To all the MCAT acers

[AG22]

I registered to write the MCAT again this summer after a mediocre performance last summer of 26 Q. This was without organic chemistry, and first year physics. I applied to med schools based solely on my mcat score and my GPA, 3.97 and some extracurriculars that I have been doing, and as fate would have it, got zero invites.

 

So my question to all you wise MCAT acers and those who have stepped beyond the application process to enter the golden gates of med school, how did you approach the study process? I am taking orgo now, so hopefully i will have a better handle on those passages this time around.

 

How did you approach the application process? did you have a heavy emphasis on extra curriculars? did you work and study for the mcats at the same time? did you stress research experience?

 

How many had to reapply? or re-sit for the mcat?

 

oh, and to all the others in the same boat as me, welcome to the best summer of our lives! Let's pwn this test.

[bigfootspartan]

Hey!

 

Well I'll be sitting in on a second MCAT on May 22. My first write wasn't horrible (31Q) but I know I can do better. At least I hope

 

Here's what I did first time around. Studied casually (4 hrs per week via Examcrackers books) for the first 2 months. Started to panic and studied about 8 hrs per week for the third month. Did most of the 101 VR from examcrackers. Did 3 full exams throughout this process.

 

The week leading to my exam was pretty ridiculous. Went biking in Fernie the long weekend before. Went to Warped Tour. Wrote exam

 

Here's what I'm planning to do differently:

 

Quickly look over Examcrackers review books (hopefully about 1 week per book) which will be a more intense, but shorter study schedule. Also, every Saturday I'm hoping to do a full length exam from AAMC. Sundays I'm hoping to do some official VR from the AAMC tests. The week before the exam I'm hoping to take it easy (no downhilling or concerts ).

 

I'm sure you probably know this already, but practice exams are critical. I am pretty sure that more practice exams last time around would be keeping me from studying this summer. They help me to understand what kind of questions will be on them, and most importantly help my attention span.

 

Anyways I hope this helps a bit!

[Octavius]

Also keep in mind that the MCAT has become more of a critical thinking and problem solving test, so practice is just as important as content review. I would fragment my studying into 2 partitions:

1. content review, learn the concepts and learn to ask HOW and WHY concepts are the way they are, concepts being more important than rote memorization (although memorization certainly helps, especially the basic physics formulas)

2. practice - get ALL the AAMC practice exams if you can afford it, if not...find another way to get them that's not as costly When you do a test, see what you get wrong, figure out why that happened and how you can improve next time. These practice tests are limited so make full use of them.

 

I don't recommend EK if you don't have a solid background in the subject areas (they're very condensed, which is why they're great), but that's just me...They are great for biology, chemistry is alright, and their verbal is great as well. Their physics not so good, and it's hard to comment on organic hahah, they've really condensed it. Organic isn't a huge component of the MCAT in any case, 2 passages max? It's important enough to keep you from a 10+ though, so good call on taking it in school (you might need it as a pre-req for other schools - National/International). Your PS mark should go up after taking first year physics lol.

[ashleym]

Write lots of practice tests!!

 

I got 31S my first time but did poorly in one section and knew I could do better. I had taken the Princeton review courses, so they sent me a new set of books and allowed me to keep my online account for free (they were really nice about that! The course was great too).

 

AANYWAY, so the second time around, I went over all the content as needed, but I mostly focused on practice tests. I had about 15 of them on my online TPR account (princeton tests + AAMC tests), and I wrote one test every other day for a month. I made sure to go over each test afterward so I knew my mistakes. If I could learn something concrete from a mistake, I wrote it down in a notebook (I never actually looked over the notebook, but writing my corrections helped me learn).

 

This was the best studying ever. The more tests you take, the less freaked out you are when the real one pops up in front of you. You are used to the format and can pretend you are still in your bedroom (not that that actually works but...). Learning content is NOT SUFFICIENT to ace the MCAT, and people who just focus on memorizing content typically do not succeed. You must get used to APPLYING YOUR KNOWLEDGE and you must become a careful and active READER.

 

I ended up with a 34S, significantly better than my first score.

[anna8]

On the same note, when using review books, is it better to focus on studying one subject a week rather than allotting different days in a week for different subjects?

 

Like I'd set aside one week for bio, the next for orgo, and then another for physics, etc. Or I should do all subjects in one week? Like one chapter for bio today, one chapter for chem tomorrow, etc.

[Octavius]

I liked setting days aside for each topic, that way I can integrate testing into my content review along the way.

[Guest rpuff]

practice practice practice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

and don't just practice alone, write with a friend. if i hadn't written about 10 full lengths with my study buddy, i would have been totally thrown off on Test Day. It gets you ready for the pressure of sitting next to very smart people for 5 hours, and also helps you adjust to the crazy typing in the writing sample.

 

Definitely study a different topic each day, not weekly (you'll die of boredom by day 2 of ochem..)

