When you're studying for the MCAT, you'll need to review information from several different fields – from the sciences to verbal reasoning skills. In addition, you'll need to be able to recall this information quickly enough to answer complex questions about it in a short amount of time. Enrolling in an MCAT prep course will help give you a solid knowledge base, as well as polish up your test-taking skills.
Types of MCAT Live Courses
If the university you're attending offers a pre-med program, they may also sponsor MCAT classes. While these courses won't count for academic credit, they'll still give you a good opportunity to start preparing for the MCAT. If your college doesn't offer an MCAT class, check to see if any other colleges or organizations in the area offer them. In some cases, you may be able to sign up for a class and then participate via teleconference or online discussion group.
Online MCAT Courses
As with many other types of standardized exams, you can sign up for online MCAT courses. These are especially useful if you need a flexible study schedule, or if you can't locate a live class in your area. If you sign up for online MCAT preparation classes early enough, you may be able to repeat them several times until you're comfortable with the exam material. This is especially important if you didn't do as well as you wanted to during the first round of practice.
MCAT Study Groups
Considering the number of individuals that want to become doctors, you should be able to find a number of study groups dedicated to preparing for the MCAT. In some cases, you may find that these groups are free to join. However, if you find one that has a dedicated MCAT tutor, it might be worth your while to pay a fee to join the group. As always, if you're going to work with a tutor or study group, it's important to find out how many students wound up earning good scores on their exams before you commit.
MCAT Books and Study Aides
In addition to enrolling in MCAT prep classes, it's important to work independently using a number of study aides. This includes books that will give you insight into the questions you are likely to find on the exam, as well as review books and notes that are dedicated to each area of the exam. Chances are, you'll also want to work with flash cards or any other study system that's helped you achieve success in the past.
If you're planning to take the MCAT exam, you've probably already had some experience with standardized tests, either during high school or with the SATs during the undergraduate admissions process. Even if you did well on these exams, it's important to realize that the MCAT is much more difficult, so you may need to do a bit more studying than you did for your other exams. Signing up for an MCAT prep course is one of the best ways to kick of your study program.
