Before we begin, I want to preface with the disclaimer that this is not a “How I scored in the 99th percentile in one month” blog post. Truthfully, my score was average, I spent an average amount of time studying, and loathed almost every minute of it. However, the MCAT is a daunting, necessary evil almost every premed must face to get into medical school, and I know many students find it as overwhelming as I did when figuring out how to tackle this particular beast!
So, instead, this is a: “How I did it, and what I would do differently” blog post. I’ll share my study strategy, and what (if any) nuggets of wisdom I believe I have to share about this particularly draining part of the premed process.
Also to note – this blog post is to remind you that you don’t need to get an amazing score on the MCAT. The MCAT does not determine whether you will be a great doctor. Still, it is a hurdle you have to jump. It feels weird giving advice on a topic I didn’t particularly excel at – but the truth is you don’t have to excel in every aspect of your application. So, I’m writing a post about how I did just average along with some things I think would have improved my score if I took it again today. Enjoy!
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What is the MCAT?
If you’re unfamiliar, the MCAT is a standardized exam required by nearly every medical school as part of their admissions guidelines.
Here are the basics:
- It consists of 4 different sections:
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
- Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
- Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.
- Each section has 48 questions and the exam is a total of 5.75 hours (these are recent changes, compared to the previous 59 questions per section and a total of 7.5 hours pre-COVID).
- It is administered on multiple testing dates in January, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September with seats being first-come-first-serve (so you need to sign up months before the date you want to take it!)
- It takes about one month to receive your score after taking it. (Remember this when you plan on scheduling your exam.)
- While the MCAT alone doesn’t determine whether you will get into medical school, certain schools have cutoff’s (whether or not they admit it) and it is a major part of the application process (again, whether or not school’s admit it)
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How I Studied
To avoid rambling, I decided to keep this part short and simple:
Main Resource
- Kaplan Self Paced Course
- I chose this course solely because I received a scholarship for it. While it did do a good job, and I was happy with my overall experience, it is quite expensive and there are plenty of amazing resources out there.
- I recommend also checking out Examkrackers and Princeton Review courses which are less expensive, or just buying a set of books and doing a DIY schedule (I included many below under “resources”) depending on what you’re looking for.
Study Schedule
- Studied content during my fall semester senior year
- Spent 20 days of winter break studying 10 hours/day doing only practice questions and exams
- Took the exam at the end of January 2017, received my score in February 2017, applied to medical school in June 2018, entered medical school in August 2019
Score
- My total score was: 508 (78% percentile)
- Confidence band: 506-510
- 127 (77% percentile) in Chem/Phys
- 126 (72% percentile) in CARS
- 129 (92% percentile) in Bio
- and 126 (62% percentile) in Psych/Soc.
- I’m not sharing this so everyone can go compare their scores to mine (for better or worse) but sharing it for two distinct reasons:
- De-bunk the myth that everyone in med school aced the MCAT (people just don’t often talk about MCAT scores once you’re in, and
- To demonstrate that everyone’s application look’s different and that’s OK. As a pre-med, I found it helpful to see the details of successful applicants so I can formulate my own action plans for success – REMEMBER COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY (see others as inspiration, not competition).
- Pros of applying with a 508:
- Good enough to get into an MD or DO program (especially if the rest of your application is strong).
- Meets the screening cutoff for most schools.
- A fine score if you plan on applying to a variety of schools, are happy to go to whichever program accepts you.
- Got me multiple interviews and acceptances.
- Cons of applying with a 508:
- Not high enough to be competitive and significantly decreases the chances of getting accepted to a more competitive school
- Not high enough to meet the cutoff for some schools (mostly ivy’s and Top 20’s schools).
- Significantly decreases any chance of scholarships or bargaining chips if accepted to more than one school.
- If you decide to re-take the exam and don’t do better it will look even worse than just having one average score.
- Depending on the rest of your application you might only get accepted to a single medical school and not have the opportunity to choose between programs.
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What I Would Change + My Tips
To be clear, I don’t regret not taking the exam a second time for a better score, and, as you can see, it all worked out OK. However, getting a better score might have opened up other opportunities such as scholarships, more interviews, etc. Not to mention, you reading this might be aiming for a higher score. Alas, here are my top tips from what I either did really well or would have done differently if taking the exam next year.
Making Your Schedule
- Include sick days. Life happens. Chances are you will miss a day of studying because you’re actually sick, or something came up – but don’t let one or two days of missed studying derail your entire study plan. Give yourself enough wiggle room that you can afford to miss a day or two – if you don’t end up needing them you can use them as mental health days or extra studying!
