MCAT, GRE to Undergo Modifications

Author: Claire Bourne

In a year of record interest in graduate school, both the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) are undergoing substantial changes.

On October 1, 2002, an Analytical Writing Measure (AWM) will replace the GRE's current analytical section. Test-takers will be required to write two essays — one argument and one analysis — which will be hand-graded.

"This is of significance to all GRE test takers, but of particular interest to engineers, hard science majors, non-traditional students and non-native English speakers, as many of these students do not write as frequently as other majors," said Kristin Murner, director of Kaplan's Burlington, Vt., center. "Educational Testing Service asserts that by introducing the AWM section they will reduce the time-management pressures on students and lessen the performance gap between white males and others," Murner continued. "They also believe that the essay will be a better predictor of graduate school performance."

Murner explained that the change is rated as a "seven" on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the most substiantial alteration possible.

The changes to the MCAT, a test that all medical school applicants are required to take, will go into effect on April 23, 2003, marking the exam's first major overhaul since 1991.

Changes include the replacement of three organic chemistry questions with three genetics-based biology questions in the biological sciences section of the test. The verbal reasoning part of the exam will consist of 60 questions rather than 65, while the time allotted to complete the section will remain unchanged. Finally, the order in which the test sections appear will alter so that the exam will begin with the physical sciences portion rather than the verbal reasoning portion.

Murner rated the change as a "four" and said that students "need to be aware of [the alteration] when preparing for the MCAT."

Arlinda Wickland, director of student fellowships and adviser of health professions at Middlebury College, said that the changes to the exam would not require premedical advisers "to make immediate changes to the established premedical curriculum."

Wickland also noted that the number of students interested in enrolling in medical school following their four years at Middlebury was "slightly higher this year." However, she said she would not attribute this change to the tight job market. "It simply reflects a larger pool that has been coming down the pipeline for several years," she explained.

Jamie Cedergreen '02, president of the College's Pre-Medical Society, said she did not think that the economic recession had "affected seniors' decisions to pursue a medical education directly after graduation." She explained that because the Class of 2002's medical school application process began last summer, most seniors had already decided whether to go straight into medical school "before the economic slowdown really began to occur."

Unlike many students looking to pursue graduate studies in law directly after graduation to avoid a tight job market, pre-medical students must determine whether they need "a break before beginning another four years of school," Cedergreen continued.

However, she admitted, "I think that senior pre-medical students, like myself, who are going directly to medical school after graduation are relieved that they do not have to worry about getting a job in the current economic conditions."

In related news, the number of students and alums requesting recommendations for business school has risen sharply this year.

"I have written about twice as many [recommendations] as I usually get asked to write, and a particularly high number to business schools for former students who have been working for a few years," said Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson.

The poor economy and difficult job market have forced many to consider graduate studies in business. However, without at least two years of real-world experience, a student's chances of being admitted into a leading business school are slim, explained Alan R. Holmes Professor of Monetary Economics Scott Pardee.

With few employment opportunities on Wall Street and an unlikely chance of acceptance at a first-rate business school without job experience, said Pardee, members of the Class of 2002 are finding the process of planning their futures a "grisly" one.

In past years, Wall Street has hired upward of 30 seniors. This year's number stands at one-third of that figure, Pardee noted.

Pardee, who is currently working directly with many students "who have had a difficult year," said that although many "top-notch" seniors are still job hunting, "a number of juniors are getting offers for summer internships that may lead to jobs after senior year."

Several students have landed jobs with mutual fund and insurance companies, while some of Pardee's students are interviewing at the Federal Reserve. "I-banking and consulting are not the only jobs out there," he affirmed.