MCAT
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is developed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in cooperation with its member U.S. medical schools. The AAMC owns the MCAT. The MCAT is a secure, nondisclosed standardized test. It and all related test materials are copyright protected. The AAMC owns all test results, including examinees' scores. Individually identifiable scores will be released only to the examinee and to other persons and institutions specifically authorized by the examinee to receive scores from a particular test.
The MCAT assesses mastery of basic concepts in biology, chemistry (general and organic), and physics; facility with scientific problem solving and critical thinking; and writing skills. The skills and concepts tested by the MCAT are those identified by physicians and medical educators as prerequisite for the practice of medicine. Medical school faculty hope that testing for these skills on the MCAT will encourage undergraduates with broad educational backgrounds to consider careers in the health professions and will stimulate premedical students to investigate a wide variety of course offerings outside the natural sciences.
The goal of the MCAT is to help admission committees predict which of their applicants will be successful in medical school. In addition, the MCAT can be used to help applicants who are not accepted to medical school determine the academic areas in which they may need further study. The extent to which test results are used in admission decisions varies from one medical school to another. In general, test results are combined with other information, such as undergraduate records, references, and results of personal interviews. Standardized test scores provide a way for admission committees to compare the qualifications of applicants from a variety of undergraduate institutions. They also contribute toward making the evaluation of grades and other credentials a more fair process.
The MCAT is given in April and August of each year at established test centers. In any one year, a candidate may test only once in April and once in August. There is no provision for makeup tests.
For test registration, administration, score reporting, and other questions, write or call:
- MCAT Program Office
- P.O. Box 4056
- Iowa City, IA 52243-4056
- 319-337-1357
- (Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM, central time)
To ensure a prompt reply, please give the following information exactly as you entered it on your registration form or answer sheet: your name, Social Security number (if originally provided), address, date of birth, and test date. Please include your daytime telephone number in case we need to reach you by phone.
To access the MCAT online Web registration or to purchase official MCAT Practice Tests:
www.aamc.org/mcat
MCAT e-mail address:
mcat@aamc.org
For more information on MCAT contact the Academic Center for Enrichment at 814-472-3024.
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