1. Stephanie Myers Premed advisor for Chemistry & Physics
MCAT 2015
Stephanie Myers
Premed advisor for Chemistry & Physics

2. Why change? The current MCAT version has been used for 24 years.
It’s time for a review
It should reflect the current practice of medicine
Changes based on interviews with /surveys from
Medical school faculty
College (BS) school faculty
Medical students and residents

3. What’s on the new exam?

4. MCAT2015 Test Sections
MCAT2015 will test competencies in the natural and social sciences, and critical analysis and reasoning skills. The natural and social sciences are organized around the competencies that are outlined in the expert panel reports.
The new exam will have 4 sections in a computer-based, multiple choice format:
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills

5. Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skills
Knowledge of scientific concepts & principles
Scientific reasoning and problem solving
Reasoning about the design and execution of research
The revised MCAT exam asks examinees to solve problems by combining knowledge of the concepts described by the content categories with four Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skills.
This means that each question on the new exam requires both knowledge of the content and demonstration of skills. Most of the MCAT2015 questions will ask examinees to reason about information presented in passages and many of those passages include graphs, tables, or charts.
Data-based and statistical reasoning

6. Overarching skills Skill 1: Knowledge of Scientific Principles
Skill 2: Scientific Reasoning and Problem Solving
Skill 3: Reasoning about the design and execution of research
Skill 4: data based and statistical reasoning
General mathematical concepts and techniques

7. Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
59 items, 95 minutes
This section asks you to combine your knowledge of foundational concepts in the biological and biochemical sciences with your scientific inquiry, reasoning, and research and statistics skills to solve problems that demonstrate readiness for medical school.
Understanding the processes unique to living organisms, such as growing and reproducing, maintaining a constant internal environment, acquiring materials and energy, sensing and responding to environmental changes, and adapting, is important to the study of medicine. You will be tested on your knowledge of how cells and organ systems within an organism act both independently and in concert to accomplish these processes, as well as your ability to reason about these processes at various levels of biological organization within a living system.

8. Foundational Concepts—Biological Sciences
Biomolecules have unique properties that determine how they contribute to the structure and function of cells, and how they participate in the processes necessary to maintain life.
Foundational Concept 2
Highly-organized assemblies of molecules, cells, and organs interact to carry out the functions of living organisms.
Foundational Concept 3
Complex systems of tissues and organs sense the internal and external environments of multicellular organisms, and through integrated functioning, maintain a stable internal environment within an ever-changing external environment.

9. Foundational Concept:
Discipline:
First-semester biochemistry, 25%
Introductory biology, 65%
General chemistry, 5%
Organic chemistry, 5%
Foundational Concept:
Foundational Concept 1, 55%
Foundational Concept 2, 20%
Foundational Concept 3, 25%
Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skill:
Skill 1, 35%
Skill 2, 45%
Skill 3, 10%
Skill 4, 10%

10. Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
59 items, 95 minutes
This section asks you to combine your knowledge of foundational concepts in the chemical and physical sciences with your scientific inquiry, reasoning, and research and statistics skills to solve problems that demonstrate readiness for medical school.
Understanding the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of tissues, organs, and organ systems is important to the study of medicine. You will be tested on your knowledge of the basic chemical and physical principles that underlie the mechanisms operating in the human body, and your ability to apply an understanding of these general principles to living systems.

11. Foundational Concepts—Physical Sciences
Complex living organisms transport materials, sense their environment, process signals, and respond to changes using processes that can be understood in terms of physical principles.
Foundational Concept 5
The principles that govern chemical interactions and reactions form the basis for a broader understanding of the molecular dynamics of living systems

12. Foundational Concept:
Discipline:
First-semester biochemistry, 25%
Introductory biology, 5%
General chemistry, 30%
Organic chemistry, 15%
Introductory physics, 25%
Foundational Concept:
Foundational Concept 4, 40%
Foundational Concept 5, 60%
Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skill:
Skill 1, 35%
Skill 2, 45%
Skill 3, 10%
Skill 4, 10%

13. Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
59 items, 95 minutes
This section tests your knowledge and use of the concepts in psychology, sociology, biology, research methods, and statistics that provide a solid foundation for learning in medical school about the behavioral and socio-cultural determinants of health and health outcomes.
Understanding the behavioral and socio-cultural determinants of health is important to the study of medicine. You will be tested on your knowledge of the ways in which psychological, social, and biological factors influence perceptions and reactions to the world; behavior, and behavior change; what people think about themselves and others; the cultural and social differences that influence well-being; and the relationships between social stratification, access to resources, and well-being.

