MCAT2015 Declassified: MST’s Mission Briefing

  • Reviewed by: Amy Rontal, MD
  • MCAT20152declassified-MedSchoolTutorsThe MCAT of old is being administered for the last time this week. With it comes the dawn of a new era for pre-med students: the MCAT2015. [Insert scary music.]

    The amount of speculation and worry about the MCAT2015 is practically unprecedented. So what have we done on our end to prepare for this new test?

    We’ve assembled our forces and created a special operations team of our MCAT experts who — like all of our tutors — take great pleasure in running toward a challenge. (They’re not wizards in towers, folks. They are boots on the ground, just like you.)

    This MCAT2015 post is the first of many to come. In the subsequent weeks, you’ll meet the members of our special ops team, get insights about the resources we’ve vetted, and more.

     

    We’re Excited About the MCAT2015 — You Should Be Too

    We LOVE this test so far because it emphasizes skills and knowledge that are wholly relevant to the challenges of medical school, medical practice and research.

    It’s roughly two hours longer, has a greater breadth, and is exploring new territory. Almost half of the test is non-science related, emphasizing skills that were hardest on the old MCAT: critical analysis and reasoning skills. In addition, there’s more science (particularly biochem) and there are more non-science subjects.

    What’s more, through these changes (in our opinion), the MCAT2015 is also preparing you for ultimately tackling the USMLEs. (For those of you who have not yet heard of the USMLEs, they are the US Medical Licensing Exams which you take over the course of med school to test your pre-clinical and clinical knowledge.)

    It Takes a Village

    Like any important mission, mastering the new exam is not a job easily done on one’s own. The expert MCAT tutors on our special ops team are individuals from the pre-med to the resident level. They’re leading the charge on mastering this exam and analyzing all the prep materials (including the AAMC assessments) so we can help our students make the most well-informed decisions on how best to prepare for the new test.

    In addition, to provide ample time for test prep resources to emerge—and to truly master the new exam—we’re currently advising against sitting for the April administrations of the MCAT2015. We’re also suspending all MCAT tutoring so we can fully support our team’s mission. When we’re done, no one will know this test better than we do.

    How To Stay Tuned

    In late March and early April, we will work with a select number of students for their June and later exams. (You can contact us to schedule your phone consultation and reserve your spot.)

    In addition, we will solely release updates about our MCAT2015 findings and progress to our blog, so stay tuned for more info. Also, if you have not done so already, you can subscribe to our blog’s email updates using the red “Subscribe” button you see toward the top right corner of this page, and you’ll be good to go.

    For now, remember this: Any big test is as much about the material you’ve mastered as it is about your mindset. Stay positive, stay focused, and decide here and now that you WILL conquer this exam.

    Wondering what’s in store with the MCAT2015? We just took the AAMC’s Official MCAT2015 Sample Test. Here are our initial impressions.