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февраля 11 How the Heck Do I Get Into Med School Anyway, Part II - THE MCAT!In part one of this series of posts dedicated to Sonia, I discussed the general procedure in deciding and getting ready to apply to medical school. For today's topic, I'm going to break down one of the most dreaded things in the application process - the Medical College Admissions Test, or MCAT.
The first thing regarding the MCAT is this: it is just one leg of the marathon that is medical school. I would even venture to call it a "rite of passage" as almost every medical student in the United States has had to sit for it. The second thing to keep in mind is that the MCAT is important, but not impossible. With the right preparation and mind-set, it shouldn't be too bad.
Now, the MCAT is a full-day examination that consists of four sections: biological sciences, physical sciences, verbal reasoning and two hand-written essays. The biological sciences portion focuses mostly on biology, genetics, and some organic chemistry. Physical science deals with physics and general chemistry. Verbal reasoning is just that, understanding and comprehension of presented material, and the two essays are evaluating your ability to follow directions and communicate clearly. It is designed so that anyone who has taken the basic required science courses for medical school admissions (one year each of biology, chemistry, organic chemistry and physics) can score well - it is the application of your knowledge and your ability to think that will help you get a higher score.
To break this exam down into smaller pieces, I'll address each portion individually. Now, I must pause for one moment and post a disclaimer:
Upon taking the MCAT, you must affirm that you will not release material, or discuss the material on your exam; therefore the following information provided below is information that can be obtained by reviewing the MCAT Sample Items provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Therefore, this guide is not in violation of said affirmation. Furthermore, the following is not a guarantee of high scores on the exam, but is to serve as a guide only.
First, let's look at the biological sciences. In this portion, you will be faced with questions dealing with aspects of biology, such as genetics, physiology, anatomy, development, and so on. Also, there are organic chemistry questions, however they did scale back on these in order to add more genetics and molecular biology. Many of the questions will be pure "regurgitation" questions - things you should be able to recall from your biology classes. However, a large component of questions will require you to evaluate data, and reach logical conclusions. Often, these take the form of data analysis - you will be presented with experimental data, usually in the form of a table of results. To get through this portion, I suggest that you become familiar, and comfortable, with reading scientific papers - get your hands on copies of Nature and other published primary literature and read, read, read. Amy McNeal of the School of Natural Science has composed an easy to follow guide to reading and comprehension of primary literature that would be beneficial to anyone uncomfortable with data analysis.
Next, let's look at the physical sciences portion. Here, you will be faced with every student's favorite subject... math (did you catch on to my thinly veiled sarcasm? However, it is not calculus, but basic algebra and trigonometry... the fun things you need to calculate things like velocity and thermodynamics. This portion is physics and chemistry - but not every question requires a calculation. As in many tests, your ability to apply concepts will be very useful. Brush up on your math, and review these two subjects. Also, you will be analyzing data, so become comfortable with reading graphs, and using the data to answer multiple questions.
Now we have to look at the verbal reasoning portion. The verbal reasoning portion is very similar to the reading comprehension portion of any standardized test. You will be presented with several paragraphs to read, and answer questions relating to the material. Sound easy? While it is not as difficult as the physical sciences, this portion tends to be tricky. Often, people tend to read though the passages too quickly, or do not fully understand the question being asked. To handle this portion, brush up on your reading - read anything and everything you can get your hands on. The subject can be anything, from a scientific paper, to a piece of classic literature, so reading a variety of things under timed circumstances is a good thing.
The last portion of the exam is the two hand written essays. Here, you will be given a topic - usually a statement or idea, and you must compose a unified essay that incorporates the topic, its meaning, and opposing view into one work. While this sounds daunting, if you enjoy writing, it can be the easiest portion of the exam. First, read anything and everything you can get your hands on - you can utilize current events, literature, or personal experiences to help define your topic, and help tie all the concepts together. Practice writing under timed conditions, and review common grammatical errors (yes, spelling counts on this portion.)
Now that you know what the test is comprised of, you can create your own personalized study strategy. Do you learn and prepare better in a structured environment? It might be to your advantage to sign up for a MCAT prep course. Companies like Kaplan and Princeton Review offer classes with instructors that help prepare you for the exam, but this option can be expensive. Short on cash, or prefer to study on your own? Go to just about any bookstore and you will find a plethora of preparation books. My personalized recommendation? Well, to prepare, I had the following strategy:
The goal is to figure out what works best for you, and go from there.
As to when the best time to take the exam - try and make sure you have completed your basic science core classes. It would be difficult to try and attempt the MCAT without learning organic chemistry or physics. Also, you want to make sure you have completed the test before you start applying to schools - take it no later than the April before you start applying (usually the April of your junior year.) You want to make sure your schools will be able to access your results when evaluating your application.
For more information regarding the MCAT, you might like to check out the following sites:
Nick's MCAT Prep (probably one of the better non-commercial sites on the net)
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