Registration for test dates January through June 2017 are now OPEN!
In the chart below you’ll see the testing dates laid out with the corresponding registrations deadlines.
Registration Fees and The Zones
The different zones of registration refer to the amount of time you register before for your selected test date. The Gold Zone is a month or more prior to the exam date, Silver Zone is approximately 3-4 weeks before, and the Bronze Zone refers to signing up for an MCAT date 1-2 weeks out.
It is encouraged to register early within the Gold Zone because test centers and dates do fill up. Also if you do end up having to reschedule and cancel your MCAT exam you can receive a smaller cancellation fee and larger refund. Check it all out below…
Fee Assistance Program
The FAP provides financial assistance for the cost of MCAT registration and AMCAS submission fee. To learn more about FAP and to see if you’re eligible for assistance go here.
Retaking the MCAT?
Check out our blog post about the AAMC rules and what to keep in mind about retaking here.
These are all just the highlights! You are off to a great start here so be sure to check out AAMC’s MCAT Essentials here for any further questions you may have!
Don’t forget to check out the blog for more things pre-med and on conquering the MCAT including test section breakdowns and study tips! Practice with MCAT Cracker to ace it!
Preparing for the Medical College Admission Test is a daunting undertaking and you need a proper plan of action to succeed! If you’ve been following along the blog for a bit the idea of creating your own personalized MCAT study guide has come up before so now let’s really get into it!
There are actually quite a few study guides and strategy suggestions floating around but unfortunately, like a lot of MCAT information, it’s likely wildly outdated! With the major overhaul of the MCAT in 2015 much of the advice and general thinking around how to study for the big test reflects the old exam. It would be better to create a personalized MCAT study guide that is catered to you anyway so let’s explore how to do that!
AAMC’s Suggestions
The 5-part guideline outlined by the American Association of Medical Colleges is a pretty good place to start and adding in the blog wisdom
Understand – Know The Enemy
Learn all the ins and outs of the MCAT! Check out this quick overview video from AAMC. Luckily there’s conveniently quite a few MCAT Cracker blog posts focusing on breaking down the test! Example: CARS Section Breakdown
Establish – Know Where You Stand
Run a MCAT Cracker diagnostics test to discover your starting point and find out where you stand with the material so you can best decide how to move forward!
Study – Know Your Stuff
Personalize here! You know yourself best so set yourself up for success and get organized! Explore further with the blog posts we’ve covered in the past MCAT Study Tips and MCAT Tools & Resources! Work smarter not harder.
Practice – Practice Practice Practice
And Practice! Knowing the mountain of material is important but don’t underestimate the power of practice! Not only have we’ve been preaching the importance of practice here on the blog…MCAT Cracker specialize in it! Did you know you can take practice exams focusing on a specific section? So if you’re less strong on one section you can focus on working on that!
Simulate – Dress Rehearsal
Test day is a big day!
Gain some confidence and calm your nerves by going through test day like a practice run. This means wake up and prepare to take a full timed test and simulate the real thing at least once before real test day!
By now throughout your many years of schooling you know what works best for you so don’t stray and stay true to what works. Basically you know you best and if that means studying in the early mornings versus late afternoon or visual tools instead of textual guides then no need to drastically change your all study habits just adapt and expand! Check out Wikihow’s guide to formatting a personalized guide for you here.
You now hold the keys to success in order to create your very own MCAT study guide to conquer the test! As you may have noticed we have covered a lot of these topics already so stay tuned for more MCAT and medical school insight around the blog 🙂
It’s the BIG one. This application is massive and meticulous so get on it ASAP. With the exception of the schools in Texas, the AMCAS is the application used for nearly all med schools in the U.S.
The Texas programs use the Texas Medical & Dental School Application Service aka the TMDSAS, which also opened this month. Either way, it’s time to start applying!
Before You Apply
First thing first, here is the full 2017 AMCAS Instruction Manuel that you are required to read. The AMCAS is long and complicated; make your life easier and actually read the whole thing. All the information you can ever want can be found there and at the very comprehensive AMCAS website here.
