October 19, 2025 • 40 mins
Join Mollie's 6-Week Live MCAT Strategy Course - Starts Tue Oct 21st
Meet Mollie Westrick:
🚀 Mollie increased her score from 492 → 521 (29-point jump).
🚀 +15 points in under 60 days during her final ramp-up.
🩺 Now she's a 4th year med student
🤯 With 600+ hours of MCAT tutoring experience
In this episode, she shares the lessons she learned from her MCAT journey and what she's seen with her students.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mollie (00:00):
I had a passage on my MCAT that was talking about mass
spec. And I looked at it, and Iwas like, oh, okay. Never
learned this. Didn't botherstudying it for the MCAT because
it was pretty low yield. Andinstead of panicking, because I
could have panicked, I just kindof went through it slowly and I
didn't actually have to knowanything about mass spec.
(00:20):
And so I always tell students todo something fun, like, right
before they go in. And so, like,before my test, I sat in my car
and I, like, blasted High SchoolMusical music.
MedLife Admin (00:36):
Hey, future doctor. Quick reminder before we
dive in. Did you know we've gota full library of free MCAT
resources waiting for you? We'retalking cheat sheets,
checklists, practice passages,free courses, and more, all made
by real top scorers. Head tomedlifemastery.com/mcat/free and
grab what you need.
Meghan (00:56):
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to another Medlife Mastery
podcast episode. My name isMegan. I'm one of the tutors
here at Medlife and I am so soexcited for today's episode
because we have a fellow tutoron the call with me. Molly is
with me today and that's reallyexciting because usually, we
interview students who've justtaken the MCAT.
(01:18):
So today is a little bitspecial. I don't wanna spoil
because Molly is going tointroduce herself and share her
journey and story and all thegood things, but just to hype up
how amazing Molly is, she hasover six hundred hours of
tutoring. She got an incrediblefive twenty one on her MCAT, so
(01:39):
crazy ninety ninth percentilescore and she is now a fourth
year medical student. So she hasbeen through the MCAT journey,
she's been through a lot of medschool and I have a feeling I'm
going to learn immensely fromher. Molly, welcome to the pod.
Thank you. It's great to haveyou today. I wanna start with
just a little intro for ouraudience. I mean, maybe some
(02:01):
listeners have even had you astheir tutor, which would be
cool. But what do you thinkwould be a good intro to share
with listeners?
Mollie (02:09):
Yeah. I think that's a lot of what I've done with med
life. I started in 2021 as I wasapplying to med school, and I
just submitted my residencyapplication a few weeks ago. So
that feels very full circle.God.
And so I'm an emphor at Emory. Iapplied pediatrics, and we're
just kind of waiting now to hearthings.
Meghan (02:29):
I feel like waiting is a very common word in the medical
journey Definitely. So Whetheryou're like MCAT or waiting for
med school or then I guess likeresidency applications. I was
going to ask you like what's oneword to describe where you're at
right now. I don't know ifwaiting is the word or if
something else.
Mollie (02:47):
I think waiting is pretty good. Yeah. I feel like
this year will be a lot, and Idon't know where I will be next
year. So it's exciting, butdefinitely waiting for a bit.
Meghan (02:57):
That's awesome. How did you first get involved with
Medlife? Were you did you havetutoring, or did you apply to be
a tutor? Like, how did thatwhole process start for you?
Mollie (03:07):
I did not have a tutor through Medlife. I was kind of
looking into wanting to be atutor at some point because I
feel like I got through a lotduring my MCAT journey and felt
like I could help some folks.And then I kind of stumbled upon
Medlife and applied and thenhave obviously stayed here ever
since and I've really lovedbeing a part of the team.
Meghan (03:28):
That's awesome. I always laugh because I took the MCAT
three times. So I have likemaybe the non traditional tutor
route of I was like not atesting natural test taker and
the way I got introduced to evenmaybe the idea of being a tutor
was because I was asked to comeon this podcast as like a
(03:51):
student guest and thenafterwards tutoring came up. So
it's always fun to hear howpeople get involved because
every I've heard a differentanswer every time I ask someone.
Mollie (04:01):
Okay. That's really fun. One of my former students, I saw
that she did a podcast not solong ago, so that's pretty cool.
Meghan (04:07):
Yeah. I know. It's fun to hear. I'm really hoping I
could get one of mine on. I findyou probably find this too,
especially for students whereyou work with them for so many
sessions like ten, fifteen,twenty, thirty, you grow like
such a relationship with themthat there's just some people
that I think their personalitywould be so perfect for like the
(04:27):
public to hear, you know?
Definitely. Yeah. I also wantedto ask, we're going to get into
like MCAT tips and mistakes andall of that, but for maybe
listeners that don't know you,what would you say is your
tutoring style or like approachto working with a student?
Mollie (04:45):
I I found out recently that I have over six hundred
hours of tutoring, which iskinda crazy. And so I think over
the years, just from workingwith so many students, I have
I've, like, figured out kind ofhow to work with people
differently, and I don't knowthat I have, like, one way that
I work with people. And I alwaysstart by, like, asking a lot of
open ended questions becauseeveryone's journey is totally
different and just kindafiguring out, like, okay. Where
(05:07):
are we at? How burnt out are weusually on a scale of, like,
eight to 10?
And then, like, go from there.And I think I don't know that I
have, like, one strategy foreveryone because everyone is so
so so different.
Meghan (05:20):
Yeah. I really agree with that. I think the MCAT
process in general, I think,requires a lot of fluidity
whether you're on the studentside or the tutor side of
adapting over time because youchange just naturally as a
student and what your strengthsare or your growth areas are. So
I would agree with you that Ithink having fluidity and also
(05:41):
people just learn really reallydifferently. Mhmm.
So it's hard to have like onething. I try to be very like
holistic. I do a lot ofmeditation and like confidence
building with my students. So Itry to do that no matter what,
but I have some students whereit's like they really love
(06:01):
visuals, others that lovetalking things through and like
flip classroom like it's reallyinteresting to see and I learn
through the process kind of of,oh, that's like a great way to
teach or learn something becausemy brain maybe doesn't
immediately go there, but thenthe students does,
Mollie (06:18):
you know? Yeah. I have tried the meditating thing and
my my brain doesn't shut downenough. And so I always tell
students, I'm like, you couldtry this. Doesn't work for me.
Here's what works for me. Andthen we, you know, we talk about
some other things. And so it'skind of cool to find, like, what
works for this person even interms of, like, calming them
down rather than, like, MCATstrategy kinds of things. So
Meghan (06:38):
yeah. When you are starting to work with a student,
what are your I know youmentioned asking about burnout,
but kind of, like, where do youusually start? Or for maybe a
student who's just starting outin their MCAT journey, what
would you recommend thinkingthem thinking about if they're,
like, really, really early intothe process?
Mollie (06:58):
I think one of the things and I don't usually catch
people early enough in thisprocess, but thinking about
really, like, your timing andhow much time you have and then
when you're planning on takingyour test. And I have had so
many students who have beenstudying for years, and they are
so burnt out by the end of that.And they have just been studying
for hours and hours each day,and they're not getting anything
(07:20):
done. And it just feels likethey are driving themselves
crazy, which, you know, it droveme crazy, and I didn't study for
years. So I get it.
But I think, like, before youstart thinking about studying
for the MCAT, think about thattiming. And if you have someone
to talk to who's taken itbefore, ask them how long.
Because if you're studying fulltime, you do not need a year.
(07:41):
That's too long. And if you arestudying, like, bit by bit,
think about, like, where you'regonna fit those things in and
where you're gonna take yourbreaks and have things to look
forward to.
At the beginning of studying,when people have more time, I
really like to get people toslow down, and I tell them to
trust me. And, usually, itworks. And so trying to get
people to just, like, go really,really slow through things and
(08:04):
really build a foundation andnot worry about the content so
much and that will just getthere when it gets there and
it's okay.
Meghan (08:11):
I know. That's one of my mottos. I guess I should have
said at the start of this that Iam right now in kind of a funny
space because I applied to medschool, I deferred for a year in
where I'm going. So this is myyear of just working and that's
it. Like I don't need toaccomplish anything, I don't
need to do anything, I can justbe.
