The MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is a 5.5-hour test, consisting of 4 sections: Verbal Reasoning, Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and a Writing Sample.

What is the format of the MCAT?

Section Number of Questions Length
Verbal Reasoning 40 60 minutes
Physical Sciences 52 70 minutes
Biological Sciences 52 70 minutes
Writing Sample 2 thirty-minute essays 60 minutes

How is the MCAT scored?


Section Average Score Good Score Top Score
Verbal Reasoning 8.6 10-11 12+
Physical Sciences 8.8 10-11 12+
Biological Sciences 9.1 10-11 12+
Writing N Q S+



The science portions of the MCAT consist mainly of a series of passages, each with several questions or problems. Often the passages involve unfamiliar situations and, rather than numbers, explanations, relationships among various quantities, and extrapolations to new situations. When pre-med students find out about the exam, they are often fearful.

How do you prepare for the MCAT science section?



In addition to measuring your reasoning ability, the MCAT is testing your problem solving skills. Your goal in your studies is to learn how to approach new problems by studying the solutions to problems. Then you can solve future MCAT problems by thinking in the same way as when you solved previous problems.


Verbal Reasoning

The reading comprehension portion of the MCAT is 60 minutes long and consists of several passages, each about 500 words long and each with several questions. The subject matter of a passage can be almost anything, but the most common themes are politics, history, culture, and science.

Most people find the passages difficult because the subject matter is dry and unfamiliar. Obscure subject matter is chosen so that your reading comprehension will be tested, not your knowledge of a particular subject. Also the more esoteric the subject the more likely everyone taking the MCAT will be on an even playing field. However, because the material must still be accessible to laymen, you won’t find any tracts on subtle issues of philosophy or abstract mathematics. In fact, if you read books on current affairs and the Op/Ed page of the newspaper, then the style of writing used in the MCAT passages will be familiar and you probably won’t find the reading comprehension section particularly difficult.


In addition to being dry and unfamiliar, MCAT passages often start in the middle of an explanation, so there is no point of reference. Furthermore, the passages are untitled, so you have to hit the ground running.

Reading styles are subjective — there is no best method for approaching the passages. There are as many “systems” for reading the passages as there are test-prep books — all “authoritatively” promoting their method, while contradicting some aspect of another. A reading technique that is natural for one person can be awkward and unnatural for another person. However, it’s hard to believe that many of the methods advocated in certain books could help anyone. Be that as it may, we’ll will throw in our own two-cents worth — though not so dogmatically.

Some books recommend speed reading the passages. This is a mistake. Speed reading is designed for ordinary, nontechnical material. Because this material is filled with “fluff,” you can skim over the nonessential parts and still get the gist — and often more — of the passage. As mentioned before, however, MCAT passages are dense. Some are actual quoted articles (when the writers of the MCAT find one that is sufficiently compact). Most often, however, they are based on articles that have been condensed to about one-third their original length. During this process no essential information is lost, just the “fluff” is cut. This is why speed reading will not work here — the passages contain too much information. Furthermore, the bulk of the time is spent answering the questions, not reading the passages. You should, however, read somewhat faster than you normally do, but not to the point that your comprehension suffers. You will have to experiment to find your optimum pace.






1. Interpret the given statement.

2. Provide a counter-example to the given statement.
