The MCAT is one of the biggest roadblocks standing in the way between premeds and medical
school acceptance - and it’s only getting harder.
Every year, the average score for medical school applicants and matriculants inches
steadily upward and the bar is raised a little bit higher.
If your dream is to become a doctor, it’s more important now than ever to do well on
your MCAT.
Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.
The MCAT is known for being one of the most difficult exams you will ever take.
It’s nearly 8 hours long, covers a wide variety of subjects, and has the added pressure
of being one of the first metrics that admissions committees look at on your medical school
application.
More students applied during the 2021-2022 medical school application cycle than ever
before - approximately 62,000 compared to just 53,000 the year before.
This means that it’s becoming more and more important to make your application stand out
amongst the thousands of other applicants, and one way to do that is to have a stellar
MCAT score.
Here are 5 tips to help you maximize your MCAT prep and achieve your dream score.
Start by building a strong foundation.
A common misconception is that MCAT prep starts in the months leading up to the exam.
In reality, it actually starts the moment you step into your first biology or chemistry
class as a premed.
When going through your prerequisite classes, it’s important to focus on building a foundation
of knowledge - not just so you can get an A in the class, but so you can learn and retain
the information in the long term.
The best way to accomplish this is by using the spacing effect.
Study a little bit each day over the course of weeks to months instead of trying to cram
everything at the last minute.
By repeated exposures to a piece of information at increasing intervals between each repetition,
you can optimize memorization and retain the most amount of information in the least amount
of time.
We know from neuroscience that repeated recall of information strengthens neuronal connections
in the hippocampus where episodic long-term memory is stored.
In short, stronger connections are formed with multiple repeated exposures spread out
over time as opposed to one intense cramming session.
I was fortunate enough to have realized this early in my college career and focused on
building a strong foundation.
In doing so, by the time I was preparing for my MCAT, I was able to score in the 67th percentile
on my first practice test before diving into studying.
If I had goofed off during my classes and crammed at the last minute, I may have scored
20th percentile and had a much larger gap to fill to achieve my desired score.
The general rule of thumb is to spend 2 hours every week studying for every hour you spend
in class.
Consistently putting in the hours is only the first part of the equation though, you
also need to spend that time efficiently.
The same goes for your MCAT prep.
You want to prioritize active learning techniques over passive ones.
When I was preparing for my MCAT many years ago, I made the mistake of relying too heavily
on passive learning techniques.
I would read through content review books, highlight the important points, and re-read
the highlights repeatedly until they stuck.
The issue with this approach is that it is painfully inefficient.
It takes much longer to consolidate key facts to memory than if you were to spend that same
time doing active learning in the form of practice questions and flashcards.
It also makes it more difficult to determine what areas need the most improvement.
When you are reading through content books and have the information in front of you,
there is a tendency to overestimate how well you know the information.
Once you take your notes away, however, it’s often a much different story.
It wasn’t until I got into medical school and drank from the proverbial fire hydrant
of information that I realized the power of active learning techniques - namely practice
questions and spaced repetition with active recall.
By using these, I was able to optimize my studies and learn more information in less
time.
I have found that oftentimes students are scared to use practice questions until the
end of their MCAT prep.
This is a huge mistake as practice questions can be a great way to learn information in
addition to honing test-taking strategies.
I started doing practice questions from the get-go and took my first full-length test
within the first 2 weeks.
The key isn’t just to get through the practice tests but to review all of the questions thoroughly.
I made sure to go over every single incorrect answer as well as any I guessed on or got
correct by luck.
I believe that starting practice questions early was one of the best things I did during
my prep and contributed heavily to my 99.9th percentile score, or 100th percentile for
the statistically illiterate.
Flashcards are also heavily underutilized during MCAT prep.
Active recall with spaced repetition is one of the best ways to consolidate information
to long-term memory - which is incredibly important for the MCAT given the sheer amount
of information you are expected to know.
In addition to not using flashcards enough, many students also don’t know how to create
good ones.
It wasn’t until after years of making my own flashcards through medical school and
residency that I realized how subtle and nuanced the best flashcards are.
To make the most effective flashcards, you need to have a mastery of the subject at hand.
For the MCAT, you must understand related concepts that contrast with the topic, whether
it’s high-, medium-, or low-yield, and how it’s tested on the exam.
If you’re looking for high-quality flashcards and a learning experience that’s better
than any premade Anki deck, be sure to check out Memm - link in the description.
No matter how much you refine your study techniques and use spaced repetition though, you will
eventually start forgetting information.
This is where having an effective MCAT study schedule comes in.
I’ve seen countless students plateau with their scores despite dedicating several additional
months to MCAT prep.
The issue is that the more time you spend studying for the MCAT, the more likely you
are to start forgetting information.
