Surviving the PLM MCAT

I practically was smiling to myself after the test was over, not because I found it too easy, but because depressing over it would just push me to insanity, I might as well throw a big wide grin while at it.

So how did it fare compared to NMAT? The two exams basically cover the same subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math-- and instead of the Social Sciences part, the MCAT has Psychology, Anatomy, and General & Earth Sciences. I think the PLM MCAT is more challenging because the questions are a bit concept specific, plus there are some that you'll just have chalk up to stock knowledge. The test itself is divided into two parts, the timed test and the untimed test. The timed test runs for about 3 hours, with about 300 items, covering the said subjects plus Reading Comprehension. The untimed test, generally a Psychology exam, is given after.

The Chemistry and Physics subtests are a healthy balance of theoretical and application/computation items, so it would be a good idea to take note of the most well used formulas. The same also goes for the Quantitative exam--with many of the questions dealing with Algebra and Trigonometry. As a nursing grad, I didn't have much difficulty with Anatomy and Psychology, although I think non-science students would have a bit of a problem on those areas since the questions are quite specific. Generally, I found the exam difficult, mainly because I didn't review as much as I did last time, and also because of the time limit. The questions themselves are not mind contorting, a good brush up on your HS books should be able to get you through, but factoring in the 'gone in sixty seconds' time limit plus not reviewing, I pretty much got myself into a whack.

A couple of the med societies (aka med fraternities and sororities) were already prowling about handing out pamphlets and other trinkets last Sunday. I guess you could never be too proactive for the coming school year eh?

The results would be out one month from now, as forumers in pinoy.md have also mentioned. Honestly, it was a bit of a letdown since I was eying to get into PLM after the UP thing failed to bear fruit. Anyway, I just hope that my score would at least get me a decent shot for the interview. Even if I don't get to PLM, I'm cooking up some back up plans which needless to say means, that by hook or by crook, I'm going to med school this year. :)

Related Posts:
Bits and pieces on PLM College of Medicine
Realizations of two week med student