The application fee for the submitting your AMCAS is $160(that includes one medical school designation) and additional medical school designations: $38 each. Keep in mind there is the Fee Assistance Program and if you qualified to use it when registering for the MCAT you probably qualify here too!
You’ll use your AAMC username and password to login, save, edit, and submit your AMCAS. This is the same login info from registering for the MCAT and Fee Assistance Program. If you are completely new to the AAMC website you can register here.
Important Dates
The AAMC does a great laying it all out with videos, charts, etc. so we’ll hit up the AAMC’s big highlights and sections here below 🙂
There are 9 sections of the AMCAS to complete
o Sections 1-3: Your Background Information
This is the standard personal and biographical information.
o Section 4: Course Work
Even the AAMC admits, “The Course Work section is often reported as the most difficult section to complete.” Here you take a copy of your transcripts to enter detailed information regarding every single course in which you enrolled at any college you attended.
o Section 5: Work and Activities
This is where you enter any work experience or extracurricular activities, awards, honors, or publications that you would like to show off to the admission committees. A maximum of 15 experiences may be entered and 3 entries can be designated as your “most meaningful” experiences. Really it’s quality > quantity, so don’t go crazy here.
o Section 6: Letters of Evaluation
Here you will enter the information regarding your letter of recommendation writers. Up to 10 letter entries may be created but keep in mind individual programs don’t need/want 10 letters!
o Section 7: Medical Schools
This is where you will select the schools to which you will apply. It is also where you can designate the schools you wish to receive specific letters of evaluation.
o Section 8: Essays
Here’s the big bad essay section where you explain why you wish to attend medical school and address any pertinent information not included elsewhere in the application. This is the place in your application where you can make a case for yourself in your own words! Remember: PROOFREAD! There is no spellcheck in the AMCAS and also keep in mind no bold or italics will show.
o Section 9: Standardized Tests
This is where you any test information goes i.e. MCAT scores/ future MCAT test dates and even GRE score if you got some.
It is strongly recommended to make use of the “Print Application” button on the Main Menu and proofread your application carefully. Realize that very few changes can be made after you officially submit your application, which you can start doing as early as June 2nd, 2015.
After you submit your completed application and all of your transcripts are received the AAMC then verifies the information like the course section of your application. You can login using your AAMC username to monitor the status of your application.
Well there it is folks, MCAT Cracker‘s application breakdown.
Maybe you freaked way out on test day or your scores turned out wildly unbalanced.
For whatever reason you might be considering retaking the MCAT, deciding to retake really depends on you!
Here are things to consider when facing the decision to relive test day…
The Rules.
First off, you need to know the official word on retesting from the AAMC…
In a single testing year, the MCAT exam can be taking up to three times
In a twoconsecutive-year period, the MCAT exam can be taken up to four times
In a lifetime, the MCAT exam can be taken up to seven times
Also worth noting: you can only be registered for one seat at a time and that no-shows and voids count as attempts!
Potential Med School Policies.
Don’t forget to check in on the medical programs you’re applying to and research specific MCAT retake rules! Different schools may look at multiple scores in a ways that can influence your decision to retest.
It’s imperative to note whether the schools you’re eyeing consider
onlythe highest overall score, average all scores or they might only consider the most recent score.
Prep Check.
Now that you’ve taken the test once and want to improve here are two important questions to ask yourself and answer honestly:
• How did you prepare the first time? • What will you do differently in preparing this time?
Pinpointing the issues and deciding how to move forward in studying for the next time is key. Is it just that you didn’t prepare enough or was it the way you studied? We would suggest that the essential factor in improving you score is PRACTICE. With MCAT Cracker practice tests you will get better at testing taking in general while also studying the content tested.
Postponing Instead.
If you having serious concerns before the big day and are already thinking about retesting, consider postponing your test instead. Depending on how far out test day is you might even be able to get a slight refund. Check out the different MCAT rescheduling fees according the different zones below:
Basically the only acceptable answer to
‘Should I retake the MCAT?’ is
it depends.
If you go with retesting, remember with MCAT Cracker you build on your test taking skills, time management, accuracy, confidence, and improve you MCAT scores!
