Getting Into Medical School

The MCAT Registration Process Prepares Students For The Next Stage In Their Career

Anyone thinking about going to medical school will have to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) first. The MCAT registration process is something that every prospective medical student looks forward too, because they know it signals the next step in their medical career. The MCAT is a standardized examination that all prospective medical students will have to take. Up until 2007 the test was presented in the standard paper a pencil format, as of January 2007 the test was converted to a computer based format. Both test formats are designed to assess critical thinking, problems solving, writing skills and written analysis. The test is engineered to test a student's knowledge of scientific principals and concepts.

Your will want make sure you complete your MCAT registration as early as possible. This will lock in your preferred testing date. The AAMC uses Prometric test centers to administer MCAT exams. Each center has limited seating, which means you will be competing with other graduates for a date and location. When selecting a date you will want to make sure that your scores will be available by your prospective schools application deadlines. If you are planning on taking the test more than once, you will want to make sure you complete your MCAT registration process early.

There are now two ways to complete your MCAT registration. You can register online or through the regular MCAT registration process. The online MCAT registration process opens up approximately 12 weeks before each exam date. The regular registration deadline is open until 14 days before the exam date. All test centers require that you pay for your exam during the registration process. The cost for the MCAT exam is $210. You will be able to charge your registration fees.

After you have completed the MCAT registration process, you will want to formulate a study plan. The MCAT consists of a multiple of subjects and you will need to master each one if you plan on getting into a reputable medical school. Undergraduates holding degrees in different subject will take the MCAT to complete for those most sought after spots in the top med schools. Therefore, the test is designed test individuals on the following diverse subjects.

• Physical Sciences: will test your general chemistry and physics problem-solving abilities.
• Verbal Reasoning: will test your ability to read prose passages and to evaluate, understand and apply information and arguments.
• Biological Sciences: will test your biology and organic chemistry problem solving knowledge.
• Writing Sample: will test your ability to creatively focus your ideas into an organized fashion. To show that you can clearly support your ideas with evidence, rationale and examples. This section will also look at your spelling, and how well you grammatically composition your writing sample.

The test is not constructed to see how well you can memorize materials, but to see you how well you are at problem solving.