Exams are simply a part of the journey. Whether it’s a college entrance exam, an admissions test, or the boards, all future physicians must take them. Here, I wanted to share my approach to the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) as a Berea College student with an >85%tile MCAT score.
Studying for the MCAT requires a significant amount of your time, and if you don’t plan accordingly, you can become quickly overwhelmed with coursework, work-study, club leadership roles, volunteering positions, and the various other activities you are involved in.
Whether the test is an accurate measure of one’s ability to succeed or not has been debated for a while. In fact, at one of the Berea/Vanderbilt Luncheons, Dr. Roy Zent, MD, PhD, shared some keen insight on the matter:
“As a nephrologist, I could argue whether the [Glomerular Filtration Rate] is a good measure of kidney function or not but the fact of the matter is it’s a test that’s been here for 50 years and will continue to be here for 50 more. It’s the best we’ve got. The MCAT is what you’ve got if you want to showcase your abilities at excelling in a medical program.” – Dr. Roy Zent
In my opinion, I don’t think the GFR or the MCAT are going away anytime soon. Hence, it’s best to study for the MCAT and prepare for the exam well. However, for students like myself, where money and expenses may become an issue, preparing for the MCAT may seem daunting.
No, we don’t have access to $2,000 “520+ MCAT score guaranteed” courses or $1,500 “personalized study coaches” to hold our hand along the way. But trust me, we don’t need it.
There are plenty of free resources available online. Also, if you are a student at Berea College, the Office of Internships and Career Development has the necessary funds to help cover the MCAT exam expenses and the AAMC MCAT Prep Materials (if you don’t qualify for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program).
That is why I wanted to share my MCAT study schedule and practice exam timeline with you here!
Please see my first full Article explaining my approach: The Hanson Approach to Studying the MCAT: 2025-26 Edition.