Mithril Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 https://www.aamc.org/initiatives/mr5/preliminary_recommendations/ I don't believe that many people are aware of these proposed changes yet. It doesn't affect anyone taking the MCAT this year, but it does affect the MD/DO class of 2020 (traditional 4-year curriculum) and onwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strategy99 Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 I'm unaware of what the current MCAT even looks like.. so does somebody want to explain the differences here or summarize? It looks like there's no organic chemistry I think or.. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchEnemy Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 Behavioral and Social Sciences Principles. Any idea what this entails? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubelogger Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 I'm unaware of what the current MCAT even looks like.. so does somebody want to explain the differences here or summarize? It looks like there's no organic chemistry I think or.. ? The current MCAT looks like this (Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Verbal Reasoning, Written Sample). By the looks of it, the AAMC wants to remove the Written Sample. It also appears as though they want to focus on "Behavioral and Social Sciences Principles", which may or may not be given its own separate section. Organic chemistry has always been part of the "Biological Sciences" portion, so I would assume that they aren't taking it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkentm Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 i think taking the written sample out is a great idea. i think VR is sufficient for testing language ability and an essay writing portion is really just overkill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iicii Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 hmmm..given that I did below average on vr and well above average on WS...donno if they are testing for the same "language ability" i think taking the written sample out is a great idea. i think VR is sufficient for testing language ability and an essay writing portion is really just overkill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 i think taking the written sample out is a great idea. i think VR is sufficient for testing language ability and an essay writing portion is really just overkill While their studies show that VR and WS are two different things, WS is also shown to be completely useless for predicting physician performance in the end. US schools pretty much ignore it which is a strong reason to remove it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 The current MCAT looks like this (Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Verbal Reasoning, Written Sample). By the looks of it, the AAMC wants to remove the Written Sample. It also appears as though they want to focus on "Behavioral and Social Sciences Principles", which may or may not be given its own separate section. Organic chemistry has always been part of the "Biological Sciences" portion, so I would assume that they aren't taking it out. Yeah it sounds like the really want to give that its own section. It is really going to be interesting how the schools are going to have to mix old and new scores for a while. I guess it is unlikely to apply to many though currently on the board Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 language ability has more to do with written, with standardized education and equal education verbal tests for deductive/inductive inferential skills... it's more of a standardized intelligence test than a language test. i think taking the written sample out is a great idea. i think VR is sufficient for testing language ability and an essay writing portion is really just overkill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril Posted July 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Yeah it sounds like the really want to give that its own section. It is really going to be interesting how the schools are going to have to mix old and new scores for a while. I guess it is unlikely to apply to many though currently on the board It applies to the people going into grade 11 and 12 this coming September if you're a traditional applicant (assuming they'll be done 2nd or 3rd year in 2015). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.K. Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 OK then if you aren't going to study the MCAT in HS, try to lose your virginity before University. That way you won't have to think about it then. (Dry sarcasm) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 While their studies show that VR and WS are two different things, WS is also shown to be completely useless for predicting physician performance in the end. US schools pretty much ignore it which is a strong reason to remove it I agree that removing the writing is good. Sadly, I've still got to do it this summer. I have no idea why Queens emphasizes writing so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 3. Test examinees’ knowledge and use of the concepts in behavioral and social sciences, research methods, and statistics that provide a solid foundation for medical students’ learning about the behavioral and socio-cultural determinants of health. 4. Test examinees’ ability to analyze and reason through passages in ethics and philosophy, cross-cultural studies, population health, and a wide range of social sciences and humanities disciplines to ensure that students possess the necessary critical thinking skills to be successful in medical school. These 2 were the most interesting recommendations to me. I'm not sure what type of questions would be used to test this though. It doesn't really seem like a multiple-choice test type of subject matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickserve Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 From the AAMC website Will pre-medical students have to take more classes to prepare for the new test? If the preliminary recommendations become final and are approved, examinees would have to master some new content to perform well on the exam. Examinees who would not otherwise take biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, introductory psychology, and introductory sociology would need to study the concepts tested. We do not anticipate the need for additional coursework in research methods and statistics. Sounds like coursework in Biochem, cell& molecular bio, intro to psych and into to sociology would be required knowledge for the MCAT - just as coursework in Bio, physics, chem and orgo is currently considered required for the MCAT- meaning you could just learn the material on your own, but not taking a a proper course in them will likely put you at a a bit of a disadvantage Also - MCAT would be 6 hours with a lunchbreak in middle (similar to the old pencil and paper MCAT.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preppy038 Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Seems like courses in psychology, stats, sociology and any courses that combine these three aspects will be useful :s I think it could still stay as a multiple choice exam plus a few written answers (e.g. Describe the research design to study this group of people for trait X etc etc). That's something new from the current MCAT design which focuses heavily on biol/phys (potentially evidence for basic science research abilities) whereas psyc/soci/stat would test for clinical research abilities (e.g. public health studies). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkentm Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 language ability has more to do with written, with standardized education and equal education verbal tests for deductive/inductive inferential skills... it's more of a standardized intelligence test than a language test. god u ppl are so neurotic. i never said VR ONLY tested language ability. what i did say was that it covered it just as well as the essay writing section and thus the written section is unncessary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkentm Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 OK then if you aren't going to study the MCAT in HS, try to lose your virginity before University. That way you won't have to think about it then. (Dry sarcasm) wow u talk alot about trying to lose ur virginity before university... seems like u had some trouble in that department eh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
createttea Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Seems like courses in psychology, stats, sociology and any courses that combine these three aspects will be useful :s. If I end up rewriting I'm happy with the changes. I double majored in Bio and Psych, and I am interested in sociology/anthropology The changes reflect what I as a "layman" think a premed person should have knowledge about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docmm Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 For those of us who write the MCAT this summer, up until which summer will we be able to use our current scores from this year to apply? For Ontario schools the scores are good for 5 years so does this mean that until further notice we should still be able to use an MCAT score from the summer of 2011 until the time we might re-apply during the summer of 2017? Someone correct me if I am wrong about this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatonekid Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 For those of us who write the MCAT this summer, up until which summer will we be able to use our current scores from this year to apply? For Ontario schools the scores are good for 5 years so does this mean that until further notice we should still be able to use an MCAT score from the summer of 2011 until the time we might re-apply during the summer of 2017? Someone correct me if I am wrong about this Right, it's good for 5 years. You'd have to rewrite your MCAT in summer 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 I agree that removing the writing is good. Sadly, I've still got to do it this summer. I have no idea why Queens emphasizes writing so much. Don't know either but I do know that they really, really believed in it. I had a chat with the prior Dean about that. I suppose it is just a bit random - there are always only so many people involved with admissions and if they all happen to have a particular bias it leaks in. Also the rules can be self perpetuating - once you have a graduating class that is doing well you can look back and say if it isn't broke don't fix it basically. Truth is I think it is kind of hard not to generate good doctors when overall the standards are so very high everywhere, regardless of what a particular school's rules are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayerrr Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Well then, since I absolutely hate anthro/psych/soc, it gives me more of a reason to do well this summer and never have to take it again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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