 

I got a 36Q my first shot, after 2 months of studying. Worked about 15 hours a week at a mindless job that had nothing to do with science. Went to the gym daily, drank and partied when I felt like it, and just made sure I was HAPPY. I would highly recommend against full time work. Especially research...personally nothing would frustrate me more than being at a lab bench for 8 hours a day while it's beautiful and sunny outside. When I first started getting serious about med school, everyone told me to do research because it's well favoured by the adcoms. The way I see it, over half of med applicants nowadays have done some type of research so it's not as unique anymore...

 

My best non-MCAT advice to you is stress the extracurriculars the MAKE SENSE to you. When you're filling out those applications, you want to have a reason for everything you did. Consider these two statements for example: (1) I volunteered at a hospital because I really want to help sick people. (2) I volunteered as a community sports coach because I played soccer for 10 years and I gained valuable leadership experience while giving back to my community. Don't get me wrong, there are great things you can do at a hospital etc. but don't be afraid to explore other "non-traditional" ECs.

[Alastriss]

One of the reasons why people screw up?

 

Then think their "work is done" the night before the mcat. Wrong

 

You should be finished studying the night before, but you are FARRR from being "done". Studying is at MOST, half the battle, if not much less. The most important part is the day of the mcat.

 

I had significantly less study time than the vast majority do on the mcat , but I think my score indicates that I was successful over others after listening to their anecdotes because I kept my cool. Yes, VR passages were really long and really hard to understand, but you have to have the discipline to push through that. Yes, I did encounter passages and materials that I never studied but I didn't panic, I drew in a deep breath, and I stayed focus.

 

Remember it is a critical thinking test, being an expert on all the topics tested will NOT get you a good score if you don't employ critical thinking, but I think a lot of people struggle with this idea simply because we have all been conditioned through undergrad that once you memorize all those lecture slides that A will come with a breeze. Not the case here.

[AG22]

Hey, thanks for the advice you guys!! Appreciate it.

 

Just want to say, that you're all super duper smart! haha. Great scores!

[deeman101]

I got a 31Q with like 2 weeks of studying . Just crammed the knowledge I needed (most of it I knew from 2 years of undergrad) and practiced 2 days prior to the test. Big mistake! LOL. I messed up VR with a 8/15 just cause it was the only section I never got any experience with in undergrad. I'd say that you just have to brush up on the knowledge that you learn in undergrad, which hopefully includes 1st year physics, 1st and 2nd year bio, and organic. Knowing politics is good too, cause both my essay prompts were on it. Most importantly though, practice your MC skills. 4 choices, 2 of them are usually BS, the other 2 contradict each other (again, usually). As long as you have some clue you should be able to pick the right one. Just my opinion.

[AdamP]

I'm not an mcat acer (29Q), doing my re-write may 2nd and looking forward to it.

 

Just to echo some of the statements, my biggest realization having gone through it all before is that the mcat is NOT A CONTENT exam. I took kaplan last summer and although I don't at all blame my score on it, I feel that it is extremely content heavy, almost to a detrimental point.

 

The fact of the matter is, for the science passages, esp. bio, the answers are IN THE PASSAGE. When I studied and wrote old exams I relied heavily on my outside knowledge. I didn't go back to the passages to look for the answers nearly enough. I found with the kap practice exams there was a high number of two things: calculation questions, and psuedo-discrete passage questions, which were very infrequent on test day. Being an engineer more calc questions would have been nice....

 

So my only advice that I learned I suppose the hard way is trust the passage and be very weary if you find yourself using a lot of outside knowledge to answer the question.

[deeman101]

Thats a good point. I would recommend staying away from the Kaplan / Princeton Review, etc. practice tests. Use only the official practice tests. They are the most reflective of the real MCAT. The Kaplan ones are harder (probably true for the others), but thats useless because it puts you in the wrong state of mind. The conversion from raw score to scaled score is different between the Kaplan test and the real test too. So if you got 3 wrong on a section on the Kaplan test, you'd get a higher score than if you got 3 wrong on the official test. So yes, overall in terms of hardness vs. scaling you would score the same on both, but (at least to me) its better to be as realistic as possible in terms of the passage and questions you practice on.

 

Just as a reference of how inaccurate those practice tests can be, I scored a 34 composite score on the Exam Krackers practice, but 31Q on the real deal. Mostly cause the Exam Krackers one is more content based, which was how I was practicing for MCAT.

[RobynM]

Yeah, I totally agree with that other people have said. It's not really about the content per se, it's more about being able to really understand the question and take out the important information.

 

I would say practicing a lot for the verbal would actually translate to helping you for the rest of the sections too just because you're training yourself to read quickly and still get out the pertinent information.

 

I was really worried about my mcat mostly because I took it last summer which was about 6 years after I had taken my physics and organic chem classes!!! Plus I was doing my masters research all summer while also trying to study. But I think the most important thing, after making sure I knew most of the info a least a little, was to do a ton of practice test AND to really go over them afterwards. When I really looked at what I was getting wrong on the practices I started to really see a pattern in the types of questions I was having problems with and then I could address those specific things. I ended up with a 35S so seems like my plan of attack worked!

