The Pre-Med Podcast

Episode 49: Learn 5 electives that will help you on the new MCAT. Stay up-to-date with the new 2015 MCAT changes. Download transcript: The New 2015 MCAT The MCAT is Changing, again… In this episode, I’m going to be discussing the upcoming changes to the new MCAT in 2015. There are three or four transitions that they’ve announced, and they pose to be big. It’s January of 2014, so I’m hoping that this podcast will be useful to you as you plan the rest of your undergraduate coursework now to help put you in best position, because the published books out there on the MCAT obviously take a while to hit print, so an MCAT book you pick off the shelf is not going to be ready to go for 2015. No one knows quite the emphasis or volume and scope of material that’s going to be used for these changes, especially with the new sections on the MCAT. What you need to do is, as we’ll get to, get a broad based education in these new topic areas. Let’s begin by setting the stage just a little bit. For a long time now, and since the MCAT’s creation in 1928, the Association of American Medical Colleges … Yes, it’s the same one that covers the MCAT’s application, and accredits the allopathic MD medical schools, so they’re a big deal. They oversee the MCAT as well. They have been pushing and pushing to emphasis that it’s not just about science coursework, as you’ve heard me talk about on the podcast before, but there is an ever increasing emphasis on critical reasoning skills, and the ability to apply knowledge into a different situation. They are going to intentionally on the MCAT put you in a situation of perhaps some kind of book, or essay, or scientific scenario that you could not have prepared for, and you’re supposed to exercise what science knowledge you have into a new environment. They are testing how you think. And isn’t that kind of a cop out? Why do I say that? Because they’re essentially testing how well a pre-medical student already thinks like a doctor, and yet you haven’t been to medical school. The message to me is the medical schools, at least according to the AAMC and their allopathic medical schools, need more and more for doctors to come up to medical school, show up on day one, and already know how to think critically and analyze critically, and I’d say that was kind of a weakness of mine. A Kaplan course did help, but it did not raise my score. It did come out in other ways, as you can possibly tell that I’m a little bit critical and analytical with some of the research I do. There are a couple of foundation articles that you can look up on your own if you would like. The words in the transcript for this episode will be available for download. By the way, I started making transcripts available a few episodes back, so if you ever want to find a reference, or what I said, go back and look at that. We appreciate Rev.com in helping with the podcast transcripts. And honestly I have to say as an aside, their app that allows me to do some podcasting on the phone and on the road has helped me be more prolific with the podcasts. So, give a big shout out to Rev dot com. That’s a cool thing. That, also, explains why sometimes there’s some background road noise. I apologize, but if I didn’t have the flexibility to do some podcasts spontaneously on the road, I would have about half as much out there. 2014 is a huge podcasting year. They’re coming out almost weekly. These foundational articles are, number one, in 2009, a document called Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians, was released, and in 2011, a separate paper called Behavioral and Social Science Foundations for Future Physicians. They were essentially a work of a group of experts, not just doctors, students, pre-medical advisors and even residents, but, also, psychometric experts. These are the people that have essentially b[...]