(08:33):
But as someone that had to takethe MCAT three times, I delayed
my application cycle in order toretake it and I am like a type
a, everything is planned,everything is scheduled. I
graduated from college earlythinking like I'll take like one
gap year and be done, whatever.And the MCAT really humbled me
(08:53):
that actually like it's okay andthat I have time and like my
whole life doesn't have to befigured out. So I agree with you
that like slowing down feelscounterintuitive, but that's
like one of my favorite actuallyways I feel like I've grown as a
person from the MCAT isrealizing like it doesn't have
to be a race to finish allthese, like, one to the next
(09:17):
accomplishment. And, like,actually, I say this all the
time to students, like, you havetime.
It's okay.
Mollie (09:23):
Yeah. And it's really it's easy for us to say, and I I
always say this to people too.Like, it's so easy for me here
in this position to say slowdown. And when I was taking the
MCAT, I did not believe thateither. Mhmm.
So, like, I, you know, take thatwith a grain of salt. But I
think I I was really, like,stuck for a while and, like,
(09:44):
getting the same scores on MCAT,like, practice tests and
actually met my now fiance and,like, didn't wanna study for the
MCAT and was hanging out withhim.
Meghan (09:53):
And so I was like That's one one. I mean, that relatable.
Mollie (09:57):
Right. Like, I was taking breaks, and it was great.
And then things startedimproving because I was doing
more things. And I wasn'tstudying less, really. I was
just kind of focused on morethings and, like, spreading
myself out a little bit more interms of the things that were
important to me.
And so it really does work toslow down. Mhmm.
Meghan (10:14):
And I think be just intentional about your time.
Like, I worked full time whilestudying and it wasn't, like,
totally possible for me to get agood score. I just had to be
more intentional about, like,how I budget my time. But for
me, I always tell students likehave a non negotiable in your
day that's just for you. Like itcan be a workout, it could be
(10:34):
seeing a friend.
For me, it's like yoga. I get myyoga in and like that was my it
doesn't matter if I didn'tfinish my whole list like that
was my non negotiable and itreally helped me and my mindset
say better and like performbetter and I think like you have
to say a whole person becausethe MCAT will come and go but it
is easier to say now than it islike in the moment for sure.
Mollie (10:56):
Definitely.
Meghan (10:57):
That's the perfect segue then because I was going to ask
you what you think kind of themost common mistakes are that
you see with students whichtiming maybe and pace is one.
But what are other commonmistakes that you and all six
hundred plus hours of scaringhave encountered?
Mollie (11:16):
I see I think the most common thing is seeing people
really focus on content at thebeginning and, like, trying to
learn everything there is tolearn for the MCAT, which is not
really a possible thing to doand also won't really help you
out. And I promise it getsbetter. Step one and step two
are not like that. But focusingon content for so long, you
actually don't get to buildyour, like, question strategy.
(11:38):
And then by the time you knowmore things, you don't get the
opportunity to kind of guessand, like, make those educated
guesses and kind of use thatpart of your brain that isn't
the content side of your brain.
And so I think that's the mostcommon thing I see is, like,
really just focusing on thecontent and less on questions
and then getting really, really,like, in this spiral of, well,
why am I not doing any better?Because of the work in and then
(12:01):
you're so burnt out and youhaven't even really done, like,
the bulk of the work yet. Mhmm.It's just been, like, time and
energy.
Meghan (12:07):
Yeah. I really understand that. I think
everyone who takes the MCATsmotivated and used to doing
relatively well in school. Andso the the and I had this too.
My approach was, like, let mejust memorize as much
information as possible becauselike that's usually what you do
in college to do well on anexam.
But then like everyone would dowell on the MCAT because I think
(12:29):
every pre med is capable of likea super high volume on key set
or flashcard set or whatever.And I usually tell students when
they're learning content tolike, I say targeted practice
but that's just semantics ofthen practicing UWorld in like,
okay, if you wanna stay in thatcontent area, you can practice
(12:50):
in that topic but like reallypairing that at the start that
you're not just studyingflashcards all day because like
as you're saying, it's just notgoing to get the strategy there.
Mollie (13:00):
Yeah. And I think along those lines too, like, we all or
a lot of us have come from thesebackgrounds of just, like, very
intense academics, and there arejust things that pop up on the
MCAT that people are like, oh,I'm supposed to know this. I'm
supposed to know aboutneurofibromatosis. No. You're
not.
I promise you're not. That willcome later. It's fine. But it's
just using those really, reallybasic skills that you learned a
(13:23):
really long time ago. And so Iusually will tell students just
make sure that, like, if you'regetting stuck on a question, try
and simplify it down and thinkabout, okay.
Is this something that I learnedin, like, high school biology or
something earlier rather thanI'm forgetting something, it's
something more complicated andI'm missing it. And a lot of
times that will get you theanswer.
Meghan (13:43):
Yeah. I agree. I think there's this push pull between
strategy and knowledge and Ithink students want to lean so
into the knowledge side thatusually training yourself to
lean into strategy and thatyou're not gonna know everything
on the exam, like you couldstudy every possible thing and
you're still going to see stuffthat you don't know. I would say
(14:04):
another common mistake I see ispeople just waiting too long to
ask for help and I did this likea 100% of like waiting to get a
tutor. It doesn't even have tobe tutoring because tutoring I
know is like an expense and likean investment that may not be
accessible to everyone.
But I would say like help couldcome in so many forms of just
(14:25):
like changing the way you studyin your routine or talking to
like I didn't talk to my peersas much about how much I was
struggling with the MCAT becauseit was like I felt embarrassed
almost that I like what's wrongwith me that I have to take it
again. So like that's anotherthing I see a lot in working
with students is like, they'remaybe two weeks out from their
exam and now wanna chat and Ithink to myself like, if we
(14:48):
started it like the start ofyour journey, this would have so
much more opportunity to buildhabits together. You know?
Mollie (14:56):
Yeah. And I think that's a really good point. Like, it's
just really hard to do anythingon your own. And so whether
that's having a tutor to helpyou through or just even if
you're talking to your mom aboutthings or your friend who is in
business and has no idea whatthe MCAT is, like, make them be
on your journey with you andjust don't be alone and just
reach out for help whereverthat's available.
Meghan (15:17):
Yeah. So listeners, if you're hearing this, don't be
afraid to ask for help. And ifyou get a tutor, I also think
students are just commonmisconception at least I think
where students think they haveto like perform well maybe in
front of me like when we'refirst working together and maybe
they're doing a practice problemI'm like, oh my gosh, I got it
wrong and I always say to themlike the more you get wrong in
(15:37):
front of me the better becausethe more we can work on, the
more I can see where your growthareas are and so I think that's
like a common misconception withtutoring that you have to like
have it all together or there'sno such thing to me as like a
bad impression in terms ofgetting something right or
wrong, you know?
Mollie (15:55):
Yeah. And like we probably got that same question
wrong two years ago and here weare.
Meghan (16:00):
Yeah. Any other common mistakes that you see? And I
think
Mollie (16:06):
this is just something that happens with people who are
type a and premed in general.But just studying late into the
night and then waking up earlythe next morning and studying
again and just thinking that,like, hours are going to make a
difference in things. Mhmm. AndI think that's where the burnout
comes in. And so I always tellstudents, like, let your body,
(16:28):
let your brain tell you whenyou're done.
If you are not focusing, stopand get up and go for a walk. Do
something. Come back to it. Ifit's still not working, you're
done because we don't need tobe, like, practicing bad habits
and doing things like that. Andso many people are just, like,
putting hours and hours andhours of work in, and then
they're exhausted, and we'rejust not gonna make any progress
from there Mhmm.
(16:49):
Without, like, taking a breakand restarting. So I think
that's that's another really bigmistake that I see.
Meghan (16:54):
Yeah. I agree. And, like, I'll even say more
specifically people afraid totake days off in their week.
Like, I'll usually talk aboutkind of a general schema of how
to divide up the days in yourweek, and I'll always encourage,
like, I call it a rest day, likenot a day off but like, I
purposely say like a rest day oflike nourishing your mind, your
body and I think that is what Iget the most hesitation or like
(17:18):
pushback from from students. Irarely have students say like,
oh, I don't have enough time todo that or that's not a
realistic goal.
But they very quickly will saylike, I don't know about a rest
day. I don't have the time to dothat like I and I really view
the MCAT as like you're kind ofa performance athlete, like your
brain is performing for a reallylong time and like, nope high
(17:41):
performing athletes work out andtrain seven days a week with
like little sleep morning, noonand night, that's just not the
way you train your body or yourbrain to perform. But I
definitely would say that's thearea I get the most pushback on.
