Does Masking MCAT Scores During Admissions Increase Equity?

Area of Science:

• Medical education
• Admissions processes
• Health equity

Background:

• Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores are known to have disparities related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
• The Uniformed Services University implemented a policy to mask MCAT scores at or above the 51st percentile to enhance admissions equity.
• This policy specifically targeted improving admissions rates for underrepresented in medicine (URM) and first-generation college (FGC) graduates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of masking Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores on the admissions process at the Uniformed Services University.
• To assess whether masking MCAT scores improved admissions equity for underrepresented in medicine (URM) and first-generation college (FGC) applicants.

Main Methods:

• A comparative analysis of applicant data from 2014-2016 (before masking) and 2018-2020 (during masking).
• Logistic regression was used to determine admissions likelihood.
• Independent sample t tests and linear regression analyzed admissions committee scores and the weight of MCAT scores in decision-making.

Main Results:

• Masking MCAT scores led to a decreased admissions likelihood for individual URM (OR 0.513) and FGC (OR 0.695) applicants.
• Mean admissions committee scores decreased significantly more for priority group applicants (0.96 points) than non-priority groups (0.51 points).
• The influence of MCAT scores on admissions committee scores diminished substantially, decreasing from 10.9% to 1.2% of score variance.

Conclusions:

• Contrary to the intended effect, masking MCAT scores reduced admissions rates for URM and FGC applicants.
• While masking reduced the overall influence of MCAT scores, it did not enhance admissions equity for priority groups.
• Admissions decisions were found to be more equitable when MCAT scores were included, despite known score disparities.