How much do you really need to "know" for the MCAT?

[vin5cent0]

I was browsing through one of the many med school blogs I read when I came across something that really stood out.

"One beautiful thing about the MCAT is that, unlike its medical school equivalent (USMLE Step 1), you don’t really have to know much of anything to do well. Seriously. Hell, I’m the poster child for this statement. I promise you that 60% of the answers to the test are actually in those atrocious paragraphs they give you to read, and that you literally do not have to know a single fact about organic chemistry to get a lot of organic chemistry questions right. The test makers don’t care if you memorized every way a bonobo has sex on page 689 of your 4,000 page life sciences book; they want to know if you can reason through a paragraph that describes the mating patterns and interpret the pointless population chart they give you, knowing full well you should have never seen this chart before in your life before shelling out hundreds of dollars to take this test in the first place."

Now, would you say this is really true? The reason I ask is because the MCAT as of late has been freaking me out.

When I took the ACTs, I walked in with zero studying and walked out with a 32, which I was pretty happy with. Other than knowing pretty basic math and a few concrete ideas that English is based off of, the test is easily tackled with logic. I had assumed the MCAT was the same way (stupid assumption, I suppose, but the guy who posted the above quote is saying the same thing). Reality kicked me in the ass when I signed up for that "MCAT word of the day", and am so far 1 for 6. So far, I have been able to answer one single question using the info they've given me. The rest is about things I've never learned and/or don't remember.

That reality was confirmed when I went and read part of a Kaplan book yesterday. Looking through the practice questions, almost all of them revolved around you having some background information on the subject. Would you say that most of the MCAT is like that, or would you say it was possible for someone to walk in with zero studying and do pretty well, assuming they were good at using logic/reading comprehension to wrestle the answer out of the question.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[JJMrK]

Would you say that most of the MCAT is like that, or would you say it was possible for someone to walk in with zero studying and do pretty well, assuming they were good at using logic/reading comprehension to wrestle the answer out of the question.

Depends on what you mean by studying. I wouldn't bet on a person that had never taken a college level science class. However, I'm sure there are people out there who could get a 30 by simply taking the pre-reqs and not doing any outside studying specifically for the MCAT.

 

[MD2BEEE]

Doing well on the MCAT requires a solid foundation of the sciences as well as the ability to reason thru the test. Whether one is more important than the other is a whole other story... but you need both.

 

[JJMrK]

Doing well on the MCAT requires a solid foundation of the sciences as well as the ability to reason thru the test. Whether one is more important than the other is a whole other story... but you need both.

...and, IMO, a lot of hours spent taking practice tests for timing (for many/most people).

 

[Nasrudin]

I find this question intriguing. It is also on my mind as I enter the last month of studying and want to tightly focus my efforts on the guts of the test.

It seems to me so far that this is in fact a testaker's test--one that involves mostly generalized conceptual science background.

Some cats seem able to kill it with only modest effort, which to me, seems to indicate a test that probes for the pure analytical talent of test taking.

A recent experience taking a free kaplan test seemed to verify this. It's Biology section was all smoke and mirrors and complex language and data talking about this and that experiment. And the question would only require you to know that a peptide hormone involves ribosomes instead of other organelles and stuff like that. A stressed out mind convinced that there was some necessary encyclopedic knowledge might bite on all the confusion. These to me are your average--by sdn standards--27-31-joes. You're 35 + cats would make a quick note of the type of information present and cut to the chase of the question using logic and thought mapping of the information presented.

Do we really have to memorize the volume flow rate equation or other crap like that?

I don't know? My instincts tell me otherwise so far.

What do you smart lazy mf'ers who typically ace this kind of thing think?

 

[JJMrK]

Do we really have to memorize the volume flow rate equation or other crap like that?

I'd say sort of. You need to know about the relationships behind the equation.

To use your example: If the area of the pipe goes up, the velocity goes down. If the velocity goes down, the pressure goes up.

 

[Hindiana_Jones]

I'd say sort of. You need to know about the relationships behind the equation.

To use your example: If the area of the pipe goes up, the velocity goes down. If the velocity goes down, the pressure goes up.

