THE MCAT EXAM SHOULD BE ON YOUR RADAR EVEN IF YOU’VE GOT YOUR SIGHTS ON ONE OF THE
RARE SCHOOLS THAT DON’T REQUIRE THE MCAT... I’M GUESSING YOU’VE LIKELY SPENT AT LEAST
SOME OF YOUR PRE-MED UNDERGRADUATE YEARS WONDERING HOW TO STUDY FOR THE MCAT… I CAN TELL YOU
THAT SCHEDULING IS VITAL, BUT SO IS MAKING SURE THE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF EACH STUDY
SESSION IS AS EFFICIENT AND PRODUCTIVE AS POSSIBLE. IN THIS VIDEO, I’LL GO OVER THE
BASICS OF WHAT THE MCAT IS, HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR STUDY SESSIONS, AND EXPLAIN HOW TO INCORPORATE
THE MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCES TO MAXIMIZE YOUR PERFORMANCE ON TEST DAY…
HI! MY NAME IS NATALIE STOBERMAN AND I’M AN ADMISSIONS ASSOCIATE HERE AT BEMO. BEFORE
WE GET STARTED, SUBSCRIBE ON WHATEVER SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL YOU’RE WATCHING THIS ON SO
YOU DON’T MISS ANY OF OUR UPCOMING VIDEOS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO HELP YOU ACE YOUR
MCAT, VISIT BEMOMCAT.COM TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION. F-Y-I... CHECK
OUT THE TIME STAMPS IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THIS VIDEO TO NAVIGATE TO SPECIFIC SECTIONS
OF THIS VIDEO THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN. HERE’S WHAT WE ARE GOING TO COVER:
THE PURPOSE OF MCAT WHAT’S SO UNIQUE ABOUT MCAT
HOW TO STUDY FOR MCAT BY THE WAY WE'RE GIVING AWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT
CARDS EVERY WEEK TO THE BEST COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS… SO COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE
TO WIN! AND WE HAVE THE BEST MCAT EXAM PREP STRATEGY THAT WILL HELP YOU ACE THE BIG EXAM…
AND I'LL EXPLAIN MORE ON THAT CLOSER TO THE END OF THE VIDEO, SO KEEP WATCHING TO FIND
OUT… WITH THAT SAID, LET’S GET STARTED! THE PURPOSE OF MCAT
THE MCAT, KNOWN AS THE MEDICAL COLLEGE ADMISSION TEST, IS THE CENTRAL STANDARDIZED EXAM USED
BY MEDICAL SCHOOLS TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES OF APPLICANTS... IT TESTS BASIC
KNOWLEDGE IN MEDICALLY RELEVANT SCIENCES, AS WELL AS REASONING AND THE HUMANITIES...
THE MCAT IS A CRUCIAL PART OF YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATION ALONG WITH YOUR GPA…
THEY’RE TYPICALLY CONSIDERED THE “MAKE OR BREAK” COMPONENTS IN YOUR APPLICATION
AND WILL SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR LIKELIHOOD OF MEDICAL SCHOOL ACCEPTANCE...
EVEN THE EASIEST MEDICAL SCHOOLS TO GET INTO HAVE CERTAIN GPA AND MCAT THRESHOLDS THAT
MUST BE MET... BEFORE THEY EVEN LOOK AT YOUR AMCAS WORK AND ACTIVITIES SECTION OR MEDICAL
SCHOOL PERSONAL STATEMENT, THE ADMISSION COMMITTEE MEMBERS WILL EVALUATE YOU BASED ON YOUR GPA
AND MCAT SCORE. SOME MEDICAL SCHOOLS WILL NOT CONTINUE THE REVIEW OF YOUR APPLICATION
IF YOU DO NOT MEET THEIR MCAT EXPECTATIONS, LIKE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL.
JUST TO COMPARE... THE ACT AND SAT ARE FAR MORE GENERAL EXAMS, AND OTHER EXAMS LIKE THE
GRE, USMLE, AND COM-LEX ARE TAKEN BY STUDENTS HEADED TOWARD SPECIALIZED GRADUATE STUDY...
WHILE MEDICAL SCHOOLS ARE TECHNICALLY GRADUATE STUDY PROGRAMS, THEY ARE IN MANY SENSES THE
PRIMARY MEDICAL TRAINING GROUND FOR FUTURE PHYSICIANS... AND SO THE MCAT IS IN MANY WAYS
A KIND OF MIDDLE-GROUND EXAM… IT’S MORE CHALLENGING AND SPECIFIC THAN INITIAL ENTRANCE
EXAMS, BUT MORE GENERALIZED THAN THE SPECIALIZED LICENSING AND CERTIFICATION EXAMS ASSOCIATED
WITH RESIDENCY…. WHAT’S SO UNIQUE ABOUT THE MCAT
EACH MCAT SECTION HAS 53-59 QUESTIONS. THE AVERAGE VALUE OF EACH QUESTION IS AROUND TWO
POINTS... AND MOST QUESTIONS ON THE MCAT ARE PASSAGE-BASED, WHILE SOME ARE DISCRETE QUESTIONS...
