BLUEPRINT MCAT BLOG

At Blueprint, we believe in educating first. Our MCAT blog was created to reflect this value. Our articles are written by the same MCAT experts who write our MCAT books, MCAT practice exams, and our MCAT course materials. We also partner with guest contributors regularly, both professionals and industry experts, to make sure that you are getting information that is not only relevant, but accurate.

Learn from the best with this free MCAT resource, updated with new articles regularly. If you need to know about a specific MCAT subject, changes being made to the MCAT exam, and general information about the MCAT, our blog is the perfect place for you.

MCAT vs LSAT: Complete Comparison

The MCAT, medical college admission test, and LSAT, law school admission test, are both incredibly difficult, long exams. The MCAT prepares future physicians for medical school while the LSAT does the same for aspiring law students. While the subjects tested on these two tests are extremely different, you might be surprised at the number of

Jun 17, 2022

To 515 and Beyond! Why an MCAT Score is More Than Just a Number

Five hundred twenty-eight. Compared to seeing the numerals “528,” the written words have a much different vibe for me now. There I was, shooting for 100%s on exams through college, then suddenly people are telling me I “need a 528,” but “don’t worry 515 is great,” or “honestly anything over 510 is solid!” Excuse me,

Jun 09, 2022

How Long Should a Med School Personal Statement Be?

The part of applying to medical school that can be the most intimidating isn’t the prep classes or even the MCAT itself. For many students, it’s the personal statement segment of the application that can be the most daunting. The personal statement asks applicants to answer the very open-ended question “why do you want to

Jun 01, 2022

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Intermediates: How to Optimize Studying Biochemistry

Every pre-med student can agree: memorization is HARD and memorization is important. To vex us even more, some MCAT topics only require surface-level knowledge, while others seem to require an endless parade of facts. Take metabolism for instance; remembering that HEXoses have six carbons? Not too bad! Remembering that “py-ru-vate” has “1-2-3” carbons? Still…OK…but starting

May 17, 2022

Avoiding The Empty Brain Feel: Managing content anxiety on the MCAT

As a pre-med, you’ve taken an exam or two (though it probably feels like 200!). When test time came, you may well have experienced testing anxiety. Sweaty palms, nausea, heart palpitations, racing thoughts, going “blank”, hyperfixation, and catastrophic thinking are just a few of the symptoms of an anxious test taker. For an exam like

May 09, 2022

How Many Times Can You Take The MCAT?

For many pre-med students, the MCAT isn’t a “one and done” deal. Maybe you didn’t receive the MCAT score you were hoping for, or perhaps you simply felt like your nerves got the best of you on test day—in either circumstance, you are not alone! Rest assured, it is possible (and not uncommon) to take

May 02, 2022

What To Do During Your Gap Year Before Medical School

Taking a gap year offers you the opportunity to gain new experiences, understand new perspectives, and learn new skills, while providing you with a break from an ongoing academic schedule. Gap years before medical school have become very common. According to data from the AAMC 2021 Matriculating Student Questionnaire, over two-thirds of matriculants took at

Apr 29, 2022

What to bring to the MCAT

You’ve done it. You’ve studied, prepared, reviewed, and now you’re ready to get that goal score on MCAT test day. While the process of getting here has probably been pretty stressful, you’ll want to make sure that test day is as easy as possible. To ensure test day is smooth sailing, there are some things

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