Blueprint MCAT Blog: MCAT Biology

Why Is Gluconeogenesis Not Just Glycolysis in Reverse?

Glucogenesis Is Not Glycolysis in Reverse. Here’s Why. Glycolysis is widely understood to be one of the most important metabolic pathways to study for the exam, but students often have difficulty studying gluconeogenesis in parallel to glycolysis. On a certain level, it can be tempting to think of gluconeogenesis as the reverse of glycolysis because READ MORE

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 READ MORE

Oct 17, 2019

Easy Glycolysis Explanations

Ah glycolysis, the dread of every pre-medical student that is initially felt in their biochemistry class and once more while studying for the MCAT. Luckily, there are only a few things that you need to know about glycolysis when studying for the MCAT. We’re going over a few easy glycolysis explanations to better ingrain and understand these topics and eventually the first year of medical school. READ MORE

Apr 23, 2018

Chromatography on the MCAT Exam – What You Need to Know

Apr 09, 2018

MCAT Biomolecules – Making Sense of Lipids on the MCAT

Jan 30, 2018

Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow: 4 Misconceptions About the Excretory System

As a prospective doctor, you likely spend significant time thinking about how our bodies work. Some aspects of human organ systems may feel almost like second nature by now – how an action potential propagates, perhaps, or the parts of the digestive tract. But if you ask even the most physiology-savvy MCAT students, they will READ MORE

Jun 20, 2017

Strategies For Difficult MCAT Passages: Biological and Biochemical Foundations

Preparing for the MCAT often involves making decisions about passage strategy. After all, most questions on the exam are associated with a passage, and these passages may be dense or difficult to read. This problem can be especially relevant to the Biological and Biochemical Foundations section. Imagine clicking “Next” on your exam and seeing something READ MORE

Jun 01, 2017

Types of Inhibition: Focus on the Basics

Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics, and especially keeping track of the various kinds of reversible enzyme inhibition, is one of the most challenging areas of biochemistry for many MCAT students. It’s extremely easy to get lost in the details of memorizing terminology, types of graphs, x-intercepts, y-intercepts, and so forth – but superficially memorized information is very READ MORE

Search the Blog

Free Consultation

Interested in our Online MCAT Course, One-on-One MCAT Tutoring or Med admissions packages? Set up a free consultation with one of our experienced Senior Student Advisors.

Schedule Now

Free MCAT Practice Account

Need great MCAT practice?

Get the most representative MCAT practice possible when you sign up for our free MCAT Account, which includes a half-length diagnostic exam and one of our full-length MCAT practice exams.

Learn More