Mollie (17:59):
Definitely. And fun facts for everyone, you
consolidate memories in slowwave sleep, in deep sleep. If
you don't sleep, you're notgonna consolidate your memories
and then you've, like, wastedyour time, so you have to go to
sleep.
Meghan (18:12):
I was talking to a student today who I our goal is
her sleep schedule. Like, wespent a long time talking about,
like, how to get her sleepschedule on track. So love that
advice. What are your favoriteresources? This is a common
question I'm sure like alltutors get.
What are your favorite resourcesfor students to use during their
(18:34):
MCAT journey?
Mollie (18:35):
My favorite is the AAMC stuff, mostly just because those
are the people who wrote thetest. Those are old test
questions. They are like,because of that, they're going
to be the most accurate. I likethe Jack Weston cars, and I like
that it's free, and you can justkind of, like, go on and do Jack
Westin passages. And then IAnki, I have very mixed reviews
(18:57):
on because I'm really not acontent fan for MCAT studying,
like, really much at all.
Meghan (19:04):
Hot take. That is a hot take. Like, it's
Mollie (19:06):
a really hot take. Listen. I have had students not
know really any chemistry at alland get, like, one twenty eights
on their chem phys sections,which always prompted me to say,
okay. Well, we could learn somechemistry, though. Like, maybe
it's maybe some time.
But yeah. So Anki, I think,works for some people and
doesn't work for others. And Ithink mostly what I don't like
about it is the kind of, like,piling up of cards that you feel
(19:28):
like you have to do becausethat's just never gonna be
helpful for you. And it's toomuch memorization and not really
the best use of your time.
MedLife Admin (19:37):
Hey, again. Hitting pause real quick. Our
daily dose emails have been agame changer for thousands of
students. Every morning, you'llget a practice question, a
memory hack, a top scorer tip, asuccess habits checklist, and a
motivational boost, all in oneshort focused email, totally
free at medlifemastery.com/mcatdaily dose. And if you're stuck
(19:59):
or unsure where to go next withyour prep, don't wait.
Book a session with one of ourmentors who crushed the MCAT and
can help you do the same. Justgo to
medlifemastery.com/mcatmentors.
Meghan (20:11):
Okay. So listeners are probably hearing your hot take
and thinking like, let's screechto a halt. What is she talking
about? So before I get to likethe actual next question, expand
on in terms of like the balanceof strategy content, what's your
recommendation for that splitand kind of how, let's say, your
(20:32):
people that didn't know chemvery well, how did they do well
in that section?
Mollie (20:38):
So and this is all, like, advice I would try to give
to someone if they were, like,really at the beginning of MCAD
studying. Start by going throughquestions and just try and try
and, like, pick out the hints ofwhy did the authors of this
question, like, put this here,or why did the author of this
CARS passage, like, throw thisword here, and why didn't they
use this other word? And really,like, dissecting questions even
(21:01):
not in CARS and in the sciencesections, there's a reason why
whoever was writing it put thatthing in there. And so try and
figure that out and figure out,like, if it was a different
word, what would the answer be?Or, like, how would that change
the meaning of it?
If I were trying to write thisquestion, what would I put as a
distractor and thinking aboutthings that way? And I will tell
you, I don't know a bit oforganic chemistry because I did
(21:24):
it over the 2020 online in tenweeks. And so I don't know any
orgo. I really, really don't.And so I just look for patterns.
I know some of it, but I'll lookfor patterns and things, and
I'll look for, like, what is acommon thing that they like to
test and what is a common thingthat is usually wrong? What
kinds of answers do they like?And if you're going through
slowly through those questions,it's really easy to pick up on
(21:47):
those things and kind of, like,stash them away in your brain.
And then you get to this pointwhere you're like, okay. This
answer looks wrong, and I don'treally know why, but it looks
wrong.
Meghan (21:56):
Mhmm. And
Mollie (21:56):
that's your brain telling you something, and it's
because you've started to pickup on things. And then
eventually, you start torealize, like, well, why did
that seem wrong rather than itjust I'm not sure. It looked
wrong.
Meghan (22:07):
And Okay. I love this hot take. I usually work with
students on cars. Like, that'sthe section that I'm just most
often paired with. And what Imaybe my hot take is I love cars
and I know most people don't,but what I always tell students
is the whole exam is a readingexam.
Mhmm. And so exactly as you'resaying, like there's so much
(22:30):
that's given away in thequestion stem itself and the
words that they pick and theinformation they pick to put in
the passage versus informationthat they don't include and omit
and I think that why I likereally think Cars is such a
great place to invest in is onceyou learn the logic and the
patterns of AAMC, it appliesthen to like every other section
(22:55):
where maybe yes, you'reintegrating some content
knowledge or words that yourecognize. But when I'm
tutoring, I always like, I neverreally explain the content tons
because I just don't thinkthat's the best use of time.
We'll go through it a little bitbut I'll always say like, here's
how you could eliminate down tothe right answer without really
(23:16):
understanding the topic at alland I think most people when
they don't know the content juststart panicking of like, oh my
gosh, I'm behind. I don't knowthis red alert.
I'm not going to get the answerand don't realize like you can
totally reason your way throughthe logic and still get it right
even if you have like, not tonsof information in your head
(23:39):
about what they're talkingabout.
Mollie (23:41):
Yeah. I had a I had a passage on my MCAT that was
talking about mass spec. And Ilooked at it and I was like, oh,
okay. Never learned this. Didn'tbother studying it for the MCAT
because it was pretty low yield.
And instead of panicking,because I could have panicked, I
just kind of went through itslowly, and I didn't actually
have to know anything about massspec. And so I feel like
(24:01):
students will see these wordsthat are scary looking to them,
things that they don't know, andit was just asking to do some,
like, fairly simple problemsolving just in a different
context. Mhmm. And so, yeah, Iusually have students, like, go
back to content when they'regetting things wrong. If there's
a small thing that they need toreview rather than doing, like,
big reviews because theneverything's, like, in context
(24:24):
of the question and what you gotwrong.
Meghan (24:25):
Yeah. Okay. I love this hot take. And listeners may be
like, oh my gosh. She's likechanging my world right now.
They're like stuck in the Anki,the weeds of Anki. So that
that's awesome. You've beentutoring for a while longer than
me because I've only been atutor for like a year. How have
you grown or like how what haveyou learned over your time
(24:48):
tutoring?
Mollie (24:49):
I think one of the things that the MCAT helps you
with and that MCAT tutoring hashelped me with is just growing
in my confidence when I'mpicking an answer for something
or when I'm, like, thinkingabout something or, you know,
talking to someone aboutwhatever it is or teaching. And
I think as much as I'm not surehow much I think sometimes it's
hard to see how the MCAT ishelping with medical school and
(25:12):
medicine and those kinds ofthings. But I definitely think
that in terms of, like, pickingan answer or picking a diagnosis
and being confident in that andhaving reasons to back that up
and having that gut feeling forthings, it really does help with
that. And I think I've learnedhow to better teach people that
have different learning styles,but I think more than that, I've
(25:33):
learned how to challenge peoplewho are at different levels and
really find, like, notnecessarily how do I explain
this thing to them, but how doI, like, get them excited about
this? How do I make themmotivated?
How do I, like, you know, getthem to be, I don't know,
challenged and learning morethings than they would during
their entire time?
Meghan (25:51):
Yeah. I agree with you. And I like to add on to that, I
think a lot of studentsunderestimate themselves. Like,
maybe they'll put a goal scorein that's high or low or
whatever, but when I actuallytalk to them, they're not that
connected with the goal score.Like, they don't most of the
students I'm working with, Idon't think actually have the
like internal belief that theycan get there and I find often
(26:15):
they'll say, oh yeah, this is mygoal score but if I got this or
this like, you know, I'd behappy or I'd accept that.
And then when we're practicingor when they're updating me on
their week, often it's like II'm challenging them to like
have more expectations ofthemselves because of all the
work they're putting in, likeyou don't need settle or think
(26:36):
like, oh, I'd just be lucky toget like x score and it's like
fun. That's one of my favoriteparts of tutoring is seeing
someone's confidence over time,like, grow and develop and like,
maybe they didn't believe, youknow, a certain score is
possible and they exceed whatthe goal is and that's like
really gratifying, you know.What other if any besides like
(27:00):
content hot takes, do you haveany other general tips? I know
it's hard because every personand their needs are so
different. Do you have any othertips as a tutor that you wish
you knew during your MCATjourney that you could kind of
share with listeners?
