How to Raise your MCAT Score *Brutally Honest*

Monika Bapna - Medical Student
7 Feb 202107:35
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRIn this video, Monica, a future Georgetown medical student, shares her strategy for reviewing practice MCAT exams to achieve a 90th percentile score. She emphasizes the importance of timely review, categorizing mistakes into three buckets: content weakness, misreading, or incorrect thinking. Monica uses a Google Sheet to track errors, identify weak topics, and adjust her thought process to align with the MCAT's expectations. She advises against brushing off mistakes or arguing with the exam, urging viewers to adjust their thinking to match test makers' intentions for success.

Takeaways
  • 📈 Not reviewing mistakes is a common pitfall that keeps scores stagnant during study progress.
  • 🎓 Monica, the speaker, scored in the 90th percentile on the MCAT and will be attending medical school at Georgetown.
  • 📚 She emphasizes the importance of reviewing practice MCAT exams as a crucial strategy for top scorers.
  • 📝 Monica used a Google Sheet to track and analyze every mistake she made while studying for the MCAT.
  • 🔍 She categorized her mistakes into three main reasons: lack of content knowledge, misreading questions or passages, and knowing the topic but still choosing the wrong answer.
  • 📋 The Google Sheet had a specific layout with tabs for different resources and columns for the section, question number, reason for missing, overarching content topic, and what was learned from the mistake.
  • 🧠 Identifying the overarching content topic helped Monica pinpoint her weak areas for focused study.
  • 💡 Writing down what was learned from each mistake helped Monica adjust her thinking to align with how the MCAT expects questions to be approached.
  • 🚫 Monica warns against brushing off mistakes as one-offs and the importance of reflecting on why the wrong answer was chosen.
  • ❌ She advises against arguing with the exam or questions, as it is unproductive and wastes time that could be spent adjusting thinking patterns.
  • 🔄 The goal is to learn the test makers' perspective and adjust one's thinking until it becomes natural, not to simply become smarter or know more.
Q & A

  • Why do people's scores often remain the same throughout their studying progress?

    -People's scores often remain the same because they do not review their mistakes.

  • What is the importance of reviewing practice MCAT exams according to Monica?

    -Reviewing practice MCAT exams is crucial because it helps identify mistakes, understand why they were made, and learn how to avoid them in the future, leading to significant score improvements.

  • What is the best time to review a practice MCAT exam?

    -The best time to review a practice MCAT exam is as soon as possible after taking it, ideally the same day or the next day, to ensure the details are still fresh in your mind.

  • How does Monica organize her review of practice MCAT exams?

    -Monica organizes her review using a Google Sheet where she tracks every mistake by resource, question number, reason for missing the question, overarching content topic, and what she learned from the mistake.

  • What are the three common reasons for missing a question on the MCAT according to Monica?

    -The three common reasons are: not knowing the content well enough, misreading the question or passage, and knowing the content but still picking the wrong answer.

  • How does Monica use the information in column C of her Google Sheet?

    -Column C identifies the overarching content topic related to the mistake, helping Monica pinpoint weak areas that need more study.

  • Why does Monica find column D in her Google Sheet particularly crucial?

    -Column D, which details what she learned from each mistake and how she would approach it differently, is crucial because it helps her adjust her thinking to align with the MCAT's expectations.

  • What mindset does Monica emphasize for successfully preparing for the MCAT?

    -Monica emphasizes the importance of adjusting one's thinking to align with how the MCAT test makers want questions to be approached, rather than just trying to know more content.

  • What advice does Monica give regarding questions where you think you won't make the same mistake again?

    -Monica advises against brushing off such questions, stressing the importance of reflecting on why the mistake was made and how to prevent it, as the likelihood of repeating the mistake on test day is high.

  • What should students avoid doing when reviewing their mistakes on the MCAT practice exams?

    -Students should avoid arguing with the questions or trying to prove why their incorrect answer was right, as this wastes time and does not help in achieving their goal.

Outlines
00:00
📈 Maximizing MCAT Score Improvement Through Effective Review

In this paragraph, Monica, a future medical student at Georgetown, emphasizes the importance of reviewing practice MCAT exams to avoid stagnation in scores. She shares her personal strategy for reviewing exams, which led to her scoring in the 90th percentile on the actual MCAT. Monica introduces her method of using a Google Sheet to track and analyze her mistakes, categorizing them into three main reasons: lack of content knowledge, misreading questions or passages, and knowing the topic but still choosing the wrong answer. She stresses the importance of reviewing exams soon after completion to maintain freshness in thought processes and adjust thinking to align with the test's expectations.

