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- May 4, 2016
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I'm currently reflecting on the processes that lead to my success on the MCAT so I thought I’d make a post about it. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below.
First off some background knowledge: I self studied for 11 weeks while working part-time and interning at a hospital. I used EK and some TPR/Khan for P/S for content review. I used AAMC SB and FLs for practice problems. I studied for ~6 hours/ day, sometimes more, 6 days/ week.
My scores (in order):
EK1: 64% (8 weeks out)
NS 1/2 Diagnostic: 505 (7 wo)
Kap 1: 508 (6 wo)
AAMC UNSCORED: 84% (4 wo)
Altius 1: 504 (3 wo)
EK 2: 72% (2 wo)
NS 1: 510 (1.5 wo)
AAMC OG: 85% (1 wo)
AAMC SECTION BANK: C/P (77%), B/B (79%), P/S (68%) (1 wo)
AAMC SCORED: 517 (130, 127, 130, 130) (1 wo)
MCAT: 522 (130, 128, 132, 132)
Tips:
1. Set a goal. Explicitly write out what your goal is and how you plan on achieving this goal. WRITE IT DOWN. Repeat it to yourself every single morning when you first wake up. Your words are powerful. Saying your goal and the process you will go through to yourself out loud will make you begin to believe it. Lastly, aim high in this goal. You shoot for the moon you end up floating in the atmosphere. You shoot for the stars you end up out of this world. My goal was 528, knowing damn well that this was probably never going to happen, yet come test day I believed that I could be that guy.
2. Make a detailed plan. Spend quality time (a couple days) really looking through online resources on different study plans and then choose one or make one and tailor it to your individual needs. Research what prep materials would work best for you (do you need in-depth or straight-to-the-point?). Map out a timeline (giving yourself catch-up days).Try your best to stick to this timeline.
3. Grind and form great study habits. Day in, Day out. Rain or shine. Every damn day. You will need a sickening work ethic, but the good news is that we are all capable of such a work ethic. We just have to push ourselves to it. You don’t have to be insanely intelligent, but you do need to grind. Humans are creatures of habits. Study at the same times in the same places and have a set schedule. After a couple weeks, it won’t even be that hard because you will have formed the necessary habits.
4. CARS everyday. EVERYDAY. CARS was my kryptonite. It was frustrating. It was confusing. It was hard. The only way to improve on CARS is to gain maximum exposure. The only good resource for CARS in my opinion is AAMC material. Use the Q packs. Use ALL the old AAMC exams (available online) to practice CARS. Pay attention to the answers and try to understand the AAMC’s reasoning. Other test prep companies can be very hit or miss and often use different thinking than the AAMC.
5. Anki. Anki is the ****. Use it. Make your own flashcards. Review them everyday. Try to make connections to distantly related topics as you’re going through your anki deck. I didn’t take any notes. I just used anki to retain content review material. This is especially helpful for P/S.
6. Review thoroughly. You should be reviewing your FLs in depth. What did you get right? What did you get wrong? Why did you get it wrong? How can you get it right the next time around? What do you need to review? These are the questions you should be asking yourself on every question you review. It’s long, it’s tedious, but it's necessary for your growth.
7. Don’t be discouraged about your practice FL scores. These are all way off anyways. Just focus on learning from your mistakes and exposing yourself to this 7.5 hour test. These FLs should point out weaknesses and they shouldn’t be taken as an indication of what you will actually score. Try to steer clear of all the linear regression formulas (I know this can be hard). No score matters besides AAMC scores.
8. Take care of yourself. Take days off. Do things you like to do. SLEEP ( 7-8 hours a night). Exercise. Go out and drink with your friends. You will hear this time and time again. The MCAT is a marathon not a sprint and burnout is real.
9. Believe that you can be great. It seems that a lot of people have a fear of being great. They see their peers and think good is good enough. Don’t be afraid to be great. Don’t be afraid to be different and do things differently. There is no one path to success. Don’t be afraid to pursue your goals with all of your soul. Unleash yourself. IMPOSE YOUR WILL on this test. YOU CAN DO IT. YOU WILL DO IT. But all of this is only possible if you first believe that you can. Be that guy/ girl that you know you can be and don’t let anyone or anything hold you back.
