The MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is required for admission to most medical schools. The MCAT is computer-based and tests physical and biological sciences, verbal reasoning, and writing skills. In 2015, the AAMC added a new section called Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior. This section tests your ability to understand sociocultural, biological and psychological influences on behavior and social interactions as well as how people process emotion and stress. You'll only want to take this seven-and-a-half hour test once, so prepare as thoroughly as possible.
Admissions officers use the MCAT as a predictor of your success in medical school. The exam is designed to test the skills you'll use when you get there, including basic science, verbal reasoning, and writing ability. The MCAT is a 7½ hour, computer-based test that has the reputation of being one of the most challenging standardized tests.
In Canada, most schools weigh your MCAT scores very heavily. Some schools set minimum cut-off MCAT scores that applicants must meet in order to be considered.
What Is the MCAT Like and What Is Its Purpose?
The MCAT is designed to assess the extent to which medical school applicants have the conceptual understanding and analytical skills necessary for success in medical education, and admissions officers often use MCAT results to gauge the level of an aspiring doctor's preparedness for med school.
“We support applicants by providing a standardized test and testing experience that allows them to signal to schools their academic readiness for the rigors of the medical education curriculum," Javarro Russell, senior director of admissions testing service with the Association of American Medical Colleges – the organization that creates and administers MCAT exams – wrote in an email.
Critics of the MCAT question whether and to what extent the test is an accurate measure of someone's potential to be a good medical student or doctor. Some say the MCAT impedes low-income premeds of all ethnic backgrounds, especially those whose parents did not attend college or who were raised in rural areas, and that the test particularly deters premeds from underrepresented racial groups, including Black and Hispanic students. The average MCAT score within these demographic categories is lower than the norm – a phenomenon MCAT skeptics attribute to systemic inequalities that hinder the educational opportunities of certain populations.
MCAT Sections
The MCAT has four sections, and a test-taker's performance on each section is weighted equally in his or her overall score. The sections are:
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems.
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems.
- Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.
- Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior.
Why the MCAT Matters
Three of the four sections focus on natural and social sciences and are based on lessons learned in premed undergraduate courses. In contrast, the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section of the MCAT is not scientifically oriented, does not require background knowledge and tests reading comprehension abilities.
“While content knowledge within the sciences is foundational for academic pursuits in medicine, being able to apply that knowledge is just as critical," Russell says.
How Much Does the MCAT Cost?
According to the MCAT fee schedule posted on the AAMC website, the initial registration fee to sign up for the MCAT is $325 for the 2022 testing year. However, med school hopefuls with difficult financial circumstances may qualify for the AAMC's fee assistance program. The program enables premeds with demonstrated financial need to receive discounts on their MCAT registration fees, alongside free test prep resources, a complimentary two-year subscription to the Medical School Admission Requirements database, fee waivers for the AAMC PREview professional readiness exam (previously called a situational judgment test) and one American Medical College Application Service, or AMCAS, entry form, which can be submitted to as many as 20 medical schools at no charge.
How Long Is the MCAT?
The MCAT lasts 7 1/2 hours, including 6 hours and 15 minutes of time spent on the exam, 50 minutes devoted to breaks and 25 minutes assigned to logistical tasks at the beginning or end of the test.
MCAT Scores
An MCAT test-taker's total score on the exam can be as low as 472 or as high as 528. This score is determined based on the sum of a student's section scores, each of which ranges from a minimum of 118 to a maximum of 132. MCAT test-takers are rewarded for correct answers to test questions, but they are not penalized for wrong answers, so they should make their best guess on questions where they are unsure of the right answer, according to the AAMC.
“While care is taken to make sure that each test form is about equivalent in difficulty, one form may be slightly more or less difficult than another," Russell says. "The conversion of number correct scores to scaled scores, through a process called equating, compensates for small variations in difficulty between sets of questions."
According to MCAT test prep experts, perfect and near-perfect overall MCAT scores are highly unusual so premeds should not expect to achieve these scores.
