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  • 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 youre 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 youre

  • 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 youve 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 youre 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 couldve 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 couldve 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 enoughyou 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.

  • Were 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.

The MCAT is one of the biggest roadblocks standing in the way between premeds and medical

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