MCAT OVERVIEW

MCAT Exam Structure

Understand the four scored sections, timing, question counts, and score scale before building your study plan.

Section	Questions	Time	Primary content
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems	59	95 minutes	General chemistry, physics, organic chemistry, biochemistry, biology
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills	53	90 minutes	Reading comprehension, argument analysis, inference, reasoning
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems	59	95 minutes	Biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, physiology
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior	59	95 minutes	Psychology, sociology, behavior, culture, social determinants

Question style

Science sections include passage-based questions and discrete stand-alone questions. CARS is entirely passage-based.

Scoring

Each section is scored from 118 to 132. The total score ranges from 472 to 528.

Testing endurance

Testing time is approximately 6 hours and 15 minutes, with total seated time of roughly 7.5 hours including breaks.

Preparation principle: MCAT success depends on both content mastery and the ability to apply information from unfamiliar passages, experiments, graphs, and tables.