After working with hundreds of premeds, I’ve found that a few months of intense, high-quality
studying will often beat out a year of low- to medium-intensity studying.
For most students, two-and-a-half months at the lower end to six months at the upper end
is the sweet spot for MCAT prep.
This time frame allows you to maximize information acquisition and retention and minimize forgetting.
To accomplish this, you want to find a time where you can dedicate a few months to full-time,
high-intensity MCAT study - ideally about 40-50 hours a week for about 3 months.
For most students, this will be during the summer after either your sophomore or junior
year.
Dedicated studying in the spring prior to applying is also popular, but that comes with
the added stress of working on your medical school application concurrently in addition
to your regular college coursework.
Once you have your timeframe picked out, you need to come up with a schedule for when you
are going to review each subject.
For science-based subjects, I recommend rotating between each subject daily.
I prefer this method of jumping around for a few reasons.
To start, it prevents you from getting bored, burned out, or sick of the material you’re
reading - especially if there’s a particular subject that you don’t enjoy studying.
Next, it avoids the issue of reviewing certain content too far away from the exam.
You want to be constantly reviewing each subject, bit by bit leading up to the exam.
This will keep each subject fresh and allow you to gradually reinforce the material and
peak come exam day.
The one exception I have found to this is the Critical Analysis & Reasoning Section
or CARS for short.
The best way to improve your score on this section is by doing low-duration, high-frequency
practice.
When preparing for my MCAT, I did 30 minutes every day, 5 days per week for 2 months, and
was able to gradually elevate my score.
It’s certainly helpful to learn about techniques and strategies for CARS in the beginning,
but that’s all meaningless if you don’t get your reps in every day.
Once you’ve built a schedule that works well for you, the next step is to stick with
it.
Find ways to hold yourself accountable.
If you have a classmate that’s also studying for the MCAT, try becoming accountability
buddies and keep each other on track.
If you have a particularly difficult time sticking to a schedule though, you might want
to consider working with an MCAT tutor.
Not only will they be able to keep you on track, but they can also help you craft a
custom MCAT plan, overcome issues with challenging concepts, and help with test-taking strategies
and overcoming test-taking anxiety.
Learn about our MCAT tutoring options on MedSchoolInsiders.com.
To optimize your time and fit your MCAT prep into just a few months, you also need to be
particular with what you’re spending your time learning.
When I was studying for the MCAT, I made the mistake of trying to learn everything - no
matter how small the detail.
If it was in the content review book, like every single detail of the sound conduction
pathway from the external ear to even details of the brain nuclei, I wanted to memorize
it.
I thought that by knowing all this low-yield information, I would transform my good MCAT
score into an exceptional one.
Most low-yield information is beyond the scope of the MCAT and contributes nothing to your
score.
As such, it’s a much better use of your time to master high- and medium-yield information
than it is to try to learn everything.
Every minute you spend learning some minute detail that is unlikely to show up on the
test is a minute you could’ve spent learning something that is likely to show up.
This is much easier said than done though.
Given the breadth and depth of knowledge you are expected to know for the MCAT, it can
often be difficult to determine what is high-yield and what is not.
This brings me to my final point, which is to focus on high-quality, high-yield resources.
When deciding which MCAT resources to use, remember that there is an opportunity cost
that comes with whichever one you choose.
The time that you spend going through one resource is time that you could’ve spent
going through another, higher-yield one.
If you truly want to maximize your MCAT prep, you need to choose resources from trusted
experts - those who not only secured 99.9th percentile scores and crushed the exam themselves,
but who have also spent years distilling the process and tutoring other students to similar
results.
Being a top scorer isn’t enough – you want someone who also has a track record in
teaching others how to become top scorers as well.
You want resources that help you navigate the MCAT material and determine what information
you absolutely must know, what might show up but is lower priority, and what is not
worth your time.
We’re proud to announce that after years in the making, the comprehensive Med School
Insiders MCAT Course is now live.
Our course has everything you need to know for the MCAT in one place without needing
to jump between resources.
We prioritize the information you need to know for a top score and cut out the fluff
so you don’t have to.
Unlike other resources, we don’t just stop at content either.
We cover the details that separate the top scorers from the rest – like study strategies,
schedule, and even your self-talk and mindset.
From the start of the course, we will walk you through a cohesive plan and help you develop
optimal MCAT performance from every angle.
If your MCAT is coming up in the next year, learn more about our course at MedSchoolInsiders.com/MCAT
or visit the link in the description below.
Thank you all so much for watching!
If you enjoyed this video be sure to check out Regrets of a 99.9th Percentile MCAT Score
or 5 Things I Wish I Knew About the MCAT.
Much love and I’ll see you guys there.