Medical College Admission Test - MCAT

The MCAT, or the Medical College Admission Test, is a multiple-choice, standardized examination, which has been designed for assessing the examinee's critical thinking, problem-solving, and knowledge about concepts of science and related principles and writing skills, which are all a prerequisite for medicine study. Scores in this test are reported for Verbal Reasoning, Physical Science, Biological Sciences, and the Writing Sample section.

AAMC administers the MCAT to provide students with an equal ground based on which medical schools can select them. Almost all the medical schools in the U.S. need applicants to submit their scores on the MCAT exam. Many schools don't accept MCAT scores that are three years old or older.

Each year, around 85,000 students take the MCAT exam.

Who can Apply for the MCAT?

Students who are in pre-medical schools usually take the exam. However, one can appear for the MCAT examination if they plan to apply to a health professions institution/school. When registering, one would be asked to consent to a statement stating that the student's only intention in registering for the MCAT exam is to apply to a health professions school. However, candidates not applying to any health professional’s institution/school should procure 'special permission' to register for the exam. International students have different requirements to be eligible for the MCAT.

An international student can take the exam if they meet the abovementioned requirements. If the student has a degree in MBBS or is pursuing the program, they can register for the exam without taking any special permission.

Cost of Taking MCAT

MCAT Scheduling Fees for all 2024 testing dates

Purpose	Fees
Standard Registration	$345
Fee Assistance Program Assistance	$140
International Fee	+$120

Rescheduling Fee and Cancellation Refund
For Standard Registration:

Purpose	Date and/or Test Centre Rescheduling Fee	Cancellation Refund
60 or more days before exam	$50	$170
30-59 days before exam	$100	$170
10-29 days before exam	$200	$0

For Fee Assistance Program Registration:

Purpose	Date and/or Test Centre Rescheduling Fee	Cancellation Refund
60 or more days before exam	$20	$70
30-59 days before exam	$40	$70
10-29 days before exam	$90	$0

How to Register/Apply for MCAT?

Registering for the MCAT involves several steps to ensure prospective medical students can secure their testing date and location. The candidate needs to create an account by providing personal information like name, email, and date of birth by visiting the AAMC website. They can then view the available MCAT dates and locations. After paying the registration fee, which varies by location, they can also reschedule or cancel their registration online. They can designate up to five medical schools to receive their scores at no extra charge. Additional schools can be added later for a fee.

Test Dates for MCAT

The MCAT is typically offered multiple times throughout the year. The dates vary year to year, but the exam is generally available in January, March, May, June, July, August, and September. Each of these months may have several test dates, often on weekends. Additionally, candidates should consider their preparation time and application timelines when selecting a test date. Many students aim to take the MCAT in the spring or early summer to align with medical school application cycles.

MCAT Test Structure

The exam consists of four sections, all dealing with General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, General Biology, Biochemistry, Physics, Psychology, and Sociology, along with basic skills for critically analyzing text and reasoning skills. These fields are not asked independently in the exam but often overlap in the questions, mimicking the syllabus medical schools offer.

All the questions are multiple-choice questions and have no negative marking.
MCAT has the following four sections:

• Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems- This section deals with topics relating to Biology (65%) and Biochemistry (25%) along with Organic Chemistry (5%) and General Chemistry (5%) which are part of the syllabus in undergraduate courses. There are 44 passage-related questions and 15 non-passage-related questions, which amounts to 59 overall questions in this section.
• Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems- This section contains questions relating to basic physical sciences and biological sciences. It includes questions from fields like General Chemistry (30%), Biochemistry (25%), Biology (5%), Organic Chemistry (15%), and Physics (25%). This section also has 44 passage-related questions and 15 non-passage-related questions, making 59 questions.
• Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior- This section contains questions from Psychology and Sociology, linking both to biological sciences. It focuses on implementing research and statistical principles in behavior-related and socio-cultural determinants of health along with their outcomes. The section has 44 passage-related questions and 15 non-passage-related questions, making 59 questions in all.
• Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills- This section is referred to as CARS. It doesn’t focus on any particular syllabus and has passage-related questions only based on which students will be required to attempt the answers.

Test Duration of MCAT

The MCAT exam, including breaks, is conducted within 7 hours and 33 minutes. The content time provided for the exam is 6 hours and 15 minutes in all. The time is split into different sections based on the function the student has to perform in the section. The exam starts with an agreement made when the candidates enter the test center, which takes 8 minutes. A tutorial for first-time test takers follows this; it is optional and can take a maximum of 10 minutes. After this, the student moves on to the different sections of the MCAT.

The breaks provided for the exam are optional. Students can opt to move on to the next section. But it must be noted that the break time will NOT be carried on to the next section.

Sections	Time Duration
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems	95 minutes
Break (optional)	10 minutes
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills	90 minutes
Mid-Exam Break (optional)	30 minutes
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems	95 minutes
Break (optional)	10 minutes
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior	95 minutes

After the main sections of the exam, there will be extra time if the student has completed the exam before the schedule. This can happen when students have opted not to take the breaks. There will be an optional satisfaction survey that will take 5 minutes.

MCAT Test Score

The MCAT test scores for each section is converted to a scaled score ranging from 118 to 132, where these scores are the lowest and highest scores attainable, respectively. The midpoint of the score is 125, and candidates will receive both sectional scores and an overall score. The total score ranges from 472 to 528, with a midpoint of 500. It takes around a month to receive scores.

Requesting Rescore

Candidates requesting a rescore must submit an MCAT Rescore Request through the MCAT Registration System. These requests must be made within 30 calendar days following the release of scores. Upon submission, candidates will receive an invoice for payment via email. A Rescore Request is considered incomplete until the full payment is processed. The fee for a Rescore Request is set at USD 80 for the 2025 testing year.

The AAMC will respond to the request within three weeks of receiving payment. The response will either validate the original scores or provide the updated scaled scores for each test section.

Cancelling or Rescheduling MCAT

Cancellations can be processed online via the MCAT Registration System or by contacting Pearson VUE up to 10 days before the appointment. Candidates will receive an email confirmation of their cancellation. If an email is not received within 24 hours of submitting the cancellation request, it indicates that the cancellation was unsuccessful, and candidates will need to attempt the process again. Failure to cancel an appointment and not attending the exam will result in a no-show status, leading to the loss of a testing attempt. Candidates may need to wait up to 24 hours after their original appointment time before they can reschedule. In the event of a no-show, candidates will be required to pay the full registration fee.

Test Centers for MCAT

The test centers for taking the MCAT exam are located across all the U.S. states and some countries around the globe. To know more about the test centers in their state or a particular state, candidates have to sign in to the MCAT Registration System.

Retaking MCAT

Candidates often choose to retake the MCAT due to the importance of the score report in the admission process. At the same time, students are generally careful in their preparations to ace the test in the first attempt due to the expense of registration.

Students can only take the test 7 times in their lifetime. One might take up the MCAT examination three times in 1 calendar year. In 2 consecutive years, students can only attempt the test a total of 4 times. However, they can register for just 1 test at any given time.

Some Things to Remember

• The MCAT is a critical component of the medical school application process in the United States and Canada. Most medical schools require a competitive score for admission.
• While the MCAT score is important, it is considered alongside other factors such as GPA, letters of recommendation, personal statements, and extracurricular activities.
• The Fee Assistance Program supports students who cannot take the MCAT exam or apply to medical school without financial aid.