Episode 48: Four timless questions and answers that every PreMed must know. Download transcript:  Q&A From an MMC Graduate In this episode, we’re digging back into the archives to talk about some questions from a Mastermind member who leads gp brighton clinic.  This is back from December 2009 when we were doing a private coaching session with someone who later got into medical school.  If you would listen back far enough, you will find the podcast episode that discussed four years of application failure, five acceptances. This is someone who was interviewed on the podcast previously that spent four years in a row couldn’t get into medical school, decided to work in the medical field for a while, found me and I coached her through and she got accepted to five different medical schools and had her choice and she picked her first choice. These questions have already been answered privately in the Mastermind Community, but I wanted to bring to you a public sample of what happens on inside the community that can revolutionize someone’s career trajectory that far.  She is very happy now by the way and she’s an author on one of our research papers. Question number one.  How hard is it really to get a job as an American-foreign medical graduate?  For example, if I were to go to Roche down in the Caribbean.  She has worked at a recruiting company that said it can be hard to place someone in job positions.  Some places categorically refuse to hire Caribbean grads and she wanted to hear direct from folks interviewed on the program. I worked with a number of osteopathic physicians and I’ve done a research and statistics so I want to take this question here publicly.  First of all, let me back up and explain the context.  Whenever you go to medical school, you have an allopathic or MD route or an osteopathic route that you can go down.  One grants in MD degree, one grants a DO degree.  For the allopathics going to MD, when you’re down with medical school, you go on into an allopathic residency program of all the different specialties that you’ve heard about. If you go osteopathic, you can get a DO.  You actually have your choice of either an osteopathic residency, because there are lots of specialties that are osteopathic or you can go into an allopathic one, so you can go either way if you’re osteopathic.  If you are allopathic and have an MD, you can’t go into an osteopathic residency, so it’s one-sided.  In that respect, it is easier to get a job because you have more options if you’re osteopathic. The statistics don’t quite bare themselves out because when you research it, which I have of course, the osteopathic society that licenses osteopathic medical schools does not publish enough statistics for somebody to calculate the residency matriculation rate when they graduate.  The only thing we have available is osteopathics and there’s only about 78% of graduating senior osteopathic students get allopathic residencies. I know that might sound confusing.  We really don’t think it’s not bad.  In other words we don’t think it’s 22% of osteopaths not getting a residency.  But more than her question here is this idea of not being able to get a job if you’re osteopathic.  It’s really ridiculous and in fact you think it’s illegal for a place to refuse someone because of their training in the Caribbean. She’s given us insider information and I have heard this from other sources, too that some people don’t want foreign-trained doctors or foreign medical graduates.  It’s the fact of life.  It’s not that the employers don’t really want it.  It’s usually that the patients don’t want it.  The last thing that they want to do is take their baby to someone who doesn’t hardly speak English when they’re sick in the middle of the night.  You know what I mean? It’s a cultural thing.  I agree largely in ignorance thing.[...]

Episode 47: A long episode about 21 characteristics of the ultimate and worst premed advisers. See if you already do this… Download transcript: 21 Tips for Discerning Bad Premed Advisors In this episode, I’m going to be teaching twenty-one tips for how you can discern good pre-med advising from bad.  Believe it or not, I get a lot of questions where people that—at least, I don’t know who they are—but they contact me for the first time, baring their souls in emails, telling me their personal stories, and I do not take that lightly.  They ask questions about their career advice and when I study their questions, I kind of categorize them and I organize a whole file-folder of course.  You know me, right? On all the questions that they asked, there are a few things that these questions have in common, and in many ways, I feel like they’re asking the wrong question.  Specifically, why are they asking me?  Why me?  Is it because I podcast?  Is it because they’ve heard me share my personal story?  If you’re skeptical, you’re going to like this episode, because I’ve held onto it for a long time.  I pulled it out of my files for future podcasts.  As you know, I’m back on track doing a lot of podcasts, and I’m having what I call Mastermind Mondays, where I’ll schedule them every Monday.  Make sure your subscriptions and your emails and all that are up to date with the Mastermind Community, so that you can keep up with podcasts. Today, let’s turn our attention to twenty-one tips for how to discern good pre-med advising from bad.  Let’s get started.  To put this in context, imagine the kind of questions that I get.  I’ve got a list of them here in front of me.  Like, “What should I do to prepare for my MCAT strategy?”  “What can I do in undergrad coursework that would best set me up for medical school as well as the MCAT?”  “How do I make a study plan?” et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.  I’m telling you that in some cases, people are asking everybody they can find the same kind of questions.  How do you determine who is going to be an authority in your life, and be able to answer that question for you? 1.                        Number one question to ask yourself before you go and seek pre-medical advice relating to your undergraduate coursework, GPA, preparatory experiences, the application, and the MCAT.  Number one, “Is this person I’m asking experienced with the struggle, or have they always been successful in kind of everything they’ve touched?”  This works a little bit on this idea of a non-traditional applicant.  A traditional applicant would be one that does high school and does well, at least not failing, right?  Maybe some C’s, but probably not too many D’s.  A good childhood is very very important, and family that stick together and provide you the emotional nourishment you need so people aren’t acting out and behaving badly.  Trust me, if you’re like me, and that wasn’t the case, you can still learn these skills and become a good physician. The non-traditional one has struggled a bit, whether it’s they didn’t go to college right away, or they went to college and either quit or graduated and went on and did something else for a while and later decided they wanted to do medical school.  That’s what I’m talking about non-traditional.  If you’re going to ask someone for pre-medical advice, you need to know if they’ve been a traditional versus non-traditional applicant and see if that matches up with your experience.  If you are taking advice from someone that’s non-traditional but you’re traditional, it may not fit.  I think that’s why the pre-med podcast appeals to people with something in their background like a C that bothers them or some failing classes or a lower GPA or something, because that is most of the questions that I get, and I get that and understand it.  I’m good at it.  I have personally struggled with that, and my whole academic career has not always been successful on paper.  That’s one thing you need to[...]

