MSMP Pulse January 2015: MCAT 2015
- Full resources/links can be found at http://uhmsmp.org/
resources/mcat/ - AAMC’s interactive guide
- AAMC MCAT 2015 website
- Higher emphasis on problem solving skills in all sections. There will also be an effort to make passages and problems more relatable to the health sciences.
- The NEW SECTION Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior will test your ability to understand sociocultural, biological, and psychological influences on behavior and social interactions, and how people process things like emotion and stress.
- NEW EMPHASIS on biochemistry. The Biological Sciences section is now known as the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems Section, which will include concepts encountered in first-semester biochemistry.
- Big changes in reading passage topics. The Verbal Reasoning section is now known as the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section.New passages will draw from topics in social sciences and humanities, and will not cover any natural science and technology topics. But don’t worry: like the original Verbal Reasoning section, no specific knowledge will be required to do well on this section.
- MCAT 2015 TAKES LONGER to complete, clocking in at 7 h 33 min total seat time, 6 h 15 minutes total content time.
- Learn more about the breakdown of each test section here
- MCAT 2015 COSTS MORE. Registration costs have been raised by $25, yielding total cost of $300 for each administration.
- If you are unable to cover the costs of taking the MCAT, check out AAMC’s Fee Assistance Program: here
- AAMC’s Overview
- A brief overview by UHM’s PAC
- MCAT 2015 FAQ’s from the AAMC
- A great guide from Kaplan (a bit long but worth a read)
Coursework will still be a common way to prepare for the MCAT 2015.
Core courses recommended have not changed. To prepare for the MCAT, you should be familiar with concepts covered in:
- Intro biology (2 semester sequence)
- General chemistry (2 semester sequence)
- Organic chemistry (2 semester sequence)
- Intro physics (2 semester sequence)
For the MCAT 2015, additional coursework to consider:
- Intro biochemistry (1 semester)
- Intro psychology (1 semester)
- Intro sociology (1 semester).
- AAMC Interactive MCAT 2015 tool, with example questions
- Khan Academy for MCAT 2015
- AAMC Psychology/Sociology Textbook Resource
- AAMC MCAT 2015 OFFICIAL PRACTICE TEST
- Kaplan Free MCAT 2015 Practice Exam
- Princeton Review (found at bottom of site)
- Although not free, the AAMC has provided a package of 120 questions based on the MCAT 2015
A full explanation for scoring can be found here. Because no one has taken the exam yet, we don’t know what a “good” score is yet, but here are the basics:
- Each section will be worth anywhere from 118 to 132, with a median score of 125
- The total score will range from 472-528.
- Like the old MCAT, percentile ranks will be reported for the total and section scores. You will be compared with others that took the exam on the same day as you.
- “Confidence intervals” will also be reported. This will show the accuracy of your scores and give the range of your scores on another MCAT attempt at about the same time (basically, shows the accuracy of your score and the range you were likely to have scored in). For instance, a high total score but a wide confidence interval may not indicate an accurate examination.
Take the time to view a sample score printout here.