Obviously I know exactly what it test, how many questions, length of time, etc…
But this question is more of an analytical one (a philosophical one, if you will…)
I bough a copy of the Official Guide to the MCAT exam from a couple of years ago and just going over it in my studies I re-read the section on what it tests. In all its description it mentions statistics and percentages on how this exam was constructed to give the most accurate measurement on one’s success rate in their medical studies and beyond.
So I go to thinking…“Does this test actually predict one success in med school???” If so then wouldn’t it be logical to think that one cannot “study” for this exam seeing that it measures for a predisposition (or X factor, if you will) that one is more inclined to make it through medical school?
My brother is a math professor and he loves his job; he loves teaching math. But he made a statement to me once that I will never forget. He said, “Anyone can learn math but there are those that are naturally inclined to it…”
So, again I ask you lovely people…
“What does the MCAT REALLY test???” 
IMHO, the MCAT is mainly about how you take information given in a passage and apply it to find to best answer. This can be very tricky because many times, there will be 2 “right” answers to a question, but one of them is the “better” or more “logical” choice. I also feel this is a skill that can be developed with a LOT of work ie practice tests especially in verbal.
In this regard, I think having suburb MCAT skills can be directly translated into diagnostic skill, so I understand why med schools put so much weight on it.
Of course, I also feel that bedside manner is equally important as Dx skill because if a Doc can’t relate to patients, technical skill could potentially be a moot point.
I would also add, that the MCAT also tests how fast one can read and how quickly one can think and process what one reads. For most people, this is probably not a problem, but for some of us, slow reading speed poses a big problem on tests. For years I struggled with trying to finish tests on time, and wondered why I was always the last one to turn them in. Not finishing tests meant getting lower grades, which is why my GPA is not very good. Only recently (within the last year or so), was I “diagnosed” with slow reading speed (1/3 the rate of most other people), despite having above average abilities in other areas (calculation, problem solving, critical thinking and reasoning, social skills, etc.) and an above average IQ (135).
Unfortunately, medical school adcomms will probably not understand the link between my low GPA and my reading speed, and just dismiss my application and dismiss me as another student who did not study.
- datsa Said:
I'm not sure if I agree that the MCAT is actually "testing" for these skills as much as I think these skills are needed to do well.
I think there's a difference between the two.
I took the MCAT last month and got my results yesterday…I bombed it, to say the least. So, I re-registered to take it in September. Anyway, my point is, MCAT’s main purpose is to assess critical thinking skills…IF you are knowledgeable in all of the concepts being tested. My MCAT result is not at all reflective of my ability to think critically. However, it is reflective of my confidence, knowledge, and understanding of the subjects. If you are not strong in those concepts, then it doesn’t matter how good of a critical thinker you are. I say this because, by day, I am an internal auditor. It is my job to think critically and analyze data. I do this very well and I’m very successful at it…because I’m knowledgeable in the concepts of my respective field. To look at my low MCAT score, you would think, “oh man, this person doesn’t have any critical thinking skills at all!” Not true. I think the MCAT does, to an extent, predict a person’s ability to quickly grasp concepts and take exams in medical school. Beyond that, it doesn’t predict much.
But, like you said…anyone can learn math, some are more inclined to it. The same holds true to science. Some people are better at grasping science concepts quickly, while others need more time and practice to learn. Given enough time and practice, anyone can learn the concepts needed to be successful. It’s just that some of us haven’t had enough time or practice yet. 
Just a side note, datsa - have you had a good opthalmologist exam? I know my sister had some issues with the alignment of her eyes being slightly off which was treated with eye exercises. It limited her reading speed before (the doc said it would probably make the difference of about a grade level on testing (a to b, etc). She ended up (after treatment)reading at “normal speed” and became a Presidential Scholar (top female HS student in the state) and is currently senior partner of a law firm… Just a thought to make sure vision isn’t a contributing factor…
Kate
- datsa Said:
Unfortunately, medical school adcomms will probably not understand the link between my low GPA and my reading speed, and just dismiss my application and dismiss me as another student who did not study.
datsa,
I think what medical school adcoms think is irrelevant at this point. You have a problem which would present a serious impediment to success in medical school considering the speed, volume, and intensity of a typical med school curriculum.
The good news is that you now know exactly what your problem is. You will definitely need to remedy your slow reading speed before applying to med school or even before taking the MCAT. This should be your # 1 priority (not MCAT, not volunteer work, not research, not clinical experience, not classes) if you're serious about persuing this, otherwise you're setting yourself up for disaster.
There are others in these forums that have overcome learning difficulties similar to yours and have gone on to succeed in medical school so your problem is not a deal breaker per se.
Once you address this problem, you should find that everything else (MCAT, grades, etc.) should start falling into place.
Best of luck to you.
I completely agree pathdr2b.
As an aside, this entire thread may soon be irrelevant as the AAMC is in the process of designing MR5 - a complete revamping of the MCAT (and medical school pre-reqs) as we now know it. The rollout is scheduled for 2015.
Check this out:
https://www.aamc.org/initiatives/mr5/preli minary_r…
Yes, I will look into this. I already have eye problems (severely myopic). But I think also processing is an issue; I have to read and re-read things many times to understand them; once I do, I am okay.
Yes, you are right; I do need to take care of this. I am taking an MCAT prep course right now, and I am not finishing anywhere near what others in the class are doing. I know the material; if given “infinite time” I can usually score in the range of 12+, but if given a time constrain, my scores fall to half that. Needless to say, I have put off taking the test because of my poor scores under timed testing.
I will look into the suggestions that you all have brought up, but ophthalmologic and cognitive. Thanks.
