Thousands unable to register for MCAT
Influx of registrants overwhelmed system
MICHAEL OLSON STAFF
Registration for students aspiring to write the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) has currently been put on hold.
Thousands of students hoping to register for the August session of the MCAT — used as a prerequisite for students applying to medical school — have been unable to do so due to a malfunction in the registration program.
Last year, 6,000 students in Canada took the exam in August. This year, however, only about 3,000 spots are available for that exam.
Statistically, Canadian students tend to register for the MCAT in August. However, since this year’s August session facilitated fewer students than in previous years, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) systems were not able to handle such volume. The AAMC administers the MCAT.
Due to the vast amount of Canadian students applying for the August test date, the technology that the AAMC uses to run the registration process was temporarily overwhelmed, since the registration system opened up at the same time for everybody.
“The Canadian students have always preferred August. We found it interesting this year that they did not tend to take the earlier test dates, for example in June and July,” said Matt Fidler, MCAT program manager for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, the leading provider in MCAT preparation for students.
There are two test dates scheduled in June and three scheduled in July. There are also four test dates scheduled in April and five in May.
“I was intrigued to see that the Canadian students did not attempt to look at an earlier test date knowing that their fellow Canadians would be clamouring for an August test date,” said Fidler. “Canadian students, historically, take time over the summer to prepare for the exam and study for the exam, and that is why they all jammed onto the system and tried to register.”
This, consequently, affected every student who was trying to register as soon as the system opened for August registration; no one was able to secure a test date. As a result, many students were under the impression that the registration system had crashed or that they were too late to register for a test.
In previous years, when the MCAT was not administered on computers, the test was only administered twice a year. Now that the exam is computerized, test dates have been spread throughout the year. As a result, the test administrations have smaller capacities.
For students wishing to take the MCAT, Kaplan reminds them that there are still many seats open for July and August test dates.
“[Kaplan is] telling our students that if something comes up during their registration process to give AAMC a call,” said Fidler. “AAMC firmly believes that they have enough capacity for everyone in Canada, and if that is not the case, Canadian test-takers should be sure to call AAMC and tell them that there is not enough space available.”
MCATs are administered at test sites established by Thomson Prometric, a leading organization in the field of electronic testing. Currently, there are two test sites in Manitoba.
Registration for the MCAT will open up again on April 11.
