MCAT Undergoes Significant Changes for 2015

MCAT Undergoes Significant Changes for 2015 Photo via flickr.com “One of the things students really will be surprised by are how much more integrated the science content is in each of these sections,” he said. Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) will replace the old Verbal Reasoning section. CARS will exclusively include passages about social sciences and humanities, but will maintain the same critical thinking skills the old Verbal Reasoning section had. In last year’s MCAT, “the Verbal Reasoning section was not only the section that most isolates the critical thinking skills that you need to be successful in medical school and beyond, but it was also the section score that correlated the most strongly with students’ performance on the board exams,” Chiu said. Introductory psychology, introductory sociology and biochemistry will be courses added to pre-medical curriculum, jumping required prerequisites from eight to 11. “They’re really having to squeeze in those 11 semesters of pre-requisite coursework during their first two and half years or so,” Chiu said. The Association of American Medical Colleges decided to incorporate behavioral sciences to equip medical students for proper bedside manner and to understand the various social-economic factors of health and health care, Chiu said. Pre-medical students will face 230 questions over 6 hours, 15 minutes versus 144 questions in 3 hours, 20 minutes on the old MCAT. Each of the four sections on the new MCAT will receive scores from a low of 118 to a high of 132. An overall score will range anywhere from a low of 472 to a high of 528. The old MCAT had a total possible score of 45, the high being 15 across three sections. Chiu suggests that students take the MCAT in the spring or summer semester of their junior year. He also points out that preparation for the new MCAT is different considering the test will be longer and cover a broader content base. Students are “going to have to use their time even more efficiently,” he said. “They’re focusing on the areas where they need the most help, and where they can get the highest deals in terms of scoring more points on test day.” Leo Diaz, a 19-year-old UF biology freshman, said he’s hoping to apply to medical school and is concerned that the revised MCAT is more challenging. “I don’t see why they have to go and make it longer and more difficult,” he said. “Kids stress out enough about it already.” Diaz said he feels stressed in a way, but hopes high standards will better prepare him for rigorous courses in medical school. “The addition of three pre-requisite courses is going to really add onto the load,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult for kids to handle that and still keep up their GPA, but it’ll sure weed out the kids who aren’t equipped.”