Hawley Center

MCAT Preparation

Test Overview

  • The MCAT assesses mastery of basic concepts in biology, chemistry (general and organic), and physics; facility with scientific problem solving and critical thinking; and writing skills.
  • The goal of the MCAT is to help admission committees predict which of their applicants will be successful in medical school.
  • The MCAT can be used to help applicants who are not accepted to medical school determine the academic areas in which they need further study.
  • The MCAT is given in April and August of each year at established test centers.  In any one year, a candidate may test only once in April and once in August.  There is no provision for makeup tests.
  • The overall length of the test day is approximately nine and one-half hours.

Description of the MCAT

Verbal Reasoning

  • Designed to assess your ability to understand, evaluate, and apply information and arguments presented in prose texts.
  • The test consists of several passages taken from the humanities, social sciences, and from areas of the natural sciences not tested on the Physical and Biological Sciences sections.

Physical Sciences

  • Designed to assess reasoning in general chemistry and physics.
  • Questions assess knowledge of basic concepts and your ability to problem solve.

Biological Sciences

  • Designed to assess reasoning in biology and organic chemistry
  • Questions assess knowledge of basic concepts and your ability to problem solve in biology.

Writing Sample

  • Consists of two 30-minute essays.
  • Designed to assess skill in the following areas:

Developing a central idea; 
Synthesizing concepts and ideas; 
Presenting ideas cohesively and logically; and
Writing clearly, following accepted practices of grammar, syntax,
and punctuation consistent with timed, first-draft composition.

  • Topics do not assess subject matter knowledge.

Preparing for the MCAT

  • Preparation for the test should begin with a careful reading of the MCAT Student Manual available form the AAMC.
  • Particularly in the sciences, you should review relevant course outlines, notes, and textbooks.
  • Work through the sample questions and the explanations of the questions and responses in the Student Manual.
  • You should take one or more of the practice MCATs in order to help determine the areas in which you need further study.
  • Performance on the Verbal Reasoning section will be enhanced by your participation in a variety of courses in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.  Through readings and coursework, you should become familiar with the types of critical thinking and reasoning skills used in these disciplines.
  • The best preparation for the Writing Sample is coursework in expository writing or composition, which will acquaint you with the components of a well-written, well-organized essay.
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Last Updated: 4/22/09