Registration (October 2024)

    It was October of 2024, and I was finishing up my final semester of science prerequisites at Brooklyn College. Registration for the 2025 MCAT opened on October 2nd. 

     

    I immediately jumped on the April 26th date. Since applications for medical school open in late May, and the MCAT takes a month to score, I decided late April would be the perfect time to take the exam.

     

    I did not think seriously about the MCAT again until the end of that Fall Semester.

    Content Review (January 2025)

    Content

     

    I had heard that prepping for the MCAT begins with reviewing content. This is how I started.

     

    For Chem. / Phys. and Bio. / Biochem., my jumping-off point was a 2024 Kaplan book set my friend gave me. The volume of content was intimidating. I needed a way to compartmentalize it. So, I opened the table of contents and jotted down all the titles of all the chapters into a Google Doc. Then, I went through the topics one-by-one, assigning scores according to how familiar I was with them. 

     

    When I encountered a science concept I was rusty on, I highlighted it and went to YouTube to relearn the content. As I watch a science YouTube video, I pause the video frequently, asking myself if I understand what is going on before continuing. Then, I try to explain, to myself, the content I’m learning. I find that I can’t understand a topic, let alone answer questions about it, until I can explain it in my own words. 

     

    For Psych. / Soc., I started by watching and taking notes on all the Khan Academy Psych. / Soc. videos. Much like taking notes in class in college, my goal was not to fully understand every bit of information on the first watch. Instead, I sought to pay attention, remember the names of the big vocabulary words, and have something to show for my having watched the videos. 

     

    Once I had finished a set of Khan Academy videos, I would take the Psych. / Soc. terms I had written down and copy them into what I call a ‘cue sheet.’ A cue sheet is just a page full of vocabulary words. The student can use this sheet to quiz themselves on the content they’re trying to memorize. The words “cue” you to recall what you know about the topic. The location of all the words on one page help you see the connections between topics. I made this style of sheet all throughout college.

     

    My Psych. / Soc. cue sheet took the form of a Google Doc with three columns of text that contained just the names of every vocab word I had learned in Psych. / Soc. review.  When studying, I would simply cover a term with my finger or a piece of paper, and attempt to recall everything I knew about that term on the spot.

     

    I also tried using Anki around this time. I started with a free, premade deck called the “Mr. Pankow P/S” deck. I quickly abandoned Anki. I was frustrated with incomplete or inaccurate cards in the premade deck, the time suck, and, despite having properly customized Anki, the endless reviews that stacked up. 

     

    Practice Questions

     

    My first taste of MCAT questions was through two third-party resources: Jack Westin and UWorld, both of which came recommended by friends. Every day, I completed two Jack Westin CARS passages and 20 UWorld Chem. / Phys. and Bio. / Biochem. passages. I quickly abandoned UWorld (I finished maybe 10% of the question bank). Once I started doing AAMC questions, I decided I did not want to spend any time practicing something that was different from the MCAT I’d be taking in April. I decided that even if I “ran out” of AAMC questions, it would be better to re-do and learn from old AAMC material than to spend time on new non-AAMC material.

    First Full-Length (February)

    First practice test (523)

     

    I took my first practice test (AAMC Practice Test 1) at home in mid/late February. I thoroughly reviewed this test over the course of three days after taking it.

    I devised a system of reviewing practice tests. I made a spreadsheet with a row for every single question and columns where I would put what I was thinking as I answered the question, why I got it wrong (or was hesitant), and what I would do to improve. These spreadsheets increasingly became my guide to both content and strategy. 

     

    AAMC practice questions

     

    I began taking AAMC practice questions for all four sections of the test in February. AAMC questions were very different from the UWorld ones I had taken in January. 

     

    Tutoring

     

    I started with my MCAT tutor in the fall of 2024 (I had been anxious to get started “Early” with tutoring). She helped me immensely over the course of my review. My tutor and I evaluated the strategy I was using and updated it to match where I needed the most help. I met with her maybe 4 or 5 times over my prep. 

    Practice, Adjust, Practice (March)

    Practice Questions

     

    Every day in March, I took AAMC questions, reviewed them, and adjusted my knowledge / strategy based on my wrong or uncertain answers. I also took two more AAMC practice tests in March. 

     

    Keep reading

     

    Reading was the through-line of my MCAT prep. I love to read, and when studying for the MCAT, I increased the frequency of my reading and adjusted the nature of what I read. I read more non-fiction (newspaper articles, non fiction books, etc.) and focused more closely on the words when I read. Every time I opened an article or my book, I tried to analyze the text as if it were a CARS passage. I would refrain from applying knowledge I brought to the text and instead read it for exactly what it said and take it at face value. I credit much of my success on the MCAT to the reading comprehension skills I nurtured during my prep.

    Getting into the Rhythm (April)

    Practice by Doing

     

    April was the month of the practice test. Every Saturday, I traveled to the neighborhood that my testing center was in to take a practice test. I took it at the same time, wearing the same clothes, with the same lunch, snacks, and coffee packed as I would for test day. While some of the less important things (food, snacks) might not have made a huge difference, I believe my general sense of having done this before helped me greatly when I went to take my MCAT that Saturday morning in late April. 

     

    By the time my test date came around, my body was attuned to the rhythm of test day. I was used to getting up, leaving the house, and arriving at the testing center to sit for 8 hours as I took the MCAT. 

    Test Day (April 26, 2025)

    The vibes in the testing center were more serious, more punitive, and more discouraging than anything I could have prepared for. I decided that day to laugh in the face of this adversity. I chose to smile at the sheer absurdity of the ritual that is administering a standardized test. And, most importantly, I chose to apply every ounce of preparation I had to the test in front of me, no matter what. 

    Post-MCAT

    Fear and Doubt

     

    No one prepares you for the month AFTER taking the MCAT exam. It takes the AAMC one month to score your exam and deliver you the result. I was overcome with doubt. I thought about specific questions on the test that I felt I had gotten wrong. I catastrophize about having to retake the exam, about not getting accepted anywhere, about having to choose a new career.

     

    Putting a Score to Good Use

     

    Once I received my score (527), my life was complete and I never wanted for a single thing ever again. Kidding! The premed hamster wheel never really ends. First, my application to medical school was still not complete. A good MCAT score needs to be paired with a good essay. For my essay-writing journey, check out “My Essay-writing Journey.”

    This is the building in which I took my MCAT. I think it’s appropriately terrifying.
    This is the building in which I took my MCAT. I think it’s appropriately terrifying.