1. MCAT & OMSAS UWO Pre-Medical Society Academic Information Session #3 Mar. 16, 2010 Sung Ho Um, Academic coordinator

2. Outline MCAT ▫Introduction ▫Preparing for MCAT ▫Test day ▫Post-exam OMSAS ▫Preparations ▫Filling out the application ▫Application processing

3. MCAT Register at http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/ http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/ Seats fill up fast! Try to register the day registration opens. ▫Feb. 23 rd for the summer test dates

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Exam overview 1.~20 min for tutorial + examinee agreement 2.PS: 70 min for 52Qs 3.Break (10 min) 4.VR: 60 min for 40Qs 5.Break (10 min) 6.WS: 60 min for 2 prompts. (30 min/prompt) 7.Break (10 min) 8.BS: 70 min for 52Qs 9.Option to void 10.Survey Total seat time: ~5 hours 30 min

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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!

15. Writing the exam 1.Arrive early. You don’t want to be doing VR when everyone else is doing WS 2.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

16. Writing the exam 5.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!

17. 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 50 th percentile) WS: J-T (P is 50 th percentile)

18. 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

19. 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!

20. 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

21. Preparations Few things you need to do before filling out your application: 1.Which schools you can/want to apply for. 2.3 references 3.List of extracurriculars and their verifiers Application begins mid July Create an account on OMSAS before mid Sept.

22. Filling out the application Autobiographical sketch: ▫Activities since age of 16 ▫7 categories: max. 48 entries total 1.Formal education 2.Employment 3.Volunteer activities 4.Extracurricular activities 5.Awards and accomplishments 6.Research 7.Other

23. 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

24. Filling out the application Supplementary sections: ▫University of Toronto requires a personal essay. ▫McMaster requires short answers to five Qs.

25. OMSAS Due Oct 1 st. 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).

26. 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

27. Resources MCAT: ▫http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/ OMSAS: ▫http://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/

28. Questions? Good luck with MCAT and medical school applications this summer!