MCAT Biology: Top Study Strategies from a 528 Scorer

Today, we‘ll discuss strategies for tackling the MCAT Biology and Biochemistry section. The MCAT Biology/Biochemistry section often includes the most experiment-based passages on the exam, so it is important to be able to interpret figures, graphs, and tables.
In this video, I’ll share the exact strategies I used to ace the MCAT Biology and Biochemistry section. I’ll tell you what topics are on the exam, a formula for how to read figures, graphs, and tables, and some helpful study tips you can use to improve your score.
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TIMESTAMPS:
[00:00] - Introduction
[00:39] - What's on the Biology/Biochemistry Section?
[02:39] - Tip #1: Practice Interpreting Graphs, Figures, and Tables using the TAID P Method
[04:56] - Tip #2: For Every Mistake, Study Every Detail of Each Figure Carefully
[05:45] - Tip #3: Know the One-Letter Code, Three-Letter Code, Structures and Chemical Properties of All 20 Amino Acids
[07:15] - Tip #4: Understand Metabolism by Focusing on Rate Limiting Steps and Big Picture Ideas
[09:09] - Tip #5: Be Familiar with Experimental Techniques
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Shemmassian Academic Consulting (SAC) was founded by Dr. Shirag Shemmassian, a medical school admissions expert with over 15 years of experience helping thousands of students get into top programs such as Harvard, Mayo, and UCSF. Despite a roughly 40% medical school matriculation rate nationally, the SAC team’s approach has resulted in over 90% of their students getting accepted the first time they apply. SAC has been featured on The Washington Post, US News and World Report, and NBC.
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Пікірлер: 64

  • @Pete-da-peter
    @Pete-da-peter4 жыл бұрын

    Bro. You have no idea how much good work you doing for the pre-med community..like seriously. I like you guys. Y'all different. Most of these other guys wants to pay a million dollars just for a schedule. Y'all put it all on KZread. Thank you

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    We really appreciate it! So happy you're finding these videos valuable :)

  • @camkeeler5561
    @camkeeler55612 жыл бұрын

    You guys are saving lives out here by posting these for free. Thank you so much.

  • @Neutron-un7yx
    @Neutron-un7yx4 жыл бұрын

    This was definitely helpful. Thank you

  • @ArvindRajan
    @ArvindRajan4 жыл бұрын

    All the MCAT videos on KZread and yours by FAR is the most organized and comprehensive. Thanks so much for your efforts man really appreciate it

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for your kind words-so happy to hear you liked them!

  • @themiamilife
    @themiamilife4 жыл бұрын

    I'm taking the MCAT in September and was stressing out until I saw this. Thank you! I keep doubting myself but with these tips, I'm sure I'll get it!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    You can do it, Catherine! Wishing you the best of luck on test day :)

  • @shprempeh
    @shprempeh4 жыл бұрын

    Your videos are EVERYTHING and more!! So informative!!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Glad it gave you some value! :) Please share it with one friend who would benefit as well. We would really appreciate that. Serving as many students as we can is our mission. :)

  • @ridabatool9978
    @ridabatool997811 ай бұрын

    I just searched on KZread your videos came up and I feel so blessed to find these videos. Your videos are so straightforward and full of knowledge. I will be following and watching these videos to get prepared 😊for my MCAT exam

  • @ayom23
    @ayom234 жыл бұрын

    Keeping it simple. Sweet.

  • @farzana918x
    @farzana918x4 жыл бұрын

    This video actually had some great tips. Thank you!!!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Glad it was helpful! Please share it with one other friend who you think would benefit! That would be so helpful. :)

  • @AnhNguyen-dd1nd
    @AnhNguyen-dd1nd4 жыл бұрын

    These videos are really helpful. Thank you!!!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Glad it found it helpful! :) Please share it with one friend who would benefit as well. We would really appreciate that. Serving as many students as we can is our mission. :)

  • @megane.7792
    @megane.77924 жыл бұрын

    I love this channel. So helpful thank you!!!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    You are so welcome! Please share it within your social networks! :) Even ONE extra eye means we get to help one more person than we would've!

  • @ryankelly8077
    @ryankelly80774 жыл бұрын

    This was awesome!! Thank you so much

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    So happy you enjoyed it!