14. Foundational concepts—Social Sciences
Biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors influence the ways that individuals perceive, think about, and react to the world.
Foundational Concept 7
Biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors influence behavior and behavior change
Foundational Concept 8
Psychological, sociocultural, and biological factors influence the way we think about ourselves and others, as well as how we interact with others.
Foundational Concept 9
Cultural and social differences influence well-being.
Foundational Concept 10
Social stratification and access to resources influence well-being

15. Discipline:*
Introductory psychology, 65% **
Introductory sociology, 30%
Introductory biology, 5%
Foundational Concept:Foundational Concept 6, 25%
Foundational Concept 7, 35%
Foundational Concept 8, 20%
Foundational Concept 9, 15%
Foundational Concept 10, 5%
Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skill:Skill 1, 35%
Skill 2, 45%
Skill 3, 10%
Skill 4, 10%

16. Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills
53 items, 90 minutes
This section asks you to critically analyze information from a wide range of social sciences and humanities disciplines. Specific knowledge of these disciplines is not required for this section; all of the information you will need appears in the passages provided. Among the areas from which content is drawn are ethics and philosophy, cultural studies, and population health.

17. Foundational Concepts—Critical Analysis
Skill 1: Foundations of Comprehension
• Understanding the basic components of the text.
• Inferring meaning from rhetorical devices, word choice, and text structure.
Skill 2: Reasoning Within the Text
• Integrating different components of the text to increase comprehension
Skill 3: Reasoning Beyond the Text
• Applying or extrapolating ideas from the passage to new contexts.
• Assessing the impact of introducing new factors, information, or conditions to ideas from the passage.
Passage Types
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills passages come from a variety of humanities and social sciences disciplines.

18. Comparison of Current vs. MCAT2015 Exam
Current Exam
New Exam
Tests biology, physics, general and organic chemistry X
Tests biochemistry, psychology, sociology
Tests problem solving with multiple disciplines
Tests analytical reasoning
Tests analytical reasoning with an increased emphasis on population health, health disparities, ethics, and philosophy
Increases emphasis on scientific problem solving and data-based reasoning
Balances testing competencies in the natural, behavioral and social sciences
Hello everyone. Before I begin talking about the score scales and score reports for the new MCAT, it’s probably useful to take a look at this chart comparing the two versions of the exam. While this list isn’t exhaustive, it does highlight the very many ways that the two exams differ, both in terms of the content covered, and in the emphasis placed on different scientific inquiry and reasoning skills. In fact, these two tests are so different that it just isn’t possible to compare the scores associated with them.

19. MCAT2015 Concepts At many colleges in introductory: And concepts from:
First-semester biochemistry
First-semester psychology and sociology
Biology
General Chemistry
Organic Chemistry
Physics
Examinees prepare for the MCAT using many different strategies, and no one way is best for everyone. Jen will speak a little later about many free and low cost materials that the AAMC offers.
One way to prepare is through coursework. Our survey data shows that concepts being tested on MCAT2015 are taught at most undergraduate institutions in introductory biology, chemistry, and physics and in first-semester biochemistry, psychology, and sociology.
Research methods and statistics concepts on the exam are those that students use in introductory science labs, as well as introductory psychology and sociology.
Research methods and statistics concepts used in introductory science labs, psychology, and sociology

