6Week Guide To Crushing The MCAT 2015 Revision PDF

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MCAT EXAM STRATEGY A 6-Week Guide to Crushing the MCAT Revised for the new 2015 MCAT Exam

By Leah Fisch If you know anyone who can benefit from this guide, Please feel free to share it with them by sending them to this page :

http://leah4sci.com/mcat-exam-strategy-guide

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DISCLAIMER This guide is intended to help you maximize the last few weeks before your MCAT. I assume you have been studying for months or weeks and are familiar with the exam. I’d like to promise you a “perfect MCAT score or your money back” guarantee if you read this e-book and follow my advice, but sadly, I can't. However, I can promise that you will be much more prepared for your MCAT after you follow this guide. Results after implementing my 6 week strategy will differ based on your level of preparation, understanding of the material, testtaking ability and more. Everyone’s results will vary and no one can promise perfect MCAT scores, only better ones. Also, this e-book is free, so I couldn't give you your money back even if I wanted to.

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CONTENTS 01

Cover

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Introduction

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Step # 1

Do your Research

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Step # 2

Create a Baseline

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Step # 3

Understand Your Starting Point

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Step # 4

Create a Backwards Calendar

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Step # 5

Create a Study Strategy

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Step # 6

Don't Burn Out – Seriously

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Tutoring

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About the Author

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Links and Resources

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INTRODUCTION This guide was originally written for the 2014 exam, but has been updated to reflect the new 2015 MCAT. if you’re not familiar with those changes, read my article: The New 2015 MCAT Demystified As a former pre-med student and an MCAT tutor for nearly a decade, I've helped hundreds of aspiring medical students prepare to master the MCAT. Studying for the MCAT can be quite overwhelming. Why? Well, in a nutshell, you have to know EVERYTHING! And that’s just the beginning. First, you must learn an obscene amount of information. Then, you must be able to apply the information to tricky and difficult MCAT style questions. A bright eyed pre-med student will open a brand new notebook, take a moment to think about the road ahead, and freak out. Where do I start? Do I tackle chemistry, physics, biology, biochemistry or organic chemistry? And how do I even study psychology and sociology? Do I take a practice test or sign up for a prep course? These students get overwhelmed before they even start. So they push it off. Nah, I have over a year to go, this can wait, they think. College exams, work, volunteering, relationships, and just life in general gets in the way. There’s still a year until I have to take the MCAT. I still have eight months. I still have six months. I still have… uh oh, I don’t have enough time.

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Then they start studying like crazy, take practice exams, enter panic mode, and burn out before even reaching the actual exam. In working with these students, I’ve noticed a trend: they lack a strategic approach to MCAT studying. I’ve heard horror stories of students wasting weeks reading through their college chemistry and physics textbooks; of others reading through years of biology notes; and even more taking every possible practice MCAT out there. None had a real strategy, so when it came to the exam, they got stuck. They may have studied all the information and memorized the practice test answers, but they weren’t able to apply their knowledge to MCAT style questions. These students lacked a strategy: a simple but strategic roadmap telling them exactly what to do to reach their goal. And that’s exactly what you need. When students hear strategy, they get overwhelmed, expecting I will tell them to read their book in three days and do all the practice problems. But I won't. In fact, the secret to effective strategy is creating a personal game plan, one that fits your schedule, focuses on your strengths and works toward your goal. I’m calling this guide a 6 week strategy because it's a concrete picture of how long it takes to figure out your strategy, create a game plan, and follow it. I will assume, given that you are 6 weeks out from your exam, that you have spent months studying the material and are ready to jump into last minute preparations. But this guide is not set in stone. It will still work whether you have 4 weeks or 4 months to go. To master the MCAT, you can’t simply study and hope for the best. You must approach your studying with a sound strategy from day one, whether it's day one of a six week, six month, or even one year study plan. By creating a sound strategy and mapping out a game plan, you will know exactly what to do every step of the way. A sound strategy takes out the guesswork, doubt and insecurity that leads to procrastination.

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By following a measurable strategy, you can track and analyze your progress along the way. Instead of guessing you're studying effectively, you have measurable feedback that pinpoints how to adjust your preparation, as well as regular intervals to keep your goal in sight.

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STEP # 1 Do your Research Lets face it, MCAT studying is not the most fun activity. You will be eating, sleeping, and breathing the MCAT. You may not see your friends and family for months. You need a very strong motivator to keep you going. You don't have a motivator if you don’t know what you need to score. "Shoot for a 500," works in a pinch, but that’s not sound advice. Your required MCAT score will depend on a number of factors, and I recommend doing the research before you even begin your studies. Devote an afternoon to researching medical schools in your state (and country). Look into everything about the school (MD or DO), from the programs they offer to campus layout. But more importantly, look into their accepted student stats, including class requirements, extra-curricular activities, average GPA, science GPA and MCAT scores. This will help you determine if you are a competitive candidate for the program. I recognize it will be difficult to research school requirements for the 2015 MCAT for at least a year or two, as the schools themselves don’t yet know what they will accept. But it doesn’t hurt to call them and ask. Aim High (Five) Once you find a few schools that match your requirements and desires, find out what MCAT score you are required to achieve, and aim to score five points higher.

