The MCAT  (Medical College Admission Test) should be taken in the spring of your junior year if you are planning to go straight to medical school.

The MCAT is very important; in conjunction with grades, most schools use it to screen applicants.

The Association of American Medical Colleges produces an online publication called the MCAT Student Manual. It describes the test in terms of its content and provides a practice test to help you prepare.

Other study guides are A Complete Preparation for the MCAT and Barron's Guide to the MCAT. These question and answer books help you to improve your skills at answering multiple choice questions and provide a good review of the subject matter. Read all the answers even if you get them right, but especially those areas in which you are weak. Keep track of how you do.

DO NOT study the night before. Do something relaxing, and be sure to get a good night's sleep. Studying the night before will take away from your performance by causing more anxiety.

Another alternative is taking an MCAT preparation course such as the Princeton Review or Stanley Kaplan. For the past several years, a review course has been offered on campus to give a free diagnostic evaluation to prospective medical school applicants and a course which has proven beneficial for some students. Although financial aid is available, the courses are still expensive.