1. Start early. 3-6 months is what most people need to study for the MCAT, depending on the amount you plan to study each week.
2. Have a plan. Make a study schedule and stick to it.
3. Take practice tests. The best MCAT practice tests are from the AAMC, including one for free. Kaplan and Princeton Review each have free practice tests. I also checked out practice tests from the library, although these are not electronic obviously.
4. Itentify weak areas and focus on those. The practice tests will give you an idea of what you need to work on. Focus on studying in the areas where you are weak until you see your scores in those areas improve.
5. Limit study sessions to two hours. As Cal Newport at Study Hacks notes, your productivity drops dramatically after two hours. If you want to study four hours a day, have one session in the morning, take a nice break and relax, and then have the next session in the evening.
6. Practice problems and reading sets. Much of the physical sciences is doing simple calculations. The only way to study for the verbal section is to practice.
7. Quiz yourself. Some parts of the MCAT are basic memorization. Cover up formulas with a piece of paper and practice writing them or saying them out loud.
8. Check out forums for FAQs about the MCAT. The MCAT forums at SDN are active.
9. Rise early as the test approaches. Most test times for the MCAT are at 8:00AM. The week before the test wake up at the time you would plan to on the day of the test. Take practice tests starting at 8:00AM.
10. Stay healthy. Eat well, exercise and get plenty of sleep leading up to the MCAT. The last thing you need is to be battling both the MCAT and a nasty cold or flu.

Hope these tips are healthy helpful. Good luck studying for the MCAT! If you need to get some study materials, check out my review of the ExamKrackers MCAT Complete Study Package.

Pre Med Basics

• Pre-requisites for Medical Schools. These are the undergraduate classes you need to take to apply to most medical schools.
• American Association of Medical Colleges
• American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
• AspiringDocs.org List of Helpful Links
• Top Ten Pieces of Advice for Pre Med Students – A great list from VitumMedicinus, a medical student.
• Student Doctor Network – Want a place to interact with other crazy pre med students? This place is for you. Also useful for reading perspectives of students and residents further along the pre med journey. I prefer to use it for this reason.

MCAT Links

Perhaps the most dreaded part of the pre med journey. Be not afraid.

• The Basic MCAT Overview – A brief guide to what the MCAT is all about.
• MCAT home page
• 2010 MCAT Test Dates
• MCAT Registration

Medical School Application

• American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) – Registration and instructions for applying to MD schools.
• American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS) – Application instructions to apply to DO schools.

Best Books for Pre Meds

These are books that I have either read and used or heard great things about.

• Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
• Planning a Life in Medicine: Discover If a Medical Career is Right for You and Learn How to Make It Happen (Career Guides)
• Med School Confidential: A Complete Guide to the Medical School Experience: By Students, for Students
• Essays That Will Get You into Medical School
• Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance
• How Doctors Think

Pre Med and Med Student Blogs

• Medaholic – Medical Student
• A Med school Memoir – Medical Student
• Vitum Medicinus – Medical Student
• The Impossible Pre Med – Pre Med Student

Pre Med Forums

• StudentDoctor.net pre-Allopathic forum (MD)
• StudentDoctor.net pre-Osteopathic forum (DO)
• The Best Pre Med Forums

January 29th at 8 a.m.
January 30th at 1 p.m.
March 27th at 1 p.m.
April 10th at 1 p.m.
April 17th at 8 a.m.
April 23rd at 8 a.m.
May 1st at 8 a.m.
May 21st at 8 a.m.
May 22nd at 1 p.m.
May 27th at 1 p.m.
June 27th at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
July 8th at 8 a.m.
July 16th at 8 a.m.
July 29th at 1 p.m.
July 30th at 8 a.m.
August 4th at 8 a.m.
August 5th at 1 p.m.
August 12th at 8 a.m.
August 13th at 1 p.m.
August 19th at 8 a.m.
August 20th at 1 p.m.
August 24th at 1 p.m.
September 2nd at 8 a.m.
September 3rd at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
September 9th at 8 a.m.
September 11th at 1 p.m.

Note: Registration for the 2010 MCAT will probably begin  November 2nd.  Click here for complete schedule and registration dates.

I took the MCAT in Janurary this year and it was great to know my score before making the decision to apply. I recommend doing the same.

For more help check out my basic MCAT overview and MCAT links page.

(New to the MCAT? Check out my basic MCAT overview)

Let me preface this by admitting that I did not study as much as I could have. I say this not to sound arrogant, but rather to give you hope that it is possible to score well without sacrificing your entire life for 6 months. It still takes a lot of hard work, but don’t dread studying for the MCAT thinking that it will take over your life.

That said, here are a couple tips and strategies that I found useful.

