Memory Decay & The MCAT

[ThomasM]

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Hi everyone, I've been lurking here for a while and finally decided to create an account.

I am going to be a freshman in college this year and understand that you shouldn't begin studying until approximately 9ish months. Are there things that I can do in my freshmen and sophomore years that can better my knowledge retention for the MCAT so as to prevent me from having to learn all of the information over again. Would it be beneficial to start practice problems this early? Do any of you have strategies that you have used to retain the information you've learned in previous classes? Also, how would you combat any burnout?

Thanks

 

[DrRiker]

Don't study specifically for the MCAT until you know when you're going to take it, usually Junior or Senior year depending on gap year plans, etc.

Study diligently for your classes, take good notes. Rather than focusing on scores, I suggest you aim to retain while you study. Don't cram for your tests, be proactive about reading the text, etc.

Also, having your real name in your username is not a good idea.

 

[NextStepTutor_1]

Hi @ThomasM -

Welcome! I would definitely agree that you don't want to start specifically studying too soon, and even 9 months would be relatively long.

Based on my experiences, the #1 thing you can do right now is to focus on understanding, not just memorizing, content in the science classes you take. You will forget the details—there's no way around it—but if you build a solid conceptual basis in addition to memorizing content for coursework, you'll be able to go back and slot those details in relatively efficiently when the time comes. It comes up incredibly often that the MCAT forces students to confront topics that they sort of skated by on without thoroughly understanding in their coursework—some common examples would include renal physiology in bio, electrochemistry in general chemistry, major metabolic pathways in biochem, electricity in physics, and so on (although of course everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses). Doing well in your coursework for the right reasons (i.e. based on understanding) is the best way to avoid this issue.

I'd also add that it never hurts to cultivate the habit of reading widely, both general articles/books/etc. and scientific literature. All things being equal, CARS and the P/S section tend to favor readers, and if you're familiar w/ how scientific articles are written and presented, that will make the passage-based components of the Chemical/Physical Foundations and Biological/Biochemical Foundations sections that much easier. But I wouldn't necessarily approach that as something to do specifically for the MCAT at this stage -- these are also good habits for people in general, and especially future physicians/researchers, to develop.

Best of luck on your journey!!

 

[Zenabi90]

Hi everyone, I've been lurking here for a while and finally decided to create an account.

I am going to be a freshman in college this year and understand that you shouldn't begin studying until approximately 9ish months. Are there things that I can do in my freshmen and sophomore years that can better my knowledge retention for the MCAT so as to prevent me from having to learn all of the information over again. Would it be beneficial to start practice problems this early? Do any of you have strategies that you have used to retain the information you've learned in previous classes? Also, how would you combat any burnout?

Thanks

I like your enthusiasm. But also remember that your primary application isn't solely the MCAT. It's a combination of the MCAT with the rest:
-GPA
-community service
-clinical volunteering and patient exposure
-in-depth shadowing
-leadership experience
-work experience
-personal statement
-maybe research if that tickles your fancy

For your first two years, you should prioritize maintaining a very high GPA (3.75+) through a thorough understanding of the material you will be studying (not just straight memorization). True mastery of the material is easily retained, rote memorization is not. I would also encourage you to take some non-STEM/MCAT classes to broaden your knowledge base and expose you to lots of other non-STEM people. College is stressful as a pre-med, but it's still one of the greatest opportunities of growth and maturing that you will have.

You should also seek early involvement with organizations that will strengthen your ECs. This early involvement in your first two years should translate into more in-depth/rewarding experiences in the second half of your college career, along with potential opportunities to exemplify leadership. For example, in my research lab, I joined in my sophomore year and was able to head my own project in my jr/sr year, which lead to multiple poster presentations and eventual publication. Another example from my gap years: I volunteered as an assistant coach for a youth sports team and by the time I applied to medical school, I had served as a head coach for two different sports, taken a team to playoffs, and won the Athletic Committee Member of the Year award. Early clinical volunteering should also help you form the connections and networking to make it easier for you to get shadowing experience. All of this combined should also provide you with the material you need to craft a unique and engaging personal statement.

I would not think about the MCAT until the summer before your junior year. At that point, you'll have a better grasp of the possibility of studying abroad or taking gap years to pursue other interests prior to medical school. You will also have gained valuable insight into what are your most effective studying strategies, which can be applied to designing your personal approach to the MCAT.

Finally, I have to interject my obligatory all-caps GAP YEARS ARE NOT BAD (provided you do something worthwhile) statement. Recently, gap years have become more and more acceptable, provided the medical school admissions committee sees the time spent as worthwhile (meaning you must be able to spin it as such). I will be matriculating this fall, six years since I graduated college. I have done a lot of worthwhile things that have helped me grow and mature in ways that would not have been possible had I gone directly into medicine, and I know that it will translate positively in the future when I begin my career.