[ldnk]

Personally I subscribe less to the 'test early test often' mentality.

 

I don't think that doing tests as you go actually improves your score. To me it is pointless to get questions wrong when you don't learn the material. My suggestion is:

 

1 - Content review. Go through each section...or at least cover a section of the MCAT (ie. Physics+Chem; Bio+Orgo; Verbal; Writing) and then try a section on that material. While you are reviewing material though, do as many problems as you can to cement the content in your head.

 

2 - Don't forget about what you already learned. Just because you covered Thermochemistry/Thermodynamics really well 2 months ago doesn't mean that you remember it all. Keep up on your content review. Add to what you know, don't just memorize and then leave it be.

 

3 - Once you feel confident that you know sections well enough, then start testing often. Unless you have 50 MCATs on hand, you might be limited to as few as the AAMC, and maybe a few FLs from other courses. Do use them before the MCAT though. You won't see the same questions, but the style of question is there.

 

Think critically though. Rather than just memorize everything, make connections. For every physics topic you learn, apply it to Bio, Chem, and Orgo at the same time.

 

It can be something as simply as coming up with an example of a force in each setting, or a pressure situation, or perhaps a chemical reaction. Give a situation where neutralization would come into play in the human body. Why is the reaction favourable from a chemical and a physical sense, etc.

 

Being able to do that is far more important that just knowing F=ma.

[pavp]

I registered to write the MCAT again this summer after a mediocre performance last summer of 26 Q. This was without organic chemistry, and first year physics. I applied to med schools based solely on my mcat score and my GPA, 3.97 and some extracurriculars that I have been doing, and as fate would have it, got zero invites.

 

So my question to all you wise MCAT acers and those who have stepped beyond the application process to enter the golden gates of med school, how did you approach the study process? I am taking orgo now, so hopefully i will have a better handle on those passages this time around.

 

How did you approach the application process? did you have a heavy emphasis on extra curriculars? did you work and study for the mcats at the same time? did you stress research experience?

 

How many had to reapply? or re-sit for the mcat?

 

oh, and to all the others in the same boat as me, welcome to the best summer of our lives! Let's pwn this test.

 

I have a whole website dedicated to acing the MCAT (well, most of it is), and I was accepted into med. See the link in my signature.

[Guest viscous]

first time I got 32Q. I rewrote it. Did not take any breaks between sections for "changing gears." improved significantly albeit slightly in VR. half of the battle is against your self. be mentally active and aggressive on the test day.

[AG22]

Merci PavP. And Congratultions!

[Octavius]

Great site!

[Guest rpuff]

Thats a good point. I would recommend staying away from the Kaplan / Princeton Review, etc. practice tests. Use only the official practice tests. They are the most reflective of the real MCAT. The Kaplan ones are harder (probably true for the others), but thats useless because it puts you in the wrong state of mind. The conversion from raw score to scaled score is different between the Kaplan test and the real test too. So if you got 3 wrong on a section on the Kaplan test, you'd get a higher score than if you got 3 wrong on the official test. So yes, overall in terms of hardness vs. scaling you would score the same on both, but (at least to me) its better to be as realistic as possible in terms of the passage and questions you practice on.

 

good point. start with princeton or kaplan exams but make sure to switch over to AAMCs at least 2 weeks before test day. Kaplan has some ridiculous scaling I was getting 39s and 14s in sections where I'd only have a raw score of 90%.

[Octavius]

I'm starting on the AAMC tests a month away. Gives time for targeted content review.

[Meddy05]

The tests are computerized this year... which I'm weary about... I think I'm more of a pen&paper kinda test taker.

[Oak]

I'd say, pick out areas that you are specifically weak at e.g. reading speed, vocab, estimation of log, etc. and work on them intensively. You'll start seeing an improvement in your practice exam scores.

[Prion]

What would you suggest for someone who is going to take MCAT for the second time, content review wise? Read the same book over one more time or get a new one for a fresh perspective?

 

 

 

Also I would really like some opinion on this question:I have pretty much exhausted most of the AAMC practice tests + VR101 material(did most of them last time I took the MCAT, one year ago). What would be the next choice of practices for me? Kaplan full length? TPR?

[deeman101]

What would you suggest for someone who is going to take MCAT for the second time, content review wise? Read the same book over one more time or get a new one for a fresh perspective?

 

 

 

Also I would really like some opinion on this question:I have pretty much exhausted most of the AAMC practice tests + VR101 material(did most of them last time I took the MCAT, one year ago). What would be the next choice of practices for me? Kaplan full length? TPR?

 

I don't recommend the Kaplan tests. Their VR is too easy, and their science sections are too hard.

[latte]

Actually I took Kaplan and thought it helped a lot. In the last couple weeks I just did practice tests (both theirs and AAMC) every few days and then reviewed why I got answers wrong. Especially with VR, I found that practicing VR the day before the test significantly improved my score. Not a conscious thing, it just seemed to help. I ended up scoring 34S with a 12 in verbal, despite the 9 or 10's I was getting on practice tests.