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Before you go ahead and read this, you must know, this is all personal advice, and I am assuming several things:
1. You have a PASSION to go medical school. I knew 100% when I was 15.
2. You have read My Story.
3. You have not taken the MCAT already.
4. You are apt3 and willing to work hard.
5. You are naïve to the whole MCAT thing.
-- The MCAT --
dum, dum, dum.
It is made up of four sections, with 3 x 10 minute breaks available between each, resulting in a 5 hour beast. The MCAT is ever changing, but this is what it looked like when I took it:
**Click on the headings to bring up a PDF with all the information covered in each section.
NOTE: In April 2015 and beyond, the MCAT will no longer have a writing section, however, Advanced Biology and Biochemistry, Psychology, Ethics and Cross Cultural Studies, and Statistics, will be added to the MCAT. Therefore the test will be around ~7 hours, instead of ~5
If you've read My Story, then I know you've chosen a university, a major, are in clubs/shadowing, kept your grades up, and are ready for the next step. I would recommend taking the MCAT after your 3rd year of college, that way you may submit your online AMCAS application the summer before your fourth year. Unless you feel completely prepared to take the exam right after classes, take the time you need after finals to sew up loose ends before taking your MCAT. You may sign up to take the exam --> REGISTER HERE Also - a huge fyi - it takes roughly 30 days to receive your score. Take that into account.
Also, the semester prior to taking the exam, it would be wise to take a lighter load of classes (I took 13 credit hours). This allowed me the extra free time I needed to study for the MCAT on my own during the semester, while balancing everything else. The lighter load also made it easier to keep my grades up too while WORRYING about the MCAT.
Now for some averages - my entering IUSM class average on the MCAT was ~30.2 (~79th percentile). I believe the average score of all people that take the MCAT is ~24 (~50th percentile).
This MCAT can make or break your application - it carries a lot of weight, and hence why students spend thousands of dollars on training for this test. You may want to take a prep course or you may want to study on your own - it's your call.
The MCAT is available 25+ times a year; however, it is known medical schools frown upon taking the test multiple times. You should aim to only have to take the test one time. If you have to take it again because you didn't score well, you'd better make sure you show improvement. If not, you will have a much more difficult time getting in.
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There are many ways of approaching this test; I will inform you about general details, how I studied, and how I took the test. I wouldn't recommend doing exactly what I did, because each student is different, and each has different needs. This is meant to be used as a guide to inform and give some ideas. Side note***If you have performed well in your science classes (getting A's in physics, organic, general chemistry, and biology) - you WILL be better prepared for this exam. However, that doesn't mean you'll do well. This is a test that requires a lot of self-motivation and self-teaching.
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