MCATbyJAMES

The main differences are results. I have taught over 300 students personally on a 1:1 basis with the majority of them matriculating into medical school the following year. My average student scores between a 520-525 consistently on the four AAMC official diagnostic exams listed on the main website with the average student finishing more than 20 full length exams by the time they officially write. 

As a former medical student, and MCAT test-taker, I have scored a 41 (old MCAT) and a perfect 528 (new MCAT), and have been scouted as the lead tutor for many major prep companies during my years in medical school (for my full bio, please click here). After helping my own peers through this process, I have designed this curriculum based on my personal experience and on what "works" and what "doesn't work" based on numerous studies, citations and methods. 

There is an idea of a "complete" MCAT study program offered by a lot of big-name prep companies. The curriculum is based off of a structured grasp of material (which is actually well-organized by the way), and allows you to feel like you are getting a good grasp of the material. During this time, you will most likely be asked to study every fact in several hundred pages of text, every formula, and every figure. You may meticulously run through this material, and come out as the master of theory in Kinematics, Cell Cycle and/or Nephron Physiology, but this does NOT work. This is possibly the worst way to study for the MCAT.

 

Active recall is important, but practice and simulated testing is what keeps knowledge. When learning a new skill/theory, active recall is the mechanism which makes the information stick. Things one has done are remembered and actively recalled better than things done by others that one has observed. 

Whether or not you choose to study with me, you must realize that the MCAT is NOT a retrieval-based exam. It's less fact-based than you may think, and more dynamic with the way it tests the concepts, as it tests you on new passage-based, experimental information mixed in with theories that you already know. It is experimental, not semantic. It is an IQ test, not a memory test. It is a test on how to think, rather than just what you know.

 

Many of my students come to me after being let down on how badly prepared they were on the official MCAT after taking courses with the big prep companies, but this is actually not their fault. In truth, Princeton/Kaplan's curriculum is designed to make you feel good about yourself, for a feeling of "progress." Despite dedicating yourself to their notes, powerpoint presentations, and quite arbitrary (and very basic) formula-based questions, you may feel like you are progressing, but a lot of students lack direction in how to actually read passages, how to approach the questions and even what passage information to focus on and read. A lot of top prep companies offering these "complete" study programs are so passive and lecture-based that I genuinely believe self-studying would even be more efficient and less time-consuming as you can go at your own pace and understand the material more thoroughly.

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In my course, however, I don't do lectures. I hate tips/tricks. My course is based purely on hard-work and is very intense, and I require my students to do pre-requisite work before and after each lecture. Goals are set every week, and timelines will be checked off every month depending on your experience and prior knowledge. Every student will have his/her own file with progress updates daily including reading material and solo-at-home practice.

 

The way I teach is that I base my curriculum off a 70/30 approach by 70% application and 30% theory. Instead of a lecture, we will be breaking down passages step-by-step to promote active thinking after you have gone through my assigned readings before and after each class (all course theory material, exams and homework will be provided at no additional cost). You will notice that the learning process will be significantly different in focus and pace, as theories/mechanisms will actually make intuitive sense and you will be fluid in your knowledge base to apply it in a variety of contexts and experimental data.

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Even if your baseline for the sciences and for CARS is quite low, as long as you come with an active mind and a willingness to work hard (and also make mistakes), I will guide you through the structure of the MCAT the way the AAMC writers see it. You will be able to read each type of passage with confidence and learn the correct approach to break down even the most difficult "killer" passages. That is my guarantee.

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