Mollie (27:17):
We've kind of already talked about like slowing down,
and I think I wish someone toldme why slowing down was helpful.
And maybe even before the MCAT,that might have been helpful. I
think it's just important totalk about wellness in general,
especially with premed people. Ithink the other thing that I
wish I knew years ago that I'vekind of learned through MCAT
(27:41):
tutoring through just being inmed school is that happy people
do well on tests. And people whoare walking into their tests and
are really excited and, like,not necessarily excited to take
the MCAT because I don't knowthat anyone is, but excited to
be done, excited to prove howmuch hard work they've put into
something and or just are happythose people do well.
(28:03):
And people who are, like, in aplace where they're burnt out
and things like that, it's justharder to do well on this test.
And so I always tell students todo something fun, like, right
before right before they go in.And so, like, before my test, I
sat in my car and I, like,blasted High School Musical
music. And that's what I did,and then I walked in. And I will
(28:24):
tell people to, like, call theirmom if that's their thing.
Or if they, you know, if theylike yoga, make sure they do,
like, you know, fifteen minutesin the morning, like, do
something or have theirchocolate bar in the morning.
Like, whatever it is that makesthem happy that, like, gives
them that extra kick
Meghan (28:38):
Mhmm.
Mollie (28:39):
Just make sure they do that before they walk into the
testing center.
Meghan (28:41):
I, funnily enough, give similar but opposite advice
where I say something to lookforward to, like, afterwards to
celebrate because I and I feellike this is so, like,
stereotypical of just thepersonality type of someone
taking the exam. Like fixate,I'm such a perfectionist on like
little details and oh, I couldhave because I have three exams
(29:01):
to leave and then think about,oh, this question or that So I
took my test center, actuallythe town next to where my
grandparents live, it justhappened to be that there was a
test center there. And soBedford Farms, which I know at
least one listener will knowwhere this is because I work
with a student who lives likeright, like very close to my
(29:22):
grandparents. Like we randomlygot paired by med life and then
realized we live really close.But Bedford Farms, which is a
great ice cream place is downthe street.
So I would get a celebratorySunday which meant three
celebratory Sundays in my MCATjourney afterwards to, like,
look forward to and be done. ButI think it's really healthy to
have something that, like,instantly shifts and get your
(29:44):
mind off of the exam because youreally can't, like, do anything
afterwards. And everyone wantsto go on Reddit or like look
online at this or that and Ithink that's just like a very
anxiety producing place to be.So like, I always recommend plan
something that just you can lookforward to, makes you happy, and
like takes your mind totally offof the rest of the day.
Mollie (30:07):
Like, blanket statement. Do not go on Reddit for med
school related things.
Meghan (30:14):
Please stay off Reddit.
Mollie (30:15):
Will not make you feel better. Yeah.
Meghan (30:17):
No. And funnily enough, I, like, really didn't go on
Reddit at all. Like, I wasdisciplined about that. So I
didn't even realize, like, howmuch of a problem it is until I
started tutoring and, like,realizing how much anxiety or
even like TikTok, which I don'thave TikTok, but the amount of
students I've had that say like,oh, yeah, I follow this person
(30:38):
or that person and they do likestudy with me for eight hours.
Like crazy things and I'm like,don't please don't do that.
Do you have any like anecdotesor like meaningful stories or
relationships or things frombeing a tutor that you've
experienced that you want toshare?
Mollie (31:00):
I think I've actually just formed some great
relationships with some of my,like, former mentees. One of
them who I worked with for awhile, I don't know how many
hours, but we got to work fortogether for a really long time.
She's in med school now, also aretaker. And her now fiance
lives in Atlanta, and so I'vegotten to see her here a couple
of times, which has been reallynice. And then another student
(31:22):
who I had a while back isapplying the cycle, And I kept
telling her, I was like, youknow, we're pretty similar.
Like, we're we're we're prettysimilar. Like, we have some
similarities and, like, also, Ithink our personalities are
pretty similar. And I washelping her with her personal
statement and some of her, like,you know, application stuff. And
she was like, yeah. You'regiving me advice that, like, I I
(31:42):
feel like I would be givingmyself.
And so that was a really coolmoment. She'd be like, yeah. I
know. I was telling you this thewhole time. And so it's just
been cool to meet these peoplewho I wouldn't have met
otherwise.
Yeah.
Meghan (31:53):
I will say that was something really unexpected for
me in tutoring because you geton like these Google Meets and
it's a total stranger and I kindof thought like, oh, is this
going to be awkward? Which likemaybe it is for the first five
minutes of talking to someone,but I totally agree with you
that there you do form likegenuine relationships or just
(32:13):
like really meaningful exchangeswith other people and it's
really meaningful to see howpeople's confidence grows and
maybe they smile more or maybelike I love when I start working
with students usually they havelike a blanket question of like,
I'm bad at cars, can you helpme? But then as we continue,
their questions become sospecific of like, I'm really
(32:35):
struggling with the reasoningbeyond the text questions or I
keep getting like a sum I'mmaking all these assumptions and
I always know based onspecificity that they've grown
to even know to ask thosethings. So it's just fun to have
like that meaning between peopleI really really agree. My fun
anecdote or my sister actuallythought this is funny, so I have
(32:57):
a younger sister and I was justfinishing up a session, it was
going a few minutes late.
You can probably tell listenersthat I love to chat and babble,
so it's probably not shockingthat I would go over time on a
tutoring session. So she hadcome into my office like
thinking I was done and astudent was telling me they had
taken their MCAT and then I wasthen mentoring them for like
(33:20):
admissions coaching stuff. Howthey because I'm really big into
like mantras and you know, speakwhat you want and kind of
visualize and all that. So Ialways work with students on
like what are mantras you canhave on test day. They were
like, I thought of you and yourvoice in my head, the whole MCAT
and what you would say to me andit was my sister walked in
thinking like, this is crazy.
(33:41):
Like, they're telling you thatthey had your voice in their
head for like an eight hourexam. This sounds really weird,
but they were saying it from aplace of like genuine, I think,
appreciation that, had you by myside imagine in an imaginative
way.
Mollie (33:58):
You're just like, that's not how I see you.
Meghan (34:00):
Yeah. Like but it was and I've had multiple students
say, like, I I thought aboutthings you'd tell me or, like,
what you'd say in the moment andshe still will make fun of me
for it. Like, when I'm to sayingI'm going off to tutor or
whatever, she'll say, like, youreally gotta make sure you stay
out of their heads because,like, that's but but if I can
(34:23):
because it is isolating to likebe by yourself. So if I give a
mantra that like works well, Ithink that's a good thing. Yeah.
So you're applying to residencypediatrics, that's so exciting.
What does like the typical weeklook like for you then? Like
what is your day to day routine?I'm trying to give some
(34:46):
inspiration for listeners whomay be like, I hate the MCAT and
like just wanna get to medschool. So you're fourth year.
What does that entail right now?
Mollie (34:54):
Well, let me tell you about fourth year of med school.
If you if you are tired oftaking the MCAT and tired of
studying, I have seven monthsof, like, protected time, not
off, but, like, for for thingsthat I want to do and for me to
get, like, research and studyingdone. And so I have not so many
(35:16):
clinical rotations this year,and a lot of the ones that I've
done are things that I want todo and I'm really excited about.
And so fourth year is a lot offun. I am in the middle of three
months of protected researchtime, and so I'm getting
research done, and I'm reallyexcited about it.
But it's also totally on mytime, and I wake up when I want.
And I go for lots of walks andsee my friends who are also on
(35:38):
their research time. And, yeah,it's it's great. And four year
is great.
MedLife Admin (35:43):
Yay.
Meghan (35:44):
Well, that's something maybe I can look forward to too
since I'm like behind you inthis process. That's really nice
to hear. Last question then.What would your like if you had
to give any kind of likemotivational last phrase, word,
advice for someone who's feelinglike overwhelmed, burnt out
(36:04):
listening to this whether maybethey're taking the MCAT or maybe
they're applying or maybethey're waiting for interviews,
wherever they are in their likepremed journey, what would your,
like, parting words be for themin terms of motivation?
