FYI!!! I agree on all counts. However, health professions advisors DO need to alert their constituents that MCAT procedures will change drastically and soon, and that some of the MCAT strategies they've heard about from their peers and predecessors will no longer work for them next year. Advisors need to sound all of the following warnings, and do it early and often: * MCAT WILL NOT be available on the traditional last Saturdays of April or August. * MCAT WILL NOT be offered at the same locations where it was given in the past. My students have long become accustomed to taking MCAT at a neighboring college six miles away. In 2007, this will no longer be an option; for us, the nearest Thomson ProMetric center will be 45 miles away. Where do most of your advisees currently take MCAT? Where is your nearest Thomson ProMetric location? * Most MCAT test dates will be on WEEKDAYS, not Saturdays. Most test dates will necessitate either missing classes or (if summer) arranging time off from work. * MCAT test sites will have LESS CAPACITY than the current sites. There is a good chance that students will not get their first choice of location, and that they will have to travel further to an alternate test site than current examinees do. * Students will have to PLAN AHEAD and will need to REGISTER MUCH MORE IN ADVANCE than is currently the case. MCAT registration will open six months in advance of each test date. Those who delay until two months before the test date probably WILL NOT get in, because test centers can begin reserving seats for other types of tests. * MCAT will be offered on Saturday, April 7, 2007. This is the ONLY Saturday test date available during the spring 2007 semester. Since most college students traditionally have taken MCAT in the spring of their junior year, and since this is the only spring Saturday test date, it is certain that there will be FAR MORE APPLICANTS for this date than can be accommodated. Students who expect to test on a Saturday in April had better register BEFORE fall midterm break. * There are several available test dates in August 2007, but NONE ARE SATURDAYS. * MCAT will be offered on Saturday, September 8, 2007. Since many examinees expect to take MCAT on a Saturday to avoid conflicting with classes or work, or just because a Saturday test has been traditional in the past, this test date can also be expected to sell out quickly. Students who expect to test on September 8 had better register BEFORE spring break. Joseph H. Lechner, Ph.D. Professor of Chemistry Mount Vernon Nazarene University 800 Martinsburg Road Mount Vernon, OH 43050-9500 [740] 392-6868 extension 3211