MCAT Test Advice

Our advice for the MCAT test covers the following topics:

• Background
• When to Take the MCAT Exam
• Self Study Versus a Review Course
• Preparation
• MCAT sample items

Background

The MCAT will be the single most important test that you will take up to this point of your career. Most medical schools have a minimum MCAT score for acceptance. Students are also partially ranked by admissions committees on the basis of this exam score. From the admissions committees' point of view, the MCAT is the only way to objectively compare you to applicants from other undergraduate schools.

It deserves to be treated with at least the same amount of preparation that you would use to prepare for any other test. Far too many students don't bother to prepare for this important exam and they cite various reasons such as lack of time and the perceived impossibility of reviewing 4 one-year science courses: biology, physics, chemistry, and organic chemistry. (Introductory calculus is not tested although some med schools prefer their applicants to have a firm grasp of calculus. Joint MD/PhD applicants in particular should certainly have a thorough understanding of calculus.

Breakdown of MCAT

When to Take the MCAT Exam

PLEASE refer to Road to Medical School for detail planning for medical school application.

Registration:

Domestic Registration: Paper and Pencil MCAT
Register now for a paper and pencil format test site, OR register for a computer-based test site within the United States.

To register for a test site outside of North America, visit our International MCAT Administration page.

2005 Domestic Registration Deadlines

International Registration: Computer-based MCAT
Typically, the MCAT is offered at 13 international test sites located across Australia, England, France, Germany, India, Japan, Lebanon, Qatar and Singapore. It is administered in paper format only in Lebanon, Qatar, New Castle, and Daba. Computer-based Testing (CBT) format is used at all the other international sites. Please note, for 2005, testing sites are subject to change.

2005 International Registration Deadlines

MCAT 2005 Essentials (PDF, 19 pages - 558KB)
MCAT 2005 Essentials provides important information about MCAT registration, preparation, and administration. (Required reading for all MCAT registrants.)

Self Study vs. a Review Course

The choice between taking a review course or self studying should be made based on your self discipline. In other words, if you can stick to a schedule on your own, you will likely fare at least as well as if you took a review course. The downsides to a review course are that (1) the pre-specified times and locations will decrease your flexibility and (2) you may want to allot more or less time to a particular part of the test than the course dictates.

MCAT Preparation Advice

There are many tips and strategies that you can, and should employ, for this test. The best way to do this is with a book of previously-asked MCAT questions and an "unofficial" guide that prepares you for the different test sections. Practice taking this test under the actual test conditions. Simulation is a very powerful technique for all standardized test takers.

Most test takers report that their biggest difficulty is completing all of the questions within the time limits. Recall that medical school is primarily challenging due to the voluminous information you must absorb each year. Additionally, if you are working in an emergency room, you are going to need to think very quickly to diagnose a problem and determine the proper course of action. As a result, it should not surprise you that the MCAT is designed to reward those students who can complete the problems accurately and rapidly.

MCAT Sample Items

The following passages and item-sets have been extracted from MCAT Practice Test 3R. Free access to the full-length version of this test is available through MCAT Practice Online.

Physical Sciences (PDF, 243kb)
Verbal Reasoning (PDF, 217kb)
Biological Sciences (PDF, 236kb)

(Information obtained from AAMC website, Please refer to it for more detail info)