That combination might be able break 30.
For the MCAT, it's synergistic. You have to have a good knowledge base in order to interpret the passages and to recognize mis-leading answer choices. But, you have to have good intuition and problem-solving logic in order to answer their questions quickly and efficiently. You have to have a good balance between knowledge and test skills, and I'd strongly say that 25-75 is not a good balance. Although everyone is different and there are exceptions, I'd guess that for the average student I've seen over the years, it would be about the following:
- 90%knowledge/10%test skills = 22 +/- 2
80%knowledge/20%test skills = 24 +/- 2
70%knowledge/30%test skills = 27 +/- 2
60%knowledge/40%test skills = 31 +/- 3
50%knowledge/50%test skills = 36 +/- 4
40%knowledge/60%test skills = 31 +/- 3
30%knowledge/70%test skills = 27 +/- 2
20%knowledge/80%test skills = 24 +/- 2
10%knowledge/90%test skills = 22 +/- 2
I've seen students who know a good deal of information already and swear that it's all about test-taking for them. But when you listen to their reasoning for an answer, it always is built on content knowledge followed by process of elimination (or some test technique). They underestimate just how much they are using their vast knowledge base. They start with a large information base, so their preparation centers around building up test skills to reach a 50-50 balance.
I've also seen plenty of students who lack information but have decent test taking abilities to being with. They're able to get things down to two choices based strictly on knowing how to take a multiple choice exam. For them, their preparation requires that they read and absorb material to build towards a 50-50 balance.
The point is that it's different for everyone, because everyone starts at a different point. To do well on the MCAT, you have to work towards that 50-50 balance, and you can only do that by knowing where you start.
