This January, premedicine students at Penn State and across the nation will be faced with a completely made-over Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT).
State College will no longer have a testing center at its disposal, Matt Fidler, MCAT program manager for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions and PSU alumnus said. There will be several Pennsylvania locations offering the computerized MCAT, but the closest location to University Park will be Harrisburg.
Fidler said the American Association of Medical Colleges, which creates the MCAT, is looking into providing mobile testing units with the "possibility" of sending one to Penn State. The mobile units, which Fidler said might resemble tractor-trailers, will house about 20 testing computer stations capable of carrying out an exam in the same way a classroom would.
Corinne Miklas (junior-biology) said she has heard of the mobile exam idea before.
"It sounded kind of weird," she said. "If they do have the RV thing I definitely want to try it so I don't have to travel." Miklas said otherwise, she would be traveling to the nearest location to try to take the test in May.
By the time students register in November for the January testing dates, it will be determined if the mobile testing units will be available, Fidler said.
In addition, the exam will go from its traditional paper-and-pencil format to a totally computerized version and will be shortened from its previous 8 1/2-hour length to about 5 1/2-hours.
MCAT is now available via computer does not mean test-takers can simply pull up a chair in front of their home monitor to log in, though.
The exam -- which will be expanding from two to 22 annual test dates beginning in the month of January and spanning April to August -- must be taken at specially designated testing centers and administered by Prometric, a computer testing company.
The testing centers will only be able to proctor the exam to between 16 and 20 people at a time. This means there is a chance medical hopefuls can now be shut out of desired test dates because of limited seating, previously a non-issue when only a desk and answer sheet was required.
"On a scale of one to 10, the changes are a nine," Fidler said .
To prepare Penn State students for the new exam, local Kaplan representatives will be administering the 3 1/2-hour multiple choice portion of the exam, which covers all science content the same way it will be presented on the revamped MCAT, at noon on Oct. 28 in the Forum Building.
While the practice test in the Forum will be taken by hand, Kaplan is also providing an entire free practice exam online, complete with a computer interface similar to that which students will see on test day.
"You gotta think of it like a marathon," Fidler said. "You can't just walk in and sit down at a computer for 5 1/2 hours and expect to do well. You have to train."
Mildred Rodriguez, director of the Penn State post-baccalaureate premedical program, said she has no plans to advise her students any differently about approaching the test.
"They still have to study for the same material," she said.
