<p>Hey, some of us have to feed something other than bacterial cultures! :D</p>
<p>“So basically, theres nothing like USAMO, USABO, USNCO”
-Yes, it is MCAT</p>
<p>Alright, sry to bring this thread back up, but how do you get scores like a 40 on the MCAT? How should I prep and when should I start if Im aiming for a 40 ? </p>
<p>practice, naturally good test taking skills, and luck. </p>
<p>Start studying for the MCAT day one of college to coincide with your premed courses, would be my guess. I did that in medical school for the USMLEs and aced them. I believe that the technique I used for the USMLE would be applicable for the MCATs too. But getting a 40 is seriously an outlier and something I would never strive for.</p>
<p>also, if getting into the 99.9th percentile means you don’t have time for ECs then it won’t do you any good. There are enough people who score in the 40+ range to fill JHU and HMS’ first year classes but that’s not what happens.</p>
<p>also, USMLE is much more fact based (especially when frugaldoc took it) then the MCAT. I would argue knowing literally everything from your pre med classes isn’t enough to give you a 40 and that you can get a 40 without knowing everything from those classes.</p>
<p>Once you get into the 35+ range the difference between each point on the MCAT from there on is roughly 1-2 question out of hundreds. The MCAT is its own skill set with a handful of strategies needed for success on top of the underlying knowledge you need to gain from your pre-med coursework.</p>
<p>hmmm i see, so should i start studying day 1 freshmen year, or wait until like junior year to start studying? </p>
<p>studying from day 1 would be a terrible idea and very low yield.</p>
<p>Here is what I did for the USMLE, again, I don’t know if this will work for the MCATs because I did what everyone else did for that and crammed. Knowing what I know now, I definitely wouldn’t repeat that technique. Developing my knowledge over a long period of time was so much easier than cramming. </p>
<p>Buy a high yield review book for the MCAT (probably Kaplan). As you learn the material in your premed classes, do some quick reviews in your Kaplan book to make sure that you’ve retained the important MCAT relevant info. During the weekends, quickly review the week’s MCAT information. Over the summer, review and do practice exams. This should require no more than 30-60 minutes per day. You will start finding that you will have pages memorized sometimes word for word. But remember, the MCAT is much less of a memorize and dump exam such as the USMLE.</p>
<p>At least for the USMLE, it meant that I devoted 15 minutes to at most 30 minutes per day to this extra review. It definitely helped my grade in the classes but the small amount of reviews accumulated over the years into a profound retainment of information that I knew cold by the time the USMLE came around. Even today, a colleague curbsided me about a patient with Sheehan’s Syndrome. 17 years after studying the USMLE I recalled everything about it.</p>
<p>I know the majority of people dedicate weeks, if not months, to cram. But I have never succeeded in cramming. I must warn you, like everyone else has, that the MCAT score is not the definitive admission criteria. It would be very remiss of you if you overemphasized the MCAT preparation in lieu of all of the other admission criteria you need to fulfill.</p>
<p>Ahhh alright, thanks a lot frugaldoctor! Is Kaplan the best rev. book for MCAT, or is PR better ( Ive heard both are pretty good ) ? Also, when should one take the MCAT, fall of junior year? Can you take as many times as you want? </p>
<p>^ Absolutely not! You only want to take the MCAT once. Be sure you are ready before taking (scoring what you want to score on full length later AMCAS practice exams). Do not plan on taking multiple times. </p>
<p>Really?!?! You only get one shot to take such an important test? </p>
<p>^You can take 10, but all will be counted (I believe). Or you can take as many as you wish (I might be wrong though). But why to set yourself up for failure on the first try? Taking it once is the best stragedy. If you do not like it, then how about boards? If You can re-take those only if you fail. But what if you do not get high enough score to pursue your specialty,…after.8 years of school? Better get used to taking everything once. </p>
<p>Ahh alright , yea I’ll just try to do my best the first time then. Which prep book is best though, PR or Kaplan? </p>
<p>Probably just a matter of personal preference if I’m being honest.</p>
<p>I would ask for recommendations for a good review book or use the Amazon reviews. I would definitely recommend against taking the exam multiple times. This is not like the SAT. But seriously, get into college, use your college’s pre-med advisor, and do you ECs. Your goals will change once you have a few hard semesters under your belt.</p>
<p>^Exactly!! Way to early to think about MCAT now. Not priority at all at this point. It is an obstacle for you now that will prevent you from focusing on your priamry goal at this point - your goal should be getting all As in every single class. Focus on this. Then if you are on a roll in academic department, pursue ECs, learned to manage your time. And manage it very closely, every 5 min. of it. You will need this skill when preparing for MCAT in your junior year of college. It will take you several hours every day for several weeks in addition to your academics and ECs. So, make sure to schedule your classes wisely, have heavier schedule in first 2 years and lighter in junior and senior year (to allow time for the Med. Schools interviews). This is approximate sequence of events that my D. has followed. It did not occur to her to worry about MCAT before junior year in college, except for making sure that her schedule is heavy and her grades are As. If one gets below 3.0, then she does not need to worry about MCAT at all, it is not in her future.</p>
<p>If you donated a massive amount of money to Harvard Medical School, as in over $50 million US dollars, I think they would admit you given high test scores and GPA</p>
<p>If you can donate that much, you don’t need to go to medical school.</p>
<p>^Well, still got to do something, cannot seat on a couch your whole life</p>