I think you need to straight up memorize it. I agree you must understand what each term means, how they relate, but if you're told the pressure is P1 at one point and P2 at another, you're going to need to know the equation to solve for the pressure at P2/ It looks like a pain, but it's not so bad. I think people definitely need to study for the MCAT, a lot. I do know many people that did well without studying, and this is because they got As in all the prerequisite classes and remembered what they learned in class. They then took a few practice tests to get the pacing down, and did very well. So if you did very well in your prereqs and remember what you learned, you should be fine, otherwise you need to study very rigorously. The blogger you posted is correct, you don't need to know minutiae you learned in your neuroethology class, you do need to known whether or not the ascending loop of Henle uses active transport to move sodium ions out of the filtrate. I would agree with the blogger that much of the information in the passages is passage based, but it will require analysis using the outside information you have. So for instance, I had a passage on my physical sciences section about breaks in cars, but it was a SHM passage in disguise.

So in all this rambling, what I intended to say is that you need a strong background in the sciences, and you need a lot of outside information. If you don't feel confident, then study. You'll need to memorize equations, but even more important you must understand how the variable relate to each other, what they mean, etc.

 

[rocketbooster]

you need to know a lot for the mcat.

as for reasoning skills that are needed, you'll gain those as you are doing practice passages during your content review.

content review = MOST important thing. the last month before your test should then be doing full-length practice tests, going over ALL your mistakes in detail, AND continuing with more content review practice passages just so you keep reviewing the material.

 

[jackson1]

I agree with the above posters-you definitely do have to memorize stuff. For my first MCAT I took last July, I didn't "believe" I really had to go through all the content and learn all the equations, and I only studied about 50 hours total. As you can see from my score, this doesn't work very well (PS-7, VR-10, BS-9), especially in PS where it's mostly taking your content knowledge and applying it to the questions. IMO, you DO need to memorize equations, etc. Now, after some content review I've been getting low 30's on practice tests with 9-10 on PS...studying helps!

 

[ykmedicine]

In my honest opinion with three months of studying and the test 5 days away, it is extremely important to have the basic foundations down. Yes, of course there are questions that you can answer simply from the passage without having any background knowledge, yet if you have the knowledge it makes it much easier to be confident in your answers, which allows you to waste less time and thus do better. This is just what I have found in taking the practice AAMC's and kaplan exams. That being said, it also depends on what kind of test taker you are. Some people can reason out answers without knowing anything. If thats you, then congrats. If not, I would say starting reviewing now.

 

[not so calm now]

To me it seems about half and half, except for VR of course.

 

[JJMrK]

I think you need to straight up memorize it. I agree you must understand what each term means, how they relate, but if you're told the pressure is P1 at one point and P2 at another, you're going to need to know the equation to solve for the pressure at P2/ It looks like a pain, but it's not so bad. I think people definitely need to study for the MCAT, a lot. I do know many people that did well without studying, and this is because they got As in all the prerequisite classes and remembered what they learned in class. They then took a few practice tests to get the pacing down, and did very well. So if you did very well in your prereqs and remember what you learned, you should be fine, otherwise you need to study very rigorously. The blogger you posted is correct, you don't need to know minutiae you learned in your neuroethology class, you do need to known whether or not the ascending loop of Henle uses active transport to move sodium ions out of the filtrate. I would agree with the blogger that much of the information in the passages is passage based, but it will require analysis using the outside information you have. So for instance, I had a passage on my physical sciences section about breaks in cars, but it was a SHM passage in disguise.

So in all this rambling, what I intended to say is that you need a strong background in the sciences, and you need a lot of outside information. If you don't feel confident, then study. You'll need to memorize equations, but even more important you must understand how the variable relate to each other, what they mean, etc.

For most things I really think you're right. For the equation specifically mentioned in the post I responded to, I'm not so sure.

 

[Helen Wheels]

Well, I wouldn't say you don't need a science background and you don't need to study but... I took the MCAT on 3/28 and so much of it is LONG passages of material and data that you have never seen before and you are expected to go in there and get the info you need and make connections. I left that test almost feeling as if I couldn't have studied for about half of the exam. Sure I used a few equations I needed to have memorized and I needed some basic concepts on hand but they really seem to be moving away from this. You really need to be able to think on the fly and apply knowledge, not just have a bunch of equations and facts memorized. If I need to retake (15 days until I get the scores) I will definitely go about studying differently this time around. I think it is less a measure of total content and more a measure of test taking skill.

 

[MegaProjectile]

Well, I wouldn't say you don't need a science background and you don't need to study but... I took the MCAT on 3/28 and so much of it is LONG passages of material and data that you have never seen before and you are expected to go in there and get the info you need and make connections. I left that test almost feeling as if I couldn't have studied for about half of the exam. Sure I used a few equations I needed to have memorized and I needed some basic concepts on hand but they really seem to be moving away from this. You really need to be able to think on the fly and apply knowledge, not just have a bunch of equations and facts memorized. If I need to retake (15 days until I get the scores) I will definitely go about studying differently this time around. I think it is less a measure of total content and more a measure of test taking skill.

