tell me everything about the MCATs

May 9, 2007 3:00 PM

So I am ambitiously going to try taking the MCATs...and I am scared to death.

There are so many websites about the MCATs, and I was wondering if there were any favorite sites that I could be directed to. Not to mention, I find it hard to study for anything, much less for something as big as this. I seem to do well in classes without studying hard, but I know I better not slack on studying for the MCATs. Anyone have any tips on how to prepare? Any general tips? I know this is vague, but I would appreciate anything you wonderful people could tell me!

posted by slc228 to education (14 comments total)

Take a prep course. I teach GMAT prep, which has some similarities to an MCAT prep course. Being in a class with someone who can walk you through the material really helps. The instructor can point out things you would have missed. If you love studying from books and get nothing from a classroom environment, then you can prep on your own. But most people need the motivation of being in a class with other people, having an instructor to talk to and so on.
posted by acoutu at 3:03 PM on May 9, 2007

Dunno bout anything online, but the biggest pieces of advice I can offer are:
- start studying early
- go through a LOT of practice tests/questions.

And don't shortchange the written section. It doesn't take much effort to be able to write something decent for the MCAT, and getting a high score on it can only help.

Lather, rinse and repeat for USMLE/COMLEX Steps 1-3 and your boards. Good luck!
posted by herrdoktor at 3:09 PM on May 9, 2007

A lot of people study for 1-2 years for the MCATs. You may want to check with a pre-med advisor too.

The MCAT is an unusual test (compared to SAT, GMAT, LSAT) because it tests WHAT you know already. The prep courses are primarily review of this material.
posted by k8t at 3:11 PM on May 9, 2007

Give yourself lots of time to prepare. Of my friends who took the MCAT, the ones who took prep courses and studied for 12 to 18 months beforehand were the ones who got into med school. Good luck!
posted by meerkatty at 3:31 PM on May 9, 2007

I teach the verbal portion of an MCAT prep course. The science sections test Your knowledge of chemistry, physics, and biology. The verbal section is like a hard version of a typical reading section on any other standardized test. It tests your ability to parse complex questions and infer answers. A high essay score won't really help you, but a low essay score will definitely hurt you.

Take any of the practice test available on the AAMC website as soon as you can. Use the results to guide your studies and to gauge your need for a prep course.
posted by oddman at 4:24 PM on May 9, 2007

Yep, take a prep course. Like most/all standardized tests there are 'ways to study for the test' rather than 'study the material.'

Also, if you don't want to shell out the $$$ to take a prep course you can get example exams at most bookstores. Run through the exams (timing yourself, take the tests in a mock test-taking setting) and grade yourself. It should give you a good feel for how long the tests really are (it's a most-of-a-day event).
posted by porpoise at 4:32 PM on May 9, 2007

Contrary to what people have said about taking prep courses, I actually recommend the ExamKrackers series of MCAT prep books and prepping yourself. They give enough detail about the things that you need to know without overwhelming you with unnecessary info. (And they cost less than a tenth of what a prep course would cost you!)

I used the EK books and the AAMC tests to study for MCAT and I did quite well (>35). The key, once you've gone over all the material, is to schedule regular practice sessions to simulate the actual testing experience with the AAMC tests. I find that the other prep course practice exams are either unrealistically hard or cover info that is not quite like what you see on the actual MCAT. I would treat the AAMC tests as an unrenewable resource--you should make sure that feel that you're reasonablely prepped before you attempt an AAMC practice.

For about 2 months before the exam, I took a practice test about once every 2 weeks and reviewed material between tests before stopping all my prep about a week before the actual test.

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the gravity of this exam (I told myself that I'm only doing this once, so better kick ass!), but don't panic and be realistic. Start early and make a coherent plan even if you take a prep course.

Finally, the writing section is easy to blow off, but do a little practice so you can crank those essays out with out too much problem. I did a couple sets of practice essays before taking the MCAT, but do not focus your time here unless you don't feel confident cranking out a coherent but formulaic essay in half an hour.

Good luck!
posted by scalespace at 6:02 PM on May 9, 2007

I'm going to say don't take a prep course.

There is absolutely nothing they will teach you in a prep course that you can't learn on your own with a little discipline, and it seemed to me like those courses were an expensive way to just have your hand held through studying.

DO, however, start studying early. I started studying in October for an April test.

Bar none, the absolute best study guide was the AAMC website. You can get practice tests there comprised of actual MCAT questions.

I started taking practice tests... oh... about in January, I suppose. For the month leading up to sitting the exam, I took one full length, timed, practice every week. The week of the test itself, I just rested.

ExamKrackers helps if you need a refresh on course content. The Kaplan, PR, etc. books are good for reference, as well... but just remember that in the end, they want to sell you a bigger product -- their study course. I found the practice questions in those books to be much harder and...well, rather improperly focused. It seemed like they were concerned more with minutiae and detail rather than on the synthesis of ideas from various disciplines like the actual MCAT is.


For verbal? Hmm. Read Joseph Campbell. They really seem to love him. Pick up a copy of "Hero With A Thousand Faces" and just read it cover to cover, with emphasis on thorough comprehension.

Lastly, you can pretty much blow off the essay portion. Unless you do abysmal, it won't even get looked at. I had a couple of med school admissions actually come out and tell me straight up that they don't even enter the essay scores when putting you in the system -- there was no way for their out-of-date software to rank them.

