MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)
All About the MCAT
Introducing the MCAT
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a standardized exam that is used to assess applicants to medical schools. The test is created by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in cooperation with its member schools. It is required as part of the admissions process by most U.S. medical schools. The test is administered by Thomson Prometric, a private firm that is a leading provider of technology-based testing and assessment services.
The questions on the MCAT are basically designed to measure your problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Two test sections assess your mastery of basic concepts in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. For most questions, choosing the correct answer requires more than just a rote response; you must calculate a solution, interpret and evaluate given data, or apply a particular scientific principle to a given situation. There is also a third test section that requires you to read passages on general topics and answer questions by applying your reasoning skills to what you have read. Finally, a fourth test section requires you to write two essays that describe and explain your thinking on given general topics.
According to the AAMC, the skills tested on the MCAT are those identified by medical professionals and educators as essential for success in medical school and in a career as a physician. The importance of the sciences is self-evident; the inclusion of verbal reasoning and writing skills is intended, according to the AAMC, to "encourage undergraduates with broad educational backgrounds to consider careers in the health professions and [to] stimulate premedical students to investigate a wide variety of course offerings outside the natural sciences."
The MCAT was formerly given in two formats: as a paper-and-pencil exam and as a computer-based test (CBT). However the test is now offered only on computer. When you take the computerized MCAT, you view the questions on a computer screen and indicate your answers by clicking on on-screen answer ovals. You type your essays using the computer keyboard.
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