Mollie (36:20):
I think one thing, and I'm not sure if this is
motivating, but you've doneharder things probably. And so
just be confident in what you'vedone so far and knowing that you
can do hard things and that youwill continue to do hard things,
and you will be fine, and youwill do well at those things.
And I think in terms ofmotivation, this is this is,
(36:42):
like, more so my I'm not sure ifthis is great motivation, but
think about, like, all of thepeople who had to take the MCAT
and had to do all these thingsand are now doctors. And think
about some of the people thatyou've met, and they've all done
it. And some of them are notnecessarily, like you know?
I don't know. We've all we'veall met some people, and we're
(37:03):
like, oh, okay. Okay. Not
Meghan (37:05):
the therapist tool necessarily.
Mollie (37:07):
Right. Like, sometimes it just it just happens. And so
I think that's I think that'sone of those things to think
about. And also just, like, beconfident in the hard work that
you've put in and you reallyhave done it and just, like,
don't second guess yourself.Listen to your intuition.
That is your best tool that youhave and just focus on all the
(37:29):
hard work you've put in becauseit's a lot.
Meghan (37:31):
It's a lot. And I don't think I always ask students when
like at our last session, like,what are you most proud of? And
that they always hesitate tolike even have a list in the
MCAT process or their admissionsprocess. They'll always tell me
their growth areas and theirweaknesses, but when I ask what
are you most proud of, it's likethe longest pause. I think
(37:52):
that's great advice.
Molly, you're teaching the livecourse, right? That's coming up?
Yeah. Okay. Yay.
So for listeners, Molly isteaching a lovely live course.
What information could youshare? Do you have any that
would be helpful for people toknow?
Mollie (38:07):
Yeah. So we are starting the live course in a week or so.
It's six weeks long and we'llmeet twice a week for two hours
for each session. So you'llspend lots of time with me. Yay.
We're gonna cover all of thethings, cars, sciences,
strategy, and there's anopportunity to just make a
(38:28):
session of whatever y'all want.And we just get to hang out for
a whole lot of hours and I thinkit's gonna be a of fun.
Meghan (38:35):
I think that sounds like a lot of fun. So listeners, if
you want more of Molly, there'sa live course coming up and I'm
sure the editors, please I guessput a link somewhere wherever
this is going for people toclick on and also more
information on the MedlifeMastery webpage. Molly, thank
you. I really appreciate yourtime and this is a treat for me
(38:55):
too because I feel like Ilearned a lot and it's fun to
hear like other people's stylesand approaches and perspectives
and also just like it's nice. Ithink medicine's really special
and that there's like mentorshipat every level so it's really
fun to have someone like you tolook up to and learn from.
So thank you so much forchatting with me tonight. This
(39:16):
was great.
MedLife Admin (39:21):
Before we sign off, remember, the path to med
school isn't always smooth. It'sfull of set backs, doubts, and
days that feel like you're notgetting anywhere. But that's
part of the process, and it'sone every doctor you admire has
gone through. Don't stop now.You got this.
And if you're looking forsomeone to actually look at your
prep and help you figure outwhat's missing, what's working,
(39:43):
and what needs to change, youcan work with one of us. We
personally pair you with themost ideal top scoring mentor
for your MCAT situation. Learnmore at
medlifemastery.com/mcatmentors.
I had a passage on my MCAT that was talking about mass
spec. And I looked at it, and Iwas like, oh, okay. Never
learned this. Didn't botherstudying it for the MCAT because
it was pretty low yield. Andinstead of panicking, because I
could have panicked, I just kindof went through it slowly and I
didn't actually have to knowanything about mass spec.
(00:20):
And so I always tell students todo something fun, like, right
before they go in. And so, like,before my test, I sat in my car
and I, like, blasted High SchoolMusical music.
MedLife Admin (00:36):
Hey, future doctor. Quick reminder before we
dive in. Did you know we've gota full library of free MCAT
resources waiting for you? We'retalking cheat sheets,
checklists, practice passages,free courses, and more, all made
by real top scorers. Head tomedlifemastery.com/mcat/free and
grab what you need.
Meghan (00:56):
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to another Medlife Mastery
podcast episode. My name isMegan. I'm one of the tutors
here at Medlife and I am so soexcited for today's episode
because we have a fellow tutoron the call with me. Molly is
with me today and that's reallyexciting because usually, we
interview students who've justtaken the MCAT.
(01:18):
So today is a little bitspecial. I don't wanna spoil
because Molly is going tointroduce herself and share her
journey and story and all thegood things, but just to hype up
how amazing Molly is, she hasover six hundred hours of
tutoring. She got an incrediblefive twenty one on her MCAT, so
(01:39):
crazy ninety ninth percentilescore and she is now a fourth
year medical student. So she hasbeen through the MCAT journey,
she's been through a lot of medschool and I have a feeling I'm
going to learn immensely fromher. Molly, welcome to the pod.
Thank you. It's great to haveyou today. I wanna start with
just a little intro for ouraudience. I mean, maybe some
(02:01):
listeners have even had you astheir tutor, which would be
cool. But what do you thinkwould be a good intro to share
with listeners?
Mollie (02:09):
Yeah. I think that's a lot of what I've done with med
life. I started in 2021 as I wasapplying to med school, and I
just submitted my residencyapplication a few weeks ago. So
that feels very full circle.God.
And so I'm an emphor at Emory. Iapplied pediatrics, and we're
just kind of waiting now to hearthings.
Meghan (02:29):
I feel like waiting is a very common word in the medical
journey Definitely. So Whetheryou're like MCAT or waiting for
med school or then I guess likeresidency applications. I was
going to ask you like what's oneword to describe where you're at
right now. I don't know ifwaiting is the word or if
something else.
Mollie (02:47):
I think waiting is pretty good. Yeah. I feel like
this year will be a lot, and Idon't know where I will be next
year. So it's exciting, butdefinitely waiting for a bit.
Meghan (02:57):
That's awesome. How did you first get involved with
Medlife? Were you did you havetutoring, or did you apply to be
a tutor? Like, how did thatwhole process start for you?
Mollie (03:07):
I did not have a tutor through Medlife. I was kind of
looking into wanting to be atutor at some point because I
feel like I got through a lotduring my MCAT journey and felt
like I could help some folks.And then I kind of stumbled upon
Medlife and applied and thenhave obviously stayed here ever
since and I've really lovedbeing a part of the team.
Meghan (03:28):
That's awesome. I always laugh because I took the MCAT
three times. So I have likemaybe the non traditional tutor
route of I was like not atesting natural test taker and
the way I got introduced to evenmaybe the idea of being a tutor
was because I was asked to comeon this podcast as like a
(03:51):
student guest and thenafterwards tutoring came up. So
it's always fun to hear howpeople get involved because
every I've heard a differentanswer every time I ask someone.
Mollie (04:01):
Okay. That's really fun. One of my former students, I saw
that she did a podcast not solong ago, so that's pretty cool.
Meghan (04:07):
Yeah. I know. It's fun to hear. I'm really hoping I
could get one of mine on. I findyou probably find this too,
especially for students whereyou work with them for so many
sessions like ten, fifteen,twenty, thirty, you grow like
such a relationship with themthat there's just some people
that I think their personalitywould be so perfect for like the
(04:27):
public to hear, you know?
Definitely. Yeah. I also wantedto ask, we're going to get into
like MCAT tips and mistakes andall of that, but for maybe
listeners that don't know you,what would you say is your
tutoring style or like approachto working with a student?
Mollie (04:45):
I I found out recently that I have over six hundred
hours of tutoring, which iskinda crazy. And so I think over
the years, just from workingwith so many students, I have
I've, like, figured out kind ofhow to work with people
differently, and I don't knowthat I have, like, one way that
I work with people. And I alwaysstart by, like, asking a lot of
open ended questions becauseeveryone's journey is totally
different and just kindafiguring out, like, okay. Where
(05:07):
are we at? How burnt out are weusually on a scale of, like,
eight to 10?
And then, like, go from there.And I think I don't know that I
have, like, one strategy foreveryone because everyone is so
so so different.
Meghan (05:20):
Yeah. I really agree with that. I think the MCAT
process in general, I think,requires a lot of fluidity
whether you're on the studentside or the tutor side of
adapting over time because youchange just naturally as a
student and what your strengthsare or your growth areas are. So
I would agree with you that Ithink having fluidity and also
(05:41):
people just learn really reallydifferently. Mhmm.