Julio - I’ve also heard that the MCAT is a good predictor of other standardized test performance, such as USMLE exams. Med schools have a reputation to uphold and need to say “XX% of our students say they got into one of their top 3 residency choices” where XX is a high number. Step test scores factor into this, so I think they make sure you have what it takes to succeed in other standardized test situations. Then later there are even more standardized exams. It doesn’t do you or the school any good if you can’t get past the first hurdle.
- desert_shawn Said:
Yea! I never considered that before. It does seem like school statistics play a role, doesn't it?
Shawn–I just had lunch last week with a guy who used to be head of surgery at my med school of choice, and he said the exact same thing. He said that, at least at this particular school, the MCAT is the biggest deal (or deal breaker) because of it’s ability to predict how well the person will do on USMLE and even board exams.
I haven’t seen the stats myself, but he said that the correlations are actually very strong. High MCAT score = much higher likelihood of passing the exams to come later. They view it as a very strong indicator of the future, from the way he talked about it.
Based on the limited amounts of studying I’ve done thus far–if you know the subject matter, the MCAT seems to basically test reading comprehension! (Lengthy passages that go on and on using really complicated (and seemingly beyond pre-req level) info, for example, but when you get to the question? They’re really asking a Gen Bio 1 kind of question that didn’t need 2/3 of that information. Nice. 
I’m sure it’s not all like that, but so far it seems like a lot of distractive material to weed through!!!
And let’s not forget that the MCAT is really just a mind ???.
Fill in the blank however you like, LOL!!!
- carrieliz Said:
This is interesting in that I know several people who got into top 5 medical schools with less-than-competitive MCATs (e.g. 24, 28, 29). But they did have stellar grades and extracurriculars, however.
- carrieliz Said:
That brings up a very interesting point. In reading through the AAMC MCAT guide the book takes special care to explain the different types of paragraph passage sections that will encounter on the exam. I believe 7 types in all.
I wonder if one were to take a sample group of say...1000 people; all with generally equal GPAs, science background, majors, etc. and only added 6 to 12 credit hours of some super intensive critical reading course for about 500 of the sample; would this significantly improve the exam scores for the 500 that took the critical reading classes??? Or would it be negligibly different?
I guess that is why it is commonly said that literature majors tend to score well...who knows...
HA… which just goes to show you that it’s more arbitrary than some would have you believe.
“We know the MCAT will be our great tell-all” or “We look more heavily at GPA and leadership”… it’s all just different slices of the same pie.
What matters most is the pervasive crust that lies beneath it all. The total package that is you.
I was reading these replies, and kind of giggled to myself because I was reflecting on this recently (I take my MCATs on Thursday, two days from this posting).
Coming from an engineering background, a very rigorous high school and early college experience, I’ve taken a lot of standardized tests. A lot. And most of them were both poorly designed and incompetently graded – the “best choice” often didn’t stand up to careful scrutiny. However, after taking the old exams, I realized that the MCAT is EXTREMELY well-designed – it’s there to test your ability to synthesize information (or synthetise for you Brits out there).
What I’ve found in my studies so far is that in-depth memorization WILL NOT be enough to get you through the test. Period. What you’ve learned in your prereqs should be enough to get you to intuitively understand certain basic principles of the sciences the MCAT tests, and the goal of the exam is to see how well you incorporate your general knowledge with new information that shows up in the readings.
This is where the problem sometimes comes in. There’s a somewhat steep learning curve applied to learning how to read what the MCAT writers are trying to get you to see. This threw me a little in verbal reasoning, which is typically my strong suit: however, there are some outside resources that can pick apart the test design and help to decode the traps and tricks you’ll often find in the questions. I used The Princeton Review’s 2010 edition of their MCAT review, which was a year behind, but I feel confident enough to say I can endorse it fully.
Finally, the best way to learn to “read the mind” of the MCAT is to take the practice tests (available through AMCAS’ MCAT prep site). Those should give you good feedback, since they are old tests – but from all accounts I’ve heard, expect to score 2-4 overall points lower on the real deal. Take your time and use the process of elimination, and it should make things easier.
In short – the MCAT tests your ability to learn information the way it will be presented to you in medical school, and that’s why it’s a good predictor of success.
- Anemos Said:
I don't think one can make a blanket statement about the coorelation between MCAT scores and the average med school curriculum given how different curriculum's are from school to school. And based on the med school courses I've had from the 1st and 2nd year curriculum, I don't see a coorelation at all.
3rd/4th year and USMLE's, I think there is some coorelation.
- pathdr2b Said:
I don't think one can make a blanket statement about the coorelation between MCAT scores and the average med school curriculum given how different curriculum's are from school to school. And based on the med school courses I've had from the 1st and 2nd year curriculum, I don't see a coorelation at all.
3rd/4th year and USMLE's, I think there is some coorelation.
Hmm, I'm not sure if I'm misrepresenting what I'm trying to say or making a poor assumption . . .
What I intended to communicate was that in order to learn and understand, one must relate new information to what one already knows. With the MCAT, that means that if your undergrad foundation is solid and your reading comprehension is good, you'll be well-prepared for the test -- and better-prepared than someone who tried to memorize all the information that might show up, I'd wager.
I think you're right in that it is hard to make blanket statements about med schools with various curricula and teaching style. On the other hand, I do think synthetic learning in the process of understanding would apply to any curriculum one chooses to study -- as long as one isn't trying to memorize the very basics before one can develop classifications.
That said, my point was kind of abstract, so it might not be particularly useful except as a guideline . . . and since I'm not in med school, take my speculations with a grain of salt