Take as many Biology, Chemistry and Physics classes as possible before taking the test.

Because I decided to take time off before medical school, I finished a degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry before taking the MCAT. This helped immensely. Biology classes hammer home the basic concepts (even if it’s just a quick review in the advanced courses), which is what you really need to know for the MCAT. I struggled the most with the Physical sciences section, which directly corresponded to the amount of General Physics and Chemistry classes I had taken.

Practice Tests. Start taking them early and take as many as possible.

I took two practice MCAT exams early on in my studying (5 months and 3 months before the test) to identify weak areas. Then I studied those weak areas and did a quick overview. With about 3 weeks til the test I started taking practice tests more often. Again I identified the weak areas and focused my studying there.

While practice tests are useful for identifying weak areas to study they are most useful to give you an idea of the pace of the real test. You need to know about how much time you can spend on each passage.

I found some practice tests from the local library, but the most useful are the tests you can by directly from the AAMC. Click here to access these tests. Be ready to drop $35 per test. Lame, I know.

Stay tuned for part 2 of my MCAT strategy. I’ll give some more tips and talk about the types of preparation material I used.

(Source pic)

What is the MCAT?

The MCAT is a test administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges. You must take the MCAT to complete an application to any medical school in the United States.

What does the MCAT test?

The MCAT focuses on basic science principles from Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Organic chemistry. It also tests reading comprehension through the Verbal Reasoning section as well as basic writing skills.

How is the MCAT organized?

The test is divided into four major sections:
1. Physical Sciences. This focuses on Physics and Chemistry. It is 70 minutes long.
2. Verbal Reasoning. This section features 7 reading passages, each with questions about that particular passage.
3. Writing. Here you write 2 essays with 30 minutes to write each one. There is no break in between, so it lasts 60 minutes.
4. Biological Sciences. This section tests mostly biology concepts with some organic chemistry thrown in. It is 70 minutes long.
Between each of these four sections is a 10 minute break.

When should I take the MCAT?

That depends on a variety of factors. Most important is when you want to go to medical school. The AAMC recommends taking the MCAT the year you want to apply. If you want to start the application process in 2009, you should take the MCAT some time in 2009. However, many schools will accept scores from 2-3 years back.

I think the best answer to the question is this: you should take the MCAT when you’re ready to! If you’re in school and don’t feel like studying for the MCAT is a possibility, wait for the summertime or when you’re no longer in school.

Important MCAT Links:
The AAMC MCAT site: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/

Studentdoctor.net MCAT discussion:

 http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=31

2009 MCAT Schedule: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/mcatschedule.htm

Do you have any other questions about the MCAT?

A 28 on the MCAT is a good score and well above average. However, the average score of students admitted into MD medical schools hovers around 30 on the MCAT each year. This score is above the average for DO schools, so you’ll probably be a strong candidate in those programs especially if the rest of your application is acceptable.

If you’re looking to get into an MD school, your application will have to be strong. A high GPA will help, as well as some activities that make you stand out. Enthusiastic letters of recommendation are always necessary.

If you choose to retake the MCAT, try taking a review course or using the MCAT Examkrackers Complete Review books. Check out the links below.

A 27 on the MCAT is a good score and is above average. However, the average score of students admitted into MD medical schools hovers around 30 on the MCAT each year. This score is above the average for DO schools, so you’ll probably be a good candidate in those programs especially if the rest of your application is acceptable.

If you’re looking to get into an MD school, your application will have to be very strong. A high GPA (greater than 3.8) will help, as well as some activities that make you stand out. Enthusiastic letters of recommendation are always necessary.

If you choose to retake the MCAT, try taking a review course or using the MCAT Examkrackers Complete Review books. Check out the links below.

The MCAT is a big deal. It tests your basic science knowledge, but more importantly your critical thinking and reading comprehension skills. Medical schools need a way to figure out not just whether you can memorize facts or understand biological concepts. They want to know if you have the brain capacity, focus and work ethic to handle the rigors of medical school. The MCAT is one way they determine that.
If you know very little about the MCAT, here are some links to get you started.

The MCAT is administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Here is their main site.

Here is their site on the MCAT.

This is the 2009 MCAT schedule.

Kaplan and The Princeton Review both offer practice MCATs online.
The Kaplan test is here.
Try The Princeton Review test here.

The Studentdoctor.net forums have a great MCAT discussion page which you can check out here.

Also check out this thread on the forums. It is all posts form people who scored 30 or above on the MCATs. They share their own tips and methods for studying.

Ok, that’s all for now. I’ll be writing more about the MCATs in the future. I’m in the process of studying for them now, so if you’re in the same boat, I feel your pain!

(Photo credit)