Episode 46: There are 4 steps to planning out your MCAT strategy: 1. take an old MCAT test first, 2. read 1-2 books and listen to MMC podcast, 3. focus on your weak areas, 4. repeat steps 1-3. “Today we’re going to be discussing a successful MCAT preparation strategy. This is in response to a Medical Mastermind Community members question about how to best put all the different resources and recommendations. Let me read the question, and then I will respond. This gentleman says “I would like to take the MCAT this summer.” This is the first … Second of January, 2014. “I’m not clear what would be a successful prep strategy for the MCAT. He looked at Master the MCAT page but didn’t see a specific plan, mapping it out. I think here he means in terms of like a calendar schedule when all those resources should be use. He said “I heard in podcast not to study from textbooks, at least not alone.” What I gather from what I’ve seen on the Medical Mastermind Community. This would be a strategy one should use. Number one: begin with a practice test to see where one is the weakest in certain areas. I do agree with that, don’t be too overwhelm by the score you get, but it is nice to have a base line so you can measure progress as you do. This practice test should be the original old MCAT test that you can get and pay for from the AAMC. Association of American Medical Colleges. Look them up, you can buy actual old MCAT test, given not too long ago and they also want too either. Use only those to really guess what your scores is going to be. Step two, using MCAT review book and Medical Mastermind Community podcast to go over subject areas themselves. Let me clarify the step. Because he actually write on his steps I think they’re very good. An MCAT review book we’ve talked about some of the most common ones are and he says later that he has the silver bullet MCAT, I recommend that. Gold standard MCAT is kind of big and bulky, and Kaplan review book as well. That’s as good as it gets, he was wondering if he should take the Princeton review self phase course, to augment the MCAT strategy. I’m not so sure, what you want to be aware of here, is taking a two mini resources. What I say here for step number two, is to pick one maybe two review books to start off with. Because you’re going to be reviewing two years worth of undergraduate premedical work or maybe a year and a half into that. That’s a lot of material to cover fast. You can quickly try to do too many resources and not be actually retaining the material. Pick one, or two review books yes that’s good. Pick anyone of them that’s fine. Personally, I’m a fan of gold standard MCAT and silver bullet MCAT. Not just because I like Brett Ferdinand a lot, Dr. Ferdinand was interviewed on this podcast a few times back in the fair beginning days. Maybe it’s time to get some updates from him. Kaplan reviews good, I did one of their $2000 courses as well, it didn’t really bring up my score though I was too embarrass to ask for my money back. I know they have a guarantee but traditionally everybody bought Brett Ferdinand. Focus too much on memorizing materials specific Science content material as we’ve talked about a lot in the past and as I teach on the Mastermind Community. Not how to think, and the MCAT is getting better, and better all the time about assessing how people think, not just what they know. They specifically want to see how you use what you know, with new information given in the passage, and how do you assimilate it  and use it to either predict certain scenarios. They will put you in scenarios on the MCAT that you can’t possibly have prepared for. The reason is because they want to see how you think. Pick one or two review books. Let me clarify what MMC podcast he’s talking about here. He’s talking about the fifty Mp3 file[...]

