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Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
Ah, the dreaded test. Just one more hoop to get through. The MCAT is a 4 part-multiple choice examination with one part being a written component. The four components are Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Verbal Reasoning, and the Essay. The scale is from 1-15 (15 being the highest, correlating to the top 0.01%) and a letter scale for the essay (average of all the test takers is about an O). This is an exam that students can study for. With the proper preparation you will do well. Don't stress too much since the MCAT is usually viewed with your GPA to determine if you make the cut offs for an interview. You don't have to get really high scores either, just shoot to be above the average. Listed below are MCAT averages of the entering medical class of 1995 provided by the AAMC and listed at the bottom of this page are school by school breakdowns of MCAT and GPA averages.
MCAT Averages of Medical Students Accepted in 1995
Biological Sciences 9.8
Physical Sciences 9.7
Verbal Reasoning 9.5
Writing - Letter P
The best way to study for the exam is to take 4-6 weeks to study for them. Tons of good MCAT review books are out there with more practice exams than you would like to see. Go through the review books and take practice exams. The more questions you are exposed too, the higher your success on the actual MCAT will be. For those in need of more detailed test taking strategies, the Princeton Review and Kaplan Educational Centers are good resources (both sites are on the links page). Their web sites also have free advice about the exam. There are dozens of prep courses for this test, although the effectiveness of these depends on how much time you are willing to put in. Some advice is to take the exam in April (never in August of the year you are applying), and to study out of review books or class notes for a couple of weeks before the exam. Make sure you have some writing courses under your belt before taking the exam as well as the requisite bio, chem and physics courses.
Make sure you have adequate sleep the night before the exam, bring 3-4 sharpened #2 pencils, proper ID, and snacks to keep your blood sugar up during the exam. It's a good idea to have a few candy bars in your pocket to munch on. Another piece of advice, don't study the morning of the test. If you don't know the material by then, you won't know it for the exam . Studying will only make you more nervous and increase your level of stress. Just relax and believe in yourself. Your undergraduate studies and weeks of preparation prior to the exam will pay off.
Plan to take the exam in April, if not earlier! If you take the exam in August of the year you're applying, your application will not be completed until much later. That means your application is thrown on a stack 3-4 times higher than if you had your application completed before August. The competition will be greater and your chances of getting an interview will be lower. Under the circumstances that your scores are low, consider re-taking the exam. If they are near the averages listed above, taking the MCAT again may be risky. You will probably raise your score by 3-4 points overall, but that is expected since you've already had practice. So doing better will not drastically increase your competitiveness; however, in the unfortunate circumstance you do worse, that will definitely worsen your chances of gaining an interview. Just try to do your best and after your finished don't fret about them anymore. MCATs are just one piece of information that med schools use to evaluate you, a low score won't necessarily eliminate you from consideration, conversely a high score will not guarantee you admission. Note though, that some schools use formulas with the MCATs and GPA to initially screen out applicants for interviews. You may want to ask schools you are interested in applying to whether they use one of these formulas. MCATs can help you make up for some low grades, but not completely. Your best bet is to concentrate on your whole package, not just on one element.
Go out and celebrate afterwards to erase all that accumulated knowledge
Here's links to Kaplan's web site and Princeton Review's web site because they contain some useful information including guides to med schools and helpful hints for the MCATs.
Look here for: MCAT info from the AAMC and MCAT registration info Check the new MSAR from the AAMC for updated statistics regarding Medical School MCAT and GPA Averages
About the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
Essentially all medical schools use the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). The cost of the MCAT is $160.00 (1997 applicants). The MCAT is a standardized, multiple choice and written exam covering the following subject material:
SUBJECT NUMBER OF QUESTIONS TIME IN MINUTES RANGE OF SCORES Verbal Reasoning 65 85 0 - 15 Physical Sciences 77 100 0 - 15 Writing Sample Two 30-min. essays 60 J - T Biological Sciences 77 100 0 - 15 You will be given a 10-minute break between the Verbal Reasoning section and the Physical Science section, a 60-minute lunch break between the Physical Science section and the Writing section, and another 10-minute break between the Writing section and the Biological Science section.
In 1996, a total of 64,088 examinees took the MCAT. This was a 5% decrease from the previous year. The national MCAT average scores for all 1996 examinees were:
SUBJECT 1996 MEAN SCORE Verbal Reasoning 7.8 Physical Sciences 7.9 Biological Sciences 8.3 Writing Sample O
How Are The Exams Scored? What Scores Are Needed to Get Accepted?
