Our Webinar With UIowa's Pre-Med Society - How to Score 515+ on the MCAT

October 10, 2024

Meet the Panelists

Ruchi G.
Yale School of Medicine
Ruchi is an MD/PhD candidate at the Yale School of Medicine. Ruchi is originally from Houston and graduated from Rice University with a degree in Chemistry with Distinction in Research and Creative Works. During her time at Rice, Ruchi was awarded several scholarships, research fellowships, and the highest recognition of undergraduate academic achievement by the Chemistry department. She served as the Editor in Chief of the Catalyst Undergraduate Research Journal, the President of Pancakes for Parkinson’s, and founded and led Rice’s chapter of the American Physician Scientists Association. She was actively involved in research at both McGovern Medical School and Rice University, and her work has culminated in multiple publications and poster presentations at national conferences.
Transcript

Webinar Transcript

Panelist Introduction | 05:02

I'm a 4th year MD PhD student at the Yale School of Medicine. I have also been an admissions counselor with Inspira for the last 2 years, and I'm currently studying immunology.

Study Techniques | 05:20

We're going to start off by talking about proven study techniques. So spaced repetition is something that you're also going to hear a lot when you enter into med school. I really recommend something like this for all the memorization-heavy parts of the exam, especially for the psych/social part of the exam. You want to break up your study sessions into smaller space intervals over time, and you want to make sure that you're regularly reviewing materials.

I would keep a spreadsheet of all the questions that you got wrong and all the topics that you missed the first time. I would keep a log of that and then come back to that every week or so. 

Next, active recall is also really important. So, if you are using a flashcard, eventually, you're going to remember what the answer to that specific question is, and it won't be as strong of an actual trigger for you moving forward. You want to make sure that you're testing material without looking at notes. Ultimately, that's going to help strengthen your memory and boost your understanding through active engagement.

And then finally, one of the most important things that you can do is take lots of practice exams. That helps you actually apply the knowledge that you learned and build familiarity with the exam format. One of the worst parts about the MCAT is just sitting there for 4 hours, especially at the end of the CARS section. As a lot of you guys might have experienced already, you start getting tired. So, preparing for the actual length of the exam is also really important.

And on top of that, your practice exams help you identify knowledge gaps in areas where you still need improvement, and then they also help build your endurance and your confidence. Once you nail a couple of practice tests, you'll feel more comfortable when you do the real thing.

Time Management Strategies | 7:58

You only have 1 to 2 minutes for each question on the exam, so you want to make sure that if you are stuck on a really hard passage that you give it your best go, and then you just move on instead of getting stuck on one portion of the exam and not and running out of time for parts of the exam that might be easier for you. 

One trap that I would fall into when I started my MCAT preparation is that I would waste a lot of time double-checking things that were probably already right. Try to make sure you look through the entire section without getting bogged down in any one area of the test.

Content Mastery | 9:49

There are a few exams that are more likely to show up on the test than others. Make sure that you cover all these high-yield concepts: enzyme kinetics, molecular biology, and organic reaction mechanisms. Yu might have a really difficult biology question or a difficult chem/physics passage, but it all boils down to things that you've seen before and can apply easily in that section.

Tackling CARS | 10:26

CARS is something that just requires a lot of practice and getting used to how some of these questions are phrased. You'll notice the more practice you do, the more familiarity you'll build with the types of questions that they ask. It’s important to be able to identify tone, purpose, and how authors use evidence to build arguments, especially the last part. You want to make sure that you can go back to the passage and highlight exactly what evidence supports whatever argument they're asking you about in the question.

And then on top of that, they usually tend to use extremely boring passages in the CARS section to slow you down and make it feel more difficult. Getting used to reading passages that might not be that interesting or difficult to read will help you on your test day.

Mastering Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations | 11:25

Go beyond memorization whenever you can, especially for the chemistry portion of the exam or the biology portion of the exam or virtually any of them. So the less that you feel like you have cram inside and look over before your test day, the better. Focus on passage-based questions to integrate all the information that you've learned together.

There's also a big reading comprehension part of this that goes along with just the content review. You should understand how experiments are designed and how to interpret data. 

Overcoming Test Anxiety | 14:09

Try to practice different things that help you stay calm. It doesn't need to be mindfulness and breathing techniques. Those things might work for some people and might not work for others. So if it's calling a friend or your parents the morning before the exam, that was something that I found really helpful and helped me calm down.