So it's hard to have like onething. I try to be very like
holistic. I do a lot ofmeditation and like confidence
building with my students. So Itry to do that no matter what,
but I have some students whereit's like they really love
(06:01):
visuals, others that lovetalking things through and like
flip classroom like it's reallyinteresting to see and I learn
through the process kind of of,oh, that's like a great way to
teach or learn something becausemy brain maybe doesn't
immediately go there, but thenthe students does,
Mollie (06:18):
you know? Yeah. I have tried the meditating thing and
my my brain doesn't shut downenough. And so I always tell
students, I'm like, you couldtry this. Doesn't work for me.
Here's what works for me. Andthen we, you know, we talk about
some other things. And so it'skind of cool to find, like, what
works for this person even interms of, like, calming them
down rather than, like, MCATstrategy kinds of things. So
Meghan (06:38):
yeah. When you are starting to work with a student,
what are your I know youmentioned asking about burnout,
but kind of, like, where do youusually start? Or for maybe a
student who's just starting outin their MCAT journey, what
would you recommend thinkingthem thinking about if they're,
like, really, really early intothe process?
Mollie (06:58):
I think one of the things and I don't usually catch
people early enough in thisprocess, but thinking about
really, like, your timing andhow much time you have and then
when you're planning on takingyour test. And I have had so
many students who have beenstudying for years, and they are
so burnt out by the end of that.And they have just been studying
for hours and hours each day,and they're not getting anything
(07:20):
done. And it just feels likethey are driving themselves
crazy, which, you know, it droveme crazy, and I didn't study for
years. So I get it.
But I think, like, before youstart thinking about studying
for the MCAT, think about thattiming. And if you have someone
to talk to who's taken itbefore, ask them how long.
Because if you're studying fulltime, you do not need a year.
(07:41):
That's too long. And if you arestudying, like, bit by bit,
think about, like, where you'regonna fit those things in and
where you're gonna take yourbreaks and have things to look
forward to.
At the beginning of studying,when people have more time, I
really like to get people toslow down, and I tell them to
trust me. And, usually, itworks. And so trying to get
people to just, like, go really,really slow through things and
(08:04):
really build a foundation andnot worry about the content so
much and that will just getthere when it gets there and
it's okay.
Meghan (08:11):
I know. That's one of my mottos. I guess I should have
said at the start of this that Iam right now in kind of a funny
space because I applied to medschool, I deferred for a year in
where I'm going. So this is myyear of just working and that's
it. Like I don't need toaccomplish anything, I don't
need to do anything, I can justbe.
(08:33):
But as someone that had to takethe MCAT three times, I delayed
my application cycle in order toretake it and I am like a type
a, everything is planned,everything is scheduled. I
graduated from college earlythinking like I'll take like one
gap year and be done, whatever.And the MCAT really humbled me
(08:53):
that actually like it's okay andthat I have time and like my
whole life doesn't have to befigured out. So I agree with you
that like slowing down feelscounterintuitive, but that's
like one of my favorite actuallyways I feel like I've grown as a
person from the MCAT isrealizing like it doesn't have
to be a race to finish allthese, like, one to the next
(09:17):
accomplishment. And, like,actually, I say this all the
time to students, like, you havetime.
It's okay.
Mollie (09:23):
Yeah. And it's really it's easy for us to say, and I I
always say this to people too.Like, it's so easy for me here
in this position to say slowdown. And when I was taking the
MCAT, I did not believe thateither. Mhmm.
So, like, I, you know, take thatwith a grain of salt. But I
think I I was really, like,stuck for a while and, like,
(09:44):
getting the same scores on MCAT,like, practice tests and
actually met my now fiance and,like, didn't wanna study for the
MCAT and was hanging out withhim.
Meghan (09:53):
And so I was like That's one one. I mean, that relatable.
Mollie (09:57):
Right. Like, I was taking breaks, and it was great.
And then things startedimproving because I was doing
more things. And I wasn'tstudying less, really. I was
just kind of focused on morethings and, like, spreading
myself out a little bit more interms of the things that were
important to me.
And so it really does work toslow down. Mhmm.
Meghan (10:14):
And I think be just intentional about your time.
Like, I worked full time whilestudying and it wasn't, like,
totally possible for me to get agood score. I just had to be
more intentional about, like,how I budget my time. But for
me, I always tell students likehave a non negotiable in your
day that's just for you. Like itcan be a workout, it could be
(10:34):
seeing a friend.
For me, it's like yoga. I get myyoga in and like that was my it
doesn't matter if I didn'tfinish my whole list like that
was my non negotiable and itreally helped me and my mindset
say better and like performbetter and I think like you have
to say a whole person becausethe MCAT will come and go but it
is easier to say now than it islike in the moment for sure.
Mollie (10:56):
Definitely.
Meghan (10:57):
That's the perfect segue then because I was going to ask
you what you think kind of themost common mistakes are that
you see with students whichtiming maybe and pace is one.
But what are other commonmistakes that you and all six
hundred plus hours of scaringhave encountered?
Mollie (11:16):
I see I think the most common thing is seeing people
really focus on content at thebeginning and, like, trying to
learn everything there is tolearn for the MCAT, which is not
really a possible thing to doand also won't really help you
out. And I promise it getsbetter. Step one and step two
are not like that. But focusingon content for so long, you
actually don't get to buildyour, like, question strategy.
(11:38):
And then by the time you knowmore things, you don't get the
opportunity to kind of guessand, like, make those educated
guesses and kind of use thatpart of your brain that isn't
the content side of your brain.
And so I think that's the mostcommon thing I see is, like,
really just focusing on thecontent and less on questions
and then getting really, really,like, in this spiral of, well,
why am I not doing any better?Because of the work in and then
(12:01):
you're so burnt out and youhaven't even really done, like,
the bulk of the work yet. Mhmm.It's just been, like, time and
energy.
Meghan (12:07):
Yeah. I really understand that. I think
everyone who takes the MCATsmotivated and used to doing
relatively well in school. Andso the the and I had this too.
My approach was, like, let mejust memorize as much
information as possible becauselike that's usually what you do
in college to do well on anexam.
But then like everyone would dowell on the MCAT because I think
(12:29):
every pre med is capable of likea super high volume on key set
or flashcard set or whatever.And I usually tell students when
they're learning content tolike, I say targeted practice
but that's just semantics ofthen practicing UWorld in like,
okay, if you wanna stay in thatcontent area, you can practice
(12:50):
in that topic but like reallypairing that at the start that
you're not just studyingflashcards all day because like
as you're saying, it's just notgoing to get the strategy there.
Mollie (13:00):
Yeah. And I think along those lines too, like, we all or
a lot of us have come from thesebackgrounds of just, like, very
intense academics, and there arejust things that pop up on the
MCAT that people are like, oh,I'm supposed to know this. I'm
supposed to know aboutneurofibromatosis. No. You're
not.
I promise you're not. That willcome later. It's fine. But it's
just using those really, reallybasic skills that you learned a
(13:23):
really long time ago. And so Iusually will tell students just
make sure that, like, if you'regetting stuck on a question, try
and simplify it down and thinkabout, okay.
Is this something that I learnedin, like, high school biology or
something earlier rather thanI'm forgetting something, it's
something more complicated andI'm missing it. And a lot of
times that will get you theanswer.
Meghan (13:43):
Yeah. I agree. I think there's this push pull between
strategy and knowledge and Ithink students want to lean so
into the knowledge side thatusually training yourself to
lean into strategy and thatyou're not gonna know everything
on the exam, like you couldstudy every possible thing and
you're still going to see stuffthat you don't know. I would say
(14:04):
another common mistake I see ispeople just waiting too long to
ask for help and I did this likea 100% of like waiting to get a
tutor. It doesn't even have tobe tutoring because tutoring I
know is like an expense and likean investment that may not be
accessible to everyone.
But I would say like help couldcome in so many forms of just
(14:25):
like changing the way you studyin your routine or talking to
like I didn't talk to my peersas much about how much I was
struggling with the MCAT becauseit was like I felt embarrassed
almost that I like what's wrongwith me that I have to take it
again. So like that's anotherthing I see a lot in working
with students is like, they'remaybe two weeks out from their
exam and now wanna chat and Ithink to myself like, if we
(14:48):
started it like the start ofyour journey, this would have so
much more opportunity to buildhabits together. You know?