20. Course mapping tool Foundational Concept Content Category Topic
Topic taught at your school
Topic On Current MCAT
CHEM 1211
CHEM 1212
BIOL 1107
BIOL 1108
FC1 (E5*and parts of E8*)
CC1A
Amino Acids
Yes X x
Protein Structure
Non-Enzymatic Protein Function
Enzyme Structure and Function
Control of Enzyme Activity
CC1B
Nucleic Acid Structure and Function
DNA Replication
Repair of DNA
Genetic Code
Transcription
Translation
Eukaryotic Chromosome Organization
Control of Gene Expression in Prokaryotes
Control of Gene Expresson in Eukaryotes
Recombinant DNA and Biotechnology
CC1C
Evidence that DNA is Genetic Material
Mendelian Concepts
Meiosis and Other Factors Affecting Genetic Variability
Analytic Methods
Evolution
CC1D
Principles of Bioenergetics
Carbohydrates
Glycolysis, Gluconeogenesis, and the Pentose Phosphate Pathway
Principles of Metabolic Regulation
Citric Acid Cycle
Metabolism of Fatty Acids and Proteins
Oxidative Phosphorylation
Hormonal Regulation and Integration of Metabolism
FC2 (E6*)
CC2A
Plasma Membrane
Membrane-Bound Organelles and Defining Characteristics of Eukaryotic Cells
Cytoskeleton
Tissues Formed From Eukaryotic Cells
CC2B
Cell Theory
Classification and Structure of Prokaryotic Cells
Growth and Physiology of Prokaryotic Cells
NO!
Genetics of Prokaryotic Cells
Virus Structure
Viral Life Cycle

21. MCAT2015 Test Administration
So, with the first administration less than a year away, let’s dive into some details.

22. MCAT2015 Test Day Test Section # Questions Time
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems 59
95 min
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills 53
90 min
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
Total Content Time --
6 hr, 15 min
Total “Seat” Time
7 hr, 30 min
So now let’s move to MCAT2015. This chart outlines the order in which examinees will see the content sections on test day.
The sections and overall test time is longer than today. Examinees will be allowed a total of 6 hours, 15 minutes for taking the exam (two hours longer than today; 4 hours 5 min today). This does not include the time associated with other test-day related activities, such as signing the Examinee Agreement and going through the Tutorial. Total amount of seat time is 7 hrs 30 min (5 hours 10 min today). This is slightly shorter than the length of the MCAT exam administered from 1991 – 2006 when the test was given on paper rather than on a computer.
Each section has more questions for more reliable section scores. However, we are building the exam to give examinees more time to work on each question. They’ll have more time to read passages, consider questions, and make decisions about their answers.

23. Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems 59 95 minutes
Test Section
Number of Questions
Time
Examinee Agreement --
10 minutes
Tutorial (Optional)
5 minutes
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems 59
95 minutes
Break (Optional)
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills 53
90 minutes
Mid-Exam Break (Optional)
30 minutes
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
Void Question
Satisfaction Survey (Optional)
Total Content Time
6 hours, 15 minutes
Total "Seat" Time
7 hours, 30 minutes
NOTE: The total time does not include check-in time on arrival at the test center

24. MCAT2015 Logistics 30-minute mid-exam break and two 10-minute breaks
Examinees with extended testing time can test over two days
Hotel discount program
Every examinee will get a 30-minute break in the middle of the exam, in addition to two 10-minute breaks.
Given the longer test day, we have plans in place to allow those examinees we approved to test with extra time the ability to test over 2 days.
Furthermore, we know that there is a concern about the longer test day and students having to travel to the test centers. In recognition of this we’ve worked to secure a preferred rate for MCAT examinees who need to stay in a hotel as a result of taking the exam. We’ve worked with Hampton Inn, who have locations within 10 miles of almost all US testing centers. This benefit will be available on our website in the very near future so students can take advantage of it for 2014 as well. 20

25. MCAT2015 Registration Fee Registration Fee for MCAT2015: $300
Fee Assistance Program (FAP)
Discounted MCAT registration fee
Free MCAT test preparation materials
Scholarships for accommodated applicants needing updated evaluations
The cost of the new exam will be $300, a $25 increase over the cost of the exam in This increase supports the larger number of questions on the MCAT2015 exam and longer test day.
We will be continuing to offer the Fee Assistance Program for examinees who qualify. The program will not only include a reduced registration fee of $115, but also:
Free MCAT test preparation materials which Jen will talk about a little later
Scholarships for accommodated examinees who need an updated evaluation 21

