MCAT stresses social sciences, will drop writing

New testing procedures will give pre-medical students more motivation to take social science classes in preparation for the Medical College Admission Test.

New MCAT proposals released by the Association of American Medical Colleges eliminate a writing section and focus more on social sciences.

These new testing procedures, which will go into effect in 2015, are different from the current MCAT sections, which include a biological science, physical science, a verbal reasoning section and a writing sample.

Karen Mitchell, director of the MCAT program, said the new test reflects science in a way that is up to date.

“It will communicate the need for students to be broadly prepared,” Mitchell said.

The new version of the MCAT will test scientific knowledge in addition to how that knowledge is used, Mitchell said.

“It will test the human and social issues of medicine,” Mitchell said.

She said it is standard practice to review exams every few years to ensure that they are up to date.

Robert Schaeffer, public education director of FairTest, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, said undergraduate schools will have to shift the focus of their pre-medical programs to a more social science-based curriculum.

“It’s going to take a while for undergraduate schools to digest what has been proposed and to move through with curriculum changes,” Schaeffer said.

Jean DeSaix, UNC biology professor and pre-medical advisor, said it will be a challenge to figure out which courses meet new competency requirements. “It looks like the requirements are going to be stated in competencies rather than in courses,” she said.

But DeSaix said she agrees with eliminating the writing sample from the test. “Very few schools have used the writing sample as a significant piece in the admissions process,” DeSaix said.

She said the new procedures will try to gauge students’ ability to function in current medical situations.

“We all appreciate the fact that psychosocial characteristics are as important as content knowledge in one’s ability to be a good physician,” she said.

Paige Wilkinson, who is a UNC biology major and is preparing to take the MCAT this year, said while she wouldn’t mind taking an essay-free MCAT, she doesn’t think eliminating it would be a good idea.

“The writing test is supposed to show your ability to organize things for others to understand, so it seems like an important skill for what you’re going to do,” she said.

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