THURSDAY, FEB. 12, 2015
How should you celebrate Valentine’s Day?
IDS
weekend, page 7
IINDIANA IN NDIAN AN NA DA D DAILY A AIILY ILY ST IL S STUDENT TUDE UD U DENT | IDSNEWS.COM
DOUBLING THE STANDARDS IU pre-med pr students face new MCAT exam with 3 added subjects, almost 3 extra hours By Alyson Malinger afmaling@indiana.edu | @aly_mali
Pre-medical students, in order to be accepted into medical school, must take the Medical College Admissions Test prior to applying. Normally the test has been set up in a 144-question format in three hours and 20 minutes. Starting in May, however, the new MCAT will consist of 230 questions over six hours and 15 minutes in addition to other supplemental material and graphic analysis. The American Association of Medical Colleges has made the change to implement other subjects that they believe to be necessary for aspiring physicians. These additional subjects include biochemistry, introductory psychology and sociology, added to the eight courses already covered within the exam. This newly implemented approach is better formatted to how students will study in medical school and one day prepare for their medical board exams. “Students will require a greater amount or stamina and endurance to get through this new test,” said Owen Farsy, MCAT curriculum leader at Kaplan Test Prep. Farsy has already started teaching classes that help prepare students for this new exam. No one knows what the new exam will look like, but the earlier students start to prepare by including the newly added material, the more leverage they will have when the exam finally approaches. From the perspectives of the medical schools, admissions officers are not entirely sure how they will treat the test. The new test is designed for the upper-middle percent to shine and take emphasis off of the elite students. “The test is never the sole decider to get into medical school,” Farsy said.
“It tries to test if the student will be able to stand up to the academic rigors of medical school.” Farsy said that in relation to the new material, most students will not see it as much of a challenge. Many students have taken at least one of the courses already within their individual prerequisites at their colleges and universities, so adding two more courses is not a large request. “It’s about time the field of medicine has finally caught up to reality,” said Maneesh Tiwari, IU senior recently accepted to the University of Cincinnati Medical School. The downfall in this, nevertheless, is that the schedule for a premedical student is already so busy, Farsy said. If more courses are added to the workload, very few students will have room in their schedules to take a variety of electives. Maurissa Amrhein, junior microbiology major, was originally on the pre-medical track but switched, with the change in the test a contributing factor. “I hated continually adding classes all just for one test,” Amrhein said. With a lack of electives, a lack of diversity is bound to occur, which presents a problem for admissions counselors. Counselors particularly look for students that have a vibrant academic background outside of the medical sciences. This will deter them from finding these desired backgrounds. “We know pre-med students are extremely motivated students regardless, and alternative career paths would rarely come into play with this change,” Farsy said. At IU, pre-medical students are highly encouraged to take all of the courses, including the newly added sciences, regardless of the new test. According to data reports collected by Kaplan Test Prep, last year alone, 253 IU undergrads applied to medical school, making IU one of the largest pre-med population centers in the country. Following the exam, a brief survey will be included to build up a data set in response to the change. Students, after sitting for more than six hours, will have the opportunity to fill out this survey and voice their comments and concerns in relation to the exam. Registration for the spring exam opened Wednesday, and the next exam registration will open around late April for the summer testing dates. “We are designing a curriculum from the ground up and seeing what is successful for students and what is not,” Farsy said. “It is truly a giving force in order for students to be successful.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Hoosiers play complete game against Illini
By Brian Gamache bgamache@indiana.edu | @brgamache
“Tourism” might not be the first word that comes to mind when someone talks about Indiana, but the industry was big business for the state in 2013, according to several new studies. The state saw an extra $10.3 billion come in from tourism during 2013, according to a report released by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development. Tourism was the sixth largest industry in Indiana in 2013, supporting more than 187,000, or around 4.7 percent, of the state’s jobs, according to the report. Tourism not only brought dollars to the state, but also to Bloomington. “Tourism is huge for the city,” Mike McAfee, director of Visit Bloomington, said. McAfee, who has been in the industry for 20 years and in Bloomington for eight of them, spoke about why tourism was so important in Bloomington. “IU is the most recessiontough attraction in the state of Indiana,” McAfee said. “We always call IU our Disneyland.” Bloomington brings in tourism dollars through university events, sporting competitions, conferences and leisure trips, McAfee said. “Spending on a Big Ten football game is $3 to 5 million,” McAfee said, “The IU-related events have a big impact.” Sporting events separate from IU were also a major source of tourism dollars, McAfee said. “We’re a big home for amateur sporting tournaments,” McAfee said. Total sales generated by tourism in 2013 for Monroe County were more than $300 million, according to a study conducted by Visit Bloomington. The study was performed in conjunction with IU professor Shu Cole of the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies of the School of Public Health and analyzed data from several surveys. The future for Bloomington SEE TOURISM, PAGE 6
Students host model call-out for fashion show By Lauren Saxe
85-58
lsaxe@indiana.edu | @SaxeLauren
By Brody Miller brodmill@indiana.edu | @Brody_Miller_
IU’s 85-58 win against Illinois was reminiscent of some of its nonconference wins back in November and December. There were full court heaves on fast breaks and players grinning as they backpedaled after hitting a 3-pointer. Everything was clicking for IU on Wednesday night. While the nonconference wins have been attributed to a less than challenging schedule, Big Ten struggles have often been blamed on youth. “There’s going to come a point where we don’t call them young anymore,” IU Coach Teri Moren said. The Hoosiers have had strong first halves before. They were tied with Minnesota at the half and trailed Ohio State by one before losing to both. The difference against Illinois was that IU continued their dominance throughout. The team did not allow the Fighting Illini to make a single field goal for the 8 1/2 minutes in the second half. “We were waiting to have a night like this, and we have been so close,” Moren said. “It feels good, for our whole group, for our staff, but
Studies: Tourism industry thriving
BEN MIKESELL | IDS
Freshman guard Jess Walter, right, and sophomore Larryn Brooks celebrate after a made basket during IU’s game against Illinois on Wednesday at Assembly Hall. Walter had six points off the bench.
especially for those players to come out and play both ends the way they did tonight.” There was a moment late in the game in which freshman guard Jess Walter was running back to play defense and tipped a pass in the air that was making its way over her head. IU did not get possession of the
ball for a steal, but Walter continued running with a grin on her face as if nothing could change the fact that IU was winning — and winning big. That sums up how this game went for IU. SEE BASKETBALL, PAGE 6
More on the win, page 7 See how the IU offense handled Illinois ‘buzz’ defense. Coverage of the men’s game, page 5 Read our coverage of IU’s 68-66 loss against No. 19 Maryland.
Students gathered outside of Union Street Center’s auditorium Wednesday evening, equipped with heels and camera-ready hair, in the hopes of catching the eyes of junior and senior fashion design students. Designers from the Fashion Design III: Presentation & Analysis class held a model call-out for the IU Fashion Design show, which takes place April 9. Selected models will walk in the show and work alongside designers throughout the semester. Other than wearing fitted clothing and heels, there were no stipulations as to who could audition or what applicants needed to prepare. As soon as they walked in, the models were given an information sheet to fill out with height, shoe size, bra size and other general information. Although no prior experience was necessary, many applicants were not strangers to the modeling game. “I modeled for a local swimwear company where I’m from,” said Keegan Holle, an IU sophomore waiting for her number to be called. “I’m not really nervous. I came to call-outs last year, but SEE MODEL, PAGE 6