Our MCAT team created a FREE Psych/Soc outline to reflect the current MCAT. Want to know more about how this outline came to be? Read on below!

In 2014, our MCAT Special Ops Team—led by Dr. Birju Patel, a psychiatry resident—embarked upon creating our in-depth expansion of the AAMC's official MCAT2015 Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior outline.

Our goal was to provide a free and thorough supplemental MCAT resource via our expanded outline, with in-depth definitions, visuals, and resource references so you can master the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section and crush it on exam day.

If you are just getting started on your MCAT prep or looking for more MCAT practice tests, you may find yourself with a ton of options. It’s hard to figure out where to start—full-length exams, Qbanks, diagnostic quizzes—the list is endless! 

You’re getting ready to apply to medical school and studying hard for the MCAT. But what if you need to improve your score? In this post, we cover mindset tips, study tricks, and high-yield content to help you earn your best MCAT score. 

High-quality, passage-based questions are the gold standard of MCAT preparation, but unfortunately, they are perennially in short supply for our students. Luckily, UWorld's MCAT Qbank is a top-quality resource for MCAT preparation. Read on for our review of UWorld's MCAT Qbank, how best to use it for MCAT success, and why the MCAT is an important milestone for incoming medical students.

Why you want to ace your MCAT exam on your first try

It is highly advantageous to ace your MCAT the first time around. Apart from the frustration of a second study period added to your med school admissions timeline, all MCAT scores are reported to medical schools.

While many schools will take into account your improvement on a second attempt, many will average or otherwise consider both attempts when evaluating your application. As a result, it is in your best interest to do your absolute best on your first attempt!

UWorld MCAT Qbank: A top-tier MCAT resource

In 2017, UWorld introduced a 1,000 question passage bank for the MCAT. Since then, UWorld has nearly doubled the size of the qbank with almost 2,000 questions. While a relatively new name to most MCAT test-takers, UWorld has built top-tier resources for the NCLEX and USMLE exams, so we are excited to see UWorld continuing to expand their MCAT resources.

Why is this so important? Beyond the official AAMC practice materials, the offerings of prep companies have been of mixed quality. Given the limited quantity of official AAMC materials, we recommend our students save the AAMC content until their final preparation leading up to test day and use the UWorld MCAT Qbank for initial prep. 

First, the good news:  You can’t actually fail the MCAT. You might have received a very low score, but the MCAT score report does not include a “pass/fail” designation. Still, one of the most helpless feelings a student applying to medical school can experience is bombing the MCAT—there’s no doubt about that. After months of hard work, you may feel like you’ve lost any chance at getting into medical school.

Although it is true that a low MCAT score will negatively impact your application, there are still many things you can do to make sure you can still be a competitive applicant. The first thing you should consider is if you really “failed” the MCAT.

Kevin Wang, Dr. Parth Kothari, and Dr. Taylor Purvis contributed to this post.

Aside from the AMCAS, the MCAT is one of the biggest pre-med hurdles to tackle. Some students in combined BS/MD programs can avoid taking the MCAT, as they move on to med school by maintaining a certain GPA.

Some post-baccalaureate pre-medical programs have a similar agreement with “linkage” medical schools, allowing students to glide into medical school the fall after they finish a post-bacc program—without having to take the MCAT.

However, the vast majority of us spend days to months (to years?) of our lives agonizing over the MCAT and wondering, "What score do I need to get to be competitive?"

The MCAT’s scoring system might seem confusing, and at first glance, it is. Why in the world would it range from 472 to 528? Each section is scored from 118 to 132. Still confusing. We know. However, these wonky numbers bring the median score to a 500, which is an easy number to look at to see how well you scored relative to other applicants. 

We've worked with countless students for the MCAT for more than a decade, and through the years — and the changes to the exam — we've had front row seats to the techniques and approaches that yield the greatest score increases.

Here are the top 5 things you can do to get a 520 on the MCAT: 

If you're planning to attend medical school, one of the questions that might be on your mind is when exactly you should start to prepare for the MCAT. This is tied to when you should take the MCAT, but can vary widely by student.

To ensure you're making the best decision for your timeline and goals, you'll want to look at the factors that are unique to you. I find it's most helpful to use the following questions in order to determine when it's best for you to start studying for the MCAT:

As MCAT test day approaches, you may be considering the idea of voiding your exam afterwards. While there are real reasons for voiding your MCAT exam, it’s important to know when voiding is the correct choice.

After finishing every section on the MCAT, you are given the option to void your exam. If you choose to do so, then your exam will be wiped and there will be no record of taking it. This can be risky, as it may delay your medical school application and cause you to continue studying. Still, there are times when voiding the MCAT is the right decision. 

Kevin Wang contributed to this post. 

We have several new MCAT study resources available to help you get started with MCAT prep! If you’re just beginning to study for the MCAT — or aren't quite sure when to get started — you've come to the right place!