Lastly, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” so get off SDN and start studying.
~zona out~
First off some background knowledge: I self studied for 11 weeks while working part-time and interning at a hospital. I used EK and some TPR/Khan for P/S for content review. I used AAMC SB and FLs for practice problems. I studied for ~6 hours/ day, sometimes more, 6 days/ week.
My scores (in order):
EK1: 64% (8 weeks out)
NS 1/2 Diagnostic: 505 (7 wo)
Kap 1: 508 (6 wo)
AAMC UNSCORED: 84% (4 wo)
Altius 1: 504 (3 wo)
EK 2: 72% (2 wo)
NS 1: 510 (1.5 wo)
AAMC OG: 85% (1 wo)
AAMC SECTION BANK: C/P (77%), B/B (79%), P/S (68%) (1 wo)
AAMC SCORED: 517 (130, 127, 130, 130) (1 wo)
MCAT: 522 (130, 128, 132, 132)
Tips:
1. Set a goal. Explicitly write out what your goal is and how you plan on achieving this goal. WRITE IT DOWN. Repeat it to yourself every single morning when you first wake up. Your words are powerful. Saying your goal and the process you will go through to yourself out loud will make you begin to believe it. Lastly, aim high in this goal. You shoot for the moon you end up floating in the atmosphere. You shoot for the stars you end up out of this world. My goal was 528, knowing damn well that this was probably never going to happen, yet come test day I believed that I could be that guy.
2. Make a detailed plan. Spend quality time (a couple days) really looking through online resources on different study plans and then choose one or make one and tailor it to your individual needs. Research what prep materials would work best for you (do you need in-depth or straight-to-the-point?). Map out a timeline (giving yourself catch-up days).Try your best to stick to this timeline.
3. Grind and form great study habits. Day in, Day out. Rain or shine. Every damn day. You will need a sickening work ethic, but the good news is that we are all capable of such a work ethic. We just have to push ourselves to it. You don’t have to be insanely intelligent, but you do need to grind. Humans are creatures of habits. Study at the same times in the same places and have a set schedule. After a couple weeks, it won’t even be that hard because you will have formed the necessary habits.
4. CARS everyday. EVERYDAY. CARS was my kryptonite. It was frustrating. It was confusing. It was hard. The only way to improve on CARS is to gain maximum exposure. The only good resource for CARS in my opinion is AAMC material. Use the Q packs. Use ALL the old AAMC exams (available online) to practice CARS. Pay attention to the answers and try to understand the AAMC’s reasoning. Other test prep companies can be very hit or miss and often use different thinking than the AAMC.
5. Anki. Anki is the ****. Use it. Make your own flashcards. Review them everyday. Try to make connections to distantly related topics as you’re going through your anki deck. I didn’t take any notes. I just used anki to retain content review material. This is especially helpful for P/S.
6. Review thoroughly. You should be reviewing your FLs in depth. What did you get right? What did you get wrong? Why did you get it wrong? How can you get it right the next time around? What do you need to review? These are the questions you should be asking yourself on every question you review. It’s long, it’s tedious, but it's necessary for your growth.
7. Don’t be discouraged about your practice FL scores. These are all way off anyways. Just focus on learning from your mistakes and exposing yourself to this 7.5 hour test. These FLs should point out weaknesses and they shouldn’t be taken as an indication of what you will actually score. Try to steer clear of all the linear regression formulas (I know this can be hard). No score matters besides AAMC scores.
8. Take care of yourself. Take days off. Do things you like to do. SLEEP ( 7-8 hours a night). Exercise. Go out and drink with your friends. You will hear this time and time again. The MCAT is a marathon not a sprint and burnout is real.
9. Believe that you can be great. It seems that a lot of people have a fear of being great. They see their peers and think good is good enough. Don’t be afraid to be great. Don’t be afraid to be different and do things differently. There is no one path to success. Don’t be afraid to pursue your goals with all of your soul. Unleash yourself. IMPOSE YOUR WILL on this test. YOU CAN DO IT. YOU WILL DO IT. But all of this is only possible if you first believe that you can. Be that guy/ girl that you know you can be and don’t let anyone or anything hold you back.
Lastly, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” so get off SDN and start studying.
~zona out~
