how long is the mcat this notorious test keeps many aspiring medical school students
up at night fortunately the length and structure of the mcat is consistent
allowing you to prepare your mcat study schedule and use full-length practice tests
to get used to the format you've heard about the challenging length of the exam
but how long is each mcat section how much time can you spend on each question
and how long will it take you to complete the test from start to finish this video provides
a detailed answer to how long is the mcat and includes a thorough section by section breakdown
hi my name is joseph kafka and i'm an admissions associate here at BeMo
before we get started be sure to subscribe on whatever social media channel you're watching
this from now so you don't miss out on any of our upcoming videos if you would like us to help you
ace the mcat go to bmomcat.com to schedule your free initial consultation and as a quick tip check
out the timestamps in the description of this video to navigate to specific sections of the
video that you're interested in here's how we're going to answer the question how long is the mcat
how many mcat sections are there and what content do they cover chemical and physical foundations
of biological systems critical analysis and reasoning skills biological and biochemical
foundations of living systems psychological social and biological foundations of behavior how many
questions are in each mcat section a breakdown of the number and type of questions in each
mcat section mcat test day timeline how to prepare for the length of the test day and final thoughts
the mcat is an interdisciplinary exam that contains a total of 230 questions
covering varied subjects over the span of four sections the main subjects tested include general
and organic chemistry physics biology biochemistry psychology sociology and critical reasoning skills
important for the daily work of a physician to get a good mcat score you'll need a solid knowledge
base in these content areas but remember that the mcat is not about memorization
according to the aamc in addition to testing your content knowledge the mcat will also test your
understanding of basic research methods statistics concepts and will require you to demonstrate
scientific inquiry and reasoning skills each section of the mcat is passage-based and tests
for a deep understanding of the mechanisms behind the content you have learned and the psychological
complexities of your future patients as well as your ability to pull relevant information from
a list of data the 230 questions on the mcat are divided amongst four sections with each section
designed to have a certain ratio of questions on each academic discipline or sub-topic for example
in each version of the mcat the car section is designed to contain 30 percent of its questions
based on the foundations of comprehension while the questions themselves vary from mcat to mcat
the ratio of questions per academic discipline does not change
here's a breakdown of the academic disciplines included in each mcat section
the ratio of academic disciplines tested in this section include the following 25 first semester
biochemistry 5 introductory biology 30 general chemistry 15 organic chemistry and 25 introductory
physics chemical and physical foundations of biological systems is the first section
on the mcat and that makes it particularly intimidating practice is your best friend
ensure that you have the confidence needed to immediately focus on the test
and get to work on this first section you will not have a calculator during the mcat
so it is important to prepare for the mcat without a calculator
this way you will build up your skill and speed in doing mental calculations for the actual test
the ratio of academic disciplines tested in this section include the following
30 foundations of comprehension do you understand the main ideas in the passage 30
reasoning within the text do you understand the relationship between ideas within the passage
40 reasoning beyond the text can you relate ideas in the passage to new pieces of information
cars passages are infamously difficult this mcat section can really slow you down on test day
if you do not prepare for it sufficiently often times students asking how hard is the mcat are
really asking how hard is the car's section while content review truly helps you prepare
for other mcat sections going over your notes and textbooks will not help you get ready for cars
but there are certain practices you can implement to get good at cars
first it is important to read challenging texts throughout your mcat preparation to build up your
reading speed and comprehension skills second you must develop a strong mcat car strategy
when you go over practice passages keep in mind that cars prep takes a lot of time and patience
so start reading challenging materials and going over practice questions as early as you can
the ratio of academic disciplines tested in this section include the following 65
introductory biology 5 general chemistry 5 organic chemistry and 25 first semester biochemistry
the ratio of academic disciplines tested in this section include the following 65 introductory
psychology thirty percent introductory sociology and five percent introductory biology for a
comprehensive look at the academic disciplines covered within each section of the mcat
refer to the aamc's guide what's on the mcat exam as you might have noticed from our breakdown there
is some overlap between the academic disciplines covered in the four mcat sections on test day you
can expect approximately 15 physics questions 30 biochemistry questions 45 biology questions 20
general chemistry 11 organic chemistry questions 38 psychology questions 18 sociology questions
and 53 cars questions there's a lot of mystery surrounding the mcat so you might be wondering
what is the best way to get a feel for each mcat section and understand the type of content covered
in each section the best way to do this is to take a full length mcat diagnostic test
before diving into your mcat preparations this way you get to see what you're up against and
learn where to focus your time in the review heavy phase of your studying additionally
have a look at our blog to learn when to start studying for the mcat as you get into
the practice phase of your mcat preparations take several full length practice mcat exams
to ensure that you are well versed with the format by test day gradually build up your test taking
endurance to guarantee that you are mentally prepared for the duration of the mcat exam each
mcat section has 53 to 59 questions the average value of each question is around two points
most questions on the mcat are passage based while some are discrete questions passage-based
questions follow a passage describing a scientific situation while discrete questions do not relate
to a passage and directly test your scientific knowledge sections with both types of questions
will have clusters of two to three passages with corresponding passage-based questions
followed by three to four discrete questions here's a breakdown of the number and type of
questions in each mcat section chemical and physical foundations of biological systems
has 59 questions 44 of which are passage based and 15 of which are discrete questions critical