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Medical schools are flooded with applications, and the competition is fierce. The average medical school receives dozens of applications for every available seat. Junk-applications aside, this means you are competing with many other students to get in. Shooting for five points higher on the MCAT will help you stand out as far as your MCAT score is concerned. In 2013, around 85,00 students took the MCAT, and 35,700 first time applicants applied to medical school. Only 20,000 were accepted, meaning that nearly three out of five new applicants were rejected. 2014 data is not yet available as of this writing. Keep in mind that most students applied to multiple schools and some students were accepted to more than one school, which means many students were rejected from multiple schools. So it makes sense to aim for scoring five points higher than the school’s average. In addition: 1. If you score five points above the average you will stand out as a stronger applicant, thus increasing your chances of getting an interview which can lead to acceptance. 2. Aiming for five points higher helps you build in a buffer. No matter how well you prepare, you will feel nervous on exam day. Nerves and panic can cause you to make silly mistakes and lose a few points. By preparing to score higher from the start, you’ve built in the ‘careless-mistake buffer’ and are still likely to achieve a competitive score. Now that you’ve done your research, you should have a solid picture of what lies ahead. This picture will keep you going through the long study days to come.

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Back when I was still a pre-med college student , before I discovered my love of teaching, my dream was to do military emergency field medicine, and my dream school was the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, or USUHS. I contacted the school and they sent me a very fat guide complete with their curriculum outline, student stats and even campus pictures. I read that book cover to cover and carried it everywhere. That book and the dream it represented kept me going through late-night cram sessions and all those stay-in-and-study days when my friends were hanging out doing fun things. So get your "book" to carry around. Create your own personal dream. Now that you have your dream, let’s figure out where you stand to determine how far you have to go to get there.

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STEP # 2 Create a Baseline Remember, your strategy is supposed to give you a concrete picture of where to go and how to get there. The only way to determine your next step is to understand where you stand now. I don’t care if you’ve forgotten all of the material or if you haven’t even completed one or more of the required science courses. If you’re taking your MCAT in the next 12 months, and especially if you’re taking the exam in six weeks, you cannot skip this step. Many of my MCAT tutoring clients come to me after having spent weeks or months studying on their own. My first question to them is this: “Where do you stand with your MCAT score right now?” And they have no idea but they have good excuses. NOT! I haven’t taken orgo 2 yet so I don’t feel ready. I took physics two years ago and want to re-learn it first. I haven’t finished going through my biology notes. The list goes on. Do you have a similar reason for postponing? If so, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? Seriously, if you’re taking the MCAT soon, how do you know what to work towards if you don’t know where you stand right now? The MCAT is about more than content; it’s about logic, reasoning, application, math-without-a-calculator and more. And hey, if you’re worried about doing poorly on an assessment exam, let’s try some reverse psychology:

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The worse you do now, the better chance you have for improvement. And if you miss points because you didn’t yet learn a topic, think of how much faster you will improve once you do learn it. So if you haven’t taken a practice MCAT, stop reading and RUN to the nearest MCAT practice test and get started! But before you run off, let me explain why you need to do this, and then I’ll tell you how to get a free exam. (This option is not yet available for the new 2015 MCAT but will be listed as soon as is.) With the 2015 MCAT in its infancy, there aren't any official practice exams. However, there are plenty of resources out there to help you get a baseline and practice. For starters, there is the AAMC 230 question sample test, the AAMC 120-question packets, and diagnostic exams from the big name test prep companies, many of which are free. (A sample test is not a practice test, which is a real test recycled for practice.) Practice test options (disclaimer: I have not reviewed these exams and cannot vouch for their quality) ● Princeton Review - 8 full Lengths ● Next Step Prep - 5 full lengths Remember, the purpose of a strategy is to know you stand, where you’re headed, and what steps you must take to get there. Studying information out of a book will give you a foundation, but knowing content is not enough. Yes, the MCAT will test you on your knowledge, but it will also test your ability to reason through difficult questions, derive answers from the way material is presented, and answer questions on topics you have actually never learned before.

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Practice, Practice, Practice So how do you prepare for this exam? By taking the exam itself or a “real” practice version of it again and again and again at strategically timed intervals. The official practice test option is not yet available for the 2015 exam, but you can improvise by taking a few diagnostic tests followed by the AAMC sample test. After taking a practice test, you can answer the following questions: How would I score if I took the MCAT today? Am I competitive enough? What’s missing in my knowledge base? Which subjects/topics/subtopics do I need to work on next? In other words, taking practice tests enables you to pinpoint EXACTLY what needs improvement and use your remaining time to focus on that. Later in the strategy portion, I’ll talk about continually gauging and improving where you stand. Which Exam to Take? With so many MCAT test-prep companies out there, each offering some version of the MCAT, it’s difficult to know where to turn and how to start. I have nothing against those test-prep companies. But for now, forget them and focus on gauging your score with a real AAMC exam. After all, the AAMC administers the real MCAT, and they’ve made some of the past MCATs available online. How much more authentic can you get? You don’t have to play the guessing game. Start your strategy on a concrete foundation. The first new AAMC practice test will be available fall of 2015. For now, use the AAMC sample test and practice packets, and take the full length exams offered by other reputable test prep companies.

