The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a significant milestone (as well as significantly stressful) for any aspiring medical student. A high MCAT score can open doors and greatly improve your chances of being accepted into a medical school. Even with months of hard work and preparation, sometimes we need just a little boost right at the very end to help us get across the finish line. As your test date draws nearer, effective last-minute MCAT tips can make a big difference.
Last-Minute MCAT Tips
Prioritize High-yield MCAT Topics
Okay, I know this seems like a no-brainer. You’ve probably spent the past few months focusing on what is or is not “high yield”, so why is this tip #1?
Many of us start to hyper-focus on the things we still don’t understand towards the end of our MCAT prep. It makes sense, after all. You’re taking practice MCAT exams, reviewing them, and then teaching yourself the things that still aren’t clicking. Active learning at its best!
The thing I caution many students about is hyper-focusing on the small mistakes all the way to test day. With test day rapidly approaching, we want to optimize our study time. So, high-yield topics are the way to go.
Further Reading
Granted, everyone’s a little different as far as what their needs and focus should be. However, if I’m asked which one is the better option to memorize right before the exam, the Electron Transport Chain Mechanism versus all the steps to Fischer Esterification, I’m going with ETC 90% of the time.
The unfortunate truth is that despite how “low yield” something might be, it can absolutely show up on your MCAT. Low yield doesn’t mean you don’t need to know the information. Instead, it means that it’s more unlikely to show up on your exam compared to something that’s “high yield”.
When thinking about last-minute MCAT tips, we’re playing a game and trying to optimize our points.
Remember, you don’t need a perfect score to get into med school!
Utilize Flashcards for Quick Review
After sharing the last-minute MCAT tips above, I’m often met with some questions about time management and prioritization. How are we supposed to review the low-yield stuff, while simultaneously focusing on the high-yield?
Different study methods produce different results and are typically strategically utilized for different topics.
Should you sit down and do dozens of questions focusing on Jones’ reagent and its effect on different molecules? Nope! Just make a flashcard that covers the important stuff (it converts primary alcohols to carboxylic acids and secondary alcohols to ketones) and move on to bigger fish.
Flashcards became my best friend during those last few days before the MCAT. They’re a fantastic way to spend a little bit of time (15 – 30 minutes a day) reviewing topics that you aren’t necessarily sitting down and doing passage after passage, question after question with.
Blueprint MCAT experts created 1600+ curated MCAT flashcards—access them here for free! However, I still recommend making your own flashcards throughout your MCAT prep, as well.
Don’t forget to actually REVIEW those cards though! Too many times we make dozens of flashcards but don’t end up going through them.
Utilize AAMC Resources
We’ve mentioned several times in various MCAT tips how important it is that you’re taking full-length practice exams and using passage-based questions, but we haven’t been very specific about where those resources are coming from.
Typically, we recommend saving your AAMC resources until the final four to five weeks of your MCAT prep. The AAMC exams have a unique focus, and by saving your resources until the very end, you’re able to fully immerse yourself in the AAMC’s writing style.
So, are you supposed to do nothing until those final weeks? Of course not! That’s what 3rd party resources (i.e.: Blueprint MCAT) are for! Burn through our representative full-length exams and use our Qbanks for the first few months while you’re still getting into your groove. Then, switch to AAMC right at the end.
Further Reading
Refine Your Test-Taking Strategies
In those last few weeks of your prep, it’s tempting to just double down and focus on content and reviewing all those little details that you still haven’t memorized. You’ve probably been “doing content” for months at this point. However, upping your content review is rarely an effective last-minute MCAT tip.
Instead, improving your test-taking strategies can significantly enhance your test-day performance.
- Pacing: Are you managing your time wisely across all sections? If you have pacing issues, where are they popping up? Is the passage taking too long to read through? Are you spending 4 minutes on a single question? Or are you just taking a little bit too long on EVERY question?
- Figure Analysis: Are you spending minutes staring at figures and still aren’t able to pull out the important information? How often do you miss questions that involve figures?
- Experimental Design: This is criminally underrated as a high-yield topic. Knowing WHAT the researchers are investigating, understanding WHY the experimenters did certain steps, and HOW are they reaching their conclusion are all vital.
- Reading Comprehension: For CARS and science passages, are you able to interpret the text quickly and accurately? Do you get lost in paragraphs and lose points because of it? Do you notice yourself losing focus and glazing over long paragraphs with lots of complicated words? The MCAT is passage-based, and if you don’t understand the passages, you’re going to miss out on a lot of points.
