How to get a good score on the NMAT Medical School Entrance Exam
First of all, I want to say that I am not Filipino, and I have very limited Pre-med science classes and my degree is a bachelor of arts. Despite that, I scored in the 80's on the NMAT exam and I could have scored higher. I am writing this hub to give anyone thinking about attending medical school in the Philippines what I believe to the be the best way to score the highest score possible. Once again, as I am not Filipino, the advice I am giving you is from the perspective of someone without a strong background in pre-med courses and is not Filipino, so keep that in mind if you have a strong background or you are Filipino. But I think the advice is good for everyone.
Studying for the exam. I actually did almost no studying whatsoever for the exam. I studied at most a few hours. I do not recommend this, but I want to let you know the exact materials that I used. I glanced over the MSA NMAT reviewer. Now I will tell you a little later about how this book definitely increased my score of what I would have gotten had I not used the book. I glanced over the book. Now it is a very small book, but there is a lot of information in those few pages that you need to go over in detail.
***Mistake on NMAT #1, I should have bought the MSA NMAT reviewer in advance and study it like a Bible.
If you are from the states like I am from, you may be thinking, where am I going to get a MSA NMAT reviewer from. I have seen the book online on various websites such as Ebay, amazon and you can even check Filipino websites such as olx.com, and suilit.com and see if the sellers are willing to ship to your address. The book is not a condensation of Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Calculus and Grammar. The book is however an insight into the main purpose of the NMAT. Unlike the MCAT, the NMAT is balanced equally into Sciences and IQ. You may be asking what do you mean by "IQ". I mean that the NMAT is a straight up IQ test. You will have hundreds of questions picking the next figure, and distinguishing what photo does not belong. The NMAT reviewer is probably the only study guide that you will find that will have a large number of "IQ" questions available to study in advance. Although IQ is supposedly fixed, if some of the questions have a similar appearance, it may be possible to score a higher score than normal if you are familiar at least with the style of the questions.
Now I want to get to mistake #2 for me on the NMAT exam.
****Mistake on NMAT #2, I should have studied more simple math.
This might actually sound strange, but I really should have focused The more on simple math equations. The NMAT is full of complex multiplication questions and you will need SPEED. I will repeat that again, you will need SPEED. Unlike many standardized tests from the states that will allow you to use a calculator, or will have only one answer close to the right answer, the NMAT has 40-50 questions where you will need to multiple 3-4 3 digit numbers in 30-45 seconds. If you are use to using a calculator and not doing multiplication in your head, you will suffer during the NMAT. While I personally think that I am a pretty fast in multiplication, I missed A LOT, I mean A LOT of questions where I just didn't have time. You cannot guess because 2-3 of your answer choices will be within a tenth of a decimal point away.
Studying for the exam. I actually did almost no studying whatsoever for the exam. I studied at most a few hours. I do not recommend this, but I want to let you know the exact materials that I used. I glanced over the MSA NMAT reviewer. Now I will tell you a little later about how this book definitely increased my score of what I would have gotten had I not used the book. I glanced over the book. Now it is a very small book, but there is a lot of information in those few pages that you need to go over in detail.
***Mistake on NMAT #1, I should have bought the MSA NMAT reviewer in advance and study it like a Bible.
If you are from the states like I am from, you may be thinking, where am I going to get a MSA NMAT reviewer from. I have seen the book online on various websites such as Ebay, amazon and you can even check Filipino websites such as olx.com, and suilit.com and see if the sellers are willing to ship to your address. The book is not a condensation of Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Calculus and Grammar. The book is however an insight into the main purpose of the NMAT. Unlike the MCAT, the NMAT is balanced equally into Sciences and IQ. You may be asking what do you mean by "IQ". I mean that the NMAT is a straight up IQ test. You will have hundreds of questions picking the next figure, and distinguishing what photo does not belong. The NMAT reviewer is probably the only study guide that you will find that will have a large number of "IQ" questions available to study in advance. Although IQ is supposedly fixed, if some of the questions have a similar appearance, it may be possible to score a higher score than normal if you are familiar at least with the style of the questions.
Now I want to get to mistake #2 for me on the NMAT exam.
****Mistake on NMAT #2, I should have studied more simple math.
This might actually sound strange, but I really should have focused The more on simple math equations. The NMAT is full of complex multiplication questions and you will need SPEED. I will repeat that again, you will need SPEED. Unlike many standardized tests from the states that will allow you to use a calculator, or will have only one answer close to the right answer, the NMAT has 40-50 questions where you will need to multiple 3-4 3 digit numbers in 30-45 seconds. If you are use to using a calculator and not doing multiplication in your head, you will suffer during the NMAT. While I personally think that I am a pretty fast in multiplication, I missed A LOT, I mean A LOT of questions where I just didn't have time. You cannot guess because 2-3 of your answer choices will be within a tenth of a decimal point away.
This book is a must have
NMAT Reviewer
Last Thoughts
Well, for anyone considering medical school in the Philippines, the NMAT is a requirement for just about every medical school there. They offer the exam in November/December and in March/April every year. The exam that is offered in the winter is usually offered in California as well as in Manila. If you take the exam in Manila and you are not a Filipino Citizen, you are actually separated from the rest of the local students and you will take the exam in a room with all international students. Keep in mind that although the test covers basic science, the exam also looks at IQ and you should review material that address this. I have not seen any information about the NMAT on any other source, blog, website, or whatever that mentions this and this is why I wanted to bring it up. As a foreign student, many schools are a little lenient about your NMAT, however, you still want the highest score to make sure you have a number of options. Good luck on your test.
ty. its very useful as i am going to sit for the nmat exam in 2weeks and i have no idea what to study.. :) this blog of yours helped much
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! MSA NMAT Reviewer is the one and only reliable reviewer on this NMAT exam! This book is the reason why my sibbling passed the exam! Thanks!
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