"A perfect score in a section isn't necessarily exceedingly rare, but an overall perfect score is, you know, like a unicorn," says Dr. Ryan Gray, the publisher and CEO of Meded Media, a company that produces advice articles and podcasts for premeds.
"It happens, but it's not something to shoot for at all. ... I see students who shoot for those perfect scores do it at the expense of having a more well-rounded application, and those students – even with really great scores – don't get into medical school, because the rest of their application isn't what it needs to be," adds Gray, who is also CEO of Mappd, a prehealth admissions advising company.
While the MCAT is significant, it isn't the only factor that counts in a med school application, says Jen Jurgens, a senior curriculum manager for admissions with Magoosh, a test prep company. "A perfect score alone isn't going to get you into medical school," she warns. "So I think it's really, really important to keep in mind that schools are looking at applications holistically."
MCAT Percentiles
According to the AAMC, premeds who achieve the following MCAT scores equal or surpass the achievements of the vast majority of MCAT test-takers in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
|
TOTAL SCORE |
PERCENTILE RANK |
|
|---|---|---|
| 511 | Equal or superior to 80% of MCAT test-takers | |
| 515 | Equal or superior to 90% of MCAT test-takers | |
| 518 | Equal or superior to 95% of MCAT test-takers | |
| 521 | Equal or superior to 98% of MCAT test-takers | |
| 522 or 523 | Equal or superior to 99% of MCAT test-takers |
Average MCAT Scores
The mean MCAT score among med school applicants seeking admission to U.S. medical schools in the 2021-2022 school year was 505.9, according to AAMC statistics. However, the average MCAT score among applicants who were admitted and actually matriculated at U.S. medical schools in that same year was higher: 511.9.
MCAT Test Dates and Locations
MCAT test dates, scheduling deadlines and score release dates for test-takers in U.S. states are posted on a calendar for the AAMC website, and there is a similar digital document for test-takers in Canada. Test dates within U.S. territories and outside the U.S. are also listed on the AAMC site.
MCAT exams are available throughout the U.S. and Canada and in select locations outside of those two countries. Premeds may use the online MCAT Registration System to see a list of all the MCAT test centers.
MCAT Registration
Premeds should attempt to schedule their MCAT exam as soon as possible after slots open up for their desired test date since spots may run out, experts say.
Students who need their MCAT scores back by a certain date should take that into account when they schedule their test, since it takes 30 to35 days after the test to receive a score. Test-takers should also figure out where in the country they would prefer to sit for an exam — whether that location is close to their school, hometown or elsewhere, Jurgens says.
Premeds who wish to test between January and June can sign up for those test dates starting in October, and those who plan to take the test during July, August or September may sign up as early as February. The AAMC announces registration opening times in advance both on their website and on Twitter.
Cope With MCAT Testing Exhaustion
At seven hours and 30 minutes in length, exhaustion is unavoidable.
MCAT Prep
Premeds who are unsure of how to start preparing for the MCAT can consult the AAMC's free guide on creating a study plan. The AAMC provides many MCAT test prep resources, including some that are free.
Med school alumni say that, because the MCAT is a multi-hour exam that covers a variety of academic disciplines, including science and non-science subjects, it's crucial to prepare for the length and breadth of the exam.
"The best way to do it is to take a lot of practice tests," says Cameron Ward, a 2022 M.D. graduate from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center who is embarking on the internship year of his ophthalmology residency at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Ward says his approach to building up the endurance necessary to complete the entire MCAT test in one sitting was to progressively tackle more significant chunks of the test until he could complete the entire exam in one go. Then Ward repeatedly took the full-length exam until it felt normal, he says.
"By the time the test came around, I was accustomed to the length, and I had learned how to maintain focus" for an extended time period, Ward says.
Taking practice tests helps students identify which topics to focus on during test prep, Ward says.
Divya Vaithiswaran, a magna cum laude M.D. graduate from St. George's University, says MCAT prep can be "disheartening" and "humbling" at times; however, it is possible to perform well on the test even if preparing for it is challenging.
