Get the Score You Deserve: How to Avoid Stress and Over-thinking on the MCAT

We have a new book coming up called The Premed Playbook: Guide to the MCAT. This week, we're covering a grab bag of science questions to help you get a better score on the MCAT. Bryan of Next Step Test Prep is joining in to give out his insights Session 76 Today, we're covering some sociology MCAT questions looking at specific definitions that you need to know to help you get the best score possible on the MCAT.

Sociology is one of the hardest ones on the MCAT because they're so nit-picky on Come learn along and crush your MCAT! Check it out and don't forget to subscribe. Session 73 Hypoglycemia, the electron transport chain, and beta-oxidation are the subjects covered by Ryan and Bryan on this episode. Which of the following is the most plausible explanation for a patient How do you make sure that you remember all of content you studied? Also, check out all our other podcasts on MedEd Media.

Listen to The Premed Years Session 71 Biology infiltrates a lot of different areas of the MCAT, so you need to be prepared for it. We break down some biology discrete questions today to help you! Today, I and Bryan of Next Step Test Prep will go over some chemistry questions and break down each of them to give you a head start. Don't forget to share this with your classmates. Check out all of our other Follow along with us and tell your friends about the.. They recently released the third scored full-length practice exam for the MCAT.

And if you're preparing for the MCAT and you think would need the It infiltrates a lot of different areas, so you need to be prepared for it. We break down some questions today to help! In this episode Bryan and I cover Biology. We're covering a grab bag of biology Session 64 One of the most perplexing problems that faces premeds is if they should stack the MCAT up in the Spring, or wait until the Summer to take it. This week, we talk about when you can and when you should register for the MCAT Do you really need to spend this much on MCAT prep?

If you're a nontraditional student, Follow along and have a listen. Don't forget to subscribe and tell your friends. Today, we'll go over some physics discrete questions and break down each of them to give you a head start. Check out all our other podcasts at MedEd Media Network. Session 58 A lot of students plan on going into the MCAT ready to void it, some think about voiding it during the test.

We discuss when you should actually void the MCAT. This podcast is a collaboration with Next Step Test Prep to make sure you have Session 57 Join me, Dr. Also, take a listen to all our other podcasts on the MedEd Media Network.

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Today, we talk about how medical schools Session 56 This week, we discuss the anatomy of the MCAT question and how to systematically go through a question to maximize your chance of getting it right. We talked about dealing with passages in the past but we haven't really talked about Session 55 Flashcards are a great tool to have for all your studying needs. Also check out our other podcasts over at MedEdMedia. You just don't think about it. We'll cover some questions today to help you with that. We've discussed it before that every single premed student walking into the test center for Learn how that might affect your medical school application.

Session 52 First off, we're giving away five ten packs of Next Step Test Prep practice exams to celebrate our 50th episode and closing in on one year of podcast.

Today, we'll cover a question that you have to know first — what is a competitive MCAT score? If you're listening to this before July 31, don't forget to enter to win one of five ten-pack full-length If you are worried about needing to retake the MCAT, this episode is for you! Take a listen and share it.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the MCAT

Follow along and have a listen! Don't forget to subscribe. Which of the following molecules would We're basically doing a grab bag today to mix it up and keep you on your toes as Bryan and I break down these different MCAT questions so you can Each of the following structures are derived Take a listen and follow along with us. Sociology is one of the new kids on the block for the MCAT. Take a listen to this episode to hear how to approach sociology questions on the new MCAT. Check out our latest episode to learn more about the psych section. If you're still having trouble memorizing all these Here are some last minute tips to help you rock it!

The MCAT will expect you to cross disciplinary lines when The MCAT has been re-balanced with this new format exam where they really toned down organic Which of the following is not considered an organic acid? Practice tests are the key to A hyper-sailing body of water contains high Biochemistry on the MCAT. Breaking Down a Passage. Go to the next passage. Put the pencil down. Take your head off the mouse.

Close your eyes and take three slow, deep breaths. Listen in to learn about this breathing technique. We all know that the MCAT is one of the biggest hurdles as a premed, and this podcast will give you the motivation and information that you need to know to help you get the score you deserve so you can one day call yourself a physician. Now this podcast is going to be a fun one, a little bit different. How can we tell the premed student how to reduce their stress in their life? Like your body has a certain set of hormonal neurological responses to stress that have a vast impact not only on your health but on your cognitive performance.

So the first thing I tell everybody when I start with a new tutoring student, I tell them their first homework assignment is to go to the gym every day because aerobic exercise- daily aerobic exercise reduces your stress levels, increases the kind of positive hormones running around your body, and most importantly has an enormous positive impact on cognitive performance.