Mollie (14:56):
Yeah. And I think that's a really good point. Like, it's
just really hard to do anythingon your own. And so whether
that's having a tutor to helpyou through or just even if
you're talking to your mom aboutthings or your friend who is in
business and has no idea whatthe MCAT is, like, make them be
on your journey with you andjust don't be alone and just
reach out for help whereverthat's available.
Meghan (15:17):
Yeah. So listeners, if you're hearing this, don't be
afraid to ask for help. And ifyou get a tutor, I also think
students are just commonmisconception at least I think
where students think they haveto like perform well maybe in
front of me like when we'refirst working together and maybe
they're doing a practice problemI'm like, oh my gosh, I got it
wrong and I always say to themlike the more you get wrong in
(15:37):
front of me the better becausethe more we can work on, the
more I can see where your growthareas are and so I think that's
like a common misconception withtutoring that you have to like
have it all together or there'sno such thing to me as like a
bad impression in terms ofgetting something right or
wrong, you know?
Mollie (15:55):
Yeah. And like we probably got that same question
wrong two years ago and here weare.
Meghan (16:00):
Yeah. Any other common mistakes that you see? And I
think
Mollie (16:06):
this is just something that happens with people who are
type a and premed in general.But just studying late into the
night and then waking up earlythe next morning and studying
again and just thinking that,like, hours are going to make a
difference in things. Mhmm. AndI think that's where the burnout
comes in. And so I always tellstudents, like, let your body,
(16:28):
let your brain tell you whenyou're done.
If you are not focusing, stopand get up and go for a walk. Do
something. Come back to it. Ifit's still not working, you're
done because we don't need tobe, like, practicing bad habits
and doing things like that. Andso many people are just, like,
putting hours and hours andhours of work in, and then
they're exhausted, and we'rejust not gonna make any progress
from there Mhmm.
(16:49):
Without, like, taking a breakand restarting. So I think
that's that's another really bigmistake that I see.
Meghan (16:54):
Yeah. I agree. And, like, I'll even say more
specifically people afraid totake days off in their week.
Like, I'll usually talk aboutkind of a general schema of how
to divide up the days in yourweek, and I'll always encourage,
like, I call it a rest day, likenot a day off but like, I
purposely say like a rest day oflike nourishing your mind, your
body and I think that is what Iget the most hesitation or like
(17:18):
pushback from from students. Irarely have students say like,
oh, I don't have enough time todo that or that's not a
realistic goal.
But they very quickly will saylike, I don't know about a rest
day. I don't have the time to dothat like I and I really view
the MCAT as like you're kind ofa performance athlete, like your
brain is performing for a reallylong time and like, nope high
(17:41):
performing athletes work out andtrain seven days a week with
like little sleep morning, noonand night, that's just not the
way you train your body or yourbrain to perform. But I
definitely would say that's thearea I get the most pushback on.
Mollie (17:59):
Definitely. And fun facts for everyone, you
consolidate memories in slowwave sleep, in deep sleep. If
you don't sleep, you're notgonna consolidate your memories
and then you've, like, wastedyour time, so you have to go to
sleep.
Meghan (18:12):
I was talking to a student today who I our goal is
her sleep schedule. Like, wespent a long time talking about,
like, how to get her sleepschedule on track. So love that
advice. What are your favoriteresources? This is a common
question I'm sure like alltutors get.
What are your favorite resourcesfor students to use during their
(18:34):
MCAT journey?
Mollie (18:35):
My favorite is the AAMC stuff, mostly just because those
are the people who wrote thetest. Those are old test
questions. They are like,because of that, they're going
to be the most accurate. I likethe Jack Weston cars, and I like
that it's free, and you can justkind of, like, go on and do Jack
Westin passages. And then IAnki, I have very mixed reviews
(18:57):
on because I'm really not acontent fan for MCAT studying,
like, really much at all.
Meghan (19:04):
Hot take. That is a hot take. Like, it's
Mollie (19:06):
a really hot take. Listen. I have had students not
know really any chemistry at alland get, like, one twenty eights
on their chem phys sections,which always prompted me to say,
okay. Well, we could learn somechemistry, though. Like, maybe
it's maybe some time.
But yeah. So Anki, I think,works for some people and
doesn't work for others. And Ithink mostly what I don't like
about it is the kind of, like,piling up of cards that you feel
(19:28):
like you have to do becausethat's just never gonna be
helpful for you. And it's toomuch memorization and not really
the best use of your time.
MedLife Admin (19:37):
Hey, again. Hitting pause real quick. Our
daily dose emails have been agame changer for thousands of
students. Every morning, you'llget a practice question, a
memory hack, a top scorer tip, asuccess habits checklist, and a
motivational boost, all in oneshort focused email, totally
free at medlifemastery.com/mcatdaily dose. And if you're stuck
(19:59):
or unsure where to go next withyour prep, don't wait.
Book a session with one of ourmentors who crushed the MCAT and
can help you do the same. Justgo to
medlifemastery.com/mcatmentors.
Meghan (20:11):
Okay. So listeners are probably hearing your hot take
and thinking like, let's screechto a halt. What is she talking
about? So before I get to likethe actual next question, expand
on in terms of like the balanceof strategy content, what's your
recommendation for that splitand kind of how, let's say, your
(20:32):
people that didn't know chemvery well, how did they do well
in that section?
Mollie (20:38):
So and this is all, like, advice I would try to give
to someone if they were, like,really at the beginning of MCAD
studying. Start by going throughquestions and just try and try
and, like, pick out the hints ofwhy did the authors of this
question, like, put this here,or why did the author of this
CARS passage, like, throw thisword here, and why didn't they
use this other word? And really,like, dissecting questions even
(21:01):
not in CARS and in the sciencesections, there's a reason why
whoever was writing it put thatthing in there. And so try and
figure that out and figure out,like, if it was a different
word, what would the answer be?Or, like, how would that change
the meaning of it?
If I were trying to write thisquestion, what would I put as a
distractor and thinking aboutthings that way? And I will tell
you, I don't know a bit oforganic chemistry because I did
(21:24):
it over the 2020 online in tenweeks. And so I don't know any
orgo. I really, really don't.And so I just look for patterns.
I know some of it, but I'll lookfor patterns and things, and
I'll look for, like, what is acommon thing that they like to
test and what is a common thingthat is usually wrong? What
kinds of answers do they like?And if you're going through
slowly through those questions,it's really easy to pick up on
(21:47):
those things and kind of, like,stash them away in your brain.
And then you get to this pointwhere you're like, okay. This
answer looks wrong, and I don'treally know why, but it looks
wrong.
Meghan (21:56):
Mhmm. And
Mollie (21:56):
that's your brain telling you something, and it's
because you've started to pickup on things. And then
eventually, you start torealize, like, well, why did
that seem wrong rather than itjust I'm not sure. It looked
wrong.
Meghan (22:07):
And Okay. I love this hot take. I usually work with
students on cars. Like, that'sthe section that I'm just most
often paired with. And what Imaybe my hot take is I love cars
and I know most people don't,but what I always tell students
is the whole exam is a readingexam.
Mhmm. And so exactly as you'resaying, like there's so much
(22:30):
that's given away in thequestion stem itself and the
words that they pick and theinformation they pick to put in
the passage versus informationthat they don't include and omit
and I think that why I likereally think Cars is such a
great place to invest in is onceyou learn the logic and the
patterns of AAMC, it appliesthen to like every other section
(22:55):
where maybe yes, you'reintegrating some content
knowledge or words that yourecognize. But when I'm
tutoring, I always like, I neverreally explain the content tons
because I just don't thinkthat's the best use of time.
We'll go through it a little bitbut I'll always say like, here's
how you could eliminate down tothe right answer without really
(23:16):
understanding the topic at alland I think most people when
they don't know the content juststart panicking of like, oh my
gosh, I'm behind. I don't knowthis red alert.
I'm not going to get the answerand don't realize like you can
totally reason your way throughthe logic and still get it right
even if you have like, not tonsof information in your head
(23:39):
about what they're talkingabout.
Mollie (23:41):
Yeah. I had a I had a passage on my MCAT that was
talking about mass spec. And Ilooked at it and I was like, oh,
okay. Never learned this. Didn'tbother studying it for the MCAT
because it was pretty low yield.
