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Medical Entrance Exams Around the World in 2024
Studying a medical course abroad needs to clear the medical entrance exam to fulfill the dream of many candidates. Studying with advanced technology and an internationally approved curriculum attracts many candidates to study abroad. Are you planning to take admissions in a Medical course abroad? And trying to figure out the available entrance exam to get admission to your desired country or university? Well, worry not, we are here to solve this problem for you. In this blog, we are going to explain to you all the essential details regarding internationally conducted entrance exams for medical students.
Why should one take a medical entrance exam?
The medical entrance exam is a standardized test used to determine the eligibility of candidates who want to study medicine at prestigious universities and private medical colleges. The most significant qualifying requirement for pursuing any degree in medical science is passing an entrance exam. While several universities have their own exams to test candidates, there are a few that are accepted worldwide. Here we will go through a few of the most important entrance examinations for medical students.
What are The Top Entrance Exams for Medical Students?
Medical entrance tests are an important aspect of getting admission into medical college. These examinations, which primarily consist of multiple-choice questions, assess reading comprehension, and fundamental science knowledge, and are essential in determining whether or not a candidate will be admitted to medical college.
1. IMAT Exam
IMAT- International Medical Admission Test - is a test organized for entrance to medical colleges or institutes for those applicants who want to study medicine in Italy in English. A country that offers many benefits, such as the possibility to get a prestigious degree in a field such as medicine under exceptionally favourable conditions. The IMAT exam for admission to Italy medical college or university consists of 90 multiple-choice questions covering logical thinking, general culture, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. The exam offers five possible answers, with only one correct response allowed. The exam will last 100 minutes for 60 questions. You can appear for the exam from your home country or in Italy which is held once a year.
IMAT: Exam Scores, Validity and Exam Fee
- For each correct answer, you will get +1.5 points, -0.4 for each incorrect answer, and 0 points for unanswered questions.
- A candidate will be rewarded 90 points for all the correct 60 questions in the exam.
- Candidates must score 20 points in an exam to secure a seat in a medical university or college.
- Only a black ballpoint pen is allowed in the examination.
- The fee for the IMAT exam is € 130.
- The validity of the exam score is only for the year of the application.
2. MCAT Exam
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a medical entrance exam for medical school admissions in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Caribbean Islands. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) created it, and Pearson VUE administers it. The MCAT exam is given 25 times a year in 21 countries. The pattern of the exam evaluates a candidate's analysis, reasoning, psychology skills, and biological system knowledge, and the online test includes four sections of 221 MCQ to be completed in 7.5 hours. The entrance exam comprises four sections: Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems, Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills, Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems, and Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behaviour.
MCAT: Exam Scores, Validity and Exam Fee
- The qualifying score of the MCAT ranges between 472-528
- The sectional score lies between 118-132
- There is no negative marking for the MCAT exam.
- The Exam fee for each attempt is 325 USD depending upon the region the candidate is applying.
- The scores of the MCAT exam are valid for 2 to 3 years.
3. OET Exam
The OET: Occupational English Test is administered by Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Trust (CBLA) and is an exclusive English language test for healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals wishing to work or study MBBS in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Maldives, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, or the United States of America must apply for the OET test in order to demonstrate their level of English proficiency. The OET exam is available in three formats: Paper-based at a test center, computer-based at a test center, and home-based OET.
OET: Exam Scores, Validity and Exam Fee
- The scores of OET consist of a ranking system form 0-500, where 500 is considered highly fluent in communicating with patients.
- The exam fee for OET is 455 USD
- Scores of the OET exam are valid for 2 years.
4. USMLE Exam
The United States Medical Licencing Examination (USMLE) is an exam required to practice medicine in the United States of America (USA). The USMLE is a three-part exam that assesses a candidate's ability to apply information, concepts, and patient-centred abilities that are the foundation of safe and successful care. The exam is divided into three steps USMLE step 1 is a total of 280 multiple-choice questions distributed across seven 60-minute blocks in an online mode. USMLE Step 2 of the exam consists of an online mode of 318 MCQ for 60 minutes. USMLE Step 3 consists of the offline session, which is a two-day examination. On the first day of the test, there were 232 multiple-choice questions. It's broken into six chunks of 38-39 items each. Each block is allotted 60 minutes. The first testing day lasts 7 hours, including a 45-minute break and a 5-minute optional tutorial lesson. On the second day of the test, there are 180 multiple-choice questions in six 45-minute blocks, and 13 computer-based case simulations are allocated 10-20 minutes each in real-time.
USMLE: Exam Scores, Validity and Exam Fee
- Candidates should score 194 points in step 1, 209 points in step 2, and at least 196 points in step 3.
