MCAT Corner

Easily the most difficult part of preparing for podiatry school is the MCAT. The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is required for application to almost all podiatry, DO and MD medical colleges in the United States. It is a standardized test that is used to "assess the examinee's problem solving, critical thinking, writing skills, and knowledge of science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine (AAMC.org)." MCAT exams are taken in very strict, controlled conditions and testing is only administered at specific locations throughout the U.S.

The first question that comes to most student's mind is, "Why do I have to take it?"  While a variety of people will give you complicated answers about how the MCAT has a proven correlation with success in podiatry/medical school, the truth of it is that it is a "weeding out" process. There are thousands and thousands of students who apply for podiatry/medical school each year and with only a small number of positions available. In the 9 podiatry schools throughout the U.S., there were close to 900 applicants. Especially in schools where matriculation is small (like AZPod), schools are looking for students that are most "competitive" and most likely to succeed. The MCAT serves as an effective method of narrowing down the candidates. Remember that most students who apply for podiatry school have resumes just as impressive as yours and could potentially make very good candidates. The MCAT is the unfortunate result of this fact.

Make sure you check out the MCAT Frequently Asked Questions to get an idea of what to expect!

*Image provided by Stefan Krilla under and sxc.hu image license.