"The anxiety of taking the test is very real," she says. "People need to realize that, when you start studying for the MCAT, a lot of times you feel like you can't do it because you're not scoring as well as you should."
Premeds shouldn't get discouraged if they initially struggle with practice MCAT exam questions, Vaithiswaran says. "No one starts studying for the MCAT knowing everything."
Lauren Friedrich Black, a fourth-year UT Southwestern medical student, says the best way for premeds to decide what their target MCAT score should be is to research what the typical scores are among admitted students at the med schools where they plan to apply. Black says that she waited to take the MCAT until she had finished premed courses that were relevant to the test, such as biochemistry, psychology, sociology and statistics.
How Important Is the MCAT in the Medical School Admissions Process?
Dr. Blake Barker, associate dean for student affairs at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says med school hopefuls should be careful not to overestimate the weight that the MCAT is given in admissions decisions.
"Medical schools really intently look at the whole application in its entirety ... with (the) MCAT just being one piece," he says. "Think of your application like a pizza, and if one piece of the pizza is a little bit smaller than the rest, that means that the rest of the pieces need to be a bit bigger to make a whole pizza."
The MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is required for admission to most medical schools. The MCAT is computer-based and tests physical and biological sciences, verbal reasoning, and writing skills. In 2015, the AAMC added a new section called Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior. This section tests your ability to understand sociocultural, biological and psychological influences on behavior and social interactions as well as how people process emotion and stress. You'll only want to take this seven-and-a-half hour test once, so prepare as thoroughly as possible.
Admissions officers use the MCAT as a predictor of your success in medical school. The exam is designed to test the skills you'll use when you get there, including basic science, verbal reasoning, and writing ability. The MCAT is a 7½ hour, computer-based test that has the reputation of being one of the most challenging standardized tests.
In Canada, most schools weigh your MCAT scores very heavily. Some schools set minimum cut-off MCAT scores that applicants must meet in order to be considered.
MCAT preparation resources
Full-length MCAT practice exams
- AAMC | MCAT Official Prep Practice Exam One*
- AAMC | MCAT Official Prep Practice Exam Two*
- AAMC | MCAT Official Prep Practice Exam Three*
- AAMC | MCAT Official Prep Practice Exam Four*
MCAT question banks
- AAMC | MCAT Official Prep Section Bank*
- UWorld | MCAT QBank*
MCAT section study materials
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
- Kaplan | MCAT Biochemistry Review Book*
- Khan Academy | MCAT Biomolecules videos^
- Khan Academy | MCAT Cells videos*^
- Khan Academy | MCAT Organ Systems videos*^
- Shemmassian Academic Consulting | MCAT Biology: Everything You Need to Know*^
- Shemmassian Academic Consulting | MCAT Biochemistry: Everything You Need to Know*^
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
- AAMC | MCAT Official Prep Physics Question Pack*
- Berkeley Review | General Chemistry Parts I & II
- Berkeley Review | Organic Chemistry Parts I & II
- Berkeley Review | Physics Parts I & II
- Khan Academy | MCAT Physical Processes videos*^
- Khan Academy | MCAT Chemical Processes videos*^
- Shemmassian Academic Consulting | MCAT General Chemistry: Everything You Need to Know*^
- Shemmassian Academic Consulting | MCAT Organic Chemistry: Everything You Need to Know*^
- Shemmassian Academic Consulting | MCAT Physics: Everything You Need to Know*^
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
- Premed95 | Psych/Soc flashcards*^
- Shemmassian Academic Consulting | MCAT Psychology and Sociology: Everything You Need to Know*^
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills
- AAMC | CARS Question Pack I & CARS Question Pack II*
- Jack Westin | MCAT Question of the Day^
- Khan Academy | CARS practice questions^
- Princeton Review | Hyperlearning MCAT Verbal Workbook*
- Shemmassian Academic Consulting | MCAT CARS: Strategies from a 528 Scorer*^