What makes the MCAT challenging?

Some students expect to achieve high scores on the MCAT using the study methods that worked in their university courses. They think it’s just another Science test. But it’s much more than that.

Here’s what makes the MCAT a much more formidable challenge than you might expect:

It tests your thinking skills.

The MCAT primarily tests critical thinking and reasoning skills—not content knowledge. So, while you definitely need to know basic Science, the test mostly requires you to interpret that knowledge in new contexts to find the correct answers.

It will disrupt your flow.

The MCAT weaves together multiple subjects in each section, which makes it difficult to find your groove. Questions in the Physical Sciences section, for example, bounce around between Chemistry (30%), Physics (25%), Biochemistry (25%), Organic Chemistry (15%), and Biology (5%).

It will exhaust you mentally.

When was the last time you did anything for 6 ½ straight hours (besides sleep)? The MCAT is an exhausting roller-coaster ride that demands peak mental stamina. You’re constantly changing gears between analyzing passages, dissecting questions, and questioning your answer choices.

It will challenge your perfectionist nature.

Most aspiring medical students habitually strive for 100%. But aiming for perfection on the MCAT is actually counter-productive. You’ll repeatedly bog down on killer questions and burn up your valuable time. To get a top MCAT score, you need to learn how to cut your losses by guessing and moving on.

You have to expect the unexpected.

The MCAT challenges you to apply the basic concepts you learned in your undergraduate Science courses in wholly unexpected contexts. You have to develop the intellectual agility to adjust to repeated curve balls.

The MCAT has its own language.

The MCAT isn’t easy reading. Passages are extracted from academic journals and contain dense text full of jargon and superfluous details meant to distract the undisciplined student. Questions are often worded in confusing ways, and padded with extraneous, irrelevant information (“confounders”) to throw you off track.

Best > Perfect.

On the MCAT, you’ll sometimes have to look for the best – not the perfect – answer. The best answer, while technically correct, might be weak, and is only identifiable as correct because the other answers are even worse. Confusing? Yeah, that’s the point.

It will distract you.

Each MCAT question has four answer choices—one is correct, and the other three are purpose-built to trick careless test-takers who make predictable mistakes. These “distractors” can be very enticing and can make you second-guess yourself if you’re not at your sharpest.

You have (basically) no time.

The unforgiving time constraints (roughly 1.5 minutes per question) and the dense information-packed passages purposefully designed to slow you down, put a premium on your time management skills.

It’s counterintuitive.

Many aspects of the MCAT are counter-intuitive and contradict deep-rooted test-taking habits. Some of the MCAT techniques that students struggle to accept are not trying to get a perfect score, accepting 50/50 guesses as a good outcome, taking mental pauses when time is your enemy and not using outside information in the CARS section

It will overload you.

The Science topics covered on the MCAT are not especially difficult—but there are a lot of them:  two semesters each of Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics, and, on top of that, a semester each of Biochemistry, Psychology, and Sociology. Yes, all in one test.

You don’t get a calculator.

There’s not much Math on the MCAT, and when there is, it’s pretty basic (spoiler: no calculus!). But the only calculator you’ll be allowed to use is the one between your ears. So make sure you brush up on your basic algebra, trigonometry, and geometry skills.

You’re up against some stiff competition.

You know who else is taking the MCAT? The very best students from other faculties and other universities. Don’t underestimate the level of competition you’re facing. Instead, use it to motivate yourself to study harder and practice with purpose.

In summary: the MCAT is challenging. Maybe the most difficult test you’ll ever take. You have to take it seriously and keep your overconfidence in check.