When you register for the MCAT exam, you must agree to the Examinee Agreement, which is essentially a nondisclosure and terms of use agreement for the exam. The text of the agreement is provided in the MCAT Essentials, which is required reading for all examinees. The agreement includes examples of prohibited conduct and the steps that AAMC may take to investigate any suspected violations.
In short, this means that when you discuss the MCAT exam:
You may comment on your general exam experience such as test center conditions or how you felt about a particular section, such as the biological sciences section.
You may NOT:
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Describe any passage or exam topic, question, incorrect response, correct answer, or graphic in greater or more specific detail than described in the What's on the MCAT Exam? interactive tool. This includes discussing or disclosing a topic list or describing the frequency or order in which such topics appear.
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Outline the steps or process to answer a question.
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Speculate about which passages are field-test or experimental items.
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Assist anyone else in doing any of the above.
While you may read or hear other guidelines that are not consistent with these statements, keep in mind that the information on this page comes directly from the AAMC and is meant to help you share your MCAT experience without violating the Examinee Agreement.
Discussion FAQs
The following questions and answers are intended to provide more tangible (but not exhaustive) examples of what is and is not acceptable to share about your MCAT experience.
Can I post the text of a question (or the best that I can remember) and what I answered so that others can tell me if they answered the same way?
No. This is clearly prohibited by the Examinee Agreement.
But what if I just give the question, without the answer?
No.
Can I reconstruct a partial list of the topics tested in a particular section, so that others can help me remember the one passage that I'm forgetting?
No.
I have a question about ketones, which happened to be on the test. But everyone knows that MCAT exam usually tests this topic. What can I ask?
You can talk about the topic in very broad terms, such as the scientific concept as it is listed in the What's on the MCAT Exam? interactive tool. Or you can mention how you felt when you saw that concept on the exam.
For one of the biology questions, I'm not sure if I followed the right steps to get my answer. Can I outline my process so others can comment whether I did it right or not? I won't actually give the answer!
No, you may not outline the steps or processes to answer a question.
What if I have a question about a basic scientific concept? Can I ask about this?
Sure, you can ask about scientific concepts as long as the question is general in nature.
However, if you ask about the scientific concept in such a way that the question is really to get feedback on a particular exam question or to mention the topic of a passage, then that is not permitted. "Topics" are words or phrases that are intended to reference or represent an entire question or passage.
My friend is taking the exam in two weeks. She wants to know what they tested. Can I make a list of what was tested? Can I suggest that she review specific parts of her prep materials?
No, you may not reconstruct a list of the topics tested, nor may you describe how frequently a topic appeared on an exam.
Someone removed my post from a discussion board, but I don't think there was anything wrong with it. What did I do wrong?
Your post on its own may be fine, but posts sometimes turn into threads that may result in exam questions, lists of topics, or other content being disclosed. Or your post might have been removed because it contained a quote from another post that was removed.
I think that the fifth passage of the biological sciences passage was a "field test" section. Can I ask if anyone else had the same suspicion?
No, you may not speculate about which passages are field test or experimental items.
But my test center was so cold. It made my fingers hurt to type. Can I post about this?
Yes, this is a general comment about your exam experience.
My test prep company wants me to fill out a survey after the exam. Can I do this? What can I say?
Yes, you can fill out the survey, but you may not disclose exam content just the same as if you were on a discussion board or talking to someone in person, on the phone, texting, or email.
You can answer questions about whether you felt prepared for the various sections. But you may not tell them about a specific question or provide any indication about what content was tested on a particular exam.
I work for a test prep company and received special permission from the AAMC to take the exam. May I talk about my experience in my course?
You may talk about your general exam experience or about how you felt throughout the exam, but you may not disclose any exam content (specific questions, answers, or topics) in any way that violates the Examinee Agreement. The Examinee Agreement applies to you regardless of your purpose for taking the exam.
So, if you don't say we can't do something in these guidelines, we can do it, right?
No. If we interpret your post or other communication to violate the terms of the Examinee Agreement in any way, we reserve the right to enforce the Examinee Agreement. You agreed to the Examinee Agreement, not these guidelines.