PASSAGE-BASED QUESTIONS FOLLOW A PASSAGE DESCRIBING A SCIENTIFIC SITUATION, WHILE DISCRETE QUESTIONS
DO NOT RELATE TO A PASSAGE AND DIRECTLY TEST YOUR SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE... SECTIONS WITH
BOTH TYPES OF QUESTIONS WILL HAVE CLUSTERS OF TWO TO THREE PASSAGES WITH CORRESPONDING
PASSAGE-BASED QUESTIONS, FOLLOWED BY THREE TO FOUR DISCRETE QUESTIONS.
THERE IS A LOT OF MYSTERY SURROUNDING THE MCAT, SO YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING WHAT IS THE
BEST WAY TO GET A FEEL FOR EACH MCAT SECTION AND THE TYPES OF CONTENT THAT’S COVERED?
THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS IS TO TAKE A FULL-LENGTH MCAT DIAGNOSTIC TEST BEFORE DIVING INTO YOUR
MCAT PREPARATIONS. THIS WAY, YOU GET TO SEE WHAT YOU ARE UP AGAINST AND LEARN WHERE TO
FOCUS YOUR TIME IN THE REVIEW-HEAVY PHASE OF YOUR STUDYING...
THE PRACTICE PHASE IS AS UNIQUE AS THE TEST ITSELF… AS YOU PROGRESS FURTHER THROUGH
YOUR MCAT PREP, YOU’LL NEED TO TAKE SEVERAL FULL-LENGTH PRACTICE MCAT EXAMS TO ENSURE
THAT YOU ARE WELL-VERSED WITH THE FORMAT BY TEST DAY… IT REALLY HELPS TO GRADUALLY BUILD
UP YOUR TEST-TAKING ENDURANCE TO GUARANTEE THAT YOU ARE MENTALLY PREPARED FOR THE DURATION
OF THE MCAT EXAM. IT’S ALSO NO SECRET THAT THE MCAT IS VIEWED
AS SUCH A DIFFICULT TEST… HERE’S WHY: THE LENGTH OF THE MCAT:
THE TESTING TIME FOR THE MCAT IS SIX HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES. INCLUDING INTRODUCTORY
STEPS AND BREAKS, THE TOTAL SEATED TIME FOR THE MCAT IS JUST OVER SEVEN AND A HALF HOURS
FOR STUDENTS THAT USE THE OPTIONAL BREAKS BETWEEN SECTIONS... COLLEGE EXAMS, AND OTHER
LENGTHY STANDARDIZED TESTS ARE GENERALLY BETWEEN THREE AND FOUR HOURS LONG AND DO NOT EVEN
MEASURE UP TO THE LENGTH OF THE MCAT. MANY QUESTIONS, AND MANY DIFFERENT SUBJECTS:
THE MCAT IS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY EXAM THAT CONTAINS 230 TOTAL QUESTIONS COVERING MANY
DIFFERENT SUBJECTS OVER THE SPAN OF FOUR SECTIONS. IT CAN BE COMPARED TO A CUMULATIVE EXAM TESTING
MULTIPLE YEARS OF COLLEGE COURSES. THE MAIN SUBJECTS TESTED INCLUDE YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL
PREREQUISITES SUCH AS GENERAL AND ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, BIOLOGY, BIOCHEMISTRY,
PSYCHOLOGY, AND SOCIOLOGY. THESE ARE CHALLENGING TOPICS, BUT ONES YOU’VE COVERED IN YOUR
INTRODUCTORY-LEVEL COLLEGE COURSES. IN ADDITION, YOU WILL BE TESTED ON YOUR CRITICAL ANALYSIS
AND REASONING SKILLS IN THE CARS SECTION OF THE MCAT. THE CARS SECTION IS THE ONLY MCAT
SECTION THAT DOES NOT RELATE TO SPECIFIC PREREQUISITE COURSE WORK, WHICH CAN GENERATE TEST-DAY NERVES.
