Dr. Terry Simpson questions MCAT role

Dr. Terry Simpson said in a May 17 social-media thread that the MCAT is “valuable” but not the best predictor of who will become the strongest physician, arguing that admissions committees should weigh empathy, judgment, communication and professionalism alongside test performance. The post came from a surgeon who says he previously served on an admissions committee, and it landed in a debate that medical schools and applicants have been having for years over how much weight to give standardized scores. The Association of American Medical Colleges, which runs the MCAT, says the exam helps predict academic performance in medical school. The same group also tells admissions officers to use scores within a broader, mission-aligned review of each applicant. ### What did Terry Simpson argue on May 17? Dr. Terry Simpson said on May 17 that the MCAT should be treated as one data point rather than a stand-alone judgment about who will succeed in medicine. In the thread, Simpson argued that traits such as empathy and communication matter in ways a standardized exam cannot fully capture, according to the post. The thread did not reject the exam outright. Simpson described the MCAT as useful, but said it is not the best predictor of clinical success, framing admissions as a process that should account for how applicants relate to patients and colleagues as well as how they perform on a test. (x.com) ### What does the AAMC say the MCAT actually predicts? The AAMC said in its July 2024 validity report that MCAT scores predict medical school performance. (x.com) The report’s table of contents states that MCAT scores predict performance, that MCAT scores and GPAs together make the best performance predictor, and that those measures also predict milestone outcomes in medical school. AAMC’s national outcomes page gives a more specific description of those milestones. (x.com) The group says undergraduate GPA and MCAT score are associated with first-attempt and eventual passage of Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge, on-time progression to year three, and graduation within four or five years. ### If the MCAT has predictive value, why is there still a debate? (aamc.org) AAMC’s 2025 guide for admissions officers says the exam should be used in a “holistic context,” and its mission-aligned selection framework says schools should consider experiences, attributes, academic metrics and competencies together. The framework says programs should define merit in ways tied to their mission, curriculum, community health needs and workforce needs. (aamc.org) That framework helps explain why debates over the MCAT persist even when schools use score-validity data. The question is not only whether the exam predicts early academic milestones, but also how schools should assess qualities that are harder to quantify and that committees may see as central to patient care. Simpson’s comments fit that narrower argument: not that scores are useless, but that they are incomplete. That characterization is based on Simpson’s thread and AAMC’s own guidance on mission-aligned review. (aamc.org) ### How are admissions committees told to use scores now? The AAMC’s “Using MCAT Data in 2026 Medical Student Selection” guide says admissions officers should look beyond metrics even while using MCAT data. The document is aimed at current admissions cycles and presents the exam as one part of a broader evaluation process rather than a single cutoff tool. The AAMC’s mission-aligned selection page says individualized review should consider test scores, grades, experiences and applicant context. (x.com) It also says criteria should be clearly defined, equitably applied and informed by performance data. ### Where can readers see the underlying guidance and data? AAMC keeps both sets of materials public. Its admissions-officer resources include the 2026 selection guide and the national student-success tables that map GPA and MCAT ranges against outcomes such as Step passage and graduation. (aamc.org) Those materials will remain the reference point for schools reviewing 2026 applicants, while public commentary from physicians such as Simpson is likely to continue on social platforms where applicants and educators are already arguing about how to measure readiness for medicine. (aamc.org) (x.com) (aamc.org)