When I started waking up at 4-AM to study I was not just willy-nilly going through the motions of doing U-World practice problems. I had a very rigorous plan set in place which made sense to me. As I’ve mentioned before, getting up hours before the sun also served as a way to increase my stamina and mental preparedness for the exam. In order to do this, I thought to myself, I should best replicate the kind of timing on the actual exam.
Therefore, when I practiced, I did so in hour and a half chunks. Why hour and half intervals you ask? Well, every section on the MCAT is an hour and a half long (if you stay the whole time, which I sure did). This way, I was training my brain to keep its ultimate focus for an hour and half before getting a rest.
I didn’t just study any subject matter blindly though, I figured it would be best to study in a way which best reflected the content matter, and corresponding percentage of questions, found on the actual exam. For example, why spend equal time practicing physics and general chemistry when there are only 9 physics questions versus 20 chemistry questions. I’m no math doctor, but that just doesn’t add up to me. Instead, I would allot a corresponding amount of time on every subject matter depending on how prevalent it was on the MCAT, that way I could study a bit of every subject in one sitting. Though, sometimes I would focus just on one subject. For example, I may focus wholeheartedly on Biochemistry one day, Biology the next, and Psychology the following. Those subjects, make up such a large chunk of the exam that it would be prudent to study them in large intervals.
One thing that I think paid dividends for me, and I would encourage you to look into, is how you review your questions. At first, I would review each question immediately after answering them. While I got the immediate gratification, or dismay, of having a result as soon as I submitted the answer, I noticed it cut into my study time. In other words, I was spending just as much time reading the question explanation as I was actually practicing. It’s not like I would get the answer right away on the real thing, so maybe I was selling myself short. I decided I would approach things a bit differently.
First of all, I would only answer a question if I felt I was 100% correct. There weren’t many questions I felt so confident for, but that’s part of the process. What this did was eliminate, or at least vastly reduce, my blind guessing. I think all too often, on the MCAT, students have a tendency to put their best guess on a question when they get stumped. While ultimately, you want to guess rather than leave a question blank, this should be your very last resort, not your plan B.
As I studied, I kept a journal beside me. On questions that I was not 100% sure of, whether I couldn’t deduce what the question was asking, or it was content I was not too familiar with, I would jot down the question information and what I needed to review. An entry might look something like: Question 24: IR Spectrum Chromatography. I would go through all of the questions I pre-panned to do during the sitting until I had answered every single question I knew with certainty (it’s okay if you think you’re certain and are wrong, just make sure to keep a journal of these question as well for further review).
At the end of each session, I usually had a list of questions and concepts I had to review. On top of that, I had just as many unanswered questions. The next phase of my studying regiment would be to go brush up on the subject matter on these skipped questions. This is where the true learning, I believe, took place. Instead of guessing away and potentially getting questions wrong, without learning, I would leave the questions blank so that after I did some brushing up on the subject, I could go back and try my hand at answering the question. Practice, practice, practice!
True Content Review
So, you went through 50+ questions on U-World, you have a list of concepts your need to review, and a corresponding list of unanswered questions to test your understanding, pending review. This is the content review that really matters. Not the passive sifting through the Kaplan books that most students, including myself, pretend is beneficial to their studying. What you use for content review, is really up to you and what you have available. Here are some of my recommendations:
- Khan Academy
- What’s not to love about Khan academy? They’re free, comprehensive, and make things seem so simple you want to kick yourself for not understanding it the first time. I am a HUGE fan of Khan academy and would recommend to anyone taking the MCAT. They even break sections down by subject matter directly from the MCAT. The only real drawback I see, is that sometimes they don’t go into as much detail as I’d need to address one of the inquiries I had jotted down from practice. That’s okay though! The more work you put in to find the answer, the more that concept will stick, and the more likely you are to get it right on the actual exam.
- Course Saver
- If there is something you need to review, and it is not on Khan Academy, you are sure to find it on Course Saver. If, and this is a giant if, it is not on Course Saver, chances are you need not be too concerned about the topic. It may be so low-yield that it is not worth your time. It could also be that it is a small part of a larger section you need to familiarize yourself with. These videos are fantastic, the only downside I see is that they are not free unlike the Khan counterpart. However, it’s only $50 a month. Again, tiny drop into a vast sea. It’s worth the investment, I promise.
- Books, Books, Books
- Personally, I am a visual learner, and that’s why I am such a fan of having videos or virtual lectures teach me what I need to know. However, sometimes the answer I am looking for is best reserved for a chart, graph, diagram, or definition laid out in black and white in a text book. Again, this is my personal preference, books may be at the top of your preferred resource list. Whatever floats your boat, captain.
- The Mighty Google
- Our generation has the benefit of having an essentially unlimited resource of information at our very fingertips. Instead of tapping into this resource to its full potential, however, we as a society, have decided memes are more important. Which by the way, I am all for, I love me some memes. But I do want to remind you that the internet is a pretty darn powerful tool, look things up and you’ll be surprised how incredible some of the free resources online are
- Reddit Study Guides
- Speaking of the all-powerful Interweb, Reddit has some pure golden resources. There are a number of study guides with seemingly every single piece of information you could ever need. Whoever made the darn thing must’ve gotten a 528 because holy moly it’s good. Also, and this is a GIANT also, it’s easy to fall into a rabbit hole of outside opinions and hot takes on reddit. Do not succumb to the posts about students studying for 30 minutes before the MCAT and pulling out a 520. Even if this is true, a vivid exception does not trump reason. Put in the work and be diligent, and it will pay off.
- Flash Cards
- When you’re doing your content review, do not just find the answer, go back to the U-World question, select the correct answer, and pat yourself on the back. Write the pertinent information down on a flashcard, relate similar concepts, and commit that shit to memory. THEN, go back and try to apply it. What I like about making flashcards, is that eventually you’ll have (hopefully) entire stacks dedicated to subjects that you can go back and review without having to re-answer questions (that you already know the answer to). It allows you to put your memory to work. For reference, I had upwards of 516 flashcards ;).
- Get it wrong
- My favorite part of U-World is how incredibly thorough their explanations are. The do not just tell you why the correct answer is right. They tell you why all of the incorrect answers are wrong, with evidence to support their claim. Now some of you may think to yourself, why go through all the hassle to try and learn the concept through outside resources, to then go back and get the information I need straight from U-World? The answer, I think, is pretty simple. If you don’t go out and learn for yourself, well, you won’t learn! This U-World practice is not to make you feel good about yourself for getting a question “right”. Every time you come across a question you don’t know or get question wrong all together, you should be elated. It means you won’t get it wrong on the real thing. That’s why you’re practicing isn’t it? We don’t lose; either we win, or we learn.
Scrub To Scrubs 