Educators have recently highlighted the importance of social science courses for students entering the medical field. This has led to the inclusion of sociological theories and concepts on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), a requirement for any student seeking formal medical training. Using open-ended survey data responses provided by…

Medical school admissions interviews are used to assess applicants' nonacademic characteristics as advocated by the Association of American Medical Colleges' Advancing Holistic Review Initiative. The objective of this study is to determine whether academic metrics continue to significantly influence interviewers' scores in holistic processes by…

Web-based interviewing may be an effective element of a medical school's larger approach to promotion of holistic review, as recommended by the Association of American Medical Colleges, by facilitating the feasibility of including rural and community physicians in the interview process. Only 10% of medical schools offer videoconference interviews…

Changes were studied that occur when the correlations between the six Medical College Admission Test scales and the scores on the Part I examination of the National Board of Medical Examiners are corrected for restriction of range. (MLW)

Ten specific recommendations regarding the admissions policies and practices of medical schools are presented. Recommendations involve: an applicant's undergraduate major and other courses (the premed major should be abolished), the Medical College Admission Test, the B.A. degree, grades, early admissions, and admissions committees membership.…

The relationship between the new Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and the criterion of grades achieved in the freshman year for the entering class of 1978 was studied. From this analysis, a new index was created and used in screening the entering class of 1979 at the University of California, Irvine. (MLW)

Statistical information regarding applicants for the 1978-79 first-year medical school class are reported. The data include numbers of applicants, numbers accepted, men and women applicants, minority applicants and acceptees, and scores on the New Medical College Admission Test and acceptance status for selected subpopulations of the applicant…

The study with 497 majority and 82 minority medical students found that grade point averages for undergraduate science courses and a composite Medical College Admissions test score based on science and reading subtests were both valid and equally predictive of scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners Examination, Part I. (Author/DB)

A comparison of the qualifications of medical school examinees, applicants, and accepted candidates with humanities majors and natural science majors is presented. Humanities majors have a higher acceptance rate (50 percent) than natural science majors (45.7 percent). (MLW)

Changes were analyzed using both Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores and grade point average. Modest gains were shown: in the men and women applicants' scores on the MCAT biology, chemistry, physics, and science problems subtests; in all age categories except over 32; and for all ethnic or racial groups except blacks. (Author/LB)

Suggests college students preparing for medical school should be informed about how changes in the health care system, expansion of biomedical knowledge, and new technologies are affecting medical practice, medical curricula, medical school admission criteria and tests, and the shape of undergraduate preparation for medical education. Discusses…

A study found that the admission interview scores for 62 Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire) applicants correlated positively with dean's letter ratings given 4 years later and that interview scores were better predictors of ratings than were total Medical College Admission Test scores or science grade point averages. (Author/MSE)

A study of 12,388 entering medical students investigated the predictive validity of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) by comparing prediction errors for grade point average across racial/ethnic and gender groups. Results show no prediction errors for gender, overprediction of performance for racial/ethnic group, particularly Asians and…