All About the MCAT

The MCAT is the single most important factor (next to GPA) in determining whether you will get into med school. A low score on the MCAT can ruin your application and destroy your chances of becoming a doctor. A good score will impress admission committees and can get you admitted when all other aspects of your application are weak.

So what exactly is the MCAT? Well, it is a test published by the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges.) It is known as the Medical College Admission Test and is used by schools to determine your critical thinking skills and scientific knowledge.The MCAT will test your knowledge in the fields of Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and Organic Chemistry.

Be prepared to do a lot of studying for an impressive score.

There are four sections to the test: Physical sciences, verbal reasoning, writing sample, and biological sciences. However, the writing sample section will no longer be part of the test starting in 2013 so I will not bother talking about it here.

Your score on each section can range from a 1 to a 15. This score is converted from your "raw score", which is the questions you answered correct out of the total number of questions from the section. For example, raw scores from 40 to 43 on a particular section may equal a score of 11, while raw scores from 44 to 46 may equal a score of 12. 

The average MCAT score for accepted students is typically between 27 and 32 for most schools, but there is a large difference between the least selective schools (with an average MCAT score of about 25) and the most selective schools (some with an average MCAT score of 36 or more). 

This graph shows the average MCAT score for students that were accepted into medical school. As you can see, competition is only getting more fierce as time goes on, so you must get a high score to be competitive. 

Well, hopefully this post provided a good overview of the test and soon I will write a post with the goal of leading you through the ambitious task of studying for this monster of a test and getting that great score you want.