Just memorizing equations isn't enough. You need to understand the material inside out in order to handle tough passages.
This. Simply having memorized the equations and concepts is going to
guarantee you a 25, just like everybody else. Beating the curve requires that you truly understand the concepts. I would contend that someone who is going to get in the 30s should be able to explain the any of the difficult science concepts on the MCAT to a 5-year-old (and have the 5-y/o generally understand) while also being able to walk into an advanced course in that discipline and satisfactorily complete the course w/o needing all of the prereqs. Your understanding of the basics should be
that good. (And both those criteria
are possible. A in-depth, comprehensive understanding of the basics is usually sufficient to complete any advanced UG course. If you pull out, for instance, your biochem book and compare it to the concepts of your gen chem and gen bio books. Assuming you've got solid gen chem and bio books, most of the biochem topics will be in there.)