Episode 45: They sting. They hurt. But aren’t these criticisms supposed to by “constructive”? Podcast transcription provided by Rev.com “In this episode, I’m going to be taking on a subject of how to handle criticism on clinical rotations. Criticism it’s not fun. You’ve heard the term constructive criticism, things to work on in other words. That’s all great. Suddenly it feels a little better than being cost at, but not a whole lot. Anytime someone in a position who power or authority such as a senior resident, or the attending or something like that is criticizing something that you’re doing. Whether it’s inadequate note taking, or if something is missing here or there or mistake, or some kind of habit, let’s face it. Not all doctors are very good, at coaching mentoring, or teaching some of them are very [abrought 00:01:07] in some cultures and specialties. They pride themselves in being mean to each other. You’re going to have criticism, the question is how do you handle it. What I like to think of is to make the criticism constructive. It may not come across to you, in a way that’s constructive. It’s your job to find out what can I do different, what can I learn from this, what process do I need to change in order to make this improvement in this area. You’re going to put a positive spin with the tangible handle, something physically different that you’re going to do. Make it action based, very much like the book Getting Things Done with David Allen. I highly recommend that audio book while you’re straightening at your office, and cleaning up your house. Especially if you’re going through a massive inbox, or making new files, anytime you’re organizing. The bottom line there is that instead of putting somebody on a to do list, that just says paint the house. Break it down to the next physical, tangible step in that big project and put something like, go to Lowe’s and look at different paint colors, or something like that. Something that you can break down, in the simple action task. You’re going to do the same thing whenever it comes to criticism you received on clinical rotations. Let say for example, and I bring this up now because I just got a criticism. I wasn’t putting enough information in my HPI, in my History of Present Illness section, okay. It happens sometimes I think it happens when you start getting a little [inaudible 00:03:12] that’s still a little bit early but regardless the straight forward, and wrote simple to me now and they want me to kind of write a little bit more. Most in this don’t. That’s a good side bar here is criticism you may get maybe just one person’s opinion and you might be getting prices in that same area from everybody else. It could be just that one person, that’s giving you the criticism. Take it with a green assault, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Remember the difference between shame and guilt, it just doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, it means you could improve in this area, your job is to turn it into a tangible handle. Look at that thing and say okay what specific task could I do different to change the process here, so that I can improve based on this criticism. In other words how can I make this constructive. In this example, of not putting enough information in the history of present illness section. One thing that I could do different would be to before I’m done with my note, and complete my note. Go back and look and make sure that my note reflects all the substantiation and documentation require to make whatever diagnosis I’m suppose to make in the bottom, okay. I normally do that, I made a mistake today. That happens, I can make more thoughtful effort. Let say I catch myself next week, doing the same thing again. I can realize, “Hey, just to have that memory, of I[...]

Episode 44: Learn how to write about bad grades, drop-outs, and other poor choices. What will admissions committees think of you? Podcast transcription provided by Rev.com:  Success Story Format Doctor Dan:    “In this episode, I want to discuss how to describe things in your personal statements or in your application materials when you have to talk about something that’s a bad thing from your past, whether that’s poor grades or maybe dropping out of a program, failing out of a program, or some other kind of life change like that where you realize on paper it kind of looks bad and you really do need to go ahead and address it on the personal statement or on some kind of paragraph box within the application itself. I mean, many times, people can have a B or a C or something like that here and there in your transcript, and it’s kind of understood that that kind of thing is going to happen once in a while to someone.                         In terms of an admissions committee and what they’re thinking, they’re looking for people to show a dedicated commitment to professionalism, education, life-long learning, and patient care over time, so as long as it’s not a pattern, don’t stress over one B here, one C there, or something like that. If something unusual happens and you have a failing semester or fail a class or something like that, you have to start putting it in context for yourself. Now, understand there are two things that are happening here. One is that you’re kind of coming to terms with what in the world happened to you, and the second thing is what do you put on the application. Okay?                         What I want to encourage you with today is this idea that there are many, many physicians out there that have failed a class in undergrad. The myth that if you can’t handle biochemistry the first time means you shouldn’t be a doctor is a bunch of bogus, negative hype and stereotype that’s perpetuated by non-physicians. Remember, way, way back in some of the earliest podcasts that I ever did, if you listened that far back, I definitely say from the beginning, you need to adopt a strategy whereby you don’t follow the advice or even really entertain or listen to it from people that are not physicians themselves. You need to get your information from people that have done it before.                         If you’re going to rebuild a car engine, would you go and talk to your plumber about how to do it? Thank you. No, so what happens at undergrad schools, unless you’re at one of the really big ones or something that has some kind of award-winning, grant-winning kind of pre-med advisor, most folks listening to me are not going to a place like that because they wouldn’t be searching for how to get an edge and extra help through a podcast or website or something like that. What I want to say is that this answer is a very personal answer for everybody.                         I mean, how in the world, on a public podcast, are you going to talk about how you answer your deepest, darkest problems in your application and in your past? Yes, we all have them. The question is did you get caught? Did it make it to the paper? Is it on paper? Are you going to have to explain it? In other words, did you have a DWI or something like that? I mean, in general, you can’t get a medical license with a felony conviction. Okay? Barring that, if you had failed out of a semester or even college altogether, how do you explain that and come back?                         Understand that I was not around a lot of really traditional pre-med students anyway. I was at a small school, and as soon as I got out of the Army and began to really take pre-med full time, fortunately, we had an active pre-med club. That first academic year I was there, probably even the first semester, I think, we went and toured five medical schools in four days. It was [...]