analysis and reasoning skills has 53 questions all of which are passage based fifty percent of the
passages will have humanities content while the other fifty percent will refer to social sciences
while there are fewer questions in the car section the passages within this section
tend to be longer biological and biochemical foundations of living systems has 59 questions
44 of which are passage-based and 15 of which are discrete questions psychological social
and biological foundations of behavior has 59 questions 44 of which are passage based and 15 of
which are discrete questions all together the mcat has 230 questions 185 of which are passage based
that's 80 and 45 of which are discrete questions that's 20 the mcat asks a lot of questions in
a short amount of time resulting in students struggling to finish some sections of the exam
which sections do students find the most challenging to complete in the allotted time
most test takers find the chemical and physical foundations of biological systems section and the
critical analysis and reasoning skills section most challenging to complete in time if you
find yourself running out of time remember that wrong answers will not count against your score
so aim to fill in an answer for every question even if you need to make an educated guess
now that we've gone over exactly what sections are on the mcat and what content is covered in
each section let's review how long will it take you to complete the mcat on test day the mcat
is taken in one day unlike the multi-day exams you will take later in medical school the testing time
for the mcat is 6 hours and 15 minutes the total seated time for the mcat is just over 7 and a half
hours for students that use the optional breaks between sections undeniably the grueling length
of the mcat makes it a challenge let's break it down a bit further on exam day you will complete
each section of the mcat in the following order chemical and physical foundations of biological
systems critical analysis and reasoning skills biological and biochemical foundations of living
systems and lastly psychological social and biological foundations of behavior most sections
are 95 minutes in duration except cars which is 90 minutes long because the mcat is a computer-based
test and the computer keeps track of your time you do have the option to submit a section before
the time runs out creating the possibility to complete the test in less time submitting
a section early does not mean that you can take a longer break before the next section it just
allows you to move on to the next section sooner so what about the breaks after the first section
chemical and physical foundations of biological systems you'll have an optional 10-minute break
followed by the car section then you'll have an optional 30-minute mid-exam break to regroup
and eat lunch after lunch you'll complete the biological and biochemical foundations
of living systems section followed by another optional 10-minute break and the last section
psychological social and biological foundations of behavior feel free to check out our blog for
a detailed table outlining the length of each section and step for your test your mcat day from
the moment you wake up to when you walk out of the testing center can easily be 9 or 10 hours long
depending on how far you live from the testing center and how long your morning routine is before
you leave your house in the morning take the time to pack your government issued identification
and enough snacks and water for your breaks to provide the energy and focus you'll need
to test for over seven hours test takers will generally begin their mcat between 7 45 am
and 8 15 am once you arrive at the testing center you'll spend about 30 minutes getting
checked in and putting your belongings in a locker you'll then be escorted to a cubicle
and provided with noise cancelling headphones if you wish to use them then it's off to the races
you must prepare and train yourself for the mcat's length
your test taking strategies will be designed based on how long and tiring the exam is so let's review
some of the tactics you can use to increase endurance first of all when you take the full
length practice exams try scheduling them around the same time as your allotted slot for the mcat
so if your mcat test date is scheduled for 7 30 am make sure to start your practice exams at 7 30 am
if your mcat is scheduled for 3 pm then start your practice tests at 3 pm make sure to follow the
mcat test day breakdown and time all the sections and breaks simply put recreate the timeline and
the environment of the actual exam pay attention to how you feel while you are taking the practice
exams notice when you get tired and when you need a snack the more full-length tests you take
the more your stamina will grow additionally you'll habituate yourself to forced off fatigue
and hunger until your allotted breaks remember in the second phase of your mcat prep such as
the practice phase most of your mcat prep will involve practice questions and full length tests
take advantage of this time to sync your personal test taken schedule with the test day schedule
additionally a few weeks before your mcat test date start going to bed at the same time you
would on the day before you take the actual mcat and wake up at the same time you would on test
day this way your sleeping pattern and eating schedule will not be out of the ordinary on the
day you take the exam your body and mind will endure the mcat day much better with practice
because practice will allow you to get used to this timeline while preparing for the mcat do not
forget about your physical and mental health make sure to exercise regularly and eat healthy meals
on the day before the exam and the morning of do not eat anything unusual for your diet
stick to what you know and make sure to eat a good healthy breakfast or lunch you know your
routine and schedule best while most students tend to schedule their mcat for the morning plan your
test for the time that is most fitting for you perhaps you're not a morning person or it takes
you hours to get up or you know that your test taking potential is better later in the day every
person is unique make sure to take into account your own strengths when scheduling the exam
if you are committed to pursuing a career in medicine it is time to start taking the necessary
steps to make that dream a reality while there are some medical schools that don't require the mcat
most do a competitive mcat score will help put you on the short list for an interview at your dream
medical school in understanding the length of the mcat and how your time will be divided on test day
you've taken the first step in ensuring that you walk into your mcat comfortable
with the format and ready to ace the test this wraps up our video for today check out our blog
to learn more about how long is the mcat including frequently asked questions and more i've included
a link in the description of this video so you can find it easily if you would like us to help you
ace the mcat go to bmomcat.com to schedule your free initial consultation hopefully you enjoyed
the video so please subscribe like and leave a comment if you have any questions about how
long is the mcat that i didn't cover in this video let me know in the comment section and
i'll get back to you as soon as possible thank you so much for watching and see you next time