The Med School Pulse

So, you have been preparing for a late May or early June MCAT by studying hard and taking practice tests. Are you looking for something to give you that extra studying edge? Or perhaps you’re eyeing an MCAT test date later in the summer? Are you looking to get jump-started on material?

Either way, you’re in luck! Kaplan is running an MCAT Boot Camp event on 5/20/13 at 8pm ET!

This intensive MCAT Boot Camp event will feature questions on advanced content to give you an excellent idea of where you need to focus your MCAT studies. It will …

When preparing for the MCAT, most people can see the reason for needing to know Biology and General Chemistry because they are considered essential for practicing medicine. A case can also been made for learning Organic Chemistry and Physics since they are the basis for biological molecules and the processes which run the body. Hands down the biggest complaints that I hear are about the Verbal Reasoning section. Everyone wants to know: “How does my Verbal Reasoning score show my ability to be a good physician?” or “How does analyzing a passage about poetry make me a better doctor?”…

It’s one of those days. I am exhausted. My body hurts because I’m so tired. My brain is full. I can’t concentrate and my to-do list is decidedly too long to even contemplate.

With the full schedule of a pre-med student (taking classes, volunteering, studying for the MCAT , working, shadowing and applying to medical school), I have a lot of experience “powering through” and “playing through the pain.” I have made it through the toughness of finals week with mono and the absurdity of finishing a half marathon on a broken foot.  But, there are just some days where …

It’s officially Spring! Although those of us in the Upper Midwest have yet to see any weather that even slightly resembles spring, the changing of the seasons heralds what can be the craziest time of year for any student who is simultaneously applying to medical school while taking the MCAT in April, May, or June.

Other times of the year, studying for the MCAT has the potential to be stressful, but in May that stress can reach an impressively high level. In the next month and a half most students will have hurdles such as finals, graduation, moving, asking professors …

With all of the buzz about the new MCAT 2015, Kaplan will be hosting a panel discussion tonight focusing on this test change, what it means for you as a pre-med student and future applicant, and how it fits into the current trajectory of medicine.

Sign up using this link:  The Pulse Series – MCAT 2015:  What You Need to Know … Now!

MCAT 2015:  What You Need to Know … Now!

Monday, April 8, 2013  |  8 PM Eastern

Big changes are coming to the MCAT in 2015. At this event, we’ll explore what those changes are, why …

March Madness has past and dare I say brackets are busted everywhere! As a college basketball fan this is the most exciting time of year for the sport.  With all the fun on TV, remember there is still an MCAT to study for!  The March Madness tournament with all its hoopla and competition really has some key lessons that students can pull away.

• Preparation is Key – Think about the players taking those free throws. They practice over and over and over for that. A free throw is just that “free”. The MCAT has “free” easy points to take. Know

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One of the questions I get asked most frequently as a teacher is, “Exactly what questions will I see on my test?”  If I knew the answer to that question, I would be making tons of money setting everyone up with their personalized MCAT answers. Although I can’t tell anyone exactly which questions they will be answering on Test Day, I do want to help out all of my intrepid MCAT studiers today and correct a common MCAT misconception.

Misconception: When I take my test, all of the material will be 100% familiar

Here’s the deal- yes, you have been …

A few days ago, I wrote on Preparing for the Worst on Test Day. The flipside to preparing for the worst is planning for success. This is the significantly more fun aspect of MCAT planning. As an incentive to work hard and dedicate countless hours of your life (actually 300 or so) to MCAT studying, you should plan for success and thus a celebration post-MCAT.

One of the main reasons that you should have something fun planned is so that if you have a rogue moment during your test when you are stressed out and questioning your …

I am going to interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post to talk about something that makes pre-meds queasy. No, not a subject, I’ll save Organic Chemistry talks for later. I’m talking about failure. Yes, I said it FAILURE. Over the years students come to me and say, “This is too hard”, “I don’t want to take the MCAT anymore”, or my favorite “my parents want me to be a doctor so bad”.  The fear of failure runs rampant through the pre-med world but it becomes taboo and no one wants to talk about. Whether in fear of seeming weak, or …