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Get out and walk the dog, play some soccer, play some tennis, go for a jog, whatever it is you can do to get your body moving, get your pulse rate up, that will actually help your MCAT performance. Or take it much more than that, go read up on different meditation techniques and give your brain the time that it needs to breathe. Treat them like the real exam. So stress management level one is just managing kind of life stress for the four months leading up to the MCAT. Stress management level two is managing the test day experience, right?

Not being freaked out by anything that comes with taking the test. Yeah I would slam my head on the keyboard. Right, yeah just flip the table. I actually saw that happen once. Yeah I mean I guess they just record it as like an anomaly or something. So the thing about stress during the exam itself, like what do you do when you hit panic level stress? You should have a thorough understanding the various systems of the body you will also need to have this to be an effective physician. Since you and all organisms are made of cells, the MCAT, unsurprisingly, tests you on cells, including different types, transport systems, organelles, and signaling methods.

The human body is susceptible to many forms of illness, and these are often caused by bacteria and viruses. Be familiar with these microorganisms. You will need to know a fair amount of genetics, including DNA processes, gene expression, Mendelian genetics, and many other topics. Familiarize yourself with what each method does and when to use it. You need to know your amino acids. That means side chains, abbreviations, and unique properties of each. You need to know the three basic types of inhibition: There are numerous pathways you need to know for the MCAT.

Be sure to hit them all before your test. This includes carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Know their structure, function, and biological relevance. Know the four key components — phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates — as well as how the structure of the membrane affects processes like transport, communication, and reproduction.

Understand the hierarchy of both stereo and electronic effects on the stability of molecules: Being able to recognize functional groups, the types of reactions they do, and the functional groups they produce can eliminate many answer choices. This is an exercise in identification of categories and knowing all of the synonyms involved. Know your conformational and configurational isomers as well.

Understand the two basic carbonyl mechanisms, nucleophilic addition ketones and aldehydes and nucleophilic addition-elimination carboxylic acids and their derivatives , as well as how alpha-acidity affects the progress of these mechanisms. Periodic Table and Trends: Not only should you be very familiar with the Periodic Table, but you should also know the periodic trends. Understanding the movement of energy is very important. Be sure to know the strength relationship between them: There is no more ubiquitous topic that exists on the MCAT.

Focus on the understanding of relative acidity and basicity as well as the relationship between strong and weak acids and bases. Calculation of pH is not all that important. Many biological processes use oxidation and reduction reactions. You must know the fundamentals behind these as covered in general chemistry, such as identifying redox reagents, finding oxidation numbers, and determining electrochemical potentials.

How I got a on the MCAT, and how you can too! (Ten Lessons) : Mcat

You need to know about motion and how forces create motion. You will also want to know how to solve questions via free body diagrams. Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, and Work: Among the most important Physics concepts, work and energy can be factored into almost any concept on the MCAT. Always watch for the relationship between energy conservation and work, a la the work energy theorem. More than half of the human body is made up of water, and, as such, fluids are highly tested on the MCAT.

The MCAT loves to include electrostatics questions as frequently as possible. Be able to recognize electrostatics whenever ionic species are present, even in Biology and Biochemistry passages. Also, make sure you recognize the difference between electric potential and electric potential energy. Optics most often comes up on the MCAT with a slant towards eyesight. Make sure you know how lenses can be used to adjust for myopia and hyperopia.

You will need to be familiar with the terminology of both subjects. Be sure to hit Sociology.

Ironically, since there is less sociology content to review, setting time aside to study sociology often leads to greater score increases than focusing on psychology alone. There are several questions that rely on your knowledge of which scientist and which of his or her theories is most relevant. Be sure to associate important psychologists and sociologists with the theories they proffered.

You should understand what makes one experiment more effective than another. Sample size, tested population, blind vs.

Identify what makes a passage easier or harder for you, and then use that information to rank your passages. Getting better at CARS is all about getting better at reading. Learn to distinguish between the important big picture points and the less-important details. Be careful not to over-highlight! It is easy to get caught up on the hardest questions on CARS, because we know the answer is in the passage.

If a problem is taking too long, guess and move on.

10 Ways to Overcome Test Anxiety

Practice CARS every day. The importance of CARS scores for medical school admission is well documented. Improving your CARS score depends heavily on adjusting your strategy for dealing with passages and questions. It can be very helpful to do two or three passages every day and really focus on your strategy. Increase the number of CARS passages you do week by week. Starting off doing 20 CARS passages every day may not be that helpful. Increase the number of passages you tackle each day over time as you see your accuracy increase.

Even if they are about the sciences, all the necessary information is in the passage. Stay away from screens for at least a half-hour before bed, and get to bed early. By now, you should have a consistent routine. No or very limited studying. A few more hours will not make enough of a difference in your score, but could lead to much more anxiety and stress. Pack everything you need for test day. Pack your bags with everything you need the night before except perishables.

Check to make sure there are no changes to your planned path to the testing center, such as re-routed Subway lines, lane closures, accidents, or other hazards.