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- Jun 15, 2015
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Hi everyone,
I took the May 2015 MCAT and scored 519 (98%) yay! When I was studying for the exam I found that hearing feedback from people who had already taken and done well on the MCAT was incredibly helpful. So in the spirit of paying it forward I decided to post my own advice. However we all have different ways of studying, and different strengths and weaknesses, so what worked for me may not work for you but I hope at the very least that this is helpful for you in forming your own study strategy/plan. Also feel free to ask me any questions!
Coursework
First off if you have not already I would highly highly recommend taking a introductory biochemistry class, or if you cannot take the class buy a book or watch Khan Academy videos and try and self study. On my exam there was a heavy focus on biochemistry both in the physics/chemistry and biology sections. I took biochem the semester immediately prior to when I took the MCAT, so it worked out really well where I had just studied for/taken the biochem final right before I took the MCAT. On a side note you need to know the single letter designations for all of the amino acids for the MCAT so make sure you memorize those! It would also be helpful to take an intro psych class although I don’t think that is as crucial. If you can, take an anatomy and physiology course I found my knowledge from that course to be very helpful on the biology section (my strongest section with a score of 132).
Test Prep Class
Honestly I do not really feel that taking a test prep class is necessary if you are a very self-motivated/disciplined person especially considering the hefty price that many companies charge. However if you are someone who needs a more structured study plan then go for it, whatever works best for you. My university offered a much cheaper MCAT prep class that met every Saturday from 9-2. Teaching assistants/professors from each of the different fields would come in and present on a different subject every week (i.e physics, biochem, psych etc.) and lead us in some practice questions. I thought this was helpful in allowing me to pinpoint what I did and did not know, so I could figure out where to focus my studying. All of the TAs/professors that came in were also great resources if I had subject specific questions, and they all provided us with their email. It was also nice having access to the PowerPoints they used to present, so I could review the content on my own without having to purchase a new book. If your university offers something like this I would recommend doing it. But I think the main thing is to assess your strengths and weaknesses so you can focus on studying the stuff you do not know. Doing a half-length MCAT diagnostic (most of these are free online) is a great way to do this. It can be tempting to do tons of practice questions in the area you are strongest in and this can be a good confidence booster, but ultimately doing that is not going to help you as much as doing practice questions in your weaker area.
Studying
I believe the best way to study is to do tons of practice questions/tests, and then go through all of the questions especially the ones you got wrong, and review those specific topics. I highly recommend buying AAMC’s question packs, I found those questions to be very similar to the kinds of questions I saw on the MCAT, as well as the breakdown of the the specific topics covered. There is no question pack for psych/soc so for practice questions I did the Khan Academy practice passages (which are free!), and I found those to be helpful.
During the spring semester I put in an hour or two per week just doing practice questions (little things done consistently over time is always better than craming). Then for about 2 weeks prior to the MCAT (right after finals) I studied everyday for about 6-8 hours, doing 3 full length practice tests and more practice questions. After I did a set of questions or a practice test I would review what I got wrong and then go over those topics, either with my notes from those classes, or with Khan Academy videos.
Practice Tests
I do not think it really matters which Test Prep companies practice tests you choose to use, I think they are all pretty comparable. I personally used Next Step Test Prep. Do not freak out if your scores are super low on these tests, I scored between 504-506 on all the practice tests, and found these tests to be much harder than the AAMC practice test, and the actual MCAT. Test Prep companies do this on purpose to get you to buy more of their products to keep practicing to improve your scores. The AAMC FL is far more representative of what you will actually see on the real MCAT. On the AAMC FL I got 80%, 96%, 92%, and 90% correct on the P/C, CARS, BB, and PS sections respectively. The nice thing about practice tests is that you can familiarize yourself with the format, and the features of the MCAT. On the actual MCAT there is a ten minute tutorial on the different features of the exam (i.e highlighting, crossing out answer choices etc) if you have already watched this tutorial on practice tests than you can use this time to jot down notes/equations for yourself on the scrap paper they provide you.
Test Day
Do not study the day before the exam! You can work out, read, watch TV, meditate, get a pedicure do whatever you need to do to relax. Know how to get to the testing center. Try and get a good night’s sleep, I took melatonin 2 hours before I planned on going to sleep and that knocked me out which was great. Eat a good breakfast, drink plenty of water, and most importantly bring lunch/snacks/water! You get breaks during the exam, I would recommend using them.
