Quick Facts About the MCAT Exam
For you who are keen to study medicine, here are some quick
facts about the MCAT Exams for admissions to MD programs.
1) The Medical College Admission Test of MCAT is
a standardized examination administered by the Association of
American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for prospective students seeking
to study medicine in United States and Canada.
2) Popularly known as the MCAT, the test was
first developed in 1928 to improve the screening process by medical
schools to admit students who would be able to cope with a
challenging medical program.
3) The new 2015 MCAT has been adopted based on
recommendation of an advisory committee appointed by AAMC in 2008.
The review included over 2700 surveys received from various
stakeholders.
4) The first version of the test had 6 – 8 subtests
on reading and comprehension, memory, logic among others.
5) The 2015 MCAT has 4 multiple choice
sections. These include: Chemical and Physical Foundations of
Biological Systems, Biological and Biochemical Foundations of
Living System, Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of
Behaviors and Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.
6) The total content time for the 2015 MCAT
exam is 6 hours and 15 minutes.
7) From April 2015 onwards, one may attempt
the exam up to a maximum of 7 times in a lifetime.
8) The 2015 MCAT has a total score ranging
from 472 to 528, with 500 as the midpoint score one may have.
9) In
Singapore, MCAT result can also be used to apply for the MD
program at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore.
Sources:
1)
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=195259
2)
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/highest-mcat-score-in-aamc-history.117689/
3)
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/63060/data/mcatessentials.pdf
4) https://www.aamc.org/initiatives/mr5/
5)
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/scores/414286/scores.html
6)
http://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/?utm_campaign=Forumz