The Med School Pulse

Last week Alex wrote about the The Big Buzz behind the 2015 MCAT changes.  Check out his post for more information on the new format and content which is also being highlighted in the Preview Guide for the 2015 MCAT Exam.

Every premed student has questions about getting into medical school; from the personal statement to the interview, the admissions process can seem like a daunting and confusing endeavor. Compounding the problem is the fact that nearly everyone you’ll speak to seems to have their own opinion on the best approach to take – one person might suggest listing certain experiences on your application, while another will say the complete opposite! Much of this advice is anecdotal and may not apply to your situation – you aren’t the same person as the friend of your cousin’s wife, so you shouldn’t necessarily …

Time and time again I get asked “Patrick, I feel like I am drowning! There are so many science concepts to remember on the MCAT. Do you have any tips to keep it all straight?!” And my answer is simple; all one needs to do is to relate it to an example in everyday life. Rote memorization has its time and place in studying, but the MCAT rewards the student who is able to go above and beyond to UNDERSTAND the concept in all its intricacies. With this in mind I often push my students to think of common …

Oftentimes, we are asked about the performance of our past MCAT students; how they did on the test, where they went for medical school, and where they are today. Recently, we had the opportunity to talk with one of our many amazing Kaplan MCAT course alumni, Dr. Ricky Grisson, about where his journey in medicine has taken him and the role that Kaplan played along the way. 

1. What was your reaction to taking the MCAT for the first time?

Wow! I was surprised by the difficulty and really disappointed in myself. I performed poorly and felt really terrible about …

Every Monday morning during the months of September through December, professional football players gather at their respective team’s facilities tired, weary, and groggy from the previous day’s game. They spread out based on their positions and assemble in dark rooms where video projectors display game film while position coaches break down the plays screen-by-screen. The players hate this. They just finished playing barely 24 hours ago. The last thing they want to do is watch the game again. If they won, they want to storm the practice field and keep up their positive momentum. If they lost, they want to …

“One week from right now I will be in my MCAT….” That thought has haunted many pre-med minds in the week before test day; after spending months and months on your MCAT preparation, the idea of actually taking the exam can be an emotional roller coaster. Managing stress in the days leading up to the test is vital, and the best thing that one can do when preparing in the final week is to remember a few key points:

• Establish a Regular Sleep Schedule – If your test is at 8:00 in the morning, it is going to

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Earlier this month the Association of American Medical Colleges formally approved the first major content changes to the MCAT since the test was last revised in 1991. Since the AAMC’s announcement there has been a flurry of discussion about the new exam as students, pre-medical advisors, and medical schools all attempt to understand how they will be affected, and what they can do now to start preparing.

The first step in preparing is naturally to understand exactly what the changes will entail. While the AAMC has published a 150-page MCAT²⁰¹⁵ Preview Guide that details exactly what the new test …

In my last post we discussed several tips for making the most of the limited study time that you have available as a premed. Now, in Part 2 of our series on the Ideal MCAT Study Schedule we’ll take a look at three different types of premeds and how each can properly utilize a day to get the most out of their studying.

One quick note before we get started: you will notice in reading these I really make a point of taking active breaks. It is important to only study for a max of around 2-3 hours, unless …

I often get questions from my students about how to effectively schedule studying for the MCAT. With so many other drains on your time, trying to squeeze in 300+ additional hours of studying can seem like a daunting task, and it’s with that in mind that I would like to introduce this first entry in a three-part series dedicated to helping you build the “Ideal” Study Schedule.

While the notion of an “ideal” schedule will certainly change from person to person, there are a few constants that you’ll need to keep in mind. In our initial discussion I’d like …

Many test takers look forward to the biology section of the MCAT. After laboring through the Physical Science and Verbal Sections, it’s nice to finally tackle some passages on topics with which many pre-meds are familiar and comfortable. It also happens to be the last section of the lengthy exam, and after over 3 hours of test-taking, you might hear a grumbling coming from your stomach; a grumbling might grow even louder if you happen upon a passage focusing on the commonly tested topic that is the digestive system.

As with many biology topics, it’s important to think …