Things I Wish I Had Known About The MCAT.

     If you're a pre-med, you've probably known about the MCAT before your little heart desired to ever pursue medicine. If not, as soon as you got to college it was heavily instilled in your brain that it would be very present in your journey to medical school. I would say that I was pretty familiar with what the generalities of the MCAT but there were a few things that I learned for myself and I thought it would be good to give others a heads up.

1.) Timing

     I knew that most pre-med students took their MCAT during their junior year, but what I didn't know was the latest date I could take it. When I took my first MCAT ( I was originally aiming to apply for the 2015 entry cycle), I scheduled it for early May. I would've saved myself lots of stress and brain power, If I had known I didn't absolutely need to have my score back in time to send out my primaries (which go out in June). Of course, having everything ready to send out in time for primaries would be ideal, but I later learned that it wasn't absolutely necessary. The latest you can take it is probably early to mid-July, but as it takes about 4 weeks to get your scores back, your best bet would be to aim to take it sometime in June. 

2.) How long you need to study.

     I'd say that when you should start studying really depends on what you've got going on in your schedule. For my first MCAT, I was studying while completing my spring semester of my Junior year. I had a very busy schedule and balancing that with MCAT prep proved to be rather hectic. I believe I started seriously studying in about mid-February for my early May exam ( so I had about two and a half months of prep). The second time around I started studying at the beginning of June for my exam in September. I was on summer break so I didn't have anything major to focus on other than my studying. So, the three months of prep worked out pretty well for me that time. From what I've read, the typical MCAT study period is between 3-6 months. How much time you need depends on what you've got going on, so I'd plan based off of that. For me, a solid 3 months of dedicated studying was what worked best.

3.) How much you need to know.

     Of course, I knew that the MCAT covered many subjects, but you don't feel the magnitude of the quantity of information until you actually sit down and try to learn it all. Not going to lie, it can be rather overwhelming. I was fortunate enough to have taken it pre-2015 ( for my non-premed people, they just added more subjects to the MCAT) and only had to focus on the three areas. For those taking the new MCAT, I seriously sympathize, and all I can say is to take it one subject at a time. 

4.) How Stressful/Hectic an MCAT testing day can be. 

     MCAT testing day can seriously be crazy and all the security measures they have just adds to the madness. You arrive at the testing center and after they check you in with a photo ID, they'll escort you one-by-one into the testing room. Right before they take you in, they'll take your fingerprints, take your picture, copy your ID, have you fill out paperwork, scan you with a metal detector wand, have you shake out our pockets, and then log in a binder your time of entry. Then the relay begins. You take your exam and between each section you're entitled to a ten-minute break. Each time you leave the room there's a whole process you need to follow. They'll scan you with the wand, have you shake out your pockets, take your fingerprints, and have you sign the log book with the time. This is for both coming in and out, so your breaks to the bathroom/having a snack should be as brief as possible as you are working with a timer. I took every break I could to refresh myself and it felt crazy rushing in and out, but I would recommend it ( more on that coming in a later post).

     Overall, my aim here was not to scare you. The MCAT is a big test, but it definitely isn't impossible. I will definitely be shedding more insight on the blog about my experience with the exam and any tips I have to offer. Until then, I hope you guys have a great week!

~Genesis<3