- Strategic Guessing: Don’t roll your eyes at this one! The truth is, someone who scored 520+ isn’t inherently smarter than someone scoring 515. They’re just better at playing the MCAT game. Eliminate obviously wrong answers first. Does another answer sound good, but it’s not actually dealing with the topic from the question? Eliminate. Aim for perfection in practice, but on test day, we can’t be picky. There are plenty of points out there that are up for grabs, even if you guessed to get them.
Stay Physically and Mentally Healthy
Premeds are notorious for neglecting their own physical and mental health. It’s tragically ironic, considering that we plan to give others physical and mental health advice down the road.
So many of us think that if we just worked harder, slept less, and studied more, then we’ll eventually break through our score plateaus and it’ll all work out. Unfortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
We like to imagine ourselves as these perfectly logical computing machines, but it’s just not the case. Embrace your brain for the squishy, wrinkly, weird, hormone-flooded, organic thing that it is and treat it right!
Make sure to get enough sleep, eat nutritious meals, and stay hydrated. Engaging in light exercise, like a quick jog or practicing yoga, helped me manage stress and maintain focus whenever I found myself drifting. Meditation (or really just mindfulness) also became a part of my routine, allowing me to keep a clear and calm mind.
Plan a Smooth Test Day
Logistical preparation for test day is just as important as academic preparation and they are unavoidable last-minute MCAT tips. Here’s the minimum that you should do:
- Know the Test Center: Familiarize yourself with the location and layout of your test center. Plan your travel route. Ensure you know exactly how long it will take to get there the day of your exam. I recommend visiting your testing center a day or two before your MCAT test date. The last thing you want is to be running late, stressed out, and panicking before we even step foot in the testing center.
- Pack Essentials: Bring all your necessary items and make sure you aren’t accidentally bringing anything that’s prohibited. Check out our list of MCAT test day essentials and guidelines here. Lay out all your clothes and pack your supplies the day before so you aren’t stressed about what to wear the morning of your MCAT.
- Rest Well: Back to our weird squishy brains for a moment. We can’t function without sleep. Aim to get a full night’s rest before test day. You’ve been studying for months, but cramming until midnight the day before isn’t going to make or break your score. You’ll perform better if your mind is fresh and alert instead.
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Flip the Script
During your last week of MCAT prep, we recommend you stop focusing on your weaknesses. Instead, focus on your strengths. The reasoning behind this is 2-fold.
First, you’ve probably been reviewing your weaknesses for weeks at this point. In fact, that’s basically what MCAT prep is all about. You take a practice test, it tells you what you need to work on, and then you go and practice that material.
However, we tend to treat MCAT prep as a zero-sum game. If you’re focusing on your weaknesses, chances are that you’re neglecting some of the topics that you consider yourself strong in. The last week of your prep is the perfect time to flip the script and review those strengths again. After all, those are supposed to be our easy, “give-me” points. The last thing we want is to miss out on those free points.
Secondly, think of this as a mind game. You probably know that there’s a massive psychological component to the MCAT. No, I’m not talking about the Psych/Soc section. I’m referring to your personal psychology going into and taking the MCAT.
Premeds who doubt themselves and lack confidence tend to do worse on the test than someone who is confident, even if their content knowledge and test strategies are identical. The AAMC writes questions in a way that makes us overthink and second-guess ourselves.
So how can we overcome that? By focusing on our strengths right at the end of our MCAT prep. Ideally, we should get most of the questions right if they’re our strengths and this is a nice little mental boost of confidence right before the real deal.
Final Thoughts
Incorporating the right last-minute MCAT tips and strategies can boost your MCAT score and improve your confidence. Are these tips a substitute for months of rigorous preparation? Of course not, but they can make the difference between an “okay” score and a score you’re ecstatic about.
Remind yourself not to overthink questions. Trust your instincts. Avoid excessive second-guessing. Stay calm, even when you run into difficult questions, and maintain a positive and focused mindset throughout the exam.
For additional support or if you’re considering pushing back your test date for whatever reason, the experts at Blueprint MCAT are here to help!
Whether you need the flexibility of a Self-Paced Course, the instruction of a Live Course, or 1:1 attention of a private MCAT tutor, we have the MCAT prep option that works for your learning style!
Ready to start on the path toward your MCAT score increase? Get access to tons of free MCAT resources today when you create a free Blueprint MCAT account!
With dedication and the right approach, you can achieve a high MCAT score and be one step closer to achieving your dream of becoming a medical professional. Good luck!