- MCAT: Four scores are reported on the MCAT. One each for Biological Sciences (Biology and Organic Chemistry), Physical Sciences (Inorganic Chemistry and Physics), Verbal Reasoning, and the Writing Sample. No average or summative score is reported. The Biological Science, Physical Science, and Verbal Reasoning portions of the test are each scored on scale between 1 (lowest) and 15 (highest) where 8 is the average. Past experience has indicated that anything lower than a "5" in any area will keep you out no matter how high your grades are. The Writing Sample is assigned a letter grade between J (lowest) to T (highest). Generally, we have found you need at least an "M" to get in. You should also note that the number of applications to medical school has increased dramatically in the past few years, a factor which seems to be translating into the need for higher MCAT scores to get in. If you take the MCAT and release your scores to XU's Premedical Adviser, you will be sent the most recent analysis of the relationship between XU GPA, MCAT scores, and probability of getting into medical school
How Many Times Can You Take the MCAT ? You can take it as many times as you want. However, if you take it more than twice, people start thinking that you are a little "off in the head" to spend the time and money. As a result, taking it more than twice hurts your application.
When Should A Student Take the MCAT the 1st Time? Generally, in the Spring of your third year. You should definitely plan to review for the test and take a lighter load (14ish hours) that semester so you have time to study for it. In addition, students interested in medical school (over) (which is the most competitive of the schools to gain entry into) should definitely plan to participate either in the Kaplan Review OR the Princeton Review.
When Should A Student Take the MCAT the 2nd Time (if needed)? The fall semester of your fourth/senior year. Please note that this is also the final chance to take it for entry into the following year's class.
How to Study for the MCAT
- The MCAT is not like tests you take in college. It
requires much more reading and interpretation than does the typical college science test.
You definitely need to study for it in a structured way. The best way to study is to
register for the Kaplan Review and use their materials, including the quizzes in the local
Kaplan Center. Studying by yourself is not a replacement for Kaplan but, if you are going
to study by yourself, here are the best study materials:
- [1] Your class notes from General Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and General Physics .
- [2] A Complete Preparation for the New MCAT ,Volume I by James Flowers. This is the review manual developed at Harvard for the summer program there. The second volume, that for reading and quantitative isn't any good. Don't use it! Volume I is given out in the MEdREP program at Tulane or you can purchase it from Health Professions Educational Service, 4401 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20014.
- [3]The New MCAT Student Manual. This is the official publication of the AAMC. It lists the content of the MCAT and has a set of sample questions from an old exam. The order form for it is in the MCAT registration packets or available at <http://www.aamc.org>. (This one is obviously only for students who will be taking the MCAT.)
- [4] MCAT Sample Test Part II and MCAT Sample Test Part III published by the AAMC. These are copies of old tests. They are available at www.aamc.org or from the order form in the MCAT registration packet.
Who Takes the MCAT and When It Is Given:
Virtually all students who plan to enroll in medical school in the United States or Canada take the MCAT. In addition, many schools of veterinary medicine and podiatry either require or recommend taking the MCAT. The MCAT is used as a tool in evaluating whether to consider a student for admission. Medical schools also review grades, letters of reference, and the medical school application essay before deciding which candidates should be called for interviews for medical school admission. Success on the MCAT will greatly enhance your chances of being accepted to medical school.
The MCAT is given twice a year in April and again in September. Application forms are normally available at the premed office in your school or you can write to the MCAT Program Office at P. O. Box 24720, Oakland, CA 94623-1720. You may take the MCAT as many times as you like. Nevertheless, scores from previous MCATs will be furnished to the medical schools you apply to and may affect your chances of being accepted. If you want to take the exam more than three times, you must request permission in writing from the American Association of Medical Colleges. The MCAT score that you receive is good for five years, after which you will be required to take the exam again. Most students take the MCAT during the spring of their junior year or at the beginning of their senior year; however, you may take the MCAT at any time during your academic career.
Career Info Centre : From Kaplan
American Association of Medical Colleges: MCAT
- General information on scoring, regulations, and how to get registered.The Ultimate MCAT Survey Results at Premedical.com's Survey Results page.
MCAT Performance and Numbers of Applicants and Matriculants 1992-2000 Yes!!! Here it is . . . the Statistics we've all been looking for!!!!
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