- The application fee is 1,000 USD for Step 1 and 1,000 USD for Step 2 and 925 USD for Step 3.
- The scores of the USMLE exam are valid for 7 years from the day the candidate appeared for the Step 1 exam.
5. FPMT Exam
The Foreign Pre-Medical Entrance Test (FPMT) Admission Cum Scholarship Examination is appropriate for students from all over India who want to study medicine (MBBS) in abroad countries. The MBBS Gurukul Abroad Education & Services (MCI GURUKUL PG/FMGE/NEXT INSTITUTE) organizes it. Based on their scores and doctoral counseling, the FPMT Test would enable and assist students to enroll in Medical Universities in foreign countries. Following the exam, students can choose a college in counseling under the supervision of an expert doctor team based on their exam results and college tuition structure. Furthermore, through the FPMT exam, students can get scholarships ranging from 10,000 to 10,00,000 rupees in their first year, and qualified students will receive mentoring throughout their studies. This test has a total of 10,524 seats for MBBS. The Online Entrance Test will consist of four papers with 200 objective-type questions from Physics, Chemistry, Biology (Botany and Zoology), and English. The best feature of the exam is that candidates can choose between a Hindi and an English question paper.
FPMT: Exam Scores and Exam Fee
- The scoring format is based on percentile format. Candidates with the highest percentile score will get the scholarship chance to study medical courses abroad in 20 countries.
- There is no application fee for this exam.
6. BMAT Exam
The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is a standardized test designed to evaluate a candidate's ability and potential for admission to medical and biomedical science programs at various universities across the world. Cambridge Assessment Admission Testing conducts the BMAT exam. It is a difficult exam that evaluates candidates's critical thinking ability, scientific knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and written communication skills. The BMAT exam is open to all applicants who have passed their class 12th or bachelor's degree and are applying to medical and biomedical science programs abroad. This examination, which primarily consists of multiple-choice questions, evaluates reading comprehension, and fundamental science knowledge, which are crucial in determining whether or not you will be admitted to medical school. The exam consists of three main sections: Section 1: Thinking Skills, Section 2: Scientific Knowledge and Applications, and Section 3: Writing Task for 2 hours. Each section concentrates on different factors of the candidates’ abilities and is designed to offer a complete evaluation.
BMAT: Exam Scores, Validity and Exam Fee
- The scoring of Section 1 and Section 2 of the BMAT exam ranges from 1(lowest) to 9(highest) and Section ranges from 0(lowest) to 5(highest).
- The BMAT scoring system does not have any negative marking system.
- Students are allowed to appear for the BMAT exam only once a year during the admission process.
- The exam fee for the candidates applying from the United Kingdom and EU is £78/€91. While for candidates applying from outside the UK and EU is £104/$142.
Conclusion
We hope that we were able to provide you with the top medical entrance test details that you will need to clear in order to get admission to the best medical university to study overseas. These entrance exams are essential gateways for aspiring medical and biomedical science students. These entrance tests give colleges an important understanding of a candidate's aptitudes and potential through their complete evaluation of thinking skills, scientific knowledge, and writing talents. Candidates can confidently take the above-mentioned entrance exam and make their way to a successful future in the medical sector by systematically preparing and developing their talents.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Most of the medical universities and colleges in the USA require MCAT exam scores as part of the admission process unless you are being admitted to a medical university through a BS/MD degree. Universities that do not require MCAT scores in their admission process are not in the USA. Hence, Check the admission guidelines and requirements of the desired university in which you are applying for the admission process.
This USMLE exam is very competitive, however, it is a lot easier than the Indian NEET PG. The USMLE exam is online and can be taken from anywhere in India. However, the course curriculum and testing questions differ greatly from the 19 disciplines taught to you when studying for an MBBS in India. It advised that you should start preparing for USMLE from the first year of your MBBS in India.
The MCAT is commonly recognized as one of the most difficult entrance exams. To pass the exam, extensive preparation and practice are required. The exam evaluates critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, making it difficult even for the brightest students. The structure of the MCAT exam not only focuses on factual knowledge but also on the reasoning and creativity of the candidate.
The BMAT exam is accepted by a few universities in the United Kingdom. There are universities in the United Kingdom that accept different Entrance exams for admission to medical courses. Hence, it is advised to go through the university's admission guidelines regarding the acceptance of the medical entrance exam for the admission process and then apply for the suitable entrance test.
The OET exam is for 12 distinct healthcare professions, and candidates from the medical profession who want to work or study in a particular country are allowed to take the exam. As part of the OET Exam Pattern and Structure, candidates must solve healthcare scenarios during the English and Communication Skills assessments in order to get admission to medical programs overseas.