Episode 43: Don’t leave that box empty! Learn simple and creative ways to beef up your medical school application. Podcast transcription provided by Rev.com:  research-for-medical-school-application Dr. Dan: “Hi. This is the Premed Podcast. I’m your host Dr. Dan. Today, I’m going to be answering a listener question named Justin M. He wrote me a comment on YouTube about trying to beef up the medical school application with something to put in the research box. He’s in a remote area, doesn’t have a lot of connections out there and doesn’t quite know what to do when it comes to research. I’m going to go ahead and read his comment in its entirety first and then I’ll give you my response after that. He says, “After almost a year of premed planning in coming to terms with my journey and now four semesters of working as a premed. I have come to terms with most of the neuroticisms and uncertainties that initially plagued me. My first step in overcoming these hang ups was information. Your Pre-Med Podcast, student-doctor network, statistics, magazines, everything and anything possible. The second step was time. I realized that four-year program was too short for me. I wanted to study more than just one thing and the overwhelming fear of getting a B in the class due to 18 to 21 credit hour semesters was too much for me to bear on top of everything else. By adding another year to my plan, I’m able to do more towards my application and to devote more time to each class ensuring that I will know what I am learning instead of just cramming for an A. This is an enriching experience for me as I also have sometime look forward to relax and study other things that interest me,” he goes on to say. Now, to answer my initial question about this video on YouTube I put out there send me your questions. He says, “I still have hang ups over the research section of the application. I’m spending three out of five years of my education at a community college where research is virtually unavailable. You can’t even know more about the course you’re taking up. My senior year has research projects and capstones. However, at that point it will obviously be past my application due date for matriculation directly out of college. I’m 24 years old and still looking years ahead of me before entrance so I no longer mind the thought of being a reapplicant. However, I still want to make myself as strong as the first time applicant as possible. Yet the research options are just so little.” Hang in there. I’m going to teach you how to do this yourself what I call Guerilla Research. You can do so much to leave up your application yourself. It’s ridiculous. Traditional academic programs don’t know how to teach you this stuff. I think I learned it the hard way and I will teach you. He’s got one more paragraph here and then I’ll get into my response. He says, “I’m interested in psychological research so I’ve been designing my own project for a while now to include some surveys. The research ties in with my overall goals of becoming a physician. Yet I’m not sure if I will be able to devote the time needed to get it done properly before application time. So again, I wonder what to do concerning this section of my application.” He’s got a little typo there. He says, “I’ve read dozens of articles and forums on the matter, so I have a general plan for the first year I make into a university to hit up the professors for a lab spot. It is a health professions college after all. That is pretty much my only reliable thing that I know I can put in. Anyway, thanks for reading the wall of text, Justin M.” That actually helps us that he wrote a wall of text because we can really understand the context. Most of the questions I get don’t give me enough context or information about the person so I don’t quite know how to respond. So many of the factors of making you the genuine article as a physician and as a premedical student of what you’re supposed to learn[...]

Episode 42: When you should go back to school and get a Pre-Med master’s degree. And when you shouldn’t; a listener question. Audio transcription by rev.com:    Post-Bacc PreMed Programs We’re going to take a listener question here. It’s a long e-mail that was kind of unique in nature. It’s someone that’s in the military, just like I was, transitioning out and getting into medical school and not coming from the background where there was a physician in the family or even the kind of resources that are out there now. I’m going to go ahead and just make this e-mail response anonymous, I don’t know who exactly who this is, but I’m generally going to read sections of Should I get one? this long e-mail. Because I think this generally applies to a lot of other people that have gone to college, taken a break, more of a non-traditional path which I tend to cater to in the Medical Mastermind Community. Then I’ll explain each section and get to this question and answer session. I figured I would rather do it this way with a podcast, it’s been a while since I’ve done podcasts, and then we’re going to reignite this whole thing and I’m back in Facebook and then doing video responses as well. If you’ve got questions, go to the Medical Mastermind Community and check that out. The question starts off like this. “Hi, Dr. Dan. I just found the MMC this month.” That’s the Medical Mastermind Community. “As well as your podcast. I’m thrilled at the wealth of resources available on the site. “I’m working my way through your success strategies right now, and I wanted to get your thoughts on some things regarding my situation. I like you were … am in the army and stationed in the States. This is an army bandsman. Someone that’s plays in the band, that has two bachelors degrees and a masters degree in music.” Essentially she goes on in a longer paragraph to come later, that in the undergraduate work there were some life stressers like her mother having cancer, and she had a GPA in undergrad side of 3.4. But when she went back and got the masters degree in music, the GPA was 4.0. That’s a masters degree in music with a 4.0 GPA. She gets into … “I guess what I’m asking in regards to post-bacc programs”—those are post bachelors programs that you could go into, such as a masters degree program in maybe biotechnology or something else that kind of get you back into the Science groove if you have a bachelor degree and it’s been a while since you’ve been in school. It also serves as a jump start for you just to get back to practicing some basic Science stuff, especially because you have to go take the MCAT. The question is, first one here, “How competitive are the post-bacc programs?” Keep in mind that universities and institutions create masters degree programs not to be a platform for someone that’s been out there working in a field and deciding later in life to go back into medical school. In other words, if you walk in the door, to a post-bacc program that has a masters degree in something, you say, “I just want to come here to this program, only to get this masters degree and do well, and I want to go to medical school.” That might not be received very well, they might not like that. For example, I worked … When I didn’t get into medical school the first year and was waiting a year to reapply, I worked out at a research facility that offered a masters degree in biotechnology. And I thought that was a pretty good backup if I didn’t get into medical school. I had regular hours, it paid okay, I can use a science knowledge, at least it would be in my field. That’s what I was thinking, but the people that went to that program, the program directors and such, they’re looking for people that are going to stay in that field. In terms of how competiti[...]

Episode 41: Listener’s raw email about anxiety is answered. Learn what it is, what can be done about it, and key resources to help you if you suffer from test anxiety. In this episode, Doctor Dan discusses test anxiety. Test anxiety involves both cognitions and physiology. You’ll learn about: Catastrophic thinking How guilt and shame relate to test anxiety Internal dialogue Specific phobias Performance anxiety Using CBG flower to reduce anxiety and depression. Learn skills to conquer Test Anxiety Exam Prep training can lower test anxiety. Study technique skills can put you in the best position to ace tests and feel confident. Direct consultation with Dr. Dan is back! If all of the above fail to really help, set up some time to spend one-on-one with Dr. Dan. If Dr. Dan seems that your anxiety needed medications to help your relieve, he may do a bzo drug test from https://www.countrywidetesting.com/collections/benzodiazepines-bzo-drug-tests to see if you really are able to take medications to treat for your anxiety. Bzo drug tests are really helpful towards individuals who always have anxiety that causes problems in their lives. Contact Dr. Dan on Facebook with more questions! Check out the reader’s favorite CBD products to reduce those anxiety attacks. CBD products are becoming more and more popular. Cannabidiol, a natural cannabis plant compound, is well-known for its therapeutic benefits. It helps to relieve pain, anxiety, and nervousness as well as to overcome the post-traumatic syndrome. There are many benefits that come with going online to get your CBD products, which is why so many people these days use this method of purchase. Take a look into https://cannablossom.co/ if you are interested to buy cannabis online. Medical School Mastermind Facebook Page

Episode 40: Learn how to manage your time more efficiently by developing a study SYSTEM that will allow you to really relax when you’re away from the books. This episode is the first in a multi-part series of Frequently Asked Questions. Based on a recent survey, Dr. Dan groups students’ answers by theme. Discover very high yield tips for managing your time, mastering the Clinical Years, getting a better MCAT score and more. If you listen to the podcast, you’ll have a better understanding of the appropriate use of memorization techniques and why so many students spend most of their time studying the wrong way for the MCAT, either way, here is One of the best places to study in Israel and achieve your study goals. Guide to MCAT Scoring The highest MCAT score possible is a 528. The MCAT scale is centered so that a 500 represents the mean score. AAMC recommends that ielts online preparation course in Malaysia admission committees consider applicants near the center of the range, rather than placing the most emphasis on the higher end of the scale. MCAT Raw Score The MCAT is a scaled exam, meaning that your raw score (based on the number of questions you got right) is converted into a scaled score that takes into account the difficulty of the questions. MCAT Score Range Each MCAT section is scored on a scale of 118–132 (highest). Your MCAT total score (whch is the sum of your section scores) ranges from 472–528. Because different versions of the test have varying levels of difficulty, the scale will be slightly different from one MCAT administration to the next. Enjoy!

