The MCAT

The Basics
With very few exceptions, to be considered for admission to medical school you must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). The MCAT consists of three multiple-choice sections: verbal reasoning, biological sciences, and physical sciences. Sections are graded on a scale of one to fifteen.

Test Sections
The MCAT is computer-based and includes two essay questions. The two science sections are designed to test your scientific problem-solving ability. Test-takers are typically given an extended reading passage from which you must glean the relevant information. Then, by applying your knowledge of fundamental concepts from biology, general and organic chemistry, and physics, you will be asked to answer a number of questions based on the passage. For this reason, many students describe the biological sciences section especially as being as much a reading comprehension test as the verbal reasoning section. (The physical sciences section tends to be more demanding of knowledge of specific formulae and equations.)

Registration
The exam, administered in January and April thru September Students may take the MCAT up to three times each year.  Because test scores are reported to medical schools one month after the test, postbac students are advised take the MCAT in April, May, or June, on the cusp of their application year. Admissions processes are well underway in the fall and even the most highly qualified applicant will be at a substantial disadvantage if MCAT scores do not arrive until mid-fall.

Online registration for the MCAT begins six months prior to each test date, and students are advised to register as early as possible to ensure their first choice of testing location.

MCAT Schedule

Grading
Grading is scaled to correct for the differing difficulty of questions on different versions of the test, so students taking different versions of the test need not have the same number of right answers to receive the same scaled score.

How to Prepare
Because of the nature of the new MCAT, it is not an examination for which you can cram. The best preparation for the MCAT is a rigorous program in the premedical sciences that has taught you to apply basic concepts to novel situations. It is a testament to the quality of the curriculum here that Columbia postbaccalaureate students as a whole typically score an average of more than three points above the national mean on the MCAT.

To ready yourself for the MCAT, start early. Begin your review in September for the April test date. Devote some regular time each week – say, one morning each weekend –to MCAT review.

Get out your textbooks and course notes and review. Pay particular attention to concepts you may have missed previously. Outline and organize and be sure you have the basic concepts firmly in mind.

Be sure to study every topic listed in the MCAT Student Manual. One typical reason students do poorly on the MCAT is that they have confused familiarity with the test with preparation.

Don't just focus on the problems you encounter in your review materials. When you go into the MCAT you should be prepared, for example, to answer any question about organic chemistry, not just the ones you saw in the prep books. Prep books are useful as diagnostic tools, but they cannot replace textbooks and notes. As the test approaches, do full-length practice MCATs to prepare for the long day of the test.

In addition to your MCAT review books, you can prepare for the verbal reasoning section by reading as much as possible: Start reading The New York Times or other daily newspapers as well as literary magazines known for more sophisticated prose style. Cut down on movies and television and do more recreational reading. Keep lists of unfamiliar words you encounter, look up their meanings and etymologies, and review them periodically.