The MCAT is officially changing this month, causing a stir among hundreds of medical school hopefuls grinding through the application process.
The new MCAT, which stands for Medical College Admission Test, has several noteworthy changes.
The exam will be double the length, about six hours instead of three, said Owen Farcy, an MCAT specialist for Kaplan. It will also feature an broader scoring scale with the highest score increasing from 45 to 528, as well as three additional semesters worth of material covered in biochemistry, introductory psychology and sociology.
Farcy said the Association of American Medical Colleges made changes that would more accurately test medical school readiness.
The association is opening registration Feb. 11 for the April, May and June exams, offering a $150 Amazon gift card to those willing to register for one of the first two dates.
The first round of exams will set the scoring standard.
“We wanted to take this as an opportunity to build from the ground up,” Farcy said. “The AAMC have said this is the new test for the 21st century.”
Farcy said he has been working on creating a program for the new exam since it was first announced in 2011. The six hours of testing is the most common concern he’s heard.
“Six hours is a long time to be in a testing center,” said Drew Sexton, a UF microbiology junior.
However, Sexton, 21, said he has mixed feelings about the exam.
“I think it’s good that they are adding sections from social sciences to it because doctors don’t just take x-rays,” he said. “They’re interacting with people, and they need to be culturally and emotionally knowledgeable.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 1/30/2015 under the headline “Registration to open for updated, six-hour-long MCAT soon"]
Correction: The original article wrongly referred to the Association of American Medical Colleges as American Association of Medical Colleges.
