How Does the SAT compare to the MCAT: MCAT vs SAT
The SAT which stands for Standardized aptitude test is a an admissions test used to evaluate the competency of undergraduate college matrciulants. The MCAT which stands for Medical College Admissions Test is a test used to evaluate potential matriculants for admission into Medical School.
In general the SAT will be taken by students in high school predominantly Juniors and Seniors, while the MCAt is predominantly taken by those who are Juniors, Seniors, or even have already graduated from undergrad getting ready to apply to Medical School.
However How exactly do these two exams compare. In this article I will be doing a comparison post of the MCAT vs the SAT.
What are the Main Differences between the MCAT vs the SAT
Sections
The SAT: Contains 3 subjects Reading, writing, and Math
The MCAT: Contains 4 subjects: biological and Biochemical Systems, Chemical and Physical Foundations of Living Systems, Sociological and Psychological Foundations of Living Systems
Question Types
The MCAT questions contain passage based questions. These question types tend to be longer in length and rely in good part on your ability to read and analyze large amounts of texts
Additionally the MCAT questions incorporate a lot of graphs, charts, as well as figures that are commonly used in scientific research. Because of this you need to have a basic understanding of how to interpret Scientific literature. Lets look at the differences in question type with respect to Math and Reading
MCAT vs SAT: Math Questions
Both the SAT and the MCAT test your math skills however they do it in different ways. The SAT will test whether or not you are capable of carrying out discrete math operations. They want you to know relationships between numbers and shapes that were heavily tested in your geometry and algebra courses. The MCAT however tests your use of math skills in the context of basic science questions. Two examples of SAT math questions are seen below
Source: Varsity Tutors
The question types on SAT math are broken down into any of the following 4 categories
2. Algebra
3. Advanced Math which consists of the following
- Quadratic equations
- Polynomial equations
- Solving equations with radicals
- Rewriting rational expressions
- Creating equivalent expressions
- Trigonometry
- Applying theorems about circles
- Using theorems on congruence to solve for angles and lines and triangle length
- Pythagorean theorem
The MCAT math is mainly tested in the chem/phys sections and requires use of the following
- Basic arrythmatic operations of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and division
- Basic statistics
- Conversion of decimals
- Exponents
- Logarithmic equations
- Algebra
An example of what an MCAT chem/phys question involving math can be seen below
Do you see the difference here? The SAT math is more akin to something that you would find in the back of a high school textbook. It still relies on a good bit of critical thinking but only within the confines of math.
If we look at the passage on MCAT Phsyics, the question asks about the angle that a beta particle will be reflected given a particular angle angle of incidence. This type of question although it has some geometric principles ingrained into it requires readers to have a bit of knowledge on nuclear chemistry, as well as well as optics. It integrates more than one discipline.
MCAT vs SAT: Reading Questions
Both the SAT and the MCAT contain sections which test reading ability. On both of these tests the test writers write questions which tests users ability to analyze passages and use critical thinking to arrive at the correct answer. Although they are similar in this way the two reading sections do have a lot of differences. Lets start with the SAT
SAT Reading: SAT reading contains questions that can be put into any of the of the 4 following categories.
How the Author uses Evidence
This type of question asks you to identify a piece of supporting evidence the author is using to support the claims that he is using to support
Understanding Words in Context
This type of question asks you to identify a certain word that the author uses and understand its meaning based on how the word is being used within the context of the passage
Analysis n History/Social Studies and in Science
This type of question might give you an experiment of some kind and then ask you to interpret and analyze it. It does not necessarily require that you have previous knowledge oof the topic being discussed
The MCAt CARS section can be broken down into 4 categories. These are the following
1) Foundations of Comprehension (30% of questions)
2) Reasoning Within the Text (30% of questions)
3) Reasoning Beyond the Text (40% of questions)
Each of these question types requires you to use the passage to find the answers.
Source: Kaplan
MCAT vs SAT: What Skills are tested?
- Critical Reasoning: While both of these test your ability to reason and use critical analysis, the MCAT does it to a substantially higher degree. Additionally the MCAT tests your ability to reason but in the context of the basic sciences and living biological systems. The SAT however tests your critical analysis skills within the bounds of what you were supposed to learn in high school. The information on the SAT will never exceed what you learned in high school.
- Knowledge: A wider breadth of knowledge is needed to perform well on the MCAT as compared to the SAT. Unless you take an SAT subject test most of the knowledge that you get tested on in the SAT is in the Math section because you have to know certain theorems as it pertains to geometry.
The MCAT vs SAT: Which is more Difficult?
The MCAT is more Difficult
By far the more difficult of the two exams is the MCAT. This is for a few reasons.
For one the MCAT has a sit time of 7 hours and 27 minutes while the SAT is only 3 hours. Additionally, the minnum requirement of both the MCAT and SAT is another factor that plays into the difficulty. The average medical school matriculant scores a 511 which equates to the 81st percentile. This means that you have to be in the top 20% of all test takers to realistcially have a good shot at being accepted into medical School.
Now lets look at the SAT. USnews reported that the average SAT score of all matriculants was a 1060. This equates roughly to the 50th percentile. This clearly shows that the minimum requirement for the SAT score is much less than that for the MCAT. There is substantially less pressure to outperform your peers when it comes to taking the SAT. You really just have to be above the 50th percentile, and you will likely gain college admission somewhere.
This also plays into the next reason why the MCAT is harder, which is that in general, The MCAT holds more weight on a students application than does the MCAT.
SAT vs MCAT: How do I prepare for them?
This is where I believe there are more similarities as compared to differences. both test rely on your ability to have a certain pattern of thinking. They rely on you to develop critical thinking skills that cannot be acquired simply by just trying to memorize a bunch of facts.For both of these tests I think one benefits from doing practice exams as well enrolling in prep courses to ensure adequate preparation. using any of the courses such as Magoosh Test Prep, The Princeton Review, and even Kaplan can help you develop a solid approach to success on this exam
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