The Conversational Science series is a new (or, at least, different) approach to preparing for the latest version of the Medical College Admissions Test*. This bit is only my personal opinion, but I think the easiest way to do well on the MCAT is to understand the material. There’s one heck of a lot of material, though, so how should you study the things you’ve already covered in class? This study guide is written in an informal tone of voice because you and I are having a conversation, and not a lecture. This study guide contains a limited number of crudely drawn figures. You’re the person studying for the exam**, so I ask you to draw the rest of the figures for yourself. A figure that you draw yourself, even if you have no artistic talent whatsoever, teaches you much more than you can learn by simply looking at the beautiful, full-color, professionally drawn figures in your textbooks. This study guide has a limited number of review questions so you can check if you really did understand one chapter before you move on to the next. This study guide DOES NOT contain any practice exams. This is because (in my opinion, again, based on my experience as a student and as an instructor) the questions in the practice exams of many study guides are too often confusing, poorly written, and not at all like the actual questions on the actual exam. And, sometimes, the answers given for some questions on some practice exams are just plain wrong. This study guide may not be for everyone, but I think there’s a good chance it’ll help you convince yourself that you really do understand the material. *Medical College Admissions Test, MCAT, and MCAT2015 are registered trademarks of the Association of American Medical Colleges, which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. ** I took the MCAT way back in the middle of the 1980s, and I did very well, if I do say so myself.