Good luck to everyone, I am sure you will all do great, and I hope that this was helpful! Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
I took the May 2015 MCAT and scored 519 (98%) yay! When I was studying for the exam I found that hearing feedback from people who had already taken and done well on the MCAT was incredibly helpful. So in the spirit of paying it forward I decided to post my own advice. However we all have different ways of studying, and different strengths and weaknesses, so what worked for me may not work for you but I hope at the very least that this is helpful for you in forming your own study strategy/plan. Also feel free to ask me any questions!
Coursework
First off if you have not already I would highly highly recommend taking a introductory biochemistry class, or if you cannot take the class buy a book or watch Khan Academy videos and try and self study. On my exam there was a heavy focus on biochemistry both in the physics/chemistry and biology sections. I took biochem the semester immediately prior to when I took the MCAT, so it worked out really well where I had just studied for/taken the biochem final right before I took the MCAT. On a side note you need to know the single letter designations for all of the amino acids for the MCAT so make sure you memorize those! It would also be helpful to take an intro psych class although I don’t think that is as crucial. If you can, take an anatomy and physiology course I found my knowledge from that course to be very helpful on the biology section (my strongest section with a score of 132).
Test Prep Class
Honestly I do not really feel that taking a test prep class is necessary if you are a very self-motivated/disciplined person especially considering the hefty price that many companies charge. However if you are someone who needs a more structured study plan then go for it, whatever works best for you. My university offered a much cheaper MCAT prep class that met every Saturday from 9-2. Teaching assistants/professors from each of the different fields would come in and present on a different subject every week (i.e physics, biochem, psych etc.) and lead us in some practice questions. I thought this was helpful in allowing me to pinpoint what I did and did not know, so I could figure out where to focus my studying. All of the TAs/professors that came in were also great resources if I had subject specific questions, and they all provided us with their email. It was also nice having access to the PowerPoints they used to present, so I could review the content on my own without having to purchase a new book. If your university offers something like this I would recommend doing it. But I think the main thing is to assess your strengths and weaknesses so you can focus on studying the stuff you do not know. Doing a half-length MCAT diagnostic (most of these are free online) is a great way to do this. It can be tempting to do tons of practice questions in the area you are strongest in and this can be a good confidence booster, but ultimately doing that is not going to help you as much as doing practice questions in your weaker area.
Studying
I believe the best way to study is to do tons of practice questions/tests, and then go through all of the questions especially the ones you got wrong, and review those specific topics. I highly recommend buying AAMC’s question packs, I found those questions to be very similar to the kinds of questions I saw on the MCAT, as well as the breakdown of the the specific topics covered. There is no question pack for psych/soc so for practice questions I did the Khan Academy practice passages (which are free!), and I found those to be helpful.
During the spring semester I put in an hour or two per week just doing practice questions (little things done consistently over time is always better than craming). Then for about 2 weeks prior to the MCAT (right after finals) I studied everyday for about 6-8 hours, doing 3 full length practice tests and more practice questions. After I did a set of questions or a practice test I would review what I got wrong and then go over those topics, either with my notes from those classes, or with Khan Academy videos.
Practice Tests
I do not think it really matters which Test Prep companies practice tests you choose to use, I think they are all pretty comparable. I personally used Next Step Test Prep. Do not freak out if your scores are super low on these tests, I scored between 504-506 on all the practice tests, and found these tests to be much harder than the AAMC practice test, and the actual MCAT. Test Prep companies do this on purpose to get you to buy more of their products to keep practicing to improve your scores. The AAMC FL is far more representative of what you will actually see on the real MCAT. On the AAMC FL I got 80%, 96%, 92%, and 90% correct on the P/C, CARS, BB, and PS sections respectively. The nice thing about practice tests is that you can familiarize yourself with the format, and the features of the MCAT. On the actual MCAT there is a ten minute tutorial on the different features of the exam (i.e highlighting, crossing out answer choices etc) if you have already watched this tutorial on practice tests than you can use this time to jot down notes/equations for yourself on the scrap paper they provide you.
Test Day
Do not study the day before the exam! You can work out, read, watch TV, meditate, get a pedicure do whatever you need to do to relax. Know how to get to the testing center. Try and get a good night’s sleep, I took melatonin 2 hours before I planned on going to sleep and that knocked me out which was great. Eat a good breakfast, drink plenty of water, and most importantly bring lunch/snacks/water! You get breaks during the exam, I would recommend using them.
Good luck to everyone, I am sure you will all do great, and I hope that this was helpful! Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