THE MCAT IS PASSAGE-BASED: DURING THE MCAT, YOU WILL NOT JUST BE REGURGITATING
FACTS THAT YOU MEMORIZED... THE MCAT IS PASSAGE-BASED: YOU WILL FIRST READ A SIX TO SEVEN PARAGRAPH
PASSAGE, THEN YOU WILL BE ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PASSAGE THAT REQUIRES YOU TO APPLY
YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF SPECIFIC TOPICS, SUCH AS BIOLOGY OR SOCIOLOGY... THIS MAKES THE MCAT
CHALLENGING BECAUSE YOU CANNOT JUST MEMORIZE INFORMATION. YOU WILL NEED TO READ EACH PASSAGE
CRITICALLY, PULL TOGETHER SEVERAL PIECES OF INFORMATION FROM THE PASSAGE TO FULLY UNDERSTAND
IT, THEN ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT COMBINE DETAILS FROM THE PASSAGE WITH YOUR KNOWLEDGE BASE…
THE TIME YOU HAVE TO ANSWER EACH QUESTION: THE MCAT ASKS A LOT OF QUESTIONS IN A SHORT
AMOUNT OF TIME. OFTEN, STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO FINISH SOME SECTIONS OF THE MCAT, WHICH MEANS
THEIR SCORES ON THOSE SECTIONS ARE NOT AS HIGH AS THEY COULD HAVE ACHIEVED WITH MORE
TIME... ON WHICH SECTIONS DO STUDENTS TYPICALLY RUN OUT OF TIME? TIME TENDS TO BE A STRUGGLE
ON THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS SECTION AND THE CRITICAL
ANALYSIS AND REASONING SKILLS SECTION... IF YOU FIND YOURSELF RUNNING OUT OF TIME, REMEMBER
THAT WRONG ANSWERS WILL NOT COUNT AGAINST YOU, SO AIM TO FILL IN AN ANSWER FOR EVERY
QUESTION – EVEN IF IT IS JUST AN EDUCATED GUESS…
HOW TO STUDY FOR THE MCAT THERE ARE SO MANY RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES
FOR MCAT STUDY THAT MCAT PREP HAS BECOME ITS OWN INDUSTRY... WHICH ALSO MEANS THAT HAVING
TOO MANY OPTIONS AT YOUR DISPOSAL CAN MAKE YOUR MCAT PREP AN OVERWHELMING PROCESS…
FORTUNATELY, THERE ARE SOME OVERARCHING TRUTHS TO MCAT STUDY, AND YOU CAN USE THESE TO ORGANIZE
AND OPTIMIZE YOUR TIME LEADING UP TO YOUR TEST DAY...
>>INITIAL ASSESSMENT: THE FIRST STOP ON YOUR STUDY JOURNEY IS TO
TAKE AN INITIAL MCAT DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR EARLY WORK,
AS IT GIVES YOU CRUCIAL METRICS TO WORK FROM... YOU MAY THINK YOU’VE GOT ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
IN THE BAG, BUT UNLESS YOU JUST FINISHED THIS MEDICAL SCHOOL PREREQUISITE, YOU SIMPLY DON’T
KNOW FOR SURE UNTIL YOU’VE TESTED YOURSELF… YOUR BEST OPTIONS FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING ARE
THE AAMC’S FREE OFFICIAL SAMPLE MCAT AND ANY OF THEIR 4 OFFICIAL PREP PRACTICE EXAMS...
THESE ARE EACH 230 QUESTIONS LONG AND MIRROR THE DISTRIBUTION OF TOPICS ON THE ACTUAL TEST.
TAKE ONE OF THESE PRIOR TO ANY OF THE STEPS THAT I LIST... AND MAKE A CAREFUL RECORD OF
YOUR RESULTS BY MAKING AN ERROR LOG TO IDENTIFY PATTERNS IN YOUR BLIND SPOTS... SAVE THE OTHER
FULL PRACTICE TESTS TO USE AS PERIODIC ASSESSMENTS THROUGHOUT YOUR STUDY… JUST LIKE PROGRESS
REPORTS… BUT AT THIS STAGE IN YOUR PREP JUST TAKE ONE FULL PRACTICE TEST…
AREAS IN WHICH YOU’VE SCORED POORLY SHOULD BE GIVEN PRIORITY... AND YOU’LL WANT EXTRA
TIME TO READ AND REVIEW MATERIAL, ESPECIALLY BEFORE MOVING ON TO PRACTICE QUESTIONS...
AND THIS LEADS US INTO THE NEXT PHASE, WHICH IS TO ESTABLISH A TIMELINE AND STRUCTURED
STUDY SCHEDULE… >>WHEN TO START STUDYING FOR THE MCAT:
THERE ARE TWO ASPECTS TO THIS STEP. AS WE NOTED, MOST TRADITIONAL STUDENTS WILL WANT
TO TAKE THE MCAT SOON AFTER THEIR SECOND UNDERGRAD YEAR WHILE THE PREREQUISITE COURSES ARE STILL
FRESH... SO IN A SENSE YOU START STUDYING FOR THE MCAT THE DAY YOU BEGIN PRE-MED COURSEWORK..
