The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a standardized examination for prospective medical students in the United States. It is designed to assess problem solving, critical thinking, reading comprehension, and writing skills in addition to knowledge of scientific concepts and principles. Prior to August 19, 2006, the exam was taken entirely on paper with the option of taking a computer-based version at select testing sites beginning in the fall of 2005. Since January 27, 2007, all administrations of the exam are computer-based. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas, USA. A medical school or faculty of medicine is a tertiary educational institution or part of such an institution that teaches medicine. ... A blank sheet of paper Paper is a commodity of thin material produced by the amalgamation of fibers, typically vegetable fibers composed of cellulose, which are subsequently held together by hydrogen bonding. ... A BlueGene supercomputer cabinet. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Overview

The test was formerly administered twice a year, in April and August. Since January 2007, the exam is offered 22 times per year on 19 different testing dates.^[1] The exam was shortened to 5.4 hours, which allows the test to be offered either in the morning or in the afternoon. Some test dates have both morning and afternoon administrations.

The test consists of four sections, listed in the order in which they are administered on the day of the exam:

• Physical Sciences (PS)
• Verbal Reasoning (VR)
• Writing Sample (WS)
• Biological Sciences (BS)

The Verbal Reasoning, Physical Sciences, and Biological Sciences sections are in multiple-choice format. The Writing sample consists of two short essays that are typed onto the computer. The passages and questions are predetermined, and thus do not change in difficulty depending on the performance of the test taker (unlike, for example, the Graduate Record Examination). The Graduate Record Examination or GRE is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in English speaking countries. ...

The science sections (PS and BS) test analytical and logical cognitive abilities. The Verbal Reasoning section was implemented to test understanding of various subtleties involved in human communication and understanding. The Biological Sciences section most directly correlates to success on the USMLE Step 1 exam, with a correlation coefficient of .553 vs .491 for Physical Sciences and .397 for Verbal Reasoning. ^[2] Predictably, MCAT composite scores also correlate with USMLE Step 1 success.^[3] The United States Medical Licensure Examination is a multi-part professional exam that a medical doctor is required to complete before being authorized to practice medicine in the United States of America. ...

Scoring

Scores for the three multiple-choice sections range from 1 to 15. Scores for the writing section range alphabetically from J (lowest) to T (highest). The writing section is graded by three different readers. The first reader is Intellimetric, a proprietary computer program developed by Vantage Learning, which analyzes creative writing and syntax. The second and third readers are humans, who generally look at the overall impact rather than spelling and grammar. IntelliMetric is a computerized essay scoring system that relies on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to emulate the process carried out by expert human essay scorers, in essence capturing the pooled wisdom of many expert human scorers. ...

The numerical scores from each section are added together to give a composite score. The score from the writing sample may also be appended to the composite score (e.g. 36S). The maximum composite score is 45T but any score over 30P is considered fairly competitive, as this is the average for matriculants to medical school.^[4] There is no penalty for wrong multiple choice answers, and thus even random guessing is preferable to leaving an answer choice blank (unlike many other standardized tests). Students preparing for the exam are encouraged to try to balance their subscores; physical, verbal, and biological scores of 12, 13, and 11 respectively may be looked upon more favorably than 14, 13, and 6.

The standard deviation is 2.0-2.3 depending on the year and form of the exam.^[5] For example, if a student received a 10, the mean being an 8 and the standard deviation being 2, then that student tested better than 84% of the students on that section. In probability and statistics, the standard deviation of a probability distribution, random variable, or population or multiset of values is a measure of the spread of its values. ...

Exam administration

The Physical Sciences section is administered first (prior to the April 2003 MCAT, Verbal Reasoning was the first section of the exam). It is composed of 52 multiple-choice questions related to general chemistry and physics. Exam takers are allotted 70 minutes to complete this section of the exam. It has been suggested that the central science be merged into this article or section. ... Physics (Greek: (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the science concerned with the discovery and characterization of universal laws which govern matter, energy, space, and time. ...

The Verbal Reasoning section follows the Physical Sciences section and an optional 10 minute break. Exam takers have 60 minutes to answer 40 multiple-choice questions evaluating their comprehension, evaluation, and application of information gathered from written passages. Unlike the Physical and Biological sciences sections, the Verbal Reasoning section is not supposed to require specific content knowledge in order to perform well.

