“MCAT 2015”
That’s a search phrase I suspect you’ll be getting very interested in, and you’ll get interested in this very soon.
Let’s pretend you’re a college freshman.
If you’re on a traditional timeline, you’ll start to study for the MCAT in your junior year … fall of 2014, whereupon you’ll discover that the MCAT is about to change and, in my humble opinion, med school prereqs will change, too.
Plan Now
In addition to the hard science prereqs we all know about, my crystal ball says that med schools will begin to require classes in psychology, sociology, and research methods. I’ll keep watch and see if my predictions come true — and I’ll let you know here.
So hang on to your hats, freshmen … you are the guinea pigs for the New MCAT.
Psst. The MCAT is going from about 4 hours to about 7.
Hey Don,
As you know the MCAT is going to have major changes in the spring of 2015. I’m planning on taking the MCAT my junior year so I will have to take the new one which I’m very worried about. I feel like there won’t be any study guides for it like from ExamKrackers, TPR, Kaplan, and the TBR. I read over your article on all you need to know about the MCAT and I read that you said you had an interview with people from TPR and they are working on a new mcat study course. Is this still the case? What do you think about me taking the MCAT in January of 2015 I think this will be the last time the old one will be offered. I can take that and if I’m not satisfied with my score I can take the new one a couple months later. Do you think that’s a good plan? Thank you and please respond if you get a chance.
Hi Moe! You’ve got a great question, and a very reasonable concern. I have good news for you – there will be plenty of material for your to prepare with. The commercial companies will definitely have lots of stuff written and ready by the time you start to prep for the 2015 MCAT, so don’t worry about that. When I talked to Princeton Review, they were working on, and continue to work on, the new MCAT (it would not be wise of them to stop, you know?).
As far as you taking the MCAT in Jan of 2015, I think that’s fine, as long as your practice scores are strong. If you take a practice MCAT mid-December, and you get a 32, then go ahead and take the Jan 2015 MCAT. If you take a practice test in mid-December, and get a 15, then you’ll need to reset your expectations and take the MCAT later. One thing I can guarantee you – your MCAT score will not jump from 15 to 32 in a week or two. -DonO
Thanks for the response. Should I prepare for the January 2015 MCAT with the study guides that have been released by companies a while ago or should I prepare for it along with the new one when the new study guides get released? I’m not sure if the new ones will have almost the same info as the old one with just new subjects like psychology, biochemistry, and sociology. If I prepare with the old guides and happen to do poorly on the January 2015 MCAT, then I feel like I won’t have enough time to prepare for the new one. And if I use the new study guides I’m worried that it won’t cover the info for the old exam. I’m not sure if I made any sense lol.
Hi Moe – Hummm, maybe you’re worried about the MCAT, lol! OK, so here’s how to get back into your right mind. Study for the MCAT starting mid-2014. By then everything will have changed and you’ll have a lot more facts to base your approach on. Until then, relax and remind yourself that the prep companies are working on “stuff.”
Instead of forecasting that you might do poorly in January, take practice tests, and rely on the practice test results to determine what you do. For example, if you take a practice test in mid-December, and you get a 32, then you’re ready and you’ll take the January MCAT. But if you get a 15 on the practice test, then don’t take the January MCAT and study some more until your score goes up.
For everyone who reads this, let me remind you that taking the MCAT “just to see what happens” is not a strategy I recommend to get in to medical school. -DonO
Good advice, thank you. hopefullly by the time mid 2014 arrives and I want to study for the new MCAT, do you think it is best to buy the new study guides for the old exam also since I need to study for the January 2015 MCAT too?
I will bet you 10 cents that there’ll be a supplemental guide for just the new piece of the MCAT, so you won’t have to buy two sets of materials. -DonO
so your saying that the new guides will almost be the same as the previous, but just with addons for the new subjects being tested? And therefore I can use the new guides for both the old and new MCAT. Correct?
Most likely there’ll be a separate book with just the new materials, at least for awhile. -DonO