05:01
🧠 Adapting Thinking to Test Makers' Intentions for MCAT Success

The second paragraph focuses on the concept of aligning one's thinking with the test makers' intentions to succeed on the MCAT. Monica advises against the common mistake of brushing off errors as one-offs and instead encourages deep reflection on the thought process that led to the mistake. She warns against arguing with the exam, which is unproductive and time-consuming, and instead urges test-takers to use that time to adjust their thinking patterns. Monica concludes by inviting viewers to engage with the content, ask for additional topics, and follow her on social media for more insights into the pre-med and med school journey.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡MCAT
The MCAT, or Medical College Admission Test, is a standardized, multiple-choice examination for prospective medical students in the United States and Canada. It is a critical part of the medical school admissions process. In the script, the MCAT is the central focus, as the speaker discusses strategies for reviewing practice exams to achieve a high score on the actual test.
💡Score
In the context of the video, 'score' refers to the numerical result of a test, which is a measure of a student's performance. The script emphasizes the importance of improving one's score by reviewing mistakes made during practice exams, which is a key strategy for success on the MCAT.
💡Reviewing Mistakes
The act of 'reviewing mistakes' is a central theme in the video. It involves analyzing incorrect answers to understand why they were wrong and how to avoid similar errors in the future. The speaker uses this technique to improve her own MCAT performance and suggests it as a crucial step for others.
💡Practice Exams
Practice exams are simulated versions of the actual MCAT, used for preparation purposes. The script mentions that reviewing these exams is one of the most important actions a student can take to improve their understanding and performance on the real test.
💡Percentile
A percentile is a statistical measure that indicates the value below which a given percentage of observations in a group of observations fall. In the script, the speaker mentions scoring in the 90th percentile on the MCAT, which means her score was higher than 90% of the test takers.
💡Content Knowledge
Content knowledge refers to the understanding of the subject matter being tested. The script identifies a lack of content knowledge as one of the main reasons for missing questions on the MCAT, emphasizing the need for a strong grasp of the material.
💡Misreading
Misreading is the act of incorrectly interpreting the information presented in a question or passage. The script mentions misreading as a common mistake that can lead to incorrect answers on the MCAT, highlighting the importance of careful reading.
💡Google Sheet
A Google Sheet is a web-based spreadsheet program that the speaker uses to track and analyze her mistakes during MCAT preparation. It is an example of a tool that can be used to organize and reflect on one's learning process.
💡Overarching Content Topic
The term 'overarching content topic' in the script refers to the broader subject area that a question or passage relates to, such as physics or chemistry. Identifying these topics helps the speaker to recognize areas of weakness and focus her study efforts.
💡Adjusting Thinking
Adjusting thinking involves changing one's approach to problem-solving to align with the expectations of the test. The script emphasizes the importance of adjusting one's thinking to match the way the MCAT is designed to be approached.
💡Arguing with the Question
In the context of the video, 'arguing with the question' refers to the unproductive behavior of insisting that one's incorrect answer is right, rather than accepting the correct answer and understanding why it is so. The speaker advises against this behavior, as it does not contribute to learning and improving.
Highlights

Not reviewing mistakes is the number one reason why scores remain stagnant.

Reviewing practice MCAT exams is crucial for improving scores.

Monica, who scored in the 90th percentile, will share her review method.

Monica is attending medical school at Georgetown in the fall.

Top scorers have strategies for reviewing their practice exams.

Review practice exams as soon as possible, ideally the next day.

Use a Google sheet to track every mistake made during practice.

Separate tabs in the Google sheet for different resources used.

Categorize mistakes into three buckets: content knowledge, misreading, and errors despite understanding.

Identify weak topics and study them more based on mistake tracking.

Document what was learned from each mistake and how to approach it differently.

Adjust thinking to align with how the MCAT wants you to think.

Don't brush off mistakes assuming they won't happen on test day.

Avoid arguing with the question or the exam; focus on adjusting your thinking.

Engage with the content on YouTube and Instagram for more pre-med advice.

Transcripts

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