Episode 39: Short of getting a literature degree, find out Dr. Dan’s expanded resource and study tips that can help you overcome the MCAT if you have been plagued by repeated, unsatisfactory scores. MCAT Statistics   Two-thirds of entering medical students have a science undergraduate background and often struggle with the MCAT Verbal Reasoning section. Despite repeated attempts to increase a sub-par MCAT score, a substantial percentage of students that take the MCAT again and again are unable to increase their MCAT score impressively.   Having doubts about the MCAT?   I know I did. After 2 months and $2,000 paying for a “professional” MCAT Prep Course, my MCAT score did not go up. Are you in that situation too? If not, try to avoid it – take it from me!   The MCAT is the most unusual test you’ll ever take. It goes into painstaking detail about topics that you’ve never heard about, unlike ‘most’ final exams. J   If this sounds like you, then pay attention.   Top 7 MCAT Tips – When All Other Efforts Have Failed   Do these in order, like a checklist:   Watch this video on how to Master the MCAT. Study the Silver Bullet MCAT book by Dr. Brett Ferdinand. Take real AAMC – released, old MCAT tests only. As you study, determine the patterns of mistakes that you are making on the old MCAT tests. (use #1 and #2 above to help you figure this out) Immerse yourself in the “language” of Verbal Reasoning if that section is troubling you. Read passages DAILY until you take the MCAT from Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, and similarly cerebral sources. Then, do the following with each passage: AA Determine what the author’s opinion is about the topic. B) Determine what an opposing view might be. C) Become a critic of every passage you read, whether you agree or not, and construct arguments that would go against the author’s opinion. Begin thinking of your MCAT troubles in a positive way using the Success Story Format. Attend regular, live Medical Mastermind Community Teleconferences and use the private, members-only My Blog to track your progress and continue learning. Here’s the link to the Google Calendar that can be “added to your Google Calendar” at the bottom for automatic reminders of the upcoming Medical Mastermind Community Teleconference Series.  

Episode 38: In this episode, you’ll learn the statistics of the first-ever peer-reviewed data on a revolutionary approach to an age-old problem – increasing MCAT and GPA scores! How to Increase Your MCAT Score Use a Mastermind approach. Instead of trying to figure out what works through trial and error, why not rely on people with experience to help give you ideas for how to KNOW you’ll reach your goals. Study how you study. In the Medical Mastermind Community, you’ll learn how to design a custom system for yourself so that you’ll know how well you’re doing weeks before your actual exam. Watch this video on how to Master The MCAT. Beginning A Medical Career Who knew that 5 years ago when I started podcasting that it would turn into the first peer-reviewed PreMed prep course! Notice that you wouldn’t balk at spending $1000-$2000 on a professional MCAT course such as Kaplan but they don’t even publish data on if it works. In the past year, I’ve written and published a record-breaking amount of scientific literature as an intern: 4 papers: one case report accepted for publication, one systematic review on treatments for burnout in medical students, and 2 for increasing GPA, MCAT scores and acceptance into medical school 3 poster presentations: one already presented (discussed in this podcast episode; click audio link above), one pending acceptance at the Science of Eliminating Health Disparities conference, and one I that was accepted but that I had to turn down because I was too busy! 3 research projects: two completed and the third is pending approval from the institutional review board Five more papers/projects are in the hopper! Astounding, eh? No, it’s the Mastermind concept at work, and it can work for YOU TOO! How to increase your GPA There is no escaping it – you HAVE TO watch all 9 videos of our Study Techniques Course. Once you pay and login to this website, click on EXAM PREP in the upper-right hand corner. The Study Techniques Course is found on the first 3 tabs of that pull-down menu. It will change your life or your money back. Read the Medical Mastermind Community Review Dear Doctor Dan, About a year and a half ago, I joined your Medical Mastermind Community. I wrote to you unsure as to whether I should attend the Caribbean medical schools I had been accepted to and start then, or study for the MCAT and apply to US medical schools. I opted to attend the Carib school, and here I am 14 out of 16 months later, 60 days away from completing the last courses of Basic Sciences. I am currently taking Pathology II, Pharmacology, Medical Ethics and Behavioral Science. The study techniques I have learned by being a member have been fantastic. I record every lecture, I listen to them evenings and weekends sped up on faster play speeds, and repeatedly approaching block exam time. This has proven to be a great technique for me, because I can listen harder during the in-person lecture, instead of trying to listen AND write  voraciously. I save most of the writing until that evening with my printed power point notes and text book. I never imagined how much information one can miss the first time you hear a lecture in class. I end up adding so much more on the power point printed copy, in addition to text book notes. Hearing the instructor tell “the whole story” again and again made a huge difference in my performance, even on “hyper-speed.” Additionally, I do make a checklist of “testable items” for each topic. I actually print out the table of contents from my PDF versions of my text book, highlight the lecture topics, the date it was taught, and check off each concept every time I go through it (4-5 times). Next semester, we (and most Carib med schools) have a mandatory 5th semester review for the USMLE, which takes place back in the U.S. I will be in touch with you prior to then, for direction [...]