Imagine that crowded and bustling organization fair at the beginning of each semester. There is likely a wide range of different pre-med or pre-health professional organization tables vying for your time and membership. There’s really a lot out there so how do you choose?
Or perhaps…
You may have strolled through that fair and thought something along the lines of…
“Hey I know all about applying for medical school and I got a pretty good handle on the MCAT so I don’t need those meetings and membership fees, right?!”
…but let’s take a closer look, shall we?
Gaining Relevant Experience
Simply putting down on your resume that you were a part of some pre-med society isn’t much help but there are plenty of ways to get involved in events and programs put on by the organization. Pre-med clubs offer a wide range of opportunities to be proactive in bettering yourself through things like for instance mentoring programs or gaining experience volunteering in the medical world.
Make the most of your time and membership fees frankly and get involved!
Leadership Opportunities
Within the ranks of the organization you can lead peers and drive the club to success.
Taking on a leadership role can be challenging but you gain the very valuable skills for a future in medicine in communication, negotiating, and problem solving just name a few. Besides leadership positions always look great on a resume. Taking the lead and the subsequent skills gained are extremely beneficial for a future medical professional.
Access to Resources
These organizations have resources you may not even be aware exist and in order to take advantage of them you have to be in the know!
One of the perks of a pre-med organization is that school representatives from the different medical programs will schedule more visits should they anticipate an audience of pre-med students. That means many clubs will host these representatives to come and talk to the group and answer any specific questions or even host a whole panel of representatives to speak!
Figure Out Exactly What You’re Doing
Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine, and Neurology, OH MY!
So what exactly are all the specializations and what is it exactly you want to do? Student orgs may bring in a wide range of people in the medical profession to talk on what they do and offer advice and help you discover exactly what you’d like to do someday!
Misery Loves Company
You’ll meet other pre-med hopefuls to share the woes of preparing for medical school. With everything from the AMCAS, the MCAT, letters of recommendation, etc making connections with fellow students that know exactly what you’re going through can be both comforting and helpful! You can even share your wisdom about how great MCAT Cracker is! 🙂
The real trick is finding the pre-med club for you. I wasn’t kidding when I said there’s a few out there. Check this list from the University of Texas at Austin of Pre-Health Profession Organizations here.
BONUS: The AAMC has even created a resource of potential pre-med organization lesson plans! It is a really neat tool. Check it out here.
In review, pre-med clubs can offer many benefits helping members stay on the track with things like career panels and mentoring programs!
So why would you want to join? The better question is why not?
CONGRATS to the first test takers of the new MCAT!
So what’s the verdict?
Was test day a complete unprepared fail? A complete crash and burn?…
…or maybe a pleasantly surprised victory?
Were you like Bill and remembered all your science?
The word on the street aka Reddit and the SDN is that the test was hard.
Not so surprising there, we knew the test would be tough.
Score reports will be out very soon so we’ll see how the early test takers fared.
Here’s a small summary of the common comments from April test takers about the all-new MCAT:
Yikes: “By FAR the hardest, most exhausting exam in my entire life.”
A new focus on procedural interpretation of experimental data on top of content testing. Basically, you have to know your stuff and how to apply what you know.
The CARS section is generally the same.
Reading comprehension is heavily tested all throughout the exam.
Most people found less physics than expected and more bio/chem/biochem.
Biological section the hardest especially biochem questions
Data interpretation. Reading peer reviewed articles isn’t just good habit for med school but it seems like it’ll help greatly here too.
The Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section featured a lot of unfamiliar terms and theories and it’s the understanding and application of these things that is imperative.
Practice. Practice. Especially with reading passages.
FYI: Registration for September test dates is now open! Go here to register.
If these first reactions to the brand new MCAT concern/scare/worry /etc. you, study up buttercup! Practice with MCAT Cracker to get you ready for your test day!
Registration for the all-new big, bad MCAT 2015 opens soon (like next month soon) and while you’re tirelessly hitting the books studying sometimes a nice visual aide in the form of a YouTube video can be a nice break or even a new perspective for understanding a difficult concept!
