2013 Philippines Medical School Admission Test (NMAT)

The deadline for the 2013 Philippine Medical School Entrance Exam is fast approaching. The absolute final deadline for the U.S.A. exam in Los Angeles, California is November 19th, 2012, and the deadline for the exam in Manila, Philippines is November 16th, 2012. For those planning on attending any foreign medical school abroad, taking the Philippine NMAT should be considered. You can register online at http://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/  The exam is the equivalent to the U.S. Medical School Entrance Exam, "MCAT", but it is quite different. The Philippine Exam tests standard Biology, Physics, Social Science, and Chemistry, during part II., but part I. is an entirely different animal, and has little to do with the basic sciences, and more to do with IQ and vision. 

Part I. of the NMAT consists of verbal, inductive reasoning, quantitative, and perceptual acuity. 

Verbal: The verbal section is pretty straightforward. You simply read a section on a variety of topics and you answer a set of questions below, such as what is the author's purpose, what is the main idea, does the writer have an bias?

Inductive Reasoning. This section is simply an IQ test for children. You will have to determine relationships between different figures that will be both time consuming and extremely difficult if you do not have sufficient practive. The MSA reviser has many questions that are not only similar, but may actually be repeated in this sectin.

Quantitative. This section consists of basic addition, multiplication and algebra. However, you will be required to multiply 3-4 sets of numbers such as 346 x 322 x 745 without the use of a calculator. Answers choices are within decimal points apart, so it is not possible to guess. Simply practice beforehand with basic multiplication, division, algebra is a must. Because of the number of problems, you must have completed previous sections of the NMAT in advance to allow additional time on this section.

Perceptual Acuity. I almost think that this section is impossible. If you have not studied the MSA reviewer in advance, you may want to skip this section entirely. You must answer quickly, and you are not given much time to visually tell the difference between 2 figures that may be rotated, inverted, or partially visible. This skill set is nothing that you would have likely learned in any type of class, so you must study this in advance. The MSA reviewer is extremely beneficial. 

Good luck on the exam.