MCAT Techniques: Cut It, Keep It, Click It

Scoring in the highest MCAT percentiles requires more than just knowing what’s on the MCAT exam. It requires knowing the technique of how to do the MCAT exam. Learn these techniques early so you can practice them in your MCAT prep.

Imagine someone taking a driving test after only learning about cars from schematics. Sure, they’ll know a lot of relevant information. But the jump from reading to driving a car is like the jump from reading to writing the MCAT. You’ll do better if you practice the techniques to conquer this test, not just learn the general knowledge.

The MCAT Exam isn’t like any other test in education. No other exam combines such a wide range of material, a great length of exam time, and a narrowly limited method of questioning. The MCAT exam is over six hours of exam and it’s entirely multiple choice. That’s weird! It takes some getting used to. These tools will help you take advantage of that weirdness.

Multiple choice questions are normally for quick questions like your age in a survey, or the flavour you want when ordering a milkshake on an app. The MCAT questions use multiple choice to test everything from chemical behavior all the way up to sociological factors. It’s like squeezing a ten-course meal through a straw – if you haven’t practiced it’s going to be difficult. But if you know how to use this narrow tool, you can avoid making a mess of things.

Multiple choice questions are much easier than any other kind. If you know the answer you’ll see it already written down for you! If you don’t know the answer, a four-option MCAT question gives you a 25% chance of getting it right anyway! Applying some basic MCAT techniques can increase that to 33% or even 50% – much better than the usual zero you get for not knowing the answer to a question.

If you know it’s going to rain before you go out, you prepare for rain. When you know the MCAT exam is going to be multiple choice questions, it makes sense to prepare specifically for multiple choice questions.

CUT IT, KEEP IT, CLICK IT is an MCAT technique that reduces even the most complicated question to a quick procedure. It encourages you to be brutal, quickly cutting MCAT answers until you reach the truth. It helps you contain the unknown and calmly move on to the best option.

CUT IT

The first and fastest way to simplify an MCAT answer: get rid of it! If an answer flatly contradicts the question, or the passage, or material you’ve already learned in your MCAT study plan, it’s wrong. CUT IT.

If two answers overlap, saying the same thing in different words, they’re both wrong! Because only one option can be right. So you can cut both, halving the problems.

If you’re torn, think about how you would convince a friend of the answer choice. Don’t defend bad answers. Don’t do that to your friend. Three out of these four answers are lies!

KEEP IT

This is the best MCAT technique we’ll teach: if you can’t understand something, KEEP IT!

Spending too long struggling with unclear or unknown answers puts you right into the MCAT’s trap. If you don’t know whether an answer is right or wrong, that’s your result. You don’t know. Get on with using that fact instead of wasting precious time hoping that staring some more will change reality.

So you “keep” the answer. You don’t cut it, because you don’t know it’s wrong. You don’t click it, because you don’t know it’s right. You just move on to examine the other answers. If another answer is right, you never needed to spend time worrying about this one. If you end up only keeping one answer, then that is the right one! And if you end up keeping two or three, that’s still a better chance than one-in-four. Compare the remaining answers against each other, then use any excuse to choose between them and go. Remember, you don’t have to get every question right.

CLICK IT

The most satisfying option! When you see the right answer you CLICK IT.

This is what you’re preparing for with your content acquisition and retention. Not struggling to remember, but knowing the answer through study and practice. Resist the urge to second guess yourself. Still read the other answer choices, but do so quickly, comparing them against your clicked answer. You’ve got this question.

Countless books will teach you all the MCAT topics. But when you want to learn and practice MCAT techniques, a bit of expert guidance can make a world of difference. Prep101 offers a comprehensive MCAT course meticulously designed to optimize your study process. From in-depth content review sessions and practice exams to personalized study plans – Prep101’s MCAT course has got it all. Our experienced instructors bring a practical perspective to your MCAT preparation, giving you unique insights and the best MCAT strategies to tackle this challenging exam. Don’t leave your success to chance. With Prep101, you’ll have everything you need to walk into the MCAT with confidence. Sign up today to conquer your MCAT dreams!