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Don’t Waste This Exam Before you take your sample or practice test, keep this in mind: your goal is to simulate realistic exam conditions, so don’t waste your practice exam by doing anything stupid. Below are some common mistakes to avoid. You may laugh, but I’ve spoken to students who have committed each of these errors. 1. Turn off your cell phone! Seriously, this is an exam. That text message can wait, your Facebook friends won’t unfriend you, and you can tweet about this torture when it’s over. 2. Don’t use a calculator! The MCAT requires you to do math without a calculator. Don’t cheat yourself and skew your expectations by using electronic aids. If this throws you off, dive into my MCAT-Math-Without-ACalculator tutorial after your practice exam. 3. Take the entire exam in one sitting! You are testing more than your science and reading skills with this exam. You’re testing your endurance along with your ability to solve MCAT-style questions over the span of a few hours. Pausing your exam for an hour or a day to return with a fresh-rested mind does not simulate exam conditions, so don’t do it! 4. 4. Avoid distractions. You are not allowed to talk during your MCAT, so don’t let anyone speak to you during this pretest. Explain to family or roommates that you cannot be disturbed, or find another location to work such as a WiFicapable café or library.

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So how did you do? High 400s? Over 500? Believe it or not, it’s normal for students to score abysmally low on their first practice exam. This comes from lack of knowledge, unfamiliarity with the exam and more. So if you scored low, don’t worry; there’s still hope for you. In my experience tutoring for the old MCAT, scores can increase by around 20 points with a solid strategy followed up by serious dedicated studying. In the final six weeks, however, this 20 point increase is atypical. I’ve seen as much as 5-10 point increases over the final 6 week stretch, but an increase of 3-6 points is more typical. This, of course, depends on your initial score. The higher your initial score, the more difficult it will be to climb many points. My experience with 2014 students showed that improving from a 9 or 12 to a 20+ can be achieved with initial studying. Improving between the 20-30 scores requires serious content studying with practice application. Improving beyond a 30 becomes increasingly difficult for every additional point and requires following my strategy to the “T.” How these numbers relate to new exam scores remains to be seen, but the gains from pointed studying still stand.

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STEP # 3 Understand Your Starting Point The AAMC sample exam is more than just a diagnostic test. The feedback provided with your exam is the key to creating your final six-week study plan. When you submit your exam, you will be provided with a very detailed exam report. This is not available yet, but is promised to follow shortly. You’ll receive your overall score out of 528 and 4 individual section scores, each out of 132. You’ll also get a detailed breakdown of the topics and subtopics on the exam, including how many questions you got right, wrong and omitted (hopefully none) in each topic. Don’t take this report as the final word on your abilities. Your score may have been impacted by a bird chirping outside, a fluke correct guess on a tough question, or a careless mistake on a question you should have gotten right in your sleep! But it’s a starting point, so we’ll use this as the basis of your upcoming foundation. Instead, focus on the following: How did you do overall? How does this compare to your score goal established in step 1? How did you do in the individual sections? What went wrong- which topics were your pitfalls in each section? But again, if you feel your result doesn't accurately represent your current standing, don’t worry; you’ll be taking more exams and generating more score reports periodically. Below is a snapshot of one of my student’s diagnostic exam reports for the 2014 MCAT, copied with permission. I will update with a 2015 image once it’s available.

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STEP # 4 Create a Backwards Calendar I’ve chosen to focus on a six week strategy based on my experience working with dozens of MCAT students. I’ve found that six weeks is the minimum time frame required to see really strong improvement and results when starting from a diagnostic test. If you have less than six weeks to your exam, don’t rush to change your date. If you’re worried about your personal situation, including the time remaining or your current MCAT score, let me know where you stand via http://leah4sci.com/contact/, and I’ll try to help. I really like the backwards calendar when it comes to working towards a difficult goal. The average to-do list requires writing out a series of bullet points showing what you still have to do. And while you may be enthusiastic at first, life tends to get in the way and your motivation slowly dies down. By working on your goal backwards you don’t try to reach a goal. Instead you mark down your goals, each one to be conquered on a very specific day. You backtrack from your final goal, figuring out which steps must be taken along the way to reach it. Go to your local office supply store and purchase the largest poster board you can find, or make one by taping many sheets of paper together. Draw a single backwards calendar similar to the images I’ve included below. This will allow you to eyeball your total strategy in one view. You may not take a traditional calendar as seriously as a huge poster with the exam date right there in front of you.

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Mark your exam date and time the top of the calendar. If you haven’t registered for the exam yet, what are you waiting for? It’s just six weeks awaygo reserve your MCAT date RIGHT NOW! Keep in mind, registration for the 2015 MCAT opens February 11th for April-June exams and April for July-September exams.

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For this example, we’ll assume the MCAT takes place on Wednesday, July 16 at 8 am. Mark this day on your backwards calendar. Now here is how you mark the remaining calendar. Remember, you can adapt this guide depending on how much time YOU h...