Pre-med Discussion (Part 1)

Pre-med Discussion / Q & A: (Part 1)

1.    I’m planning on taking the MCAT in 2013. While I’m on my winter break, should I start studying now?

Great question.  First, it kind of depends. That is, it depends on when you’ll be taking the MCAT. If you’ve signed up (or are planning to sign up) for one of the earlier dates (Jan or March) then yes, I’d suggest that you get started now.

With that being said however, don’t inundate yourself with studying either. You no doubt just got through with another challenging semester; give yourself a little break. The most important advice I can give you though is to make a schedule for yourself and stick to it. For example, give yourself a break through Jan 6^th and start your MCAT prep on Jan 7^th. Don’t have the ambiguity of whether or not you’re going to study looming over your head. Have a plan and stick to it.

I found some helpful online study schedules that I followed for my prep. I’d be happy to email you them if you are interested.

2.    Hi Joe, I want to take the MCAT next year, but I don’t know the testing dates.

Hi, the AAMC posts the official testing dates on their website (aamc.org). Not all testing sites have every date available however, so you’ll want to look up the nearest testing site(s) to verify.

No site will have the reverse though; that is, no testing site will offer MCAT examinations on days that are not listed on the AAMC calendar. Hope that helps. I’ve also included the direct link for the official AAMC 2013 MCAT calendar below.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/258544/data/2013-mcat-exam-schedule-us-canada.pdf

3.    Did you use an MCAT prep company? If so, which one? Did you like them?

I did use a prep group. I went with Kaplan for a number of reasons but the primary reason was that I wanted a scheduled, structured setting and one that would afford me direct (face-face) contact with the instructors. The Kaplan course also offered unlimited access to the official AAMC exams and an online Q-bank, which I really enjoyed.

With that being said however, I was not 100% satisfied with their program. I definitely prefer the Examkrackers (EK) lesson books over the Kaplan prep materials. EK just seemed to “speak my language”, if you understand what I mean. I would read a passage on circuits for example, shake my head in confusion in a “what the hell do you mean Bernoulli?! ” sort of moment and boom. After the passage, a little saltine cracker cartoon would break down the passage in clear, easy to read prose. Kaplan seemed (to me) to follow a shotgun approach, whereby they’d throw everything at you but the kitchen sink, rather than delivering a clear and concise set of principles to follow. Just my take anyway…

4.    What about extracurriculars? What should I do and when?

You ask me excellent, excellent question Mr. Dan Malone  (sorry, Iron Sheik reference there). The Readers Digest version of my answer is this – do what you are passionate about. I loved pro wrestling. That’s what I did for many, many years. In fact, ¾ of my personal statement is about my career in the wrestling biz.

Don’t do something just to check a box. Application committees see right through it. Plus, if you don’t enjoy it, odds are you are going to do a lousy job and have a poor experience.