10 Steps to Ace MCAT
By Aneeqa Javed
1st Year
MCAT has always been a subject to criticism and every year we hear rumors like ‘iss saal MCAT nae hona’. But the thing is, whether you like it or not, you will have to take the test if you wish to be a doctor. Of course you will have to fly high in MCAT if you wish to be a kemcolian. I’ve gone through it once (thank God!) and I would like to share what I learned from my experience. If I summarize it, I think there are not more than 10 simple things you need to do to ace MCAT.
1. READ THE BOOKS
The most important thing is that you go through all your books i.e. chemistry, biology and physics at least once. Try to read the chapters as much as you can. Trust me; the book reading will help you more than you know. If you’ve done A levels, it is highly necessary that you go through the F.Sc books.
2. STICK TO THE SYLLABUS
Although I’d ask you to do the related chapters also; but it is advisable that you stick to the syllabus. UHS has made it easy by giving a complete syllabus outline and remember ‘SYLLABUS SE BAHAR KUCH NAHIN ATA’.
3. PRACTICE
Of course you must practice. Once you’ve gone through the books, solve as many MCQs as you can. Get some test papers from a good academy like Kips or Stars and try doing them. The more MCQs you’ve done, the better it is.
4. JOINING AN ACADEMY
There’s always a fuss about which academy to go to as there are possibly a dozen academies that claim to get you into a medical college. Remember one thing; it’s you who has to work in the end. If you have a command over your F.Sc, you can probably score well in MCAT too. Joining an academy for the test session is a very good idea.
5. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
So you are done with the books and everything but you know you can’t get into a med school-that’s where the real problem stands. You are no less than any other kid of your age. If they can do it, why can’t you?
6. PAST PAPERS
Yes, the past papers definitely help. Try getting the past papers and their keys. They are available on the internet. Solve them, test yourself and you’re good to go.
7. STAY OPTIMISTIC
Don’t worry if your score in the tests is not what you want it to be. It’s all a practice and its better if you do all the mistakes in the practice tests, isn’t it?
8. NOTES
Okay, so which notes to buy? Do not buy any, only the English ones for the vocabulary (which you have to learn by all means!) because they will definitely sidetrack you. The books are what you need.
9. CHEMISTRY
Chemistry always serves as a pain in the back. Okay, so you don’t have to learn all the reactions in your book. For organic chemistry, the reactions are easy if you try to understand them. For example, if you know that an alkane (say methane) gives CO2, H2O and heat on combustion, you’d know that ethane does the same (of course this was a very simple reaction. The only one I remember!). For the numericals of chapter 1 and 3, practice them as much as you can. But don’t worry; only the very simple ones will come in the test (yes, you will not have to use a calculator after all).
10. PRAYERS
Last but NOT the least, (I saved the best for last) pray to ALLAH as much as possible. And ask your mother to pray for you too as Allah listens best to a mother’s plea for her child. :)
Best of luck! Hope to see you at KE as my juniors next year.
> For further MCAT and FSc Guidance visit the PreMed Section
1st Year
MCAT has always been a subject to criticism and every year we hear rumors like ‘iss saal MCAT nae hona’. But the thing is, whether you like it or not, you will have to take the test if you wish to be a doctor. Of course you will have to fly high in MCAT if you wish to be a kemcolian. I’ve gone through it once (thank God!) and I would like to share what I learned from my experience. If I summarize it, I think there are not more than 10 simple things you need to do to ace MCAT.
1. READ THE BOOKS
The most important thing is that you go through all your books i.e. chemistry, biology and physics at least once. Try to read the chapters as much as you can. Trust me; the book reading will help you more than you know. If you’ve done A levels, it is highly necessary that you go through the F.Sc books.
2. STICK TO THE SYLLABUS
Although I’d ask you to do the related chapters also; but it is advisable that you stick to the syllabus. UHS has made it easy by giving a complete syllabus outline and remember ‘SYLLABUS SE BAHAR KUCH NAHIN ATA’.
3. PRACTICE
Of course you must practice. Once you’ve gone through the books, solve as many MCQs as you can. Get some test papers from a good academy like Kips or Stars and try doing them. The more MCQs you’ve done, the better it is.
4. JOINING AN ACADEMY
There’s always a fuss about which academy to go to as there are possibly a dozen academies that claim to get you into a medical college. Remember one thing; it’s you who has to work in the end. If you have a command over your F.Sc, you can probably score well in MCAT too. Joining an academy for the test session is a very good idea.
5. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
So you are done with the books and everything but you know you can’t get into a med school-that’s where the real problem stands. You are no less than any other kid of your age. If they can do it, why can’t you?
6. PAST PAPERS
Yes, the past papers definitely help. Try getting the past papers and their keys. They are available on the internet. Solve them, test yourself and you’re good to go.
7. STAY OPTIMISTIC
Don’t worry if your score in the tests is not what you want it to be. It’s all a practice and its better if you do all the mistakes in the practice tests, isn’t it?
8. NOTES
Okay, so which notes to buy? Do not buy any, only the English ones for the vocabulary (which you have to learn by all means!) because they will definitely sidetrack you. The books are what you need.
9. CHEMISTRY
Chemistry always serves as a pain in the back. Okay, so you don’t have to learn all the reactions in your book. For organic chemistry, the reactions are easy if you try to understand them. For example, if you know that an alkane (say methane) gives CO2, H2O and heat on combustion, you’d know that ethane does the same (of course this was a very simple reaction. The only one I remember!). For the numericals of chapter 1 and 3, practice them as much as you can. But don’t worry; only the very simple ones will come in the test (yes, you will not have to use a calculator after all).
10. PRAYERS
Last but NOT the least, (I saved the best for last) pray to ALLAH as much as possible. And ask your mother to pray for you too as Allah listens best to a mother’s plea for her child. :)
Best of luck! Hope to see you at KE as my juniors next year.
> For further MCAT and FSc Guidance visit the PreMed Section
I know that MCAT is a really tough exam but can I do a way with it without a tutor? Well, I'm sorta saving and I can't afford tutoring.
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