26. MCAT2015 Testing Calendar Registration will open in February 2015
Test dates in the months of April – September
No October or November test dates
January 2016 exams will be part of the 2016 testing year
Test dates still in line with academic calendar
Carefully studied previous testing calendars
Registration for MCAT2015 will open in Feb 2015 after the current exam is complete. The calendar will run April – September and there will not be dates in Oct or Nov; Jan will be part of the 2016 testing year. Think of the 2014 testing year as the anomaly.
Since the new exam has been in place for 24 years, we are starting over in many ways. We’ve carefully studied previous calendars to evaluate testing volumes over time, considered things we’ve heard from advisors and admissions officers, and also looked at lessons learned from our transition to CBT in We took all this into consideration before settling on a testing calendar for 2015.
Testing April – Sept will provide examinees with similar flexibility they have today, being able to time their exam with their academic schedule as they see fit. And we will have enough seats in these months to accommodate the anticipated demand. 22

27. Same number of seats on fewer dates
Fourteen dates with same number of seats
All exams will start at 8AM
No double-day administrations
Mostly Friday or Saturday dates
So, the exact calendar of dates for the 2015 testing year will look like this. MCAT2015 will kick off on April 17, We will have 14 test dates spread across April - Sept, all starting at 8AM local time. You’ll notice that most of the dates are Friday’s and Saturday’s which we know is a preference for examinees.
Fewer dates do not mean fewer seats! We are building our network of seats on the 14 test dates listed here so there will be the same number of seats on fewer dates. Whereas in the past we added dates to add seats, we have a new model where we have the ability to expand our network of seats on fewer dates.
We have run detailed projections to determine the number of seats needed by month, are monitoring those projections carefully, and working in lockstep with our test delivery vendor to plan for the right number of seats. We have a process in place for continual evaluation.
For 2014, we’ve been looking at market level analyses and have already been adapting and adding seats as we see the need. This is on a smaller scale because we have more dates, but it has allowed us to work out a good process that has already reaped positive results. 23

28. MCAT2015 Score Scale and Score Reporting

29. Since old and new scores can’t be compared…
…the new MCAT scores will be reported on new and different scales
Therefore, since the two tests are somewhat like apples and oranges, the new MCAT scores will be reported on new and different scales.

30. The scale for each of the four sections ranges from 118 to 132, and 125 is the “top of the section curve”
Similarly, each of the four individual sections has a 15-point scale that ranges from 118 to Here, the center of the scale is 125—another nice round number—also highlighting the center of the scale where students admitted into medical school have typically performed successfully.

31. The new score scale ranges from 472 to 528, and 500 is the “top of the curve”
So, here is the new score scale for the MCAT total score.
As you can see, the scale for the total score ranges from 472 to 528, with a score of 500 at the “top of the bell-shaped curve” representing the distribution of MCAT total scores. This scale emphasizes scores around the middle of the scale, because research on the current and past versions of the MCAT have historically shown that students who score in the middle of the scale—and who are admitted into medical school—typically succeed according to a number of salient outcome measures, such as graduating from medical school in four or five years or passing their USLME Step exams on the first attempt.

32. Applicants at the “top of the curve” are likely to do well in medical school
Thus, if history is a guide, many applicants who score at the top of the curve are likely to do well in medical school. Importantly, focusing attention on the center of the scales—rather than on the top third—is consistent with holistic review practices. These new scales were designed to draw attention to applicants who might otherwise be overlooked.

33. MCAT2015 Score Reports New scores Total score 4 section scores
Tools to help interpret scores
Percentile rank for each score
Confidence band for each score
A score profile to highlight strengths and weaknesses
In addition to thinking carefully about the numeric values associated with the new score scales, we also worked to provide more and better information on the new score reports that will be provided.
In particular, these score reports will contain a number of features to enhance the interpretability of the new scores.
These features include:
percentile ranks (which indicate how a given score compares to those obtained by others taking the exam);
confidence bands (which indicate how accurate a given score is); and
score profiles (which highlight an examinee’s strengths and weaknesses).