Also, having data for yourself that you've done this many practice tests and you've gotten this score this many times, and you probably will get a similar score on test day, 

Creating a Sustainable Study Schedule | 16:18

Creating a sustainable routine is really important. You will take really, really long and hard tests in med school. The step exams are pretty brutal, and I have some friends that would wake up at 3:45 before their surgery rotation to study for Step 1. 

Make sure that the study schedule you come up with is consistent but also has regular breaks and has time for you to go back and review the content that you've missed before. On those bad days, I would really urge you to take a break and then come back to studying when you're focused and ready to go because this is really a marathon and not a race.

Using Practice Tests Effectively | 17:26

If you can take them in a library or someplace that's not as comfortable as your desk at home, I would recommend that. Make sure that you take it under timed conditions; no extra bathroom breaks and no giving yourself another 10 minutes for this section of the exam when you know you won't be able to get more time the day of the exam. Then review your exam, which also really sucks because you just got done taking a 4-hour exam. But if there's a concept problem that you had or if you're just having trouble reading and analyzing the passage, that can help direct your future studying. Identify your knowledge gaps.

Adapting Study Techniques to Your Learning Style | 20:09

Some people also like to study in different ways. So if you learn better from videos, use that. If you learn better from flashcards, use Anki. Anki is a really great resource and is really good for spaced repetition. And if you like reading, use a textbook. You don't have to use what other people have recommended online. You can always use the format that best fits your particular needs. The main thing here is being consistent and thorough and keeping up with your study goals each day.

Building Endurance for Exam Day | 20:42

You just have to remember that you have to sit for this 4- to 5-hour exam, and you have to be able to focus for that long. I have suffered from TikTok brain rot over the last couple of years. So making sure that you increase your study time and the duration that you're studying as you get closer to the exam day is really important, and that helps build your stamina and prepares you for taking a really long and hard exam.

And then when you take a practice test, make sure that it's a full-length timed practice test to help simulate real exam conditions. You might nail the content part of the exam, you might nail how to read the passage, but you might struggle with spending too much time on a particular question. 

Practical Prep Tips Before Test Day | 23:36

Establish as much of a consistent routine as possible. I would really recommend adjusting your sleep schedule for at least a couple of weeks before the exam. Try to get used to waking up a couple of hours before your test date because you're going to feel more anxious and more amped up the night before the actual test. So the more that you can fit it into your regular schedule, the better. Make sure you also prioritize rest to avoid burnout. If you need to move your test date, do it! 

Start with confidence. If there's a passage that you are really not familiar with, skip it and come back to it later and do questions that you're familiar with first to build some momentum. If you do have some extra time—like, let's say you went through a passage really quickly and you need a small break—take 30 seconds, take a minute or two to regroup, and then focus on the next passage.

Monitor your timing. I would check the time before each passage you do. I would estimate about how much time you have to do that passage. 

Common Pitfalls to Avoid | 26:35

Some common pitfalls to avoid: overemphasizing memorization at the expense of understanding. If you actually know how these different concepts work, it'll be easier for you to perform well on exam day rather than just cramming in the TCA cycle, which you know there's no way for you to truly understand beforehand. 

Next is neglecting time practice. If you're thinking, "Oh, I just need to review all the content, and if I know all the content, then I'll be ready on test day," that's not the way to go. You want to make sure that you're able to apply everything that you know in the amount of time that you have on the test.

And lastly, is skipping rest days. So it might feel really appealing to think, "Oh, I'm just going to study every single day, and then I know that I did everything I could up to the exam." But if you're not being efficient and productive during the days that you're studying, you're hurting yourself in the long run. So make sure you take breaks when you need them.

Final Tips for Scoring Above 515 on the MCAT | 27:51

Some final tips for scoring above 515 on the MCAT. One is consistency is key. Make sure that you're showing up for yourself, that you have a steady study schedule, and that you're not cramming in the month before your test.

Two is focusing on weaknesses. If there are things that you really feel like you understand, don't spend any more time reviewing the content and spend extra time on subjects that you find challenging.