Prior to the computerization of the MCAT there was a 60 minute lunch break after the Verbal Reasoning section followed by the Writing Sample. With the new Computer-Based Testing format the 60 minute lunch break has been substituted by an optional 10 minute break. The Writing Sample gives examinees 60 minutes to compose responses to two prompts (30 minutes for each prompt, separately timed). Each essay is graded from 1 to 6 points by each of two readers, yielding a total score of 4-24; this score is then converted to a letter scale (4 = J, 24 = T).

After the Writing Samples, there is an optional 10 minute break followed by the Biological Sciences section. Examinees have 70 minutes to answer 52 multiple-choice questions related to organic chemistry and biology. Organic chemistry is a specific discipline within chemistry which involves the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation (by synthesis or by other means) of chemical compounds consisting of primarily carbon and hydrogen, which may contain any number of other elements, including nitrogen, oxygen, halogens as well... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

According to the AAMC, when the exam switched to computer-based testing, each multiple-choice section was reduced in length (both in terms of time allowed and number of questions) by approximately one-third, and students are still required to complete two essays.

Policies

Like some other professional exams (e.g. the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), the MCAT may be voided on the day of the exam if the exam taker is not satisfied with his or her performance. The decision to void must be made before leaving the test center and before seeing the exam results. The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is an examination administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), intended to provide law schools in the United States and Canada with (to quote LSAC) a standard measure of acquired reading and verbal reasoning skills that law schools can use as one of... The Graduate Management Admissions Test, better known by the acronym GMAT (pronounced G-mat), is a standardized test for determining aptitude to succeed academically in graduate business studies. ...

While wristwatches are allowed, the AAMC prohibits the use of calculators, timers, or other electronic devices during the exam.^[6] Wristwatches must have the alarm disabled. Cellular phones are also strictly prohibited from testing rooms and individuals found to possess them are noted by name in a security report submitted to the AAMC.

It is no longer a rule that students must receive permission from the AAMC if they wish to take the MCAT more than three times total. The limit with the computerized MCAT is three times per year, with no lifetime limit. An examinee can register for only one test date at a time.

MCAT exam results are made available to examinees approximately thirty days after the test via the AAMC's MCAT Testing History (THx) Web application. Examinees do not receive a copy of their scores in the mail. MCAT THx is also used to transmit scores to medical schools, application services and other organizations (at no cost).

Preparation

Like most standardized tests, there are a variety of preparatory materials available. The AAMC itself offers both paper and computerized practice tests (composed of administered test questions and diagnostics) available for purchase at its website. Many test preparation companies offer classroom based courses. Approximately half of the students taking the MCAT use a test prep company. Various books are available from test preparation companies to prepare for the test.

See also

• List of MCAT topics
• List of admissions tests

The following list of MCAT topics is a brief overview of the topics covered on the biological and physical sciences sections of the Medical College Admission Test as of April 2003. ... This is a list of standardized tests that students may have to take for admissions to various schools: // ISEE - Independent School Entrance Examination SSAT - Secondary School Admission Test Eleven plus - For entry to grammar schools in the UK PSLE - Entrance test into Secondary Schools for Singapore OKS - Entrance test into...

Notes

1. ^ 2007 Completely Computerized MCAT Exam. Association of American Medical Colleges.
2. ^ Undergraduate Institutional MCAT Scores as Predictors of USMLE Step 1 Performance. Acad Medicine (2002).
3. ^ Adult Learners: Relationships of Reading, MCAT, and USMLE Step 1 Test Results for Medical Students. Education Resources Information Center (April 2002).
4. ^ Facts: Applicants, Matriculants and Graduates. Association of American Medical Colleges.
5. ^ MCAT Scores and GPAs for Applicants and Matriculants, 1994-2005. AAMC. Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
6. ^ MCAT Exam Frequently Asked Questions. Association of American Medical Colleges.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is a non_profit organization established in 1876 involved in the accreditation of medical schools and teaching hospitals in Canada and the United States. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ...

Further reading

• Julian, E (2005). "Validity of the Medical College Admission Test for predicting medical school performance". Academic Medicine 80 (10): 910-7. PMID 16186610. 

External links

• Association of American Medical Colleges
• AAMC: Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) Web Site
• AAMC: MCAT Student Manual