Standardized exams are stressful and anxiety-provoking in the best of circumstances.

We manage the pressure because we know it is time-limited. We have a prep period and we have a test date. Usually, we have some control over that test date.

1/

With a date in mind, we can pace ourselves. Space out questions, practice exams, content review. We can push ourselves knowing our timeline and strategy.

This makes the prep manageable.

Students taking the MCAT and Step exams have not had that option this year.

2/

When I took the MCAT, I was working full-time. I would take a few days off each month for practice exams while trying to study around my work obligations. I could manage because I knew when I was taking the test. I could plan out expenses and finances.

3/

I had dedicated Step 1 prep time. I paid for study materials, practice exams; surprised by the cost. Delayed Step because of an asthma exacerbation, paying additional fees to extend my Qbank, reschedule my exam. I ran out of $$ for Qbanks. I ran out of practice exams.

4/

I wanted to delay, but it wasn’t an option. A leave of absence = loss of housing, income, inability to pay loans.

I share this because so many of our recommendations/solutions assume housing and economic stability, assume that students can afford to delay, reapply.

5/

The stresses students are facing now are extraordinary.

The news is overwhelming and inescapable.
Travel carries risk.
Many are separated from families/support systems.
Businesses, resources are closed, inaccessible.
People are grieving.
People are struggling economically.

6/

These stresses are hard to manage without the stress of a test.

Think of how your concept of time, your sense of community has changed.

Imagine preparing for a test in the midst of this uncertainty without knowing if you will be able to take it as planned.

7/

Will it be cancelled, rescheduled? Moved to another city? Another state? How will you get there? Do you have the additional money to travel? Can you afford the hotel costs?

Do you have underlying health conditions? Does your loved ones? How do you weigh that risk?

8/

The weight we place on these exams is tremendous. We talk about futures, choices, options, doors, possibilities.

We, who are meant to be preserving/protecting health, are asking students to decide between their health and an exam (their future).

It is an unfair choice.

9/

It is a choice that is easier for students with money and housing stability.

Study materials, practice tests cost money; you have to maintain the knowledge while balancing work & studying despite not knowing an end date. Travel to test sites, hotels cost money.

10/

We say we want to diversity in medicine, but our actions right now speak to the contrary.

We are creating additional barriers, barriers that perpetuate known inequities.

11/

Even if the tests weren’t being delayed/rescheduled, the stresses students are facing right now are fundamentally different from the stresses their peers faced taking these exams in the fall, last summer, last spring.

The comparisons don’t feel fair.

12/

Many schools talk about exams as one aspect of a holistic review. I hope we can embrace that framing and make the MCAT optional.

This cohort of students need our support.

Fin/

#WaivetheMCAT @EthicalStudents

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