  • @kellykaps491
    @kellykaps4913 жыл бұрын

    This was so helpful! Thank you

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    3 жыл бұрын

    So happy to hear!

  • @pavk883
    @pavk8833 жыл бұрын

    Hey brotha! thanks for these amazing videos. I wanted to ask you about what I should do if I am struggling a lot on Bio and research passages? I am doing well in all other sections except the B/B section. I am not sure but I am not able to apply my knowledge to the questions. Some of the questions just don't have information that makes sense to me and the answers pull information I havent seen before. Appreciate the help.

  • @knguyen2641
    @knguyen26414 жыл бұрын

    Great video! I've been studying for this exam for almost 7 months now and it's kind of getting to me physically and mentally. Your videos help me ease my worries and help me reinforce my knowledge! Thanks! Testing June 27th 🤞

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    So happy to hear-best of luck studying and with your exam. You got this! :)

  • @chrisbates5876

    @chrisbates5876

    4 жыл бұрын

    How did it go?

  • @lamboozled3350
    @lamboozled33504 жыл бұрын

    Hey Vikram, hope all is well! Thanks again for the amazing video--It's really giving me a peace of mind. Can you do a P/S video as well?? Many of the questions give me the "CARS vibe", and a lot of the question stems seem confusing and hard to understand right off the bat (it could just be me). Thank you so much! :)

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    We have one coming up! Stay tuned :)

  • @lamboozled3350

    @lamboozled3350

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@Shemmassian Hi Vikram, hope your week is going well. Another big question recently came into mind: Do you think it's okay to retake the AAMC FL's? Because I am a MCAT re-taker and the first time I took AAMC FL 1 was last January (almost 6 months ago) and I scored a 499. But earlier this week I retook it and I got a 512. I know there's many controversies surrounding this because people think the score is highly inflated (I will admit, I did remember several of the questions), although this has reportedly helped several people nail their real MCAT. Just wanted to hear your opinion about this. Thanks again for your time--My practice sessions have really been improving thanks to your tips :)

  • @angelinagonzales2743
    @angelinagonzales27434 жыл бұрын

    The topics seem to be missing a #5. Is there only 6 topics instead of 7 or is there supposed to be one more? But such a great and helpful video, thank you!

  • @schmo2109
    @schmo21093 жыл бұрын

    thank you for these videos guys!! you are the shit!!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    3 жыл бұрын

    You're welcome!

  • @aravindcoomarasingham2121
    @aravindcoomarasingham21212 жыл бұрын

    Hello, I have a question regarding the Amino Acid question presented. If glycine was also one of the options in the answer choices, which should be picked: glycine or proline? Also I thought proline is very structurally rigid in kinks. For an alpha helix wouldn’t an amino that introduces rotational ability (glycine) be preferred? Thanks and great video.

  • @alexissyms9310
    @alexissyms93104 жыл бұрын

    Love these videos! I checked out your tutoring packages but do you have a hourly rate. I would just need around two hours of your time?

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Hi Alexis! We can create custom packages for whatever your needs. Please e-mail me at contact@shemmassianconsulting.com and we can get you connected with our expert team! :)

  • @TheOneZepphyr
    @TheOneZepphyr4 жыл бұрын

    Awesome video series, keep it up man! June 5th tester here.

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Good luck!! You're well prepared and you're going to kill it. :)

  • @Pete-da-peter
    @Pete-da-peter4 жыл бұрын

    I'm takin the MCAT next summer. After biochem class But got some free time this summer. I want some tips how to study or practice for cars

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    That's coming next week ;) Stay tuned!

  • @nunitchagucci3047
    @nunitchagucci30473 жыл бұрын

    LOVE

  • @ravenrose89
    @ravenrose894 жыл бұрын

    Great tips! I always find that I run out of time for the biology section because I get lost in the load of convoluted details in the passages (similar looking enzyme names, pathways, variables etc.). Any tips on tackling the bio passages in general?

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Happy you enjoyed it! :) Of course, and that's a very difficult aspect of the exam. We'll post a video of Vikram walking through a biology passage very soon. Stay tuned!

