MCAT EXAM
Prospective medical students may ask: What is the MCAT? The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) exam is an important part of your medical school candidate profile. It's detailed and thorough, and isn't designed to simply assess your ability to memorize facts—rather, it tests your understanding of key medical concepts, and your ability to apply those concepts to scenarios you'd encounter as a practicing physician.
Never fear, though: If you have a solid grasp of your medical school prerequisites, then you’re already on the right track to performing well on the MCAT exam. Studying, careful consultation of MCAT information and test prep materials, and lots of MCAT practice exams should make up the rest of your MCAT planning.
MCAT FAQS
Below you’ll find the approximate length of each of the MCAT exam’s four sections, plus the number of questions you’ll need to answer and the academic disciplines each section focuses on. Each MCAT section will be scored using an MCAT score range of 118 to 132, with a median score of 125. You'll receive a score for each section, plus an overall score. Total scores will be centered at 500, with ranges from 472 to 528.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), future physicians will need to have a keen understanding of how sociocultural and behavioral factors impact a patient’s health. The Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior portion of the exam tests your understanding of how concepts in psychology, sociology, and biology apply to the sociocultural and behavioral aspects of human health. You will also need to demonstrate your ability to use research methods and statistics.
Academic disciplines that may be drawn from:
The Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section will require no specific content knowledge. Here, you’ll be tasked with reading passages and answering questions to demonstrate critical thinking abilities. Complex, thought-provoking passages will be excerpted from books, journals, and magazines representing a wide range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, including concepts from cultural studies, population health, ethics, and philosophy.
Academic disciplines that may be drawn from:
In the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems section, the MCAT will assess your grasp of fundamental concepts that govern processes unique to living organisms; such processes include growing, reproducing, responding, metabolizing, and adapting. Here, you’ll be tasked with showing that you understand how cells and organ systems accomplish these processes—but more than that, you’ll need to be able to show you can reason about these processes, too.
Academic disciplines that may be drawn from:
The Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems section tests your understanding of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of human tissues, organs, and organ systems. You’ll be challenged to demonstrate your understanding of the basic chemical and physical principles that underlie the mechanisms operating in the human body—plus, as with the section above, you’ll need to show that you can reason about and apply your understanding of these principles to living systems.
Academic disciplines that may be drawn from:
The MCAT exam consists of 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 MCAT exam covers concepts not just from the natural sciences, but also from psychology, sociology and—notably—biochemical sciences. In each section, reading comprehension and data interpretation will be critical in identifying the correct answer. The MCAT will likely take about seven-and-a-half hours to complete.
Applicants must take the MCAT to be considered for admission to RUSM. The average MCAT of RUSM students entering medical school in September 2019, January 2020, and May 2020 is 493*. Please bear in mind, however, that RUSM accepts students with lower MCAT scores, depending on an individual's GPA and many other factors listed further down this page. You can get a better idea of your potential candidacy to RUSM by sending an email to an admissions colleague to discuss your personal situation.
Research shows that the MCAT can be a reliable predictor of your potential success, both as a medical school student and as a physician. The exam tests your ability to translate fundamental medical school concepts into courses of action in real-world patient cases, and RUSM looks at your MCAT performance very closely when making a decision on your candidacy.
Keep in mind that RUSM considers the MCAT exam in concert with many other factors. This includes interviews, volunteer experience, and letters of recommendation. These convey more about your ethics, maturity, critical judgment, and life experience—all factors that contribute to how successful you’ll be in medical school.
However, regardless of whether you’re applying to US or Caribbean medical schools, MCAT scores make up a significant part of your medical school student profile, and it’s critical that you know what to expect.
Keep in mind that when you take the MCAT could have an impact on which of our three start dates you'd be eligible to apply for—you can find all of that information on our upcoming MCAT test dates page.
*Institutionally reported data.
2021 MCAT Test Dates Registration for January-March 2021 MCAT test dates is now open. Visit the AAMC website for a list of test dates and locations and learn how to register.
Don’t forget: RUSM looks at your MCAT test score very closely when we’re considering your candidacy for our program. It’s a very important part of your student profile—but it’s not the only part. Learn more about our other admissions requirements.
RUSM is waiving the MCAT requirement for qualified candidates impacted by the pandemic who apply for the May 2022 semester start.
RUSM’s evaluation for admission is conducted on an individual basis and uses a holistic approach. Serious applicants are encouraged to apply for admission and consult with an admissions representative about their individual situations, especially if they are unable to take the MCAT before the semester begins in May 2022.
NOTE: Recent U.S. Department of Education guidance permits waiving the MCAT requirement for impacted applicants when related to continued COVID-19 related interruptions. Please visit our Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the MCAT Exam page for updates on the MCAT testing program's response to COVID-19.
The Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®) is a standardized, multiple-choice examination designed to assess problem solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science concepts and principles as a prerequisite to the study of medicine.
The Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®) is a standardized, multiple-choice examination designed to assess problem solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science concepts and principles as a prerequisite to the study of medicine.
The MCAT committee looks closely at the individual scores of the four main MCAT exam components. It has been determined that students who perform above 121 in the Biology and Chemistry sections are predicted to perform well in medical school.
Ross University School of Medicine has a holistic review process and does not require a minimum MCAT score to be considered for Admissions. However, the average MCAT score of accepted students for the year 2020 was 493.
The initial registration fee for the MCAT exam is $320, which covers the cost of the exam, as well as distribution of your scores.
The following items are the only items allowed in the testing room during the MCAT exam:
WHERE CAN I FIND MCAT STUDY RESOURCES AND HOW DO I REGISTER?
All content in this collection has been created under the direction of the Khan Academy and has been reviewed under the direction of the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges).
WHERE CAN I FIND MCAT STUDY RESOURCES AND HOW DO I REGISTER?
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