AAMC Reporter: December 2006

All Systems Go for Computerized MCAT Examination

Learn more about the MCAT Exam

Prospective medical students can now put down their No. 2 pencils for good—at least when it comes to the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT®). On October 28, at the AAMC's annual meeting in Seattle, the association formally announced its decision to proceed with a fully computerized MCAT exam.

According to AAMC Associate Vice President and MCAT Director Ellen Julian, Ph.D., nearly 3,000 students took the computer-based MCAT during its successful beta-test in August, when it was offered at all 384 MCAT exam sites in North America, as well as sites in 13 other countries.

"This was the first comprehensive test of all components of the system, and it worked beautifully," Julian said. "It was a test of all the proctors, the delivery software, and the computers."

It was also the first outing for the MCAT exam's new scheduling and registration software.

"We wanted to have more control over the scheduling process than was possible before, particularly with respect to the assignment of AAMC IDs," Julian said.

The first fully computerized test dates are set for January 27 and 29. Registration for those dates began November 15. Registration for April test dates began December 13. [Editor's Note: the opening registration date for the April test dates was changed from December 13 to December 27 after the Reporter had gone to press.]

Julian said the relatively small initial batch of January test dates is an intentional part of the AAMC's testing and planning process for the new exam.

"We wanted to open the registration system with a smaller number of test dates and examinees in case anything unexpected happens," Julian said.

"But so far, any problems we've had have been small.We can't expect everything to be perfect, but we can't imagine that anything could happen that would keep us from going ahead."

With the new computer-based exam, students will be able to choose from 22 different test administrations, scattered throughout the year, as opposed to only a few dates available in April and August.

"We expect that everyone should be able to find dates and sites in the period that they want," said Julian.

"There are testing opportunities in months that were never even possibilities before, and examinees can pick morning or afternoon options, and weekdays or weekends."

Overall, there will be more than twice as many seats available around the world for testing as the anticipated number of students who will sit for the exam. Thomson Prometric, the company that administers the test for the AAMC, received 30 calls for help during the August computerized test, all of which were successfully resolved.

"Some of them were just calls from people who couldn't find their testing center," Julian said. "Others were from students who thought they had registered for the paper-based test but in fact had signed up for the computerized test. Several of them actually commented later how much they enjoyed it."

The only significant problem so far occurred when two neighborhoods lost power during the administration of the MCAT exam. But when power returned, examinees were able to restart their tests with no significant losses.

"The test stores information continuously as you go, so if there is a power loss, the most you could lose is something you had typed right that second as the computer went down," Julian said.

"Prometric is building out test sites at an amazing rate," Julian added. "They've built new, from-the-ground-up sites in areas where there weren't enough, and they've launched a whole new line of outreach to undergraduate universities to have them host MCAT exams on their campuses."

What's more, in areas where testing is needed but demand is not sufficient to warrant permanent sites, Prometric has committed to host temporary sites with all the security and ergonomic specifications of the current sites for at least four test dates per year.

"Both our undergraduate advisors and Prometric deserve a lot of credit in this process—the advisors for anticipating the need and advocating for their students, and Prometric for being so responsive and creative in meeting the needs," Julian said.

Thomson Prometric recently announced it would begin looking for buyers for the company. However, Julian said she has been assured that there will be no major changes or disruptions in service.

Some new elements of the scheduling and registration software also went live in November, including the incorporation of the widely popular Google Maps tool into the registration Web site as a way of locating test sites. Site users who type in their ZIP code will be able to find a regularly updated list of open seats at testing centers near them.

—Gina Shaw, special to the Reporter

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