34. MCAT2015 Score Reports-An Example
Applicant: Tom Jones
MCAT test date: May 2015
MCAT total score: 506
Interpretation tools
Percentile rank: 76
Confidence band: +/- 2
Score profile: score in each section
To illustrate the features of the new score reports, let’s consider Tom Jones, a hypothetical examinee taking the new MCAT exam in May, 2015.
Here we can see that Tom received an MCAT total score of 506, which in this example corresponds to a percentile rank of 76, and which has a confidence band of plus or minus two. Before turning to Tom’s section scores and score profile, let’s consider what the numbers on this slide actually mean—both to Tom and to admissions officers.

35. How does Tom’s MCAT total score of 506 compare?
Check the percentile rank!
Tom’s total score was the same or better than 76% of examinees who will take the new exam in a typical year
Let’s first consider Tom’s MCAT total score. How does Tom’s total score of 506 compare to the total scores of others taking the new exam? To answer this question, check the percentile rank.
As mentioned on the previous slide, in this example, a score of 506 has a percentile rank of 76, meaning that Tom’s total score is the same or better than 76% of examinees taking the new exam in a typical year. This percentile rank says nothing, however, about how Tom’s score compares to others who took the current exam.

36. Percentile Ranks
Percentile ranks reported in the first year will be based on the performance of examinees who test on the first few test administration dates in April
We can “estimate” the percentile ranks for a typical year from those first few test dates
So, percentile ranks show the percentage of test takers who received the same or lower score, so that test takers—and admissions officers—can compare their score to the population of test takers taking the same version of the MCAT.
In 2015, the first year of the new exam, these percentile ranks will be based on the examinees who test on the first few dates in April; however, because those test takers may not be fully representative of the examinees expected to take the new MCAT in a typical testing year, the reported percentile ranks will be adjusted to take such differences into account.

37. How accurate is Tom’s MCAT total score of 506?
Check the confidence band!
Every score has some uncertainty
Checking this uncertainty helps guard against over-weighing small score differences
While the best estimate of Tom’s score is 506, scores from 504 to 508 are plausible
Ok. So Tom’s MCAT total score is 506, and his percentile rank is 76. How accurate is that score?
To judge the accuracy of a given score, test takers—and admissions officers—can check the confidence band. Every score has some uncertainty—random fluctuations that might boost it a little higher on one day, and dampen it a little on a different day. Confidence bands can be used to help judge the zone of confidence for a given score.
In this example, Tom’s MCAT total score of 506 is reported with a confidence band of plus or minus 2. That is, if you add 2 to the score to produce a score of 508, and you subtract 2 to produce a score of 504, the confidence band ranges from 504 to In reality, while the best estimate of Tom’s score is 506—highlighted by the tallest and darkest part of the diamond—scores from 504 to 508 are also plausible.
Confidence bands are important because they help ensure that test users do not overemphasize small differences in test scores.

38. What are Tom’s strengths and weaknesses?
Compare his profile of scores on the 4 new sections
Tom’s BEST score was from Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
Section
Section Score
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Living Systems
125
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills
127
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
130
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
124
We’ve saved the best for last.
The new score reports will also contain a score profile—a table showing not only the scores themselves, but also a visual representation that makes it easy to see which ones are strengths, and which ones are weaknesses. The score profile brings together the section scores and their confidence bands to give test takers—and admissions officers—the ability to see the profile of an examinee’s academic competencies.
In this example, Tom’s BEST score was from the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems section, and his worst was from Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior. This feedback can provide valuable information to help an examinee determine which sections of the exam may benefit the most from additional preparation, if he or she decides to retake the exam.