WITH THAT IN MIND, IT’S IMPORTANT TO TREAT YOUR PRE-MED COURSEWORK, OR UNDERGRAD SCIENCE
AND SOCIAL SCIENCE COURSES IF YOU’RE NOT IN A FORMAL PRE-MED PROGRAM, AS TEST PREP!…
OBVIOUSLY, YOU’LL BE STUDYING COURSE MATERIAL DURING THE COURSE ITSELF, BUT ONCE IT ENDS
IT WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT HELP TO REVIEW YOUR COURSE NOTES, PROJECTS, AND TEXTBOOKS BETWEEN
SEMESTERS… THIS DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SUBSTANTIAL, ALL-NIGHTER
STUFF… DURING BREAKS YOU CAN SPEND AN HOUR OR TWO PER DAY REVIEWING THE MATERIALS OF
THE COURSES YOU JUST FINISHED... OR PAYING EXTRA ATTENTION TO AREAS THAT FEEL “SLIPPERY”
OR LIKE THEY’LL GET LOST IN THE SAUCE ONCE YOU MOVE ON TO YOUR NEXT SEMESTER... A GOOD
OVERALL AMOUNT OF TIME TO DEDICATE TO MCAT STUDY IS 200-300 HOURS, SO IF YOU BUDGET EVEN
AN EXTRA 7-10 HOURS PER WEEK DURING WINTER AND SPRING BREAK YOU’LL GET TO THAT THRESHOLD
A LOT FASTER ONCE YOUR MCAT TEST DATE IS IN SIGHT…
HOWEVER WAY YOU GET THERE, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT AT ABOUT THE MIDWAY POINT IN YOUR
2ND UNDERGRADUATE YEAR, YOU MUST HAVE ALREADY COMMITTED TO A STRUCTURED MCAT STUDY SCHEDULE…
WHERE SHOULD YOU START TO CREATE YOUR STUDY PLAN? START BY REFLECTING ON YOUR COMMITMENTS
OUTSIDE OF MCAT PREP. RECALL ALL YOUR ACADEMIC, PROFESSIONAL, EXTRACURRICULAR, AND PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES. IN YOUR SCHEDULE, WRITE DOWN HOW MANY HOURS EACH ACTIVITY REQUIRES
PER WEEK… THEN, WRITE HOW MANY HOURS YOU CAN DEDICATE TO MCAT PREP THAT SAME DAY.
ONCE YOU GET TO THE FIRST PHASE OF YOUR MCAT PREP, YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON CONTENT REVIEW...
YOUR SCHEDULE MUST INCLUDE THE DISCIPLINES AND CONCEPTS THAT YOU WANT TO STUDY AND PRACTICE
WITH... TO KEEP IN LINE WITH MCAT'S FORMAT AND SECTIONS, YOU CAN USE THEIR CONTENT OUTLINE
AS A REFERENCE WHEN YOU FILL IN THIS SECTION OF YOUR SCHEDULE.
THE RESOURCES AND STUDY STRATEGIES THAT YOU USE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOLS OF YOUR SCHEDULE,
AS IT OUTLINES WHAT SOURCES YOU WILL BE USING TO FILL IN GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE AND HOW YOU WILL
RETAIN THIS INFORMATION... MAKE SURE TO RECORD YOUR SPECIFIC SOURCES FOR STUDYING, LIKE CHAPTERS,
TEXTBOOKS AND NOTES, SO YOU CAN ALWAYS REFER BACK TO THEM EASILY… AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,
WRITE OUT WHICH ACTIVE STUDY STRATEGIES YOU WILL USE TO GRASP THESE CONCEPTS... PASSIVE
LEARNING WON’T GET YOU FAR. TO TRULY ABSORB THIS INFORMATION YOU’LL NEED TO USE ACTIVE
STUDY STRATEGIES LIKE CREATING CHARTS AND GRAPHS THAT EXPLAIN RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
CONCEPTS... TAKING SHORT QUIZZES OR EXPLAINING CONCEPTS TO OTHERS…
THOSE ARE THE STEPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR MCAT STUDY PREP... CHECK OUT OUR BLOG TO READ MORE
ABOUT “HOW TO STUDY FOR THE MCAT”... I HAVE INCLUDED THE LINK IN THE DESCRIPTION
OF THIS VIDEO FOR EASY ACCESS... IF YOU WOULD LIKE US TO HELP YOU GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL,
VISIT BEMOMCAT.COM TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION... HOPEFULLY YOU ENJOYED THIS
VIDEO SO PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE AND LEAVE A COMMENT. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT
THIS VIDEO THAT I DIDN’T COVER, LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENT SECTION AND I WILL GET BACK
TO YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE... DON’T FORGET THAT WE'RE GIVING AWAY $50 AMAZON GIFT CARDS
EVERY WEEK TO THE BEST COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS… SO COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN. THANKS
FOR WATCHING AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME.