Preparing for the MCAT

Several times I’ve been asked for advice on preparing for the MCAT from other premed students. There are a lot of resources out there and it’s really hard to filter through what will work best. To make matters more difficult, everyone has different needs when preparing for the MCAT. This means it’s not as clear as getting the best (most expensive) resources. In other words, there is no list somewhere that will tell you exactly what to do. That’s why I think it may be best if I start by giving you a little background on how I learn and what worked best for me and then review the resources I used.

Like most premed students, I typically got A’s (with the exception of a B in one of my religion classes). If I didn’t get an A on a test I would review  what I got wrong until I could take a variation on the same material to get an A. In doing so I would identify why I got a question wrong (Did I not know a specific topic or interpret the question/answers incorrectly?). While I did work on a lot of group projects, I rarely used study groups in college. I always felt that I wasted more time reviewing material I already understood than mastering my weaker areas when in a study group. Occasionally I’d find someone that had the same goals as I did and was able to study with, but usually I was on my own.

Resources

Kaplan Online Course (expensive):

Because I’m more of an independent learner I chose to use the Kaplan online course instead of a formal class. They do live classes that are probably just as good as having a class in person, but I ended up not using them. I found that classes were usually dominated by individuals that hadn’t really prepared and asked lots of basic questions. I ended up sitting through about half of one class and never tried it again. However, they have a lot of review videos for specific topics. These are usually 5-30 minutes long and are great for warming up your brain for a good study session on that topic. They also had online class reviews they post that you can attend live or listen to after the fact. I really liked this because I was able to get through 2-3 hours of material in about half the time by skipping certain class tangents (questions I just didn’t think were worth my time). Also, I could pause the video for stuff I really wanted to look at more before moving on.

Where Kaplan really outperforms other prep resources is the practice material. They have a huge question bank that you can go through by topic and a lot of practice tests. Because their question banks were organized by topic I was able to create practice MCAT sections that covered topics I was weak in. There’s also the option to time yourself. This was great for me because I was struggling to finish the physical science section in time when certain topics would pop up. They have something like eleven practice tests which are a great way to prepare!

Kahn Academy (free):

My first daughter was born about eight months before I took the MCAT. By the time she learned to crawl I was losing notes only to find them the next day covered in slobber and shoved beneath furniture. My wife was going to school and I was working three part time jobs. While Kahn academy has the longest and most boring videos, they do make great background noise review material. I often would listen to a fifteen minute video while doing the dishes or rocking my daughter to sleep. Because the videos were often painfully slow I rarely missed much important material because of a surprise spit-up or diaper explosion. They also have practice questions, but these were probably the worst practice questions I used. I usually did them early in the morning just to get warmed up but not for actually studying (I remember these questions being bizarrely difficult).

Library (free):

My school had five copies of old practice MCATs available (with the physical, biological, and reading analysis sections). Most of the topics covered on the old MCAT are covered on the new MCAT (with the exception of topics that cover calculating the gravity on the moon and crazy stuff like that). Treat these like the real test even if they aren’t the same as what you’ll take.

AAMC (comparatively cheap):

The AAMC has practice questions, a practice test (they may have several now that the current MCAT version isn’t new), and a guide displaying what topics are covered.

Schedule

Whatever resources you end up using you’ll need a schedule. My advice is to use the AAMC overview of topics covered to create a detailed study plan that ensures you review every topic and now exactly what topics will appear on the MCAT. I started by making a broad study plan that focused on what topics and tests I should have covered by the end of the month. Then I would create a very specific topic for each day of the following week.

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Monday - embryology

Tuesday - reproduction

Wednesday - Practice MCAT 1

Thursday - Review MCAT 1 + cell cycle

Etc.

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Each day I would make a very detailed set of plans for the day

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6:00 - eat breakfast

6:30 - work out

7:00 - 10 Kahn academy physics questions

7:30 - Thermodynamics Kaplan video

8:00 - Thermodynamics review chapter

10:00 - Watch an episode of the Office (Oh, Dwight!)

10:30 - Practice physics sections on thermodynamics

12:00 - lunch

1:00 - review physics practice section

2:00 - work/classes

6:00 - set study plans for tomorrow

7:00 - apologize to wife for studying all day

7:10 - change a diaper (part of the apology)

7:20 - change clothes because baby fought me during diaper change

7:30 - eat dinner

8:00 - family chores/homework

9:30 - put baby to sleep

10:00 - review some memorization stuff while waiting for my wife to finish getting ready for bed

That might be a little bit more detailed in some spots than I would really do (I don't need to plan to change my clothes. I just know I will have to after changing the diaper) But I do plan for time to accommodate suddenly screaming babies, work emergencies, and family time. Planning specifically what I want to study and how helps me know exactly how much wiggle room I have for those surprises.

The last bit of advice I have is more about keeping a good headspace. I was always anxious about the MCAT while I was studying for it. My beautiful wife would tell me things like, “Just remember that I’ll love you no matter how well you do.” However, this didn’t make me feel much better because I still had my own little family that needed me to be able to get a good job and support them (also, what doctors do is pretty cool and I wanted to do that). The thing that really affected me most was when I realized that my anxiety was affecting my relationship with my family. I wasn’t the husband or father I needed to be when I spent all of my time worrying. If I had failed the MCAT and never got into medical school I would feel bad about it for a while, but I’d eventually get over it. I will always regret every moment I wasn’t at my best for my family. Don’t let the pressure of accomplishing your goals lead you to compromise what actually is of value.

It was a lot of work but it helped me do well on the MCAT and now I’m going to medical school. If you have any other questions about preparing for the MCAT or medical school feel free to post questions you have.