Why Take a Course?
The hardest part of studying for the MCAT is having the motivation to put in the 300+ hours to succeed. That's why students that take a course are more successful, not only because courses give you structure but also because they you motivate you by making you accountable. It's difficult to maintain focus and discipline over the months required to study for the MCAT and a course can help you stay on track.
This exam has a way of wearing down on a student's confidence. When students take tests by themselves they get depressed. When students take practice exams and get a low score, they assume that they're the only one's struggling with the exam and get discouraged. By tackling exams as a group you'll realize that this exam is difficult for everyone and progress is slow. Also, you’ll find that your peers, instructor and tutor will be your best cheerleader, helping you get through periods of low motivation.
Most of my students are extremely bright and dedicated. If they read enough study guides and forums they may be able to figure out what strategies work by trial and error and find out which content material is actually important. But it’s a lot more efficient to just let us to that leg work for you. We’ve read or used almost all the MCAT practice material out there and we know what works and what doesn’t. We’ve taken enough MCAT exams to know which content is really emphasized on the exam so instead of reviewing thousands of pages of science content on your own, we provide you with condensed notes to study from and simplified strategies that have been proven to work.
You can get individual support and feedback from your instructor and your peers. Some students are weaker than others in certain areas, by going through content, taking tests together and sharing your results we can help you improve. . My students and I have found getting consistent feedback extremely beneficial in continually increasing your scores.
If you talk to any student who has taken the exam, they'll tell you that dealing with anxiety while taking the MCAT is one of the major challenges of the exam. Every quarter I get new students that had previously done poorly on their MCAT exams because they had a freak out during the real thing. Students need to develop a tolerance to this type of anxiety by taking tests under real world conditions where the score matters. The best way to develop this tolerance is by taking tests with a group and then share your score with an instructor.
Ideally, you would all get into medical school but every year about half of those who apply never get accepted anywhere. For the more competitive schools the acceptance rates are below 5%. Based on an AAMC study, a major deciding factors that determine if your application gets any attention, other than your GPA, is your MCAT score. Your MCAT score alone doesn't necessarily get you into Medical School but it can certainly keep you out. This is an exam you want to study for once, take once, and get a solid score. Some student spend years studying for this exam. Some student’s get kept out of medical school because of low MCAT scores. You’ve already invested years of your life and tens of thousands of dollars taking courses to prepare for a medical career, you don’t want an exam standing in your way. It’s worth the initial investment to stay competitive