I agree. When taking the AAMC practice tests, it would seem as if you needed to know a lot of content to do well(eg. equations, facts, etc). The 3/28 test was verrrrrrry different. Questions like " as the velocity of the fluid increases, should it's pressure be lower or higher?", WEREN'T there. I walked out of the test feeling like I was studying for a different test all this time.

The PS had a lot of chemistry and we know why : logic and extrapolation. There's only so many ways you can ask a physics question but chemistry questions can be made to Verbal Passages instantly. In fact, the very first passage I had was a nicotine passage. That took like 15 minutes to get through.

So basically, how much content knowledge is needed? If you ask guys from 3/28, probably minimum. Ask those from 4/4, perhaps 50/50. My advice: get the basics down but don't dwell on it.

 

[LaCasta]

I don't think you can say you don't need to study for the MCAT

I think the best answer is the prep book level is enough studying while the text book level is too much for the MCAT. You do need to know the basics very well, but you do not need an extraordinary amount of details.

 

[pam61371]

.

 

[Helen Wheels]

If you do end up taking it again (hopefully not!), what will you do differently?

Thanks. 🙂

Well, I will probably just try to get in as many practice tests as I can. I was too focused on content and memorization for this first time and some of that was because I have been out of school for six years and I had to relearn everything. So, I will probably try to get my hands on as many practice tests that are heavy on questions related to passages as I can. Not sure what company's tests I would use at the moment. I do not feel AAMC tests are really representative of what I faced on 3/28.

One strategy I would ditch the second time around is the Kaplan strategy of doing the discretes first and then the passage based questions. This messed me up, especially on PS. The discretes on 3/28 were not easy. I spent too much time on them, it threw my timing off, and I had to rush through the passages. If I retake it I will just go straight through each section and only skip hard questions to try and come back to them later.

 

[maybee]

I am currently studying for the May 2nd one, and here are my thoughts based on the 5 practice exams I've taken so far.

😎Strong foundation?
Yes! If you did really well on all your pre-reqs, and it hasn't been that long since you completed them, you're pretty much set, just give yourself a couple weeks (or days?) to brush up on some basic concepts and forgotten formulas. If you barely survived your pre-reqs, then you better work real hard on that content review.

How much memorization?
Well, knowing the material well = Understanding + remembering the things you learned. There's a fine line between knowing and mere dry memorization.
Seriously, how can you forget F=ma, or W=Fd. I mean.. Fd defines work.. If you can't remember that formula maybe you don't understand work yet. I think MCAT expects you to know the basic and short formulas, but not the long and complicated ones. And I think you never have to remember the constants (planks constant, permeability of free space, etc.), maybe the speed of light. But for biology, more memorization is required just because of the nature of it. You can call it memorization, but rather then sitting there staring at the book trying to recite everything word by word, you should try to be able to tell it like a story to someone else, and able to explain why certain event happens at a certain time. And It is true that the BS section involves more reading and data interpretation. As far as Orgo goes, learning the concepts, being able to recognize the trends, and understanding the mechanisms, are much more important compared to memorizing all the reactions alcohol is involved in or the 170034 ways to make it..

😴What to spend most time on?
Practice Practice Practice!!!! Dont' we all know that already? It's hard to explain, but after a few practice FL's, things really do start falling into places (assuming that you did good content review), at least for me that's how it feels like. I feel more confident and more comfortable about the exam itself, which makes me a happy learner. 😀

Okay.. I think that's all I can think of right now. Good luck studying everyone! Don't waste time looking for short-cuts (I know I have done that), just focus and do what you gotta do! If MCAT is easy then we won't be on this MCAT forum.

 

[Nasrudin]

I am currently studying for the May 2nd one, and here are my thoughts based on the 5 practice exams I've taken so far.

😎Strong foundation?
Yes! If you did really well on all your pre-reqs, and it hasn't been that long since you completed them, you're pretty much set, just give yourself a couple weeks (or days?) to brush up on some basic concepts and forgotten formulas. If you barely survived your pre-reqs, then you better work real hard on that content review.

