What subjects does the MCAT cover?

The MCAT (medical school admission test) is made up of four subtests. They are:

1. Physical sciences (physics and general chemistry)
2. Verbal Reasoning (7 5-to-8-paragraph essays followed by MC questions on a vast array of topics)
3. Essay composition (tow simply 30-minute essays in response in generic prompts)
4. Biological sciences (physiology, genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry)

A 31-page detailed list of topics is available from the test writers at aamc.org. A detailed rundown on how to prepare is available from the nation's premier MCAT preparation course at berkeleyreview.com.

The study method used for each section

Verbal: Lots and lots of passages! Doing lots of passages gives you a good feel for the "MCAT" way of asking and answering questions. Practice some passages using different methods. I found it best to just read the passage critically, as if I was grading it. For me, specifically looking for the main idea of the passage and each paragraph made me get too bogged down in the details.

Physical Sciences: Reviewed and made sure I knew the basic concepts. Again, do lots of passages! Nova MCAT Physics Review was great. Nova emphasizes understanding the concepts and being comfortable with the mathematical relationships in equations. If you double the charge or halve the distance how does that effect the electical force? Etc.

Biological Sciences: Reviewed the basic concepts. Cell bio and genetics are good classes to have under your belt. The room was about 95 degrees by the time BIO started, I'm sure i would have scored higher if I wasn't on the verge of heat stroke.

12 V, 14 P, 13 B = 39R

Essay: I reviewed the AAMC prompts and directions, but I never wrote a practice essay. Thank God the questions weren't related to politics

The Physical Sciences, Verbal Reasoning, and Biological Sciences sections on the MCAT are scored between a 1 and a 15. (1 is the lowest score and 15 is the highest score). In total, the lowest MCAT score you can receive is a 3, and the highest MCAT score is a 45. The two essays are scored on a J-T scale by one human and one computer grader. Most competitive medical schools look for a combined MCAT score of at least 30 and a Writing MCAT score of P or Q.

Most medical schools require science courses taken at a 4-year institution. At a minimum, take 1 year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. To be safe, I’d also recommend one semester (4 semester units; I’m not sure how it works out in quarter units) of math with calculus, biochemistry (may overlap with o-chem), and 1-2 semesters of English with writing composition. Other classes that may look good for medical schools include anatomy & physiology, immunology, psychology, and sociology.

Section	MCAT Score Range	Average MCAT Score
Physical Sciences	1-15	8
Verbal Reasoning	1-15	8
Biological Sciences	1-15	8
Writing	J-T	O