In my mind, one of the most difficult aspects of the MCAT is that it covers more material than any exam you have ever taken in your life. Think about it, some of the hardest college classes out there are organic chemistry, biochemistry, and physics. Take these classes, plus 6 or 7 more of the rigorous pre-med classes, put them together, and you have the MCAT.
In order to get an A in a typical pre-med class, most students are able to take simple notes, review them once or twice, maybe do a few practice problems, and then do totally fine on the exam. But, if you took those same students and tested them on that material a week after their exam, how many of them would still remember everything? Likely not very many would. You see, it is one thing to be able to learn, memorize, and then regurgitate information, but the MCAT requires much more. It requires you to understand, memorize, and be able to apply every concept from all of your pre-med classes on a single exam!
So, how are you supposed to keep all this information in your head? Well, there is no easy answer to this one, but the key is to have a good system of review. Taking notes and skimming over them will only get you so far when it comes to taking the MCAT. You NEED a better review system than that, which is why I strongly emphasize to my students that they MUST take notes in a format that they can test themselves on. If you can’t test yourself on the notes you create, they are worthless. That’s why I recommend skipping the notebook and pen, and simply making notecards. I did this in all my college classes, and I believe it was the key to getting straight A’s in all my pre-med classes.
Our FREE eCourse will help you implement a regular system of review that will ensure that every MCAT concept will be fresh on your mind come test day. Our eCourse is also fully equipped with countless Quizlet notecards built into each lesson. And our Create-your-own Study Plan Course will teach you my most important notecard-making tips. You won’t want to prepare for the MCAT without these key resources. If you need more help, consider signing up for our lowest-price-guaranteed tutoring options!
Warm regards,
Andrew George
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