Guest Blogger: MedEdits’ Lead MCAT tutor, Garrick
Interested in working with MedEdits MCAT Tutors?
All premeds must take the MCAT to get into medical school. For many, finding a strong MCAT tutor is the best way to earn a high MCAT score.
We realize that selecting “the best” MCAT tutor is a daunting and perhaps a quixotic endeavor. In truth, there probably isn’t a “best” tutor, but rather ones that are better than others. There are many wonderful MCAT tutors, and although there might be some unicorns who see huge point increases for every student, trying to verify the claims of that tutor will be very hard and that tutor will often be way outside most budgets (note: price does not mean quality). In reality, many tutors have great track records of helping the majority of their students achieve higher scores.
All that said, there are some things all students and families should consider when deciding which tutors might be better than others. When selecting an MCAT tutor with whom to work, students and families need to think about the characteristics they want in a tutor as well as know what you want out of tutoring .
We realize you may know the answers to these questions so let’s discuss in further detail what to think about.
Here are some traits you should look for in a MCAT tutor:
Most parents (and some students) mistakenly think that the more time and energy put into studying MCAT content, the higher the MCAT score. This is absolutely false. Yeah, ok, students should know content, but knowing content can only take a student so far.
Students who do well on the MCAT have learned how to approach the MCAT passages and style of questions which are completely different from the types of questions they encountered on midterms and finals. The MCAT is about applying what you know, whereas a college final is about demonstrating command of particular knowledge. There is a subtle yet important distinction, so it is critical you have a tutor who can help reveal that distinction and recognize the limits of content studying.
Applying to medical school is much harder than it should be, and the MCAT can feel like an insurmountable task. Just like a premed advisor, a tutor should help the student manage that stress. The MCAT is important, but it’s not the only factor in the application process. Trying to perform well while feeling stressed is a recipe for underperformance. Tutors should help to lower anxiety and foster the confidence of a student.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of tasks that tutors can help with. Some students want help with it all; some want help with something specific.
If you have specific tasks you want the tutor to do, make sure to ask. Tutors that are affiliated with large companies may not have the same flexibility that a solo tutor or one affiliated with a smaller company like MedEdits has. A larger company may dictate a prescribed program. This doesn’t make them bad tutors, but if you want something specific, you might need to turn to a smaller company or individual tutors who can be more flexible and provide only the tutoring you desire.
Lastly, a MCAT tutor is not a magician. MCAT tutors do not have a magic wand. Students who perform the best take ownership of their studying. Yes, a tutor should help facilitate the prep process, but the biggest gains come from students who wrestle with the material and arrive at tutoring sessions with a set of questions based on their studying. These students are the captain of their studying ship, but they are also receptive to feedback and adjustments from their tutor who has more experience navigating the MCAT waters.
JESSICA FREEDMAN, M.D., a former medical school and residency admissions officer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is the founder and chair of MedEdits Medical Admissions and author of three top-selling books about the medical admissions process that you can find on Amazon.