  • @vanshitavermania450
    @vanshitavermania4503 жыл бұрын

    hey vikram i am from india i am a medical aspirant ,is it ncert or standard modules like coaching modules enough for MCAT please tell me i want a right suggestion from you

  • @bernardlz
    @bernardlz4 жыл бұрын

    this stuff is Au!!!!!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Clever. :) share@

  • @davisjohn1517
    @davisjohn15173 жыл бұрын

    I took AP biology in high school and understood the content well, but should I retake introductory biology in university just in case it could help me more on the mcat? Or should I go with upper level biology courses instead? Very helpful video by the way!

  • @catherineaber7627

    @catherineaber7627

    3 жыл бұрын

    Not him, but my suggestion would be to still take those college introductory biology courses because 1) a lot of med schools want to see you take those classes at a college level, so not taking them now might mean you have to take them at a later time anyway 2) they can set a strong foundation for those upper-level courses. Curious to see what he suggests. Good luck!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    3 жыл бұрын

    To echo what Catherine said, most medical schools require at least a year of university-level biology. In addition, many colleges will go into a little more depth than AP bio, so it won't hurt to take the intro course to set your foundation and check off the boxes. In any case, after you finish that course, you'll definitely know your stuff ;) Happy you enjoyed the video!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@catherineaber7627 Spot on!!! Thank you :)

  • @majoreuowii9729
    @majoreuowii97294 жыл бұрын

    I’m having trouble getting through BB passages without getting overwhelmed with the details. Any advice on how to fix this?

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for sharing! Here's a couple of strategies you can try: 1. Write a short outline of each paragraph as you read to help keep your thoughts and the passage as a whole organized. 2. Write down the hypothesis, independent variable, dependent variable, and controls from each study. 3. Apply the TAID P method to every passage you take, and after you've taken a section or practice passage, feel free to let this exercise take as long as you need. Over time, you'll get faster and being able to quickly analyze figures. Hope these help :)

  • @SuperMan-wj1rr
    @SuperMan-wj1rr4 жыл бұрын

    Did you use Anki? If so, any Anki decks in particular?

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    I did not, but you can definitely use Anki decks. They are particularly helpful for the Psych/Soc section. With that being said, any medium you can use to learn content effectively will get the job done!

  • @kevinwilson124
    @kevinwilson1244 жыл бұрын

    Did you find yourself skipping the paragraphs sometimes? I find myself doing that if I understand the graph well enough! I do not know if that is a good thing to do though!

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    3 жыл бұрын

    It's up to you-you know yourself the best! Even if you can take away one or two big picture words from the paragraph, that's better than entirely skipping it. Then, if a question asks you about that paragraph, you know exactly where you need to go back and spend some more time!

  • @faisala.younus6223
    @faisala.younus62233 жыл бұрын

    tip 5?

  • @emmaharlo962
    @emmaharlo9624 жыл бұрын

    Do Northern and Southern blots detect levels of DNA/RNA (quantitative) or just the presence of certain DNA/RNA sequences? I thought Southern blot detects desired DNA sequences through hybridization on a membrane, not sure about Northern blot

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    Hey Emma! Great question. Northern and Southern blots can do both! They can detect the presence of nucleic acids (more common) or detect quantitative levels of DNA/RNA. In general, RT-qPCR is used for quantitative measurements of DNA/RNA. So, you're usually going to see Northern and Southern blots used for just detecting the presence of certain DNA/RNA sequences. Southern blots detect DNA and Northern blots detect RNA. They use an essentially identical method!

  • @callyangieline
    @callyangieline4 жыл бұрын

    Are you doing online tutoring ?

  • @Shemmassian

    @Shemmassian

    4 жыл бұрын

    We do offer online tutoring on our website!

  • @callyangieline

    @callyangieline

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@Shemmassian oh awesome !

  • @andLordOfLords
    @andLordOfLords3 жыл бұрын

    You missed topic number 5

  • @vanshitavermania450
    @vanshitavermania4503 жыл бұрын

    well iam from cbse board please its a huge request to fulfill my statisfaction and i seriously want to admit in harvard medical college this is my dream college

  • @haleb6910
    @haleb69103 жыл бұрын

    you skipped topic number 4 to 6 .but I do hope you are gonna be a decent doctor.