You've likely heard that getting accepted to medical school is an extremely challenging feat, but just how hard is it, really? Well, out of 62,443 students who applied to medical school in 2021, 39,777 students did not gain acceptance to a single medical school. That means the typical applicant has a 64 percent chance of being completely rejected! But, you...
Explaining the Official AAMC Prep Material for the MCAT
The MCAT is more than pure content memorization. It requires knowing the “language” of the exam -- how questions are asked, how to interpret data, and the logic used to reach each answer. For this reason, many of my students question how their content knowledge will translate on the actual exam. After working with hundreds of students, we’ve found that the...
Why it’s Important to Apply to Medical School Early
Current applicants, medical students, and medical admission consultation companies often talk about the importance of applying early to medical school. However, it can be confusing if you are hearing that for the first time. Are they saying I should apply at a younger age? Should I apply as a junior instead of a senior in college? Should I apply early in...
The 3 Biggest Mistakes Students Make While Studying For the MCAT
I've talked with hundreds of students who have taken the MCAT and failed to achieve their goal MCAT score. Through this experience, I've noticed some patterns in preparation that can be extremely detrimental to one's ability to achieve a top MCAT score. In this MCAT Study Tip, I want to outline the three biggest mistakes students make while studying for...
5 Ways To Study for the MCAT Using Your Smartphone
You can do almost anything with your smartphone these days. You can video call a friend in China, order pizza with the click of a button, and even see in the dark! So, if your smartphone can help you do these and an infinite number of other things, then why can’t you use it to study for the MCAT? In this article, I am going to show you not only that you...
How to Review a Full-Length Practice Exam
Taking a full-length exam is exhausting! After taking a practice exam, the last thing I felt like doing was going through the questions again. However, going through practice exams is one of the greatest tools in your MCAT prep arsenal. In this blog post, I will share how I go through practice exams with my students to maximize their learning. Review Each...
What to Look for in an MCAT Study Buddy
Studying for the MCAT is a huge hurdle for students applying to medical school. While everyone has their own preferences for how to study, having a study buddy can be beneficial to anyone — even if you prefer to study alone. I was lucky to have my friend and classmate Tim, a fellow Premium Elite Tutor at MCAT Self Prep, as a study buddy when we prepared...
How Shyam Scored a 525 on the MCAT
Ever since scoring a 525 on the MCAT, I have passed on MCAT strategies and advice to other pre-med students so that they too can succeed on the MCAT. Let’s get started! 1. Getting Started The first step in taking the MCAT is not finding content review books, a prep company, or even finding some nice premade flashcards to study with. The first step is...
What Topics Does the MCAT Cover?
Where is the list that contains everything I should memorize for the MCAT? Sadly, there is no magic notebook that contains every piece of content that you should memorize for the MCAT. The AAMC doesn’t ever explicitly state what content should be memorized vs. what should be understood. For this reason, the best resource we have in knowing what to...
What to Memorize for the MCAT
What to memorize for the MCAT The AAMC acknowledges that not every concept is created equal, and has released a website that outlines their content in a hierarchical nature. However, thoroughly reading through this entire website would take up hours and hours of your precious study time. ...
