Kaplan test prep survey: medical schools cool to new mcat®
following its launch
New york--(business wire)--kaplan test prep’s 2015 survey of 68 accredited medical schools across the united states finds that admissions officers have increasingly ambiguous feelings about the new mcat.* only 42% of medical schools surveyed believe that the new mcat, which was just launched in april 2015, will better prepare students for medical school than the old mcat did. this represents a big drop from last year, when 68% of medical schools responding to kaplan’s 2014 survey believed the new test to be an improvement. it’s important to note, however, that this shift was to the “undecided” camp, rather than to the negative camp. a majority (52%) say they aren’t sure if the new mcat will better prepare students; just 6% believe it will not, essentially unchanged from kaplan’s 2014 survey. the uncertainty among medical schools may be due to the lack of data regarding the predictive value of the new test -- data that most medical schools are planning to secure. nearly 6 in 10 (59%) of medical schools are planning to conduct longitudinal research to gauge the new mcat’s usefulness and effectiveness, helping to determine the correlation between performance on the mcat and success in medical school. “the decrease in the percentage of medical schools that believe the new mcat better prepares students for medical school than the old exam did can possibly be explained by premature exuberance facing the reality of a complex test change,” said eric chiu, executive director of pre-medical programs, kaplan test prep. “as medical schools move through their first application season with new mcat scores, their increased uncertainty doesn’t necessarily mean they are putting any less emphasis on the mcat as an admissions factor. in fact, our survey also found that a low mcat score remains ‘the biggest application dealbreaker.’ as medical schools gather more data on the new mcat, it’s likely that a greater percentage of them will return to their initial optimism about the improved role the new mcat will play in the ever-evolving state of medical education.” in addition to being almost twice as long as the old mcat, the new mcat has a vastly different scoring scale and tests students on additional content in biochemistry, psychology and sociology, among other changes. other results from kaplan’s 2015 survey of medical school admissions officers: blast from the past: nearly 1 in 10 (9%) medical schools say they will look at applicants’ sat and act scores to help them make an admissions decision, due to the uncertainty of the new mcat. importance of a high mcat score: according to the survey, 45% of medical school admissions officers say a low mcat score is the “biggest application dealbreaker” in the primary application, followed by 31% who cite a low undergraduate gpa. new mcat numbers: a strong majority of medical schools (69%) predict that less than half of this year’s applicants will submit scores from the new mcat, as the 5-year shelf life of mcat scores drove many applicants to take the mcat before it changed in april. it should be noted, however, that some medical schools will only accept scores from the new mcat beginning next year. more applications: 82% of medical schools predict an increase in the number of applications in the 2015-2016 cycle, compared to the 2014-2015 cycle. this would continue the multi-year upward trend that began several years ago. in fact, medical school enrollment reached an all-time high in 2015: 20,630. for more information about kaplan’s survey results, contact russell schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7538. *the survey was conducted by phone between august 2015 and september 2015 of admissions officers at 68 accredited medical schools across the united states. mcat® is a registered trademark of the association of american medical colleges, which is not affiliated with kaplan or this survey. about kaplan test prep kaplan test prep (www.kaptest.com) is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. established in 1938, kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. with a comprehensive menu of online offerings as well as a complete array of print books and digital products, kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as professional licensing exams for attorneys, physicians and nurses. kaplan also provides private tutoring and graduate admissions consulting services. additionally, kaplan operates new economy skills training (nest) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire. note to editors: kaplan is a subsidiary of the graham holdings company (nyse:ghc)
