A Simple Guide To The MCAT Exam

What is the MCAT EXAM?
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is designed to measure your ability to think critically and solve problems, and assess your knowledge base in a variety of core topic areas that are important to the study and field of medicine. If you're interested in attending medical school, you'll almost certainly have to take the MCAT exam—and in this ultra-competitive environment you'll certainly want to get your best possible score.

The MCAT exam has undergone a major overhaul in 2015.

The MCAT Exam: What to Expect

The MCAT exam is a multiple-choice test that's divided into four main test sections:
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
- Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
- Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills

How the MCAT Exam Is Scored
Your official MCAT exam score will be a sum total of your scores on each of the four test sections. You will receive a score between 118 and 132 for each section, and your total score will range from 472 to 528. Good news—there's no penalty for guessing—so when you encounter challenging questions make sure you give them a shot, eliminating choices you know aren't correct in an effort to boost your chances of guessing correctly.

After completing the MCAT exam, you can view your score report on the official Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) website (<a href="http://www.aamc.org">www.aamc.org) approximately one month after your test date.
- AMCAS participating institutions: Your scores will be released automatically to the American College Application Service (AMCAS®), so if you're a prospective first-year student no additional action is required by you to include your scores as part of your online application to medical school. If you're a prospective transfer student or advanced standing applicant, you should contact the schools to which you're applying for application guidelines.
- Non-AMCAS participating institutions: Your MCAT exam score can be sent to another application service or directly to a specific school, either electronically or via mail. Please visit the AAMC website for additional information.

Your score on the MCAT exam is typically valid for 2–3 years, but this varies by institution. Please contact the medical school(s) you plan on applying to for their score acceptance policies.

Registering for the MCAT Exam
If you're interested in earning a professional health degree, chances are you'll need to submit an MCAT exam score as part of your school application.
In order to register for the MCAT exam, you'll need to create an AAMC account and obtain an AAMC ID, username, and password. Visit the official AAMC website to create your account—and read and follow all of the directions carefully. This will also allow you to access additional MCAT-related information and services.
Once you create your account, you'll be able to view a list of testing locations and schedules and register for an exam online through the AAMC's MCAT Scheduling and Registration System. The AAMC recommends that you register at least 60 days prior to your preferred test date.
For a complete list of registration and scheduling options and associated fees—including fee assistance—visit the official AAMC website (www.aamc.org). You'll also find helpful information on accommodated testing options if you have a disability or medical condition.

The MCAT Exam—Test Overview 
As previously mentioned, the MCAT exam is a multiple-choice test that's divided into four main sections:
The total exam time is 6 hours and 15 minutes, and the total 'seated' time is 7 hours and 33 minutes—this includes the examinee agreement, optional tutorial, scheduled breaks between exam sections, and the void question and satisfaction survey at the end of the exam. (Please note that the exam includes a number of experimental items that don't count towards your score).

Let's look at each test section in a little more depth.

1. Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
- Total number of questions: 59
° 10 passage-based question sets (4–6 questions per set)
° 15 independent questions (not passage based)
- Total time: 95 minutes

This section of the exam includes questions that assess your knowledge of core chemical and physical science concepts, along with your reasoning and scientific inquiry abilities. The questions you'll find in this section are based on college-level concepts in biology, biochemistry, general and organic chemistry, and physics.

2. Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
This section of the exam includes questions that assess your knowledge of core psychological (consistent with DSM-5), social, and biological concepts, along with your reasoning and scientific inquiry abilities. The questions you'll find in this section are based on college-level concepts in biology, psychology, and sociology.

3. Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
This section of the exam includes questions that assess your knowledge of core biological and biochemical concepts, along with your reasoning and scientific inquiry abilities. The questions you'll find in this section are based on college-level concepts in biology, biochemistry, and general and organic chemistry.

4. Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills
- Total number of questions: 53
° 9 passage-based question sets (5–7 questions per set)
- Total time: 90 minutes

This section of the exam includes questions that assess your ability to think critically, comprehend, assess, analyze, and reason through a variety of written material, which spans a wide array of academic disciplines across the humanities and social sciences.