MCAT & OMSASUWO Pre-Medical SocietyAcademic Information Session #3Mar. 16, 2010Sung Ho Um, Academic coordinator

Outline

•MCAT▫Introduction▫Preparing for MCAT▫Test day▫Post-exam

•OMSAS▫Preparations▫Filling out the application▫Application processing

MCAT

•Register at http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/

•Seats fill up fast! Try to register the day registration opens. ▫Feb. 23rd for the summer test dates

MCAT•Medical college admissions test (MCAT)

•A standardized test to assess prerequisites for success in medicine

•All American medical schools and most Canadian schools require MCAT

•More than 70,000 exam is written each year▫Closer to 80,000 in 2009

MCAT Exam content

•Not just an exam of memorization

•Tests your capacity to solve problems and critically think▫As well as your ability to formulate a

written argument

•Medical schools want undergrads with broad academic capabilities

MCAT Exam content

•Consists of 4 sections:1. Physical Sciences (PS)2. Verbal Reasoning (VR)3. Writing Sample (WS)4. Biological Sciences (BS)

•Diverse sections to identify students that is most likely to be successful in medical school

Exam overview1. ~20 min for tutorial + examinee agreement2. PS: 70 min for 52Qs3. Break (10 min)4. VR: 60 min for 40Qs5. Break (10 min)6. WS: 60 min for 2 prompts. (30 min/prompt)7. Break (10 min)8. BS: 70 min for 52Qs9. Option to void10.Survey

Total seat time: ~5 hours 30 min

Section analysis•PS and BS

▫PS consists of general chemistry and physics.▫BS consists of biology and organic chemistry▫Problem-solving ability▫7 passage (each with 4-7 Qs) and 13 free standing

Qs ▫Be able to apply your knowledge of the basic

concepts and information from the passage.▫NOT intended to test your ability to memorize

Section analysis

•VR and WS are the two sections that most science students rewrite for.

•VR▫Tests your ability to understand, evaluate,

and apply information/argument presented.▫7 passages (each ~600 words long); 5-7 Qs

per passage▫Topics can be from humanities, social

sciences, and natural sciences

Section analysis

•WS▫Two 30 min essays.▫Topics require an expository response▫Be able to develop a central idea, synthesize

concepts/ideas, present your ideas cohesively and logically.

▫Write clearly with university-level grammar, syntax and punctuation.

▫Note that you have limited time and no time for careful editing. (First-draft composition)

Preparing for MCAT

•Commercially available MCAT prep books▫Kaplan, Examkracker, etc

•Prep courses (ie. Princeton or Kaplan)

•Individual tutoring

•Purchase practice exams on AAMC website

Preparing for MCAT•Essential to become comfortable with the

basic science material

•Practice, practice, practice

•Keep up with current events and/or historical events relevant to the WS prompts▫Hundreds of example prompts at:

http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/writingsampleitems.htm

Preparing for MCAT•How about VR?

•Active reading! •Become comfortable adapting to different

writing styles, tone and topics.•If you are having trouble, get access to as

many practice material as possible and practice! (Princeton, Kaplan, Examkracker, AAMC)▫After each practice, figure out how you can

improve.

Test day

•You probably prepared for weeks, months, or in some cases a whole year!

•Some tips:▫Make sure you know where you need to be▫Plan on arriving 20 min early▫Pack the night before (ID, snack, etc)▫Know what you are going to wear; be

comfortable▫Relax the day prior to the exam. You are

ready!

Writing the exam1. Arrive early. You don’t want to be doing VR

when everyone else is doing WS2. Try to be calm. Remember, you are ready

for this!3. PS is your first section, it is normal if it

seems more difficult than you are used to.▫ Keep your regular pace. Keep moving!

4. If you feel you did bad on a section, don’t let that drag you down for the rest of the exam

▫ Everyone else probably thought it was hard too

Writing the exam5. Take advantage of 10 min breaks!6. Bring snacks for the breaks. (Fruit, gronola

bars, water/juice)7. Focus on what’s coming up; not trying to

figure out how you did on the previous section

8. It is okay if you take a bit longer than 10 min breaks.

9. Bring unopened ear-plugs. You can use them.

10. Do not try a new strategy on the actual exam. This is not the time to experiment!

Post-exam

•Scores are released after 4-5 weeks•Raw score is converted to a scaled score•Minimize variability affecting your

performance.•Based on percentile rank ranges on the

performance of all students this year, and also reflective of the previous year

•PS, VR, BS: 1-15 (8 is 50th percentile)•WS: J-T (P is 50th percentile)

Post-exam•What kind of scores do you need?

•Western cutoffs for 2010: PS9/VR11/BS10; 30P

•A balanced 30+Q score is sufficient for many schools▫Depends on schools and applicant pool each

year▫Aim higher 35+Q if you are considering top tier

schools in the US

Scores are out, now what?•Rewrite? Don’t worry, many successful

applicant write MCAT more than once.▫Preparing for a subsequent rewrite is not as

bad as the first time▫For most Canadian schools you can rewrite

as many times as you need to. (max. 3 times/year)

▫For US, rewrites are not okay beyond 3 times. Must show consistent improvement.

•Congratulations if you got a satisfactory score!▫Lets apply to medical schools!

OMSAS

•Ontario medical school application service (OMSAS)

•http://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/

•All Ontario medical schools use this service▫Western, McMaster, Northern, Ottawa,

Queens, Toronto

Preparations

•Few things you need to do before filling out your application:1. Which schools you can/want to apply for.2. 3 references3. List of extracurriculars and their verifiers

•Application begins mid July•Create an account on OMSAS before mid

Sept.

Filling out the application

•Autobiographical sketch:▫Activities since age of 16▫7 categories: max. 48 entries total

1. Formal education2. Employment3. Volunteer activities4. Extracurricular activities5. Awards and accomplishments6. Research7. Other

Filling out the application

•Verifier are required for all entry except those with official documents (ie. Transcript)▫Name, address, telephone number

•References: Confidential assessment form + Letter

Filling out the application

•Supplementary sections:

▫University of Toronto requires a personal essay.

▫McMaster requires short answers to five Qs.

OMSAS

•Due Oct 1st. Strict deadline.

•MCAT scores released by mid Oct

•References due no later than Dec. 1▫To avoid any delay, ensure OMSAS receives

them ASAP. (References can be submitted before your application goes through).

Application processing•You will hear back from medical schools

in Dec~Mar by email

•Interviews are held Mar~April

•Offers are made mid-May. All Ontario schools release results on the same day.

•Waitlist moves throughout the summer until all spots are filled

Resources

•MCAT:▫http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/

•OMSAS:▫http://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/

Questions?

•Good luck with MCAT and medical school applications this summer!