39. MCAT2015 Prototype Score Report
Here, then, is our prototype score report. The print is small, but it gives you a sense of how we’re putting all of this information together. On the left are the section names and scores; in the middle are the diamonds that report the confidence bands; and to the right of that are the percentile ranks. Finally, the right-most part of the report contains the test takers score profile.

40. A few words about “early” examinees
For examinees taking the exam in April or May:
Scores will take longer than the days to be reported due to additional score processing time needed.
However, these scores will be released before the first AMCAS® application release.
In addition, “preliminary” Percentile Rank estimates will be provided prior to the official score release
April test-takers will likely have scores released on June 16
May test-takers will likely have scores released on June 30
June test-takers will likely have scores released on July 21
July test-takers will likely have scores released on August 18
At this point, I’d like to talk a bit about those examinees who take the new exam during the first few administrations—in particular, in April and May of As noted on this slide, the scores for these “early” examinees will take somewhat longer than the typical days to be reported. This is primarily due to the need to conduct, and to verify, the additional analyses required to establish the new scales and to make the necessary adjustments to correct for the anticipated idiosyncracies of the group of early examinees. Remember, the new exam will be around for a long time—at least 15 years—so it is vital that the new scales be calibrated accurately and appropriately to support the fair evaluation of applicants taking different forms of the new exam, both within and across those testing years.
So, we have to get it right; we need to make sure that the scores of early examinees will mean the same thing as scores for examinees taking the test later in the year, and we need to make sure that all of these scores will mean the same thing for the next 15 years. This foundation is so important that we have to get it right—and getting it right takes time.
That said, scores from these early administrations will be released prior to the first AMCAS 2016 application release, thus allowing their applications to be processed at the same time as those from examinees not taking the new exam. In addition, we will be providing preliminary—or estimated—percentile ranks to these examinees well before their operational scores are released—within two to three weeks following their test administration date. These preliminary estimates will inform examinees of the likely range of percentile ranks in which their scores on the new exam are likely to fall, therefore providing them with information to help them decide whether they should plan on re-taking the exam, or where they should apply.

41. Incentives for April examinees
To help ensure that numbers of examinees are sufficient to support the analyses associated with the development of the new scales
Examinees taking the exam in April 2015 will receive a gift card from Amazon.com for $150 (equal to half the cost of registration)
In addition, those examinees choosing to take the exam in April will also be offered an additional financial incentive to take the exam on one of those dates. This is being done to help ensure that we have sufficient numbers of examinees to support the initial scaling and norming analyses mentioned earlier. This incentive will be provided in the form of an Amazon.com gift card for $150, half the cost of registering for the new exam.

42. How will medical schools interpret the new scores?

43. MCAT2015 Resources for Students
I’m going to share information about resources available for both you and your students. I’m going to start with resources for students.
We recognize the vital role of the health professions advisors in ensuring students get accurate and trustworthy information about preparing for medical school. As we develop new resources for students, feedback from many of you and your students have been immensely helpful in identifying the types of resources that are needed, how to format those resources and how to improve upon existing resources. A big thank you to all of you for generosity of time and feedback so that we can do a better job of serving students during this time of transition.
While we know that there are bound to be some challenges ahead during this time of transition, it is your help in offering feedback and sharing information with students that will help make the transition as smooth as possible for students. So let’s take a closer look at resources for your students.

44. What’s on the MCAT2015 Exam? interactive tool
New!
So, we’ve focused our resources in some new areas and we have been hard at work making sure students have lots of resources available. I’m going to talk about a few resources that have already been available for a while.
Released in April -
First is the What’s on the MCAT2015 Exam? interactive tool. This free, online resource is where students will find out everything they need to know to prepare for the new exam. They can take a tour of the materials—watch video tutorials and view sample questions and explanations. The tool includes details about the four sections of the exam, along with how the exam tests Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skills in the natural and behavioral sciences.
It includes sample questions that illustrate how the questions on the new exam will test the concepts and skills students are responsible for knowing. We think this new tool will be more appealing to students as it actively engages them in exploring the 10 Foundational Concepts and skills, rather than reading pages and pages of text like the content outlines for the current exam. We hope this will boost student awareness about the what to expect on the new exam.
I also want to point out that this tool REPLACES the preview guide that we shared with all of you previously. This tool has the final exam blueprints and should be THE go to source for information about the new exam. For those not a fan of the interactive method, there is a downloadable PDF on the site just for you!
Student can directly access the tool at

