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Do you ever feel like the MCAT passage you are reading is just another cumbersome hurdle you have to push through in order to become a doctor? I did.
I remember sitting in my room, staring at my computer screen. The extensive and tedious research passages seemed so terribly long.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
My name is Merrina and I tutor at MedLife Mastery.
You want to be a physician because you find science fascinating, right? Well, that means MCAT passages can be interesting too.
Here's how to make them more engaging:
Hot Topics in Science: Passages are Learning Opportunities
Why not treat passages as a magazine you read for fun?
Feeling more engaged with the material can help you understand the passages better and consequently, get more questions right.
Most MCAT passages come from actual research articles.
By working through those MCAT passages, you are immersing yourself in relevant studies going on in the real world. You are actually learning about the cool studies at the forefront of scientific investigation!
Check out AAMC Biology pack 1, passage 5. The third paragraph describes inserting segments of genes into an organism’s DNA.
One of the questions asked is, “Which is the most efficient way to deliver antisense genes?”
Spoiler: it’s D. Basically, we are inserting genes into an embryo so that all cells produced by the mitosis of this cell will contain the mutation we want.
One really hot topic in the scientific community does exactly that, and it’s called CRISPR.
Does that ring a bell?
CRISPR is short for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.
It has become a very efficient tool to edit genes. The discussion on whether this gene-altering technology can be used on human embryos has sparked great controversies.
Isn’t it so cool that these hot topics show up in the MCAT?
You can now treat these passages as learning opportunities!
The research studies you see can help you come up with ideas for your future career and clinical practice.
Finding Comfort Within Unfamiliar Passage Topics
I realized this technique pretty late in my MCAT prep.
At that point where I started engaging with the material, I felt a lot more comfortable tackling new passages full of unknowns.
This helped me to have more fun with my studying!
By treating each passage as an opportunity to learn something new and enrich myself, I felt less exhausted and found myself able to read faster.
If you feel very intimidated by the MCAT, now is the time to change your mindset.
Instead of begrudgingly working through passages, try to treat them as a fun scientific journal that you are reading.
Get excited about all of these new technologies that can help to improve people’s lives.
I hope this article gave you a morality boost!
Our Support Doesn’t End Here
There is no perfect way to study or prepare for the MCAT but there are tips and strategies to help you on your journey.
We’ve taken the time to think about our strategies and tips to help you be successful in your MCAT studying.
You have the tools you need to overcome your test-taking barriers and it starts with these methods!
At MedLife Mastery, we're here to support you every step of the way.
We help students get accepted into medical school through services like our affordable 1:1 application coaching, our most valuable 6-week Live High-Yield MCAT Strategy Course, alongside our private MCAT tutoring options.
You are not alone in your journey and we are here to help you conquer the MCAT, one complex passage at a time.
We’re rooting for you!
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