After months of thorough preparation and over seven and a half hours of sitting down for the MCAT exam, it would break your heart to end up with disappointing scores that block the way to your dream med school. So, how do you make every effort count after using a med school calculator to guide your application? What are the best practices to adopt, and what should you avoid when preparing for the MCAT exam? While seeking advice from experts in med school will undoubtedly help you in the MCAT preparation, here’s a look and some dos and don’ts when prepping for your MCAT.
Dos when preparing for MCAT
Know what to expect
Start by finding out what to expect in the MCAT test to avoid unpleasant surprises when tackling the exam. Only then can you prepare thoroughly and be confident that you’ll get decent scores to increase the chances of acceptance in a Medical School HQ you desire. That said, the content in MCAT exams is divided into four specific sections, Biological and biochemical foundations of living systems, Psychological, biological, and social foundation of behavior, Reasoning skills and critical analysis and Physical and chemical foundations of biological systems
Have a Studying Schedule
As serious as the MCAT exam is, you want a strategic approach when preparing for it. Be sure to set specific hours for studying each day. Know exactly the topics you’ll tackle for each session, and most importantly, stick to the schedule you’ll set. The best thing about scheduling study sessions is that it makes it easier to track your preparation and ensures you focus on all the necessary sections for better scores after taking the test. However, your studying schedule should feature short reading periods rather than long weary hours that hinder the brain from retaining information for the long term.
Don’ts when studying for the MCAT
Don’t Memorize
Memorizing concepts won’t work with the MCAT exam. Remember, the exam tests your ability to use what you’ve learned to explain scientific concepts. It’s testing whether you’ve understood and internalized content. Read to comprehend such that you master the content to the extent that you can explain it perfectly to a friend who doesn’t know about the topic. If you can successfully transfer the knowledge to someone else, you’re can face the MCAT exam for that particular topic.
Don’t assume that reading content alone is enough
When preparing for the MCAT, you need to find time to do lots of practice questions. This way, you’ll learn to apply what you’ve learned to solve problems. You’ll better understand how the MCAT exams set questions to examine candidates, thus you have a chance to get high scores. The thing is, combine content mastery with massive attempts on practice questions. In the end, you’ll have a firm grasp of concepts and a sharpened understanding of the tested topics. With that, you’ll have a higher chance of passing the test.
Passing the MCAT exams doesn’t have to give you a headache. Know what to adopt and put it into practice. Also, know what to avoid and cancel it in your preparation for the test. Eventually, you’ll be very ready to take the exam and get the decent score you genuinely deserve.