Episode 37: This is the second in our Master the MCAT Core Sciences content from studentdoctorpodcast.com. The first edition on DNA was a success and I’m happy to be publishing number 2 of 50 MCAT MP3’s here on the Premed Podcast. At the time of this podcast release (March 3, 2012), I’m offering a free 30 days’ access to the Master The MCAT program, and all of the Study Techniques and Dr. Dan’s personal MCAT notes for positive reviews in iTunes, YouTube, and Facebook. You can get 10 days’ access for a positive review in each place, for a total of 30. Even if you’re just now finding this podcast months or years from the release date, you should still write the positive review! You’d be surprised how often only grumpy people fill out reviews so it will take a lot more positive ones than I ever thought to balance that out. Once you write your positive reviews in Facebook, iTunes, and YouTube, click on the Contact page above and shoot me a personal email. I look forward to your participation in the Medical Mastermind Community from that point forward! Best, Dr. Dan

Episode 36: This is the first MP3 out of 50 that covers the core MCAT science content you NEED to know for the MCAT. Get all 50 MP3s instantly at studentdoctorpodcast.com. How much would you pay for someone to write all of your MCAT notecards for you? Now you don’t have to! Check out the Medical Mastermind Community to get Doctor Dan’s notes. These are the pertinent MCAT questions that appear in the undergraduate, Pre-Med curriculum. Use them as a supplement to undergraduate courses and you’ll discover the secret to using your time wisely – HIGH YIELD return! BENEFITS: Know that your method works! Hey, I used these and aced these classes!!! Quickly find the section that relates to your upcoming exam! Save tons of time learning medical material now, while it correlates with your UnderGrad courses Figure out why you have to take all those prerequisite courses in the first place! Spend more time with family and friends Organize yourself to ace all of your board exams from the very beginning of your PreMedical and Medical education! FEATURES: DVD-ROM format, compatible with Windows Explorer and Macintosh Finder SEARCHES Over 2,500 of my favorite MCAT questions, also reviewed AFTER medical school The Q & A’s are nicely organized with the question on the left side of the page and the answer on the right. Fold the page in half, down the middle and use it as an inexpensive notecard – thousands of questions!   Never before have Pre-Med and medical student notes been so intimately intwined. This is a must own! Topics include: Physical sciences: General Chemistry Physics   Biological sciences: Pathophysiology Biochemistry Biology And several useful charts and notes.   The Q & A’s are nicely organized with the question on the left side of the page and the answer on the right. Fold the page in half, down the middle and use it as an inexpensive notecard – thousands of questions! Start using them in Undergrad and learn the board material from the start!     Why wait until medical school to learn how important your undergraduate education is?

Episode 35: Did you know there will be sociology, psychology and an increased emphasis on critical thinking and reasoning skills on the new MCAT? Well, some of the changes are already in effect and have been for a few years! In this episode, Dr. Dan explains the why, what and when of the new 2015 MCAT changes that are coming. Why change the new 2015 MCAT? The AAMC cites that increasing population diversity and new medical science have spurred their changes. Read their full recommendations here: The New 2015 MCAT Changes What will the MCAT changes be? A new psychological, sociological and biological foundations of behavior sections will be included, according the above report. Also, an increased emphasis on Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills will be placed. Of course, these have been tested for many years in various ways. Interestingly, in 2009, the AAMC released a book that revealed the 4 cognitive skills being used to test every MCAT passage. The 4 cognitive skills ALWAYS being tested in any MCAT passage are: Evaluation Application Comprehension Incorporation Strikingly, only 25% of these questions types (1/4) require any previous knowledge to answer the question; no wonder the literature majors do so well on Verbal Reasoning! Can you name the three cognitive skills that require NO OUTSIDE INFORMATION? If not, you’re apparently like most students who take the MCAT. No MCAT prep company really uses these cognitive skills, published by the AAMC itself – who writes the MCAT, to teach people about the MCAT. It’s time you learn about the Master The MCAT program, brought to you exclusively from the Medical Mastermind Community. Check it out…