How much memorization?
Well, knowing the material well = Understanding + remembering the things you learned. There's a fine line between knowing and mere dry memorization.
Seriously, how can you forget F=ma, or W=Fd. I mean.. Fd defines work.. If you can't remember that formula maybe you don't understand work yet. I think MCAT expects you to know the basic and short formulas, but not the long and complicated ones. And I think you never have to remember the constants (planks constant, permeability of free space, etc.), maybe the speed of light. But for biology, more memorization is required just because of the nature of it. You can call it memorization, but rather then sitting there staring at the book trying to recite everything word by word, you should try to be able to tell it like a story to someone else, and able to explain why certain event happens at a certain time. And It is true that the BS section involves more reading and data interpretation. As far as Orgo goes, learning the concepts, being able to recognize the trends, and understanding the mechanisms, are much more important compared to memorizing all the reactions alcohol is involved in or the 170034 ways to make it..

😴What to spend most time on?
Practice Practice Practice!!!! Dont' we all know that already? It's hard to explain, but after a few practice FL's, things really do start falling into places (assuming that you did good content review), at least for me that's how it feels like. I feel more confident and more comfortable about the exam itself, which makes me a happy learner. 😀

Okay.. I think that's all I can think of right now. Good luck studying everyone! Don't waste time looking for short-cuts (I know I have done that), just focus and do what you gotta do! If MCAT is easy then we won't be on this MCAT forum.

I follow you kid. Thanks.

 

[ManlyMan246]

Great comments from everybody thus far, I'm going to echo the need to practice practice practice. I'm just starting to study for the MCAT but in my - somewhat limited - experience, having taken and done well in my biology courses makes the passages a lot less daunting. I agree that this is a test-taker's test, and one of the strengths of the good test-taker is confidence in spite of what's being evaluated. I might not know the answer to every BS question but I won't have that panic when I see a long passage about something I didn't get around to studying in-depth because I've got a good overall foundation in the subject. So I guess it's not how "much" you know but how confident you are in what know.

And while you do need to draw the line between reviewing material and just doing problems/tests, you'll learn a lot from those too, so you'll continue to know more and more up until you take the test.

Just my thoughts, feel free to correct me :]

 

[vickpick]

Obviously, the quote by OP is someone's opinion, but yes there are wrong opinions. It maybe that after learning med school stuff, the speaker thinks that s/he knew nothing while taking his/her MCATs, but thats speaking relatively. You have know many things for the MCAT and you can't just walk in. You have to practice the questions and even learn how to tackle them. Knowing how to tackle a question is also knwledge.. so saying u need not know anything while going into an MCAT exam is very false!

 

[slight365]

What does it hurt to study as if you need to know it? They also test how you perform under pressure, more than how much you actually know. Know and understand as much as you can and the exam will be a cinch. IMO, making the situation easier for yourself is key and it's intertwined with knowledge and knowing more than you need so you don't struggle or take too much time.

 

[slight365]

What does it hurt to study as if you need to know it? They also test how you perform under pressure, more than how much you actually know. Know and understand as much as you can and the exam will be a cinch. IMO, making the situation easier for yourself is key and it's intertwined with knowledge and knowing more than you need so you don't struggle or take too much time.

 

[MD2BEEE]

I thought this was a very relevant quote, taken straight out of "The Official Guide to the MCAT" I just received, under the "MCAT Item Writer's Guide, AAMC."

"Items should be designed to ascertain not simply the examinee's basic knowledge of science and rote memorization of facts, laws, and definitions, but rather the ability to reason or apply this knowledge to specific situations."

Paraphrasing the rest, they go on to say that the MCAT is both a knowledge-based test and a thinking test. Not simply one or the other.

 

[binko]

It tests the very basics, but it tests them rigorously. Many things in it are things that scared me when I started studying because I didn't do well in the classes that taught that material. However, the classes went into far more depth than the MCAT does, and so in that way the MCAT is easier. It tests knowledge, but far less than an exam in a class would. Instead, they test it by asking complicated questions about simple facts. It requires a lot of practice to get used to teasing the meaning out of the question stems and passages. You definitely need to spend at least as much time practicing as you do studying.

 

[Require advice]

Hi I am a business graduate and have been working for many years. I have an MBA and an undergraduate in social sciences. I am contemplating trying the MCATS as I have always considered a career in medicine, however the last time I have taken sciences was in high school (many many years ago) and did not take any basic sciences (i.e. pre reqs) in undergrad. I know this maybe a long shot, but before I commit to anything, is it even feasible for someone with my background to do remotely well on the MCAT, by just self study? Someone suggested that rather than go back to school and spend two years getting the required courses to take a study guide prep course and try it (to save time and provide some comfort). Can anyone provide some insight with a similiar experience/background to mine? Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Forthegood]

You need to know alot. The more the better. Think of it as investing 300 hours for the next 50 years of your life.

