For thousands of college students across the nation with eyes set on medical school, the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is an inevitable obstacle. But since January, test takers have faced the additional challenge of taking the test on a computer.

Stanford students gave mixed reviews to the computer version of the eighty-year-old test, which they must take at select locations hosted by Thompson Prometrics, a global provider of comprehensive testing and assessment services.

Cathy Sun ‘08 took the new test on Sept. 7 in San Jose. She said that the first time the test was offered, there was a glitch in the test — one of the verbal passages was followed by questions that didn’t match up with the passage.

“Fortunately, nothing like that happened during my test,” she said.

Students also complained that not being able to jot notes on the computerized test could impede performance. But Michael Lin ‘08, who took the test this summer in San Jose, said that the new test simply required mental adjustment.

“For those who learned how to do it, it was really not [very] different,” Lin said. “You can highlight and underline just like in a paper-based test.”

Sun and Lin agreed that the biggest benefit of the new exam was being able to type the essays instead of handwriting them.

“It was nice not having to worry about your handwriting, finishing up your sentences on time or getting hand cramps,” said Jeff Ma ‘08, who also took the test this summer.

The new test has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of students testing on a particular day. Ma said that the MCAT used to be offered only twice a year, causing the testing locations to be filled with hundreds of people — a distraction for many test takers.

“In the computer format, you’re in a room with 20 to 25 people, and it seems like a much more controlled environment,” he said. “And now, the tests are offered 22 times a year.”

Lin agreed that the new computerized version of the MCAT was less stressful.

“The experience was self-paced,” he said. “There was no time wasted on administration, so you’re either taking your break or taking your test. On the original test, a couple of hours would be spent on test administration, but now, the computer has streamlined the whole process and you get the score back a lot faster.”

In addition, Lin said that there were really no visual distractions since everyone got their own cubicle, and that the security also improved.

“There was a camera over every four stations with people monitoring, so it’s really, really hard to cheat,” he said, “which is reassuring for people who don’t cheat.”

With all the new benefits, some may wonder if it is fair to the test takers of yore who did not have a chance to alleviate the stress of the test by aid of technology. But Lin does not believe there are any real advantages to the new exam over the old paper version.

“In the end you score what you score,” he said, “and that’s just based on how much you know."