45. Khan Academy MCAT Collection
Collaboration with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Free instructional videos and review questions
Will cover all natural and social science content on new exam
Over 400 videos and hundreds of questions available now
Over 30,000 views daily
One of the new directions we’ve taken with the new exam was a collaboration with the Khan Academy. As a result of the collaboration with the Khan Academy and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Khan Academy has created the MCAT collection. The Khan Academy held a competition to identify talented medical students, faculty and graduate students and trained the winners in the techniques of creating Khan Academy style videos and review questions. The fifteen winners have already created over 400 videos and hundreds more review questions.
A second competition was held this spring and XX new winners were selected to complete the video collection and continue on enhancing he collection with more review questions, articles and other resources that will support learning the content presented in the videos.
The first video tutorials and review questions in the collection were launched in October 2013 and new videos and questions are being added as they are completed. The MCAT2015 videos currently get about 30,000 views per day! (yes daily!) And tens of thousands of questions are also answered. Not just passive learning happening here!
We are excited that this free resource is already available to students so far in advance of the first administration of the new exam. While students will continue to master the content covered on the exam in many ways – coursework, study groups, classes, independent study – we are delighted that this free resource will be available to all students, offering equal opportunity to access great preparation material – This is especially important for the new Psychological, Social and Behavioral Foundations of Behavior section of the exam.

46. Pre-health Collection within MedEdPORTAL’s iCollaborative
Free, open access resources for MCAT2015 content
For faculty to use in classrooms
For student independent study
I also wanted to point out that all of the materials in the Khan Academy collection are part of the AAMC’s Pre-health Collection within MedEdPORTAL’s iCollaborative – a repository of teaching and learning resources. I’ll talk more about this resources later …. But this means that all of the Khan Academy MCAT Collection resources were reviewed by the Pre-health Collection review team of undergraduate faculty.
The Pre-health Collection is a repository of teaching resources that supports undergraduate faculty who work with students preparing for careers in the health professions, including public health careers and graduate programs. The Collection is a free searchable online repository of instructional materials recommended for teaching pre-health competencies, including those on the new 2015 MCAT® exam.
These resources I just mentioned represent the free resources that are available to all students at no cost, as part of AAMC’s commitment to ensure that the cost of preparing are not a barrier to students wishing to pursue a career in medicine.

47. The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam (MCAT2015), Fourth Edition
Includes 120 practice questions and solutions
Online practice questions option
$35 for book and online practice questions
$30 book only
$10 online practice questions only
New!
So, while we have a taken a new approach to test preparation resources, we’ve kept what works.
Released in April – one full year prior to the first administration of the new exam - The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam (MCAT2015), Fourth Edition gives students a detailed overview of all aspects of the exam – from registration and test day procedures, to the content of the exam and practice questions.
The guidebook is completely update for the new exam. It includes 120 questions from each of the 4 sections of the exam, representative of the new content. Every question includes an explanation for both correct and incorrect answers. The book also includes content about what to expect on test day, how the exam is organized, and details about the skills and concepts tested. The print copy of the book is currently available. And an e-book version will be available soon.
A copy of this book has been mailed to individual current members of NAAHP from a list provided by NAAHP to us in April. I trust you have already received your book. If you are a current member of NAAHP as of April and you believe you should have received the book, but didn’t – We’ll check our mailing list, verify your NAAHP status and get a book to you.
The same 120 questions in the book are also available in an online format that gives students the opportunity to answer the questions in the same format as the actual exam. Get both together for $35, $30 for book alone, or $10 for the online practice questions alone.
Just as we do today, students with the greatest financial need who qualify for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program will receive a free copy of the guidebook and all of the other preparation products.

