A recent survey by Kaplan Test Prep shows that the majority of medical schools are in favor of the changes that are being made to the MCAT.
The study that showed nine out of 10 medical school admissions officers were in favor of the Association of American Medical Colleges' decision to make changes, and 74 percent of admissions officers said the changes will better prepare students for medical school.
Some of the changes that have or are being made to the MCAT include the addition of social and behavioral sciences, biochemistry and the removal of the writing portion of the exam.
Owen Farcy, director of pre-health programs at Kaplan Test Prep, said admissions officers believe students will be better prepared for medical school because of these changes.
'(Medical school admissions officers) are effectively excited about the changes,' Farcy said. 'They really are supportive, mainly because they find that students are going to be coming into medical school better prepared for the studies that they are facing in medical school.'
Farcy said he thinks that because of the changes students will be able to begin medical school with the ability to have more in-depth discussions in class.
'Ultimately, what it means is that students are coming in with this background in the humanities, those are currently subjects that are taught in medical school,' Farcy said. 'As students come in with more knowledge on the front end they can have more robust conversations as they get to medical school and really dig into those subjects.'
Dr. David Kaiser, the pre-health adviser at the Pre-Professional Advisement Center, said BYU is supportive of any changes that will help pre-medical students be successful.
'As a whole our university is very supportive of pre-professional students, and if that means we need to change some things that are relative to a test, MCAT 2015, then we are going to do that,' Kaiser said. 'We want to help our students to be successful and that's part of the process for our students to be successful.'
Jeff Anderson, pre-health peer advisor at the Pre-Professional Advising Center and a pre-medical student, said pre-medical students will be required to take additional classes.
'Its going to make it a little bit harder... because it now requires five semesters in a row instead of four of chemistry,' Anderson said. 'So students are going to have to take at least one course in the social sciences and at least one in psychology. In essence... students applying in 2015 will have to take three additional courses compared to students who didn't do it.'
For more information on Kaplan Test Prep's survey visit http://press.kaptest.com.