Pre-medical students now have access to later MCAT testing dates, but UF students are still advised to take the test as soon as possible.
The Association of American Medical Colleges, which creates the exam, added testing dates in October and November 2014 and in January 2015. Previously, testing dates only extended into September.
Owen Farcy, director of MCAT 2015 programs for Kaplan Test Prep, said the AAMC added extra testing dates in anticipation of a large influx of students rushing to take the test before the new MCAT rolls out in Spring 2015.
However, Leila Amiri, the director of admissions for UF’s College of Medicine, said students should remember taking the test at a later date could mean a lower chance of being accepted.
“I think it’s always great to have options,” she said. “But taking the test at a later date isn’t necessarily a good thing.”
Amiri said the November test results will reach UF by December, which is too late for applicants to schedule a Fall interview.
She said the college holds interviews throughout Fall and Spring, but it begins selecting students by mid-October. By the time students get their results in for a Spring interview, there will be fewer available spots, and the applicant pool will be much larger and more selective.
Farcy said the AAMC announced in 2011 it would be changing the test. The last time the test had a major content overhaul was in 1991, with a minor change in 2007.
“The way we practice medicine in the U.S. has drastically changed since the 1990s,” he said. “So the exam was due for a change.”
He said the new MCAT will have an additional three semesters of extra content in biochemistry, sociology and psychology. The new test will also be roughly twice as long, running at six hours and 15 minutes.
The AAMC will release one practice exam before the test’s release, he said. Kaplan will also have practice materials available to students on its website.
Atilio Atencio, a 19-year-old UF biochemistry sophomore, said because he needs to take physics in the Fall, the later testing dates will allow him to get through most of the course’s content before he takes the MCAT.
Atencio said he also wants to take the test before the additional three hours of testing time go into affect.
The AAMC released a press announcement on Jan. 29 including a list of all testing resources available to students preparing for the MCAT. The materials are available on the AAMC's website.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 2/3/2014 under the headline "More MCAT dates open"]