48. Official MCAT2015 Sample Test
Available Fall 2014
Full-length test
Representative of the new exam
Online test
Score report with number correct
Estimated scores not possible
Low-cost $25
We will continue to offer students the opportunity to try a full-length practice test that is designed to represent the actual MCAT2015 exam. This first test will be available this Fall in We want to be sure students have plenty of time to get familiar with the new exam.
This test will have all 4 sections, presented in the order of the actual exam. It will have the same number and types of questions that students can expect on the actual exam – 230 questions. All questions will have explanations about the correct answer solutions.
Like the current practice tests, it will have a “Simulate Actual exam” option so the test can be completed under timed conditions without viewing the solutions on the first pass through. The test will also offer the option to complete the test untimed, viewing solutions as convenient during or after the completion of the test.
A couple things will be different – thus the name “Sample Test” instead of practice test. The question on this test are written by the same folks that write the actual exam, however these questions have not previously been administered on the actual exam. This means that the scoring information that we rely on to offer an estimated scaled score for the practice tests is not available. Therefore, we will not be able to offer an estimated scaled score for this Sample Test. The score report will show the number correct out of the total. And the opportunity to review answers and solutions to each question.
The sample test will be one of our low-cost products, available to students at an affordable cost. And it will also be free to students that qualify for the fee assistance program. 56

49. Official MCAT2015 Study Sets
Available early 2015
Reclassify previous MCAT questions to MCAT2015
Hundreds of questions grouped into study sets
Offer lots of practice with actual questions
Low cost
We are happy to make a new announcement today. We will have a new product to help students prepare for the MCAT2015 exam. We’re really excited about this one.
We’ve had a lot of questions about keeping the current practice materials available for the new exam. We agree – the prior materials are useful, but we are also concerned about offering a product that is potentially misleading to students since they don’t cover all the content on the new exam. We were worried that leaving the products unchanged gave no way to indicate whether or not specific questions would be useful for the new exam. And we thought we could do something better – so we are working on that now. The MCAT questions from the current preparation products are being reclassified to see which map to the new exam. The questions that do map to the new exam, will receive a classification for both foundational concept and skill.
We will group the questions into “like” groups and release them in study sets – each with hundreds of questions. While we aren’t far along in the process to know exactly how we’ll group the questions we are likely to group them by discipline – biology, chemistry, physics, critical analysis and reasoning skill.
This might lead you to wonder how is this different from the Self-Assessment Package?
While these discipline-specific sets are not designed in a way that makes it possible to offer the same-level of topic-specific feedback on one’s MCAT strengths and weaknesses, they will offer students and opportunity to get more practice in a specific area. Each question will include lots of information in the review mode that will assist students in learning from the questions. For each question, the foundational concept and skill tested will be listed, as well as the solution, and an explanation for the correct answer.
Since the questions in the study sets are all questions from current preparation products – it will not include biochemistry, psychology and sociology concepts that are not part of the current exam.
The study sets will be offered at low-cost so they are affordable to students. And they too will be offered to students qualifying for the FAP program free of charge.

50. Official MCAT2015 Practice Test #1
Available Fall 2015 (NOW!)
Full-length test
Previously administered questions
Low-cost resource
And in the Fall of 2015, we plan to offer a full-length practice test that will be composed of questions from previously administered exams. This will give us the opportunity to offer the estimated-scaled score again.
Keep in mind that developing a practice test can take 6 months… this means that we will need to be creating the first version about the same time that the MCAT2015 exam is administered for the first time. This makes it difficult to create the estimated scaled score for this test for it’s first release. Rather than hold back on releasing this valuable preparation support until the scoring is available – we may need to first offer the test without the estimated scaled scores. We will keep you updated as the development of the test moves forward.
This will also be a low-cost product affordable to students. And like the other products will be offered free of charge to any student qualifying for the FAP program.

51. Additional Free Resources For Students
The student website is a key resource for:
Links to all resources
Exam policies and procedures
Registration and Accommodations
Preparation resources
FAQ’s
Videos
Most up-to-date information
Finally, the website offers many FAQs, some videos, and a link to all these resources.

52. Questions?