 2012 survey. Only 2% in the 2013 survey
believe the revised medical school admissions exam will be easier. The
remaining 55% of medical school admissions officers think the difficulty
level will remain about the same.
But, despite rising concerns about difficulty, a large majority supports
the coming changes (90%) and think they will better prepare students for
medical school (75%); these findings are consistent with Kaplan’s 2012
survey. Among the approved changes coming to the MCAT in 2015:
-
More Topics Tested: The 2015 MCAT will include three additional
semesters’ worth of material in college-level biochemistry, psychology
and sociology, increasing the number of prerequisite classes from
eight to eleven.
-
Almost Double the Length: Takers of the revised MCAT will face
261 questions over a six hours and 15 minutes time span. The current
MCAT has 144 questions that are taken in three hours and 20 minutes.
This means the 2015 MCAT will require a lot more stamina and focus.
-
New Question Types and Skills: The current MCAT focuses on
content knowledge and critical thinking, but the 2015 MCAT tests two
additional skills: Research Design, which focuses on the fundamentals
of creating research projects, bias, faulty results, and variable
relationships; and Graphical Analysis and Data Interpretation, which
focuses on deriving conclusions and drawing inferences from visual
data like figures, graphs and data tables.
“There is little doubt that the planned changes will introduce new
challenges for test takers. The test will be longer, and will require
pre-med students to learn significantly more content within the same
amount of time,” said Owen Farcy, director of pre-health programs,
Kaplan Test Prep. “But it’s important to recognize that the changes to
the test only reflect the realities of a changing medical field. Today’s
pre-meds face a medical landscape that’s different than what their
parents’ doctors faced. Medicine today is based on scientific advances
that didn’t exist a generation ago, and doctors are increasingly serving
a more diverse population, so it makes sense to adapt the test
accordingly.”
Other key results from Kaplan’s 2013 survey of medical school admissions
officers:
-
Increase in Applicants with Post-baccs: 71% of admissions
officer say they have seen an increase in the number of applicants who
have enrolled in post-baccalaureate programs, a path taken by many
aspiring doctors after they graduate college, but before they apply to
medical school, to beef up their academic credentials. That could
prove to be a smart strategy, as 90% of admissions officers say that
doing well in a post-bacc program improves their acceptance chances.
-
Think first, Tweet later: 32% of admissions say they have
Googled an applicant to learn more about them; 22% say they have
visited an applicant’s social networking site like Facebook for the
same purpose; of those who did, 42% say they found something that
negatively impacted their chances of getting in.
On the Thursday, November 14 episode of The Pulse, Kaplan Test Prep’s
live, online talk show for pre-med students, a panel of experts will
discuss the survey findings and what the implications are for aspiring
doctors. The show begins at 8 PM ET. Registration is at www.kaptest.com/pulse.
To speak with a Kaplan Test Prep medical school admissions and MCAT
expert about the survey results, please contact Russell Schaffer at
212.453.7538 or russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.
For more information on the MCAT changes, students can visit www.mcat2015.com.
* For the 2013 survey, 79 medical school admissions officers
from across the United States (71 from schools accredited by the
Association of American Medical Colleges and eight medical schools accredited
by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine) were
polled by telephone between July and September 2013.
About Kaplan Test Prep
Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com)
is a premier provider of educational and career services for
individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the
world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of
online offerings as well as a complete array of print books and digital
products, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests,
including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate
school, as well as professional licensing exams for attorneys,
physicians and nurses. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and
graduate admissions consulting services.
Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post
Company (NYSE:WPO)
Copyright Business Wire 2013