While you cannot rely solely on YouTube for your MCAT prep, these videos can be fun while extremely informative and there are great videos out there!
So how about a fun post on a few great YouTube channels to check out for supplemental studying material?
As previous mentioned before in the blog, the Association of American Medical Colleges (the makers of the MCAT) and Khan Academy worked together to create these video tutorials on a wide variety of MCAT subjects. With the brand-new sections in the MCAT 2015 these videos will be extra helpful! For example there’s a playlist on Social Inequality with this video on Intersectionality:
Everybody loves the Green brothers and they have great videos on a variety of topics from history to ecology! You should specifically check out their ones on chemistry, psychology, and biology like this awesome one on Why Carbon Is a Tramp:
Applying to med school is a long, trying process and while your probably stressing out already taking the new MCAT soon, it’s time to start thinking about your application too! If you’re currently studying to tackle the new MCAT 2015, you’re most likely planning on applying to enter med school in the Fall 2016.
Which means… RIGHT NOW is the time to be making the connections and developing relationships with future letters of recommendation writers!
You CAN’T just go around asking like this: “I’m great! Write about it!” *self-five*
So here’s the lowdown letters of rec:
Who to Ask?
Professors are bombarded with students asking for letters so the key is to ask the people who know you best in order to get the best letters. This is the time to be making nice with future potential letter writers and develop the kind relationships that make for compelling letters.
Basically you are recruiting for your med school application team, so choose them wisely!
Schools sometimes ask for specific letter writers (like one from a professor, one from an employer, etc.) so research your potential med schools’ requirements and plan accordingly.
Ask In Person.
Everyone really harps on this, as they should! You can set up an initial meeting through email to discuss the possibly of them writing a letter for you but you shouldn’t ask outright over the internet; that’s an in person question! Plus what’s that saying, “it’s harder to say no to someone in person”, right?
Ask Early.
As mentioned before professors are getting flooded with requests and you want a good letter not a rushed one! The absolute least amount of time is three weeks to ask for a good letter.
Go Asking Prepared.
This last tip will really set you apart from what could be many letter of recommendation a professor has to write. Go to your letter writers with all the materials they may need when writing a beautiful letter about you. These things can include your resume, CV, and at least a draft or bullet points from your personal statement. You want to set them up and make it easy for them to write a great letter so they can get a feel for exactly what you’re going for your application.
With these things in mind go forth and prosper setting yourself up for the best letters of recommendation possible! P.S. If you’re still stressing about that new MCAT fast approaching, practice and ace it with MCAT Cracker of course!
With the first round of the new MCAT just around the corner now let’s talk about the range of your study arsenal! A lot of MCAT resources out there are outdated and tailored for the old/current test rendering them to be of little real help for the MCAT 2015 beast! The word beast is not an understatement. This test isn’t just longer, it’s definitely harder:
AAMC MCAT 2015 Interactive Guide
The Association of American Medical College thankfully has laid everything out pretty clearly covering all the bases of the MCAT 2015. Using their interactive guide here you can explore explicitly stated tested material and even check out sample questions with explanations! The AAMC also sells a book guide to the test along with sample question for $35 here but with the MCAT 2015 costing $300 itself this guide is not totally necessary. Then there is their full-length practice test for $25 here.
Khan Academy Tutorial Videos
The AAMC with the Khan Academy has also released over 100 videos on numerous topics to be tested for free. Just by using your AAMC log in, you can access the video tutorials here.
Class Notes & Textbooks
These are your best tools for studying and reviewing and since you took tests for these classes already you know the best ways to study for you. Stick to these strategies when studying for the MCAT. The saying “treat it like a class” is real. Using the AAMC guide mentioned earlier as well a guide is the best thing you can really do. Since the material is laid out so well you can pin point areas for review. Commonly students tend to spend too much time reviewing material while spending not enough energy on practicing…
MCAT Cracker Is More Than You Think!
Speaking of practicing: with MCAT Cracker you take MCAT 2015 practice tests that simulate the look and feel of the new MCAT and that emulate the difficulty level of the real thing. To start you can log on to MCATCRACKER.com and take a free diagnostic test here to see where you stand and pin point your weaknesses.