 

[245399]

It is testing how much crap you can wade through.
By the way, crap has a specific gravity >1.

 

[MD2BEEE]

It is testing how much crap you can wade through.
By the way, crap has a specific gravity >1.

Not if there's a lot of fat in it. Floaters sg < 1 😀

And of course, to keep this all relevant, these are things you should definitely know for the MCAT.

 

[245399]

Not if there's a lot of fat in it. Floaters sg < 1 😀

And of course, to keep this all relevant, these are things you should definitely know for the MCAT.

hahahah well played!

 

[slight365]

PS- Everyone always has a story of someone they know or a friend of a friend that aced all his/her exams in undergrad and got a 35 on the MCAT without studying. Don't believe them. It could work for you, or it may not. Don't take the chance.

I figure those stories come from a person that studies like crazy, but wants to somehow pretend they're above the "commoners" in their class by pretending they did it without sweating. Or, people just like talking up how they're associated with a certain cool person claiming to be a non-studier with A's across the board.

 

[Forthegood]

PS- Everyone always has a story of someone they know or a friend of a friend that aced all his/her exams in undergrad and got a 35 on the MCAT without studying. Don't believe them. It could work for you, or it may not. Don't take the chance.

I figure those stories come from a person that studies like crazy, but wants to somehow pretend they're above the "commoners" in their class by pretending they did it without sweating. Or, people just like talking up how they're associated with a certain cool person claiming to be a non-studier with A's across the board.

^^^100% Agree

I am a good example of this. I was the unfortunate recipient of a natural disaster a month and a half before my MCAT, and due to extreme circumstances I was VERY limited on study time. Long story made short, I did FINE on the MCAT, but not NEARLY what I wanted/expected and because of this I didn't get a great scholarship.

The more prepared you are (especially with practice tests), the better you will do. Some of it is intelligence, some of it is luck, but the vast majority is work. Get used to that.

So PLAN and STUDY EARLY. Just in case your apartment gets hit by a tornado.

 

[dragonfly99]

I think it is quite hard to get a really high MCAT score without studying for the test. I studied only a little the first time I took it, and studied with the wrong books, and got a 32. At the time I thought I was studying a reasonable amount, but in reality I was uninformed about what books to study from, and I was cocky and thinking I'd get a great score even if I didn't study that much, being a biology major with a great GPA and being good @standardized tests in general. I typically do quite well on standardized exams (33 on ACT with no studying except for the night before 30 minutes or so looking @the little practice ?'s in the book they give you when you sign up for the exam).

The 2nd time I took the MCAT I took Princeton Review and really studied, plus learned to time myself and not to freak out. I got 42, my physical science score went from 9 to 15, and I got a better score on the essay.

The moral of this is that the MCAT is harder than the SAT or ACT, and the people who are taking the test are pretty much all smart. This makes it hard to end up on the good side of the bell curve without significant studying, for most people. Also, there are science questions and formulas that recur often on different versions of the exam. Therefore, even if you aren't great at physics (I'm not) if you already have seen 99 questions about the little bouncy ball being thrown up in a little arc, you'll know how to apply the formula to solving the problem.

I really don't know if people can raise their verbal scores very easily by studying...luckily for me that wasn't my problem area.

 

[vickpick]

I thought this was a very relevant quote, taken straight out of "The Official Guide to the MCAT" I just received, under the "MCAT Item Writer's Guide, AAMC."

"Items should be designed to ascertain not simply the examinee's basic knowledge of science and rote memorization of facts, laws, and definitions, but rather the ability to reason or apply this knowledge to specific situations."

Paraphrasing the rest, they go on to say that the MCAT is both a knowledge-based test and a thinking test. Not simply one or the other.

they say uts a collobration of knowledge and thinking.. they dont say its just thinking - the quote says its basically just thinking...

 

[cablen64k]

This is an interesting discussion, just thought I'd throw my two cents in. I've taken the MCAT twice now (1/31, 4/4), and both times I felt like I had overstudied. I can say now that the MCAT is 20% content review and 80% reading comprehension/other stuff. This other stuff (for me) included fast math, which is SO vitally important for PS and I totally neglected it the first time around and timing, to me the most important aspect of the MCAT. Both times I felt like the test was harder than I expected, but the second time I felt much more prepared because I understood that I would need only some outside information and most of the answers would be right in front of me. While I can only hope I did better than my first time (28R) on this go around, I am confident that I did. Hope this helps.