The MCAT is Not Simply Another Standardized Test. Here's Why.

The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) main's goal is to predict a prospective medical student's performance in medical school. In that regard, it is similar to standardized exams that high school students take as a component of their application for admission to colleges, such as the American College Test (ACT) and Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). The MCAT, however, is a totally different animal than any other exam a student has taken to date.

“While the SAT and ACT exams test the reading, writing, and quantitative skills that students need for success in undergraduate education, the MCAT exam tests the natural, behavioral, and social sciences knowledge and analysis skills that students need for success in medical school,” said Karen Mitchell, PhD, senior director of admissions testing service for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

Petros Minasi, senior director of pre-health programs at Kaplan Test Prep, offered further insight on how the MCAT differs from other standardized tests. Having begun his career at Kaplan working on SAT prep, Minasi was able to offer unique insight. Here’s a look at the ways in which he felt the exam stood alone in its rigors.

It’s a marathon

With a total exam day test time of seven hours and 30 minutes, the MCAT is more than twice as long as the ACT or SAT. That doesn’t even factor in the prep. Students spend on average about 240 hours preparing for the exam, according to the AAMC. That number dwarfs even the more ambitious college-entrance exam prep schedules.

Exam format

The MCAT is broken into four sections: biological and biochemical foundations of living systems; chemical and physical foundations of biological systems; psychological, social, and biological foundations of behavior; and critical analysis and reasoning skills. The first three of those sections are largely passage-based, meaning students have to understand the context surrounding a question in addition to recalling content they have learned in their preparation.

Required knowledge

The MCAT is a content-based exam, meaning that test-takers are expected to know specific bodies of information prior to taking it. That is largely different from college admissions exams, which generally test concepts students learn throughout their scholastic careers. And then there is the vast amount of content one’s expected to master for the MCAT.

The medium is different

The MCAT is a computer-based exam. Even though most students are very fluent with technology, that does mean there is one more thing they need to strategize for.