MCAT costs

Welcome to Medical Monday! Let's take a look at the standardized test required for medical school: the MCAT. This test has traditionally been offered once in April and once in August, however, starting in 2007, it will be administered on computers and offered more frequently throughout the year. The paper-and-pencil MCAT costs $210. While I'm sure the costs of designing questions, testing the test, and administering the test are unbelievably high, I can't help but be cynical and attribute the cost in part to the fact that it is a monopoly. If you want to be considered for medical school, you must take the MCAT.

Then there are the test preparation companies. There's a little more competition there, however, I see them more as oligopolies. The three main companies for MCAT preparation are Examkrackers, Kaplan, and the Princeton Review. All three offer books, practice tests, and courses. In addition, the MCAT writers offer practice tests that are compilations of old exam problems, for the low low price of $40 each.

Courses can help people focus on studying for the test, however, they are wicked expensive. Basic courses routinely run about $1500. Subject reviews are $500. But Kaplan has now taken it one notch further: it's Summer Intensive Prep grills and prepares students all day every day for six weeks. Cost? Only $7,499.

Well, the courses are a bit pricey for me. Besides, I think that I am perfectly capable of studying all the material by myself. So, I turn to the books, which offer a vast array of study material. Based on all of my friends' recommendations, I have ordered the set of Examkrackers books for $200, which is pricier than the books offered by Kaplan and the Princeton Review.

So, all in all, my cost for this test so far is $410. The end goal is to do well on the MCAT. "Well" is subjective. Out of a possible 45, the average test taker gets a 24. The average admitted person scored in the low 30's. Being the perfectionist that I am, I am aiming for that 45, but I will be happy with anything above 35.