How to prepare for the MCAT like an Expert

Kudos for the time management:
The MCAT examination is offered only about 22 times a year, at scheduled times. So, one has to plan when one is going to take the test and begin preparation as early as possible. It is always better to start preparing during your third year. After a month or so of preparation, one can identify one’s strengths and weaknesses and plan when to take the test accordingly. Also, one should register about 5 weeks before the test. So, do not leave the registration to the last minute. You need to select the location of the test according to your convenience. If the test is not offered in your city or town, you might have to travel to a neighboring city to take the test, so plan accordingly. The test costs about $175 and the travel could charge you some money. Make sure you have completed the coursework you need to in the second and third years itself so you can be free in the final year to prepare, write the MCAT and apply to medical schools.
Practice Makes Perfect

It is always better to take the MCAT as early as possible, as you can re-take it if you do not perform well and get a bad score. Even if you get an ‘ok’ score and think you can perform better, you can re-take the test. The April MCAT, taken before your third year will tell you whether you need to re-take your test or not, so you can take it up in August the same year again. You’ll definitely perform better in your next test as there will be a little maturity and sense of calmness as you have already taken the test. The second time scores will also be better because there’s a high chance that you’d perform better than the other first-timers, and your score may look better than the others. The MCAT scores also list percentiles, which show how well you’ve performed compared to the others who have taken the test the same day as you have.
Deciding on a Prep Class
Many of you would wonder whether you really want a prep course or not. There are many institutes like Kaplan, Princeton Review and Berkeley Review that offer top-grade classroom and online courses for the long term as well as crash courses for the MCAT. At the prep class, they teach you tips and tricks on how you can prepare for the test. Do not worry that the classes are expensive. To get into a good medical school, one should spend a few hundreds of dollars on prep material and course. Those who think they can do a better job studying by themselves can do so. Plus there’s an advantage of taking sample tests the prep classes offer. These will really help for the exam.


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