And three is practicing with a purpose. You have a limited amount of practice tests, so you want to make sure that you are getting something out of it when you're doing it—whether it's practicing whether or not you can sit down and take a test for four hours, whether it's practicing if you can answer these questions quickly enough within each section, or if it's testing whether or not you can apply the content.

Q&A Session | 29:00

How early should someone begin studying? 

I think that kind of depends on how you do on your first practice test and then what your goal score is. If those two things are really far apart, I would give yourself a lot of time to study. I would say choosing a date that's at least three months in the future is a good amount of wiggle room. So if there are other things that come up—if you're still in school and if you're studying for classes—you still have enough time to study before the test and not get stressed out.

How should I start studying?

There is no better way to start studying than taking a full-length practice exam, and that can be really disheartening in the beginning because you're going to be a long way off from where you will eventually be. But I think that's a good way to start identifying where you should start your content review or what might be the most difficult for you after the test.

If there's a certain section that you felt really poorly about, there are different resources that are specific to that section. There's a really great 100-page document for psych/soc. Or there are some online resources for CARS that are better than others. So if there's a section where you feel like you're significantly weaker, starting with a practice test can help you decide which kind of content you need to review first.

What should we do if we aren't seeing any progress? Do you have any tips and tricks on how to overcome a stagnant period?

It depends on how long the stagnant period is. If you're not seeing improvement right away, that could mean that you are actually improving and that you are learning more content. Each practice exam that you're looking at is just testing different areas. So if you feel like you're really flatlining after a while, there are two things I would recommend.

One is taking a full break where you don't think about the MCAT at all, and you hang out with your friends and do something that totally gets your mind off of studying, and then go back and try again. It could be a burnout issue.

I think the second thing is, sometimes I feel like there's some peer pressure to use resources that really work for other people but might not work for you. So if you're using the seven Kaplan books and it's just not helping your reading comprehension or it's not worded in such a way that helps you learn the content for the exam, drop it. Try something else, give that a go for two weeks, and then retake a section-specific test or a full-length exam and see if that helps.

Where do you recommend getting study materials?

I think Reddit is a really great place to go for advice. They have a lot of resources on subreddits that I personally found really helpful.

Do you have any advice on the application process?

If there's a special point of your application or something that you’re really passionate about that helps you stand out, highlighting that as much as possible is really important. Don’t think too much about what a certain school "wants" from you. Med school admissions are shaped in a way that makes it feel like it’s such a crapshoot to get in, and you should be so honored if you get an interview offer from any school. But you all are extremely talented and are going to be amazing doctors in the future. You all are really special and have a lot to offer the schools that you're applying to.

So being able to identify what helps you stand out and make that really easy for your reader to understand is important. The MCAT is one way to show your academic readiness because med school is hard and requires a lot of studying, but it’s not the only way you can show them that you’re dedicated to studying. So don’t make this exam bigger or more important than it actually is. And just remember that you’re going to be an amazing applicant, espeically if you take advantage of medical school admissions consulting services

Does a lower MCAT score stop you from getting into your dream school?

It might affect how many safety schools versus dream schools you apply to. But you should definitely send your application in no matter what.

One thing that I found really helpful was the MSAR (Medical School Admission Requirements). It shows you the bottom 10th percentile and the top 10th percentile of scores for each school. So having a score that’s in between that range for most of the schools you’re applying for is great. For example, at Yale, I think the 10th percentile was a 518 or something super high. But I have so many friends at Yale that got, like, a 502 or a 504. And obviously, there were other parts of their application that helped them stand out. So if there's a school that you really love and would really love to go to, I would definitely send in your application no matter what.

But limit how many of those "reach" schools you apply to based on how high your score is. But a low MCAT score won’t stop you from getting into the school of your dreams.

What kind of interview questions will they ask if you get interviewed? Can you share some examples?

It depends on what the interview style of that school is. So if it’s an MMI, it could be virtually about anything. Some of the questions are medical ethics-related, and sometimes you might have behavioral MMI questions. 

Traditional interviews are way more conversational than you’d think. It’s just a lot of natural back-and-forth. Sometimes you’ll be asked standardized questions that they keep a secret and use new ones every interview cycle. For example, one of the ones I had at Yale was: "Tell us about a time that a person came to you with a problem that you felt was inconsequential, and why did you feel it was inconsequential?" So you might get some tougher ethical questions like that.

What We'll Cover: