MCAT Test

The Association of American Medical Colleges administers the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) to provide a measure of the basic academic skills required to succeed in medical school. The exam consists of four sections: Physical Sciences, Verbal Reasoning, Writing Sample, and Biological Sciences. Before beginning the exam, you will have the opportunity to take a ten-minute tutorial on the test format. Next, the test administrator will require you to sign a non-disclosure agreement; this usually takes about five minutes. At this point, the test will begin with the Physical Sciences section. This section of the exam consists of 52 questions, which must be completed within 70 minutes. Some of these questions will be grouped together and based on passages of text, while others will stand independent. The Physical Sciences section of the exam evaluates problem-solving ability in general chemistry and physics. After completing it, you will be given the option of taking a ten-minute break. These optional breaks will be available after the first three sections of the exam. After completing the Physical Sciences section and the optional break, you will be given 60 minutes to answer 40 questions in the Verbal Reasoning section. These questions will be based on seven passages of approximately 600 words each drawn from areas including humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. The questions in the Verbal Reasoning section will require you to understand, evaluate, and apply the information from the passages.

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After completing this section and possibly taking a ten-minute break, you will be given 60 minutes to respond to two Writing Sample prompts. These prompts will not be based on specific issues in the sciences; rather, they will be general topics. Your job in the composition of a Writing Sample is to develop a thesis and present an argument while also demonstrating an ability to write clearly and concisely. Finally, the fourth section of the exam, Biological Sciences, will consist of 52 questions which must be completed within 70 minutes. The questions in the Biological Sciences section will test your problem-solving ability in the areas of biology and organic chemistry. As in the Physical Sciences section of the exam, some of the exercises will be grouped together and based on paragraphs, while others will be independent. After completing this section of the exam, you will be asked to fill out a 10-minute survey. Candidates will be in their seats for total of 5 hours and 20 minutes; 4 hours and 20 minutes of which will be spent working on the exam itself.