A Med School Memoir

The 4 letters known to commonly spawn pre-emptive fits of nervous diarrhea and anxiety-induced head explosions in any number of premeds: MCAT.

Possibly the grand bitch-mother of all admissions tests, this exam stands alone in its complexity and ability to crack even the most able student. Now, as a full disclosure, I should admit that I haven’t taken the LSAT or the GMAT, but I can still say with confidence that by comparison to the MCAT, all the others at least appear to be a walk in the park.

Why?

Well, the MCAT is the only admissions test you have to study for. With the LSAT and the GMAT, common is the story about the guy who, hungover, wandered into his testing site and knocked out a super score without having ever cracked a book. Most admissions tests are more about aptitude, and less about specific knowledge. The LSAT, the GMAT, the GRE–they really only test whether or not you’re capable of doing the mental gymnastics required for grad/professional school. And generally, you’ve got it or you don’t. Studying won’t significantly improve your chances on these tests.

But not so with the MCAT. The MCAT tests specific content and your ability to think critically about it. With the MCAT, it’s never enough to simply know that PV=nRT. No. You will be expected to apply that knowledge to some demoniacally elaborate passage about the methane emissions of Brazilian cattle. The subjects that are fair game for testing on the MCAT are vast and diverse, and you will be expected to be intimately familiar with all of them. Therefore, there’s simply no excuse–if you want to go to med school, you have to study for the MCAT. Unless you were that kid who “accidentally” derived Newton’s fundamental laws in your junior high pre-cal class, expect to spend AT LEAST three months in preparation. If the content isn’t fresh in your mind, you will need even more time.

So what’s the best way to study for the MCAT? Well, everyone’s different, but here are some things that helped me score in the 90th percentile and land an acceptance to med school.

• Buy a review book–I’ve heard stories about people just going over old class notes to prepare for the MCAT content, or reviewing their old textbooks with great results. That can work, I suppose, but you run the risk of studying the wrong stuff. Face it, you have a finite amount of time, and you’ve got to optimize your study time. I say buy a review book–there are several available that are focused on the content necessary for the MCAT, and while they might run you $100 or so, I say that cost is easily justified when considering how much time and wasted effort you would spend flipping through all your old texts trying to target the right content. Kaplan makes a very thorough and helpful review book, but be warned: it weighs only slightly less than Donkeylips after a burrito binge, and therefore it is not the most portable study material for people who like to cram on the go. Exam Krackers also makes a good series of books that are broken down by MCAT content area. I used both Kaplan and EK, and I’m glad I did. Review books may not be enough however, so keep your old textbooks around for reference if/when you need a more serious review of any content you struggle with in your review books.
• Flashcards–The thing about the MCAT is that the content they expect you to know is really superficial–but there’s a lot of it. This means that flashcards can be a very useful way to absorb much of the content. While there are some flashcards that are commercially available, I suggest making your own, as you can tailor the cards to fit your own needs that way. Plus, the simple act of making flashcards is good review as well. Once you’ve got a nice stack of flashcards made up, you can then use them in every spare moment between now and test day. If you don’t, you should.
• Practice, Practice, Practice–I know this is going to sound a bit redundant, but hear me out: the trickiest part of the MCAT is the test itself. The content really isn’t tricky; the way the test makers expect you to utilize your knowledge, however, is a bitch. The last thing you want to do is go into the exam without understanding the mindset of the test, and to get into the mindset of the test, you have to take practice tests. There are plenty of them out there, but for my money, the best place to start is the AAMC, the makers of the MCAT. At e-mcat.com, you can access a free online practice test with explanations for all the questions and answers. Even better, for a very reasonable fee, you can buy access to more official practice tests, and trust me, they’re worth it. After that, if you still need practice, there are other practice tests available through Kaplan and Princeton Review. There’s no magic number for how many practice tests one should take; I think I took about 10, and I saw my score go up by about 10 points from my first practice. Anyone who says you can take the MCAT without taking practice tests is either a superhuman test taker, or a naive jerk. Either way, most people would benefit from at least five practice tests. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did.
• Motivate yourself–In the months before I took the MCAT, I was studying hours a day, every day, with weekends full of practice tests and, that’s right–more studying. The only thing that kept me going was one simple image. Every time I wanted to throw in the towel and start studying for a real estate license (okay, that never actually happened), I just imagined myself with a white coat and a stethoscope. Sure, it’s super cheesy, but it worked–every time I imagined myself in full doctor garb, I effectively motivated myself to keep going, because I knew that without a good MCAT score, I would never get to see that dream become a reality. Find your motivation, and keep it in mind when you feel discouraged.
• Aim high–They say that the average MCAT score is around a 27, I believe. The average score for admitted students is something like 30-31. That means you probably need at least a 30 to get into medical school. And I knew plenty of people who were shooting for just that–the good old “balanced” 30 with 10’s in each of the subject sections. But why aim so low? If you look at the data, there are plenty of people who don’t get in, even with a 30. Therefore, if you’re gonna do something, do it all the way. Push yourself to be the best you can be. After I took several practice tests, I realized that I could reasonably expect a 36 from myself, so I made that my target score. In the end, I fell slightly short, but you know what? I’m not disappointed in myself for trying!

The MCAT. It’s not easy. If it were, everyone would be going to medical school. If you want to do well, you have to study. Sadly, there are no shortcuts here. Hopefully, I’ve given some insight into what might work for you when preparing for the MCAT. If anyone has any suggestions or would like to share what worked for them, please feel free to leave a comment.

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