The Medical College Admissions Tests (MCAT) is a very important deciding factor when it comes to whether or not a person gets accepted into medical school. A student must take the MCAT before they can even apply for medical school. Although, the MCAT is just one of the few things that medical colleges look at when accepting students, there are many medical schools that place a larger emphasis on this test than the other deciding factors such as your grade point average and your personal statement.
The MCAT is designed to test potential med student’s knowledge of basic science, problem solving, and writing skills. It consists of a 3 hour and 20 minute multiple choice test on physical science, verbal reasoning, and biological science as well as an hour long period to complete a writing sample. When you go to take the MCAT, be prepared to spend at least 5-5.5 hours after figuring in breaks.
The first of the four tests is the physical science section. This test last 70 minutes and has 52 questions. The questions come from basic physics and chemistry, which should have been taken in undergraduate coursework. Some of the specific things that are covered in this section are thermodynamics, magnetism, phases of matter, the Periodic Table, and nuclear physics. You will need to know some very basic math like algebra and exponents to complete this section of the MCAT.
The second section of the MCAT is the verbal reasoning exam. This section of the MCAT is 60 minutes long and has 40 multiple choice questions. This part of the exam looks to test your reading and comprehension skills as well as how you can identify key ideas and draw conclusions. Sometimes this section of the test is taken for granted, but be aware that it does require a lot of thinking and may not be as easy as you think.
Next comes the writing sample. You have 60 minutes to write 2 essays. You are provided with a statement that you must work off of to write an essay on. The statement can be an assumption, a widely-shared belief, or a general rule. It will not have any technological terms that you need to write on. It will also not have anything to do with morals, religion or ethics.
The last part of the MCAT is the biological sciences exam. This test last for 70 minutes and contains 52 questions. It is very similar to the format of the physical science section except that it focuses on organic chemistry and biology. Some of the specific subjects that may be covered are cell division, human anatomy, viruses, diseases, hydrocarbons, dehydration, amino acids, and laboratory skills.
You should receive your MCAT scores approximately a month after taking the exam. They are now available online at the official MCAT website. You will receive 4 different scores, one for each section of the test as well as a total score for the complete MCAT.
The best way to learn more about the MCAT structure and what exact kind of questions you can expect is to take a MCAT preparation course. These can be taken online are at colleges. They are well worth the money since your MCAT score has such a large influence on your medical school acceptance. The MCAT can be taken as many times as you want but can only be taken up to 3 times in a year.
The MCAT should not be taken lightly. One must study for a good period of time before they are ready to take the exam and pursue their dream of becoming a doctor one day.
Source: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm
