2014 NMAT Medical School Entrance Exam

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.

This book is a must have

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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.

 

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.