MCAT Cracker also shares awesome videos giving an overview to each section. Check out the introductory MCAT 2015 video below and here’s the MCAT Cracker YouTube channel to watch all the videos.
Besides using MCAT Cracker for practical practice and advantageous tutorial videos, THIS BLOG is a treasure trove for an inside scoop on all things MCAT 2015! Be sure to check out our breakdown series where we talked about in length not only the new test itself but each of these new integrated sections! Shameless plug: There’s also great posts on study tips and study motivation! So thanks for tuning into the blog and stay tuned for more tips and tricks!
The big, bad MCAT 2015 has got some pre-meds running for the hills, no really. The drastic changes to the Medical College Admission Test are looming and many students are going to great lengths to avoid the new MCAT 2015 before it rolls out in April. Testing centers are all booked up before April and desperate times call for desperate measures including travelling far and wide for available seats. Check out CommonHealth’s awesome article on pre-meds stressing the changes here.
…but that’s not you. You brave soldier, are taking on the MCAT 2015 beast.
In case you missed it, MCAT Cracker posted a few study pointers (pictured below) for preparing the MCAT 2015 on Facebook so let’s expand on that list now, shall we? P.S. If you don’t already, go ‘Like’ MCAT Cracker on Facebook right here and now. After scouring the pre-med forums and developing tips specifically for the MCAT 2015, here is a carefully selected best of the best compilation of MCAT study tips!
Give Yourself 3 to 6 Months of Preparation
This is a big test to say the very least with an immense mountain of material to get through. This isn’t a test you will be cramming for. Brightside is you’ve already been preparing with all the hard work you’ve sure to have done in your classes. So now is the time to prove it. Now all you have to do is prepare for an extremely long exam that tests on all your classes ever in a highly integrated and all encompassing manner. Yeah, not easy so give yourself at 3 months!
Set Aside Time Everyday To Study
The tried and true saying of “treat it like a class” is not to be taken lightly you need to be setting out time everyday to study. With your real life (school/work/etc.) it’s understandable if you can’t marathon big block time of like 8-10 hours of study time everyday but you should be doing something each day. You must make the most of your time and focus, sticking strictly to the 50/10 rule! That’s 50 minutes study time and 10 minute break time.
Take Several Online Practice Exams
Practice, practice, practice. The endurance and stamina needed just to get through test day is going to take some getting used to. Practice tests like with MCAT Cracker are not only helpful with in content tested but also in getting used to computer testing and exposing you to the time needed for your brain to last through the whole exam.
Make Your Own Study Guide
Through your college life thus far you know how you best work and study so why not create your own study guide. You do you. Stick to what works just do it on a grander MCAT 2015 sized scale. Sitting down and laying out a plan and stick to it. Many of the guides and study schedules out on internet are designed for the old MCAT anyway so take the opportunity to personalize it for you. When creating a study schedule make sure to have a review day perhaps once a week.
Tutor Subjects Covered On The MCAT
Once you’ve figured out the subjects you need extra help on tackle them! With the MCAT Cracker diagnostic tests you can pin point specific areas in each section that you’re weakest in. This is not to say, “Well I’m a bio major so I can totes ignore the bio section and focus on the others”, that’s the worst. Sharpen your strengths and strengthen your weaknesses. This is the MCAT. You gotta do it all.
Take Classes In New Sections Like Sociology or Psychology
The new sections of the MCAT are the scary additions to the exam that have people stressing the most. Be mindful that these aren’t just new sections being added to the test but that all the sections have got an integration emphasis on them. But you’re not stressing. Look at you reading this blog and possibly even using MCAT Cracker already? You got this. Maybe you’re taking the new MCAT in the summer so you’re signed up to take a psych class in the spring semester? Because that would wicked smart. Either way if you are planning to take the MCAT 2015 there’s time to sharpen your knowledge in these subjects.
Well there they are now go forth and conquer! Be sure to check out other blog post on the changes of the exam and even breakdowns of each section. Plus get your practice on with MCAT Cracker. Got any other MCAT 2015 study tips to add to the list? Share with the class in the comments!