- Include things you are looking forward to doing. Throughout my schedule, I scattered days for fun things like getting my nails done or going to see a play and hanging out with my friends (in that pre-COVID world). It’s also important to have something to look forward to after the exam! Even if it’s a night of Netflix and cookie dough, make that time intentional so you can celebrate your herculean achievement.
- Do what works for you. I used a Kaplan course because of my scholarship and I was extremely busy and appreciated that they had an entire schedule for me. Your situation might look completely different from mine – and that’s OK. Make your own schedule, do an in-person course, get a tutor, do whatever is going to work for you – then stick with it! Below, I’ve linked some resources on creating your own schedule and shared example schedules from other students!
Studying for the exam
- Do more practice questions. Truthfully this is something I still struggle with today, which is making practice questions a higher priority and using them to learn from. When I studied for the MCAT I would get bogged down by details, memorizing random facts, and not learning by doing. I think there was a part of me that hated practice questions because I didn’t want to know how little I knew. Instead, I wished I did more and used them to further my studies and fire me up to learn more.
- Do more full-length practice tests. I only took about 5-6 throughout my studying and it simply wasn’t enough. Similar to the first tip, I was honestly afraid of taking practice tests because I didn’t want to see a low score, which is silly but the truth. Instead, I think everyone studying for the MCAT should take at least 8-10 practice exams. The first 1-2 are for training your stamina to take a 5+ hour exam, the next 3-7 are to learn from, 8-9 are to find your weaknesses, and 10 is to gauge how you’ll do on the actual exam.
- Take practice exams from more than one prep resource. Since I had the Kaplan package, I only took the Kaplan practice exams in addition to the one provided by the AAMC. However, there were definitely some discrepancies in how AAMC writes exams vs Kaplan. Since I was so used to only reading Kaplan’s questions, I got comfortable with their phrases and was easily caught off guard. I would recommend taking a variety of practice exams from Kaplan, Princeton Review, and Examkrackers to have a well-rounded study plan.
- Learn more sociology. As a psychology minor, it makes sense that I loved learning more and more about psychology. However, I grossly underestimated the importance of sociology, which is reflected in my abysmal psych/soc score. My exam had a majority of sociology questions which I was simply unprepared for (which I think was also a product of my Kaplan course) and I would have studied way more sociology.
- Cut down on extracurriculars. When I studied for the MCAT I was taking 18 credits, doing research, was an RA, and doing a gaggle of extracurriculars I did not want to give up for a test I didn’t want to take. However, I wish I cut more out of my schedule to focus on it. Without fail, premeds that I talk to who do not do well are either not fully committed to studying, or are overworked in other areas of their lives. Of course, I’m not talking about working at a job so that you can pay bills or support a family member, but those volunteer positions, unpaid research opportunities, and school clubs can wait 3-4 months.
- Use Sketchy. This wasn’t available when I was studying, but if it was I cannot stress enough how much more wonderful Sketchy MCAT would have made my life. Sketchy uses pictures to help memorize information and makes things like learning the Krebs cycle easy. They haven’t released it just yet (coming in 2021) but if you are planning on studying for the MCAT next year, put this on your list!
Bonus Test-Day Tips
- Wear layers. My exam was administered in January and, naturally, the heat wasn’t working in the building. They offered me to reschedule but I would be damned if I walked out of that building without sitting for the exam. Luckily I heard this tip before my exam and I brought layers I could easily add or remove to be more comfortable. 10/10 recommend.
- Simulate the real exam as often as possible. The last thing you want to do is be uncomfortable while trying to remember all the physics equations you crammed before taking the exam. Practice everything from what time you’ll wake up, to your meals, your breaks, etc so you waste no energy on logistics and can spend your precious time on focusing on the exam.
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Resources
Self-Study Schedules
- AAMC – A step-by-step guide to making your own schedule linked here
- Shemmassian Consulting – Another step-by-step guide with 1, 2, and 3-month study schedules linked here
- Reddit – Has amazing tips shared by other students along with detailed study plans, one example is linked here
Prep Courses & Study Material
Free
- Apply for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program for scholarships for the MCAT and more
- Practice exams + more from AAMC
- Many of the above prep courses offer free exams, workshops, and questions of the day if you check out their websites! (Here are the one’s available from Blueprint!)
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Hopefully, this post dissolves some of your fears and concerns around the infamous MCAT and equips you with some inspiration to go crush the exam.
As always, everyone’s situation is different, and if you have any questions about your particular scenario, feel free to leave a comment or DM me on instagram and I’ll be happy to help!
Good luck and have a beautiful day!
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