In the end, I scored in the 96th percentile, without ever spending a dime on an expensive study class. I still didn't get into a school, but that's a whole other can of worms for a different thread. I'm a tad bitter.
posted by kaseijin at 6:49 PM on May 9, 2007

...of med school admissions faculty...
posted by kaseijin at 6:51 PM on May 9, 2007

Oh, for your verbals - actual examiners seem to like* "real world examples."

I second time I tested waaay back when was when the Clinton/Lewinsky thing was happening. iirc, the question was about Celebrities ("Public figures") and whether their private lives should be open to the public. I also used examples like Maurice Richard (?) and how he was open with reporters while he was playing hockey and how, when later in life, he became a travelling saleman and refused interviews with most reporters vs. Gretsky who was still involved with the milieu that made him famous. Whereas as the elected leader of a major nation, Clinton's private life ought to be open to scrutiny.

I didn't say that the judicial and political farce wasn't bullshit, though.

Perhaps try to stay non-partisan, but do try to work in current events into your written section.

*"seem to like": my prep course written marks were usually in the R or S range - I got an S on my first try around and a T on my second [and last - the Clitnon & hockey legends essay] go; I did mediocre the first time and got in the 95% the second time - I did the first one studying on my own and the second after doing Kaplan, which I don't endorse as they're a mill staffed by people who either can't or just been accepted to med school.
posted by porpoise at 9:24 PM on May 9, 2007

Porpoise, I wouldn't say that the Kaplan instructors are people that haven't been accepted to med school. Most MCAT instructors I know are either grad students in chem, physics, whatever they teach OR high school science teachers. I've worked in 3 different Kaplan centers and this seems to be the norm.
posted by k8t at 9:27 PM on May 9, 2007

I totally agree with scalespace - although my results weren't so stellar. Still, I came in with a 30+ score and that's supposedly the magic number.

I used ExamKrackers also and was very pleased. They have LOTS of sample questions. Which to me was more helpful than the review.

Also, when you register for the MCAT you can download some past MCATs and for a bit of money you can download a few more.

I started doing these by section. Eventually working up to full test, all day run throughs - brutal, but such a relief on exam day.

I definitely don't think you need 12 - 18 months to prepare - especially if you're doing well in your classes. That's just too long to keep your concentration and intensity up. I started slowly about 3 months out and progressively upped my study time. I wish I had started about a month earlier. I think I could've bumped my score up a couple points with a little more bio review.

And drill those Verbal Sections. It's full third of your score and a great way to differentiate yourself from all the bio and chem majors acing those sections.

One last thing - a site that I spent far too much time on going through the MCAT/application process: StudentDoctor.net. It can be a blessing an a curse.

Don't get too into the gunner mentality that site can foster.

One more last thing - get your med school application in early. Like the day you get your MCAT scores. I was admitted this year, but I only had four interviews out of 14 applications. I think there are a handful of schools that I would've interviewed with if I had been earlier in the application cycle. You have nothing to lose getting it in early.

If you have any questions - feel free to email me. Having just finished the process I can totally sympathize with all the stress and uncertainty.
posted by Grundlebug at 11:08 PM on May 9, 2007

Another vote for ExamKrackers here. I wrote the MCAT in August 2003. I used the set of 5(?) books along with the AudioOsmosis CDs (which do have some errors) and I did reasonably well (34). I really didn't want to shell out the $1000+ for a prep course, nor did I want to have to sit in a classroom during the summer.

I think it worked well for me for a few reasons. First, I followed the schedule available on the ExamKrackers website, which I think was the same as was used for the classroom session. It involved 2-3 hours studying a night for 4 night a week for 10 weeks. (I think it was 10 weeks - I know I didn't study longer than 3 months). This kept me focused, but gave me time to have a life outside of MCAT studying. As well, I found the MCAT strategy tips given in the books useful. I also think having a life science background helped me. I didn't have all the material memorized beforehand or anything like that, but I was familiar with it enough to not feel overwhelmed. I did a few practice exams on the weekends, and in retrospect I should have done more, but things worked out.

With respect to the writing section, if you're going to study on your own, familiarize yourself with the instructions so something silly doesn't happen during the stress of writing on MCAT day. I didn't, and ended up with a nice fat O, allowing me to just squeak by for my school's cutoffs. If you're in the states, maybe that doesn't matter much. In Canada, many schools will look at the writing section and may have cutoffs associated with it.
posted by flying kumquat at 8:51 AM on May 10, 2007

I haven't personally taken the MCATs, but I am close friends with several people who have. What you need to do to prepare depends primarily on your own personal study habits. If you are disciplined and will actually study for a few hours every day, then you can certainly buy a good set of books and sufficiently prepare. However, if you're a pull-an-all-nighter-before-the-exam kind of student then definitely, definitely, definitely take an MCAT class (or two or three). Yes, they are overpriced and you won't really learn anything, but they will give you deadlines and force you to take practice exams. Cramming the night before a practice exam, and then failing it, will give you plenty of motivation to continue studying, and you will be grateful that you had your wake-up calls in a practice setting rather than on test day.

So my advice is, be honest with yourself: will you study on your own? If you know that you won't, cough up the money. I have friends who thought "because it's the MCATs and it's so important, I'll definitely be able to stop procrastinating and study on my own." But a lifetime of study habits won't change in six months - those people didn't get into med school their first time around.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 10:38 AM on May 10, 2007