The Medical College Admission Test or MCAT is a standardized test used to assess applicants to medical schools in the United States and Canada. It is currently administered by computer. It assesses problem solving, critical thinking, written analysis and writing skills in addition to a basic understanding of science. It is offered about 25 times a year in several different locations, and lasts anywhere from 4.5 to 5 hours.
The tests of Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences and Verbal Reasoning are all multiple-choice. In addition, the test taker must complete a pair of written essays as part of the Writing Sample portion. The test is scored from a low of 3 to a high of 45. A score of 39 scores better than all than all but 0.5% of test takers. House says he scored a perfect score on the exam, which probably means his adjusted score was the equivalent of a 45 - towards the top 0.1% of test takers.