Surely, there must be a secret to CRUSHING the MCAT. I'm positive there is a foolproof study plan and prep book out there that will guarantee success. For the right price, there undoubtedly is a course that you can attend that will put you over the top. Well, maybe some of those are snake oil, but I have 4 AMAZING TIPS FOR CRUSHING THE MCAT. Also, I'm willing to bet these will help your GPA as well.
If you're ready to improve your grade and MCAT then keep reading. If you don't want to hear 4 AMAZING TIPS FOR CRUSHING THE MCAT, then stop reading now and go see what your friends are up to on Facebook.
4 AMAZING TIPS FOR CRUSHING THE MCAT (and improving your GPA):
1) Before your prerequisite classes, read the material beforehand. To do this, pick up your class syllabus and see what your professor will be covering in the next lecture. Find your textbook, open it, and read the material before you go to class.
2) If your textbook has end-of-chapter exercise problems, do them. Some people say do all of them, but I tailor this to what the instructor covers and assigns. If the instructor assigns problems, then I do them plus any others that are similar but were not assigned.
3) Go to class. To do this, wake up, shower (optional), and go to class. You may need to print a schedule so you know when and where the class meets. If you followed Step #1, most of the class room material should be somewhat familiar to you.
4) Study at least three days before the exam. Three days is a minimum and can be adjusted based on your comfort level going into the exam. I prefer four days if time permits. An example four day schedule for an exam covering five chapters would be:
Study Day 1: Review fifth and fourth chapter (in that order). Review any exercise problems you felt were challenging when you did them during Step #2.
Study Day 2: Review third and second chapter (in that order). Review any exercise problems you felt were challenging when you did them during Step #2.
Study Day 3: Review first chapter. Review any exercise problems you felt were challenging when you did them during Step #2. Because you're only reviewing one chapter, you can also go back to any topics from the other chapters you feel you need to review.
Study Day 4 (day before exam): Do a review over all of the chapters and focus on what you feel are your problem areas.
Exam Day: DESTROY YOUR EXAM and then relax. Repeat Step #1 before the next lecture.
Obviously, this can be tweaked based on your schedule and the depth of material you need to review. I prefer studying the most recent material first and work my way backward.
Believe it or not, MANY students do not know how (or are not motivated) to study properly. This plan is not really a secret, but I know many students that think studying a few of the instructor's previous exams they grabbed from a buddy is enough to do well. If you really want to KNOW the material for the exam, then following the steps I outlined above will benefit you.
Quick anecdote (and I'm not tooting my own horn): I scored highly on an exam in one of my classes. Somehow, a fellow student found out I had a high score and asked me after class one day how I did so well. I told my classmate that I read before class, do the end-of-chapter problems, attend class, and study at least three days before the exam. My classmate looked at me with a blank stare, said "Thanks", and walked away. I'm not sure if he/she ever followed my advice or not.
"Hold on!" you say. I keep talking about improving your course exam study habits but what does this have to do with the MCAT? EVERYTHING! Personally, I don't want to be learning NEW material when I hit full-blown MCAT study mode. I want to learn it NOW, in class, at a steady pace. This way, when I begin my MCAT CRUSHING study sessions, it is more of a REVIEW than it is a LEARNING session. Catch my drift?
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