And instead of panicking,because I could have panicked, I
just kind of went through itslowly, and I didn't actually
have to know anything about massspec. And so I feel like
(24:01):
students will see these wordsthat are scary looking to them,
things that they don't know, andit was just asking to do some,
like, fairly simple problemsolving just in a different
context. Mhmm. And so, yeah, Iusually have students, like, go
back to content when they'regetting things wrong. If there's
a small thing that they need toreview rather than doing, like,
big reviews because theneverything's, like, in context
(24:24):
of the question and what you gotwrong.
Meghan (24:25):
Yeah. Okay. I love this hot take. And listeners may be
like, oh my gosh. She's likechanging my world right now.
They're like stuck in the Anki,the weeds of Anki. So that
that's awesome. You've beentutoring for a while longer than
me because I've only been atutor for like a year. How have
you grown or like how what haveyou learned over your time
(24:48):
tutoring?
Mollie (24:49):
I think one of the things that the MCAT helps you
with and that MCAT tutoring hashelped me with is just growing
in my confidence when I'mpicking an answer for something
or when I'm, like, thinkingabout something or, you know,
talking to someone aboutwhatever it is or teaching. And
I think as much as I'm not surehow much I think sometimes it's
hard to see how the MCAT ishelping with medical school and
(25:12):
medicine and those kinds ofthings. But I definitely think
that in terms of, like, pickingan answer or picking a diagnosis
and being confident in that andhaving reasons to back that up
and having that gut feeling forthings, it really does help with
that. And I think I've learnedhow to better teach people that
have different learning styles,but I think more than that, I've
(25:33):
learned how to challenge peoplewho are at different levels and
really find, like, notnecessarily how do I explain
this thing to them, but how doI, like, get them excited about
this? How do I make themmotivated?
How do I, like, you know, getthem to be, I don't know,
challenged and learning morethings than they would during
their entire time?
Meghan (25:51):
Yeah. I agree with you. And I like to add on to that, I
think a lot of studentsunderestimate themselves. Like,
maybe they'll put a goal scorein that's high or low or
whatever, but when I actuallytalk to them, they're not that
connected with the goal score.Like, they don't most of the
students I'm working with, Idon't think actually have the
like internal belief that theycan get there and I find often
(26:15):
they'll say, oh yeah, this is mygoal score but if I got this or
this like, you know, I'd behappy or I'd accept that.
And then when we're practicingor when they're updating me on
their week, often it's like II'm challenging them to like
have more expectations ofthemselves because of all the
work they're putting in, likeyou don't need settle or think
(26:36):
like, oh, I'd just be lucky toget like x score and it's like
fun. That's one of my favoriteparts of tutoring is seeing
someone's confidence over time,like, grow and develop and like,
maybe they didn't believe, youknow, a certain score is
possible and they exceed whatthe goal is and that's like
really gratifying, you know.What other if any besides like
(27:00):
content hot takes, do you haveany other general tips? I know
it's hard because every personand their needs are so
different. Do you have any othertips as a tutor that you wish
you knew during your MCATjourney that you could kind of
share with listeners?
Mollie (27:17):
We've kind of already talked about like slowing down,
and I think I wish someone toldme why slowing down was helpful.
And maybe even before the MCAT,that might have been helpful. I
think it's just important totalk about wellness in general,
especially with premed people. Ithink the other thing that I
wish I knew years ago that I'vekind of learned through MCAT
(27:41):
tutoring through just being inmed school is that happy people
do well on tests. And people whoare walking into their tests and
are really excited and, like,not necessarily excited to take
the MCAT because I don't knowthat anyone is, but excited to
be done, excited to prove howmuch hard work they've put into
something and or just are happythose people do well.
(28:03):
And people who are, like, in aplace where they're burnt out
and things like that, it's justharder to do well on this test.
And so I always tell students todo something fun, like, right
before right before they go in.And so, like, before my test, I
sat in my car and I, like,blasted High School Musical
music. And that's what I did,and then I walked in. And I will
(28:24):
tell people to, like, call theirmom if that's their thing.
Or if they, you know, if theylike yoga, make sure they do,
like, you know, fifteen minutesin the morning, like, do
something or have theirchocolate bar in the morning.
Like, whatever it is that makesthem happy that, like, gives
them that extra kick
Meghan (28:38):
Mhmm.
Mollie (28:39):
Just make sure they do that before they walk into the
testing center.
Meghan (28:41):
I, funnily enough, give similar but opposite advice
where I say something to lookforward to, like, afterwards to
celebrate because I and I feellike this is so, like,
stereotypical of just thepersonality type of someone
taking the exam. Like fixate,I'm such a perfectionist on like
little details and oh, I couldhave because I have three exams
(29:01):
to leave and then think about,oh, this question or that So I
took my test center, actuallythe town next to where my
grandparents live, it justhappened to be that there was a
test center there. And soBedford Farms, which I know at
least one listener will knowwhere this is because I work
with a student who lives likeright, like very close to my
(29:22):
grandparents. Like we randomlygot paired by med life and then
realized we live really close.But Bedford Farms, which is a
great ice cream place is downthe street.
So I would get a celebratorySunday which meant three
celebratory Sundays in my MCATjourney afterwards to, like,
look forward to and be done. ButI think it's really healthy to
have something that, like,instantly shifts and get your
(29:44):
mind off of the exam because youreally can't, like, do anything
afterwards. And everyone wantsto go on Reddit or like look
online at this or that and Ithink that's just like a very
anxiety producing place to be.So like, I always recommend plan
something that just you can lookforward to, makes you happy, and
like takes your mind totally offof the rest of the day.
Mollie (30:07):
Like, blanket statement. Do not go on Reddit for med
school related things.
Meghan (30:14):
Please stay off Reddit.
Mollie (30:15):
Will not make you feel better. Yeah.
Meghan (30:17):
No. And funnily enough, I, like, really didn't go on
Reddit at all. Like, I wasdisciplined about that. So I
didn't even realize, like, howmuch of a problem it is until I
started tutoring and, like,realizing how much anxiety or
even like TikTok, which I don'thave TikTok, but the amount of
students I've had that say like,oh, yeah, I follow this person
(30:38):
or that person and they do likestudy with me for eight hours.
Like crazy things and I'm like,don't please don't do that.
Do you have any like anecdotesor like meaningful stories or
relationships or things frombeing a tutor that you've
experienced that you want toshare?
Mollie (31:00):
I think I've actually just formed some great
relationships with some of my,like, former mentees. One of
them who I worked with for awhile, I don't know how many
hours, but we got to work fortogether for a really long time.
She's in med school now, also aretaker. And her now fiance
lives in Atlanta, and so I'vegotten to see her here a couple
of times, which has been reallynice. And then another student
(31:22):
who I had a while back isapplying the cycle, And I kept
telling her, I was like, youknow, we're pretty similar.
Like, we're we're we're prettysimilar. Like, we have some
similarities and, like, also, Ithink our personalities are
pretty similar. And I washelping her with her personal
statement and some of her, like,you know, application stuff. And
she was like, yeah. You'regiving me advice that, like, I I
(31:42):
feel like I would be givingmyself.
And so that was a really coolmoment. She'd be like, yeah. I
know. I was telling you this thewhole time. And so it's just
been cool to meet these peoplewho I wouldn't have met
otherwise.
Yeah.
Meghan (31:53):
I will say that was something really unexpected for
me in tutoring because you geton like these Google Meets and
it's a total stranger and I kindof thought like, oh, is this
going to be awkward? Which likemaybe it is for the first five
minutes of talking to someone,but I totally agree with you
that there you do form likegenuine relationships or just
(32:13):
like really meaningful exchangeswith other people and it's
really meaningful to see howpeople's confidence grows and
maybe they smile more or maybelike I love when I start working
with students usually they havelike a blanket question of like,
I'm bad at cars, can you helpme? But then as we continue,
their questions become sospecific of like, I'm really
(32:35):
struggling with the reasoningbeyond the text questions or I
keep getting like a sum I'mmaking all these assumptions and
I always know based onspecificity that they've grown
to even know to ask thosethings. So it's just fun to have
like that meaning between peopleI really really agree. My fun
anecdote or my sister actuallythought this is funny, so I have
(32:57):
a younger sister and I was justfinishing up a session, it was
going a few minutes late.
You can probably tell listenersthat I love to chat and babble,
so it's probably not shockingthat I would go over time on a
tutoring session. So she hadcome into my office like
thinking I was done and astudent was telling me they had
taken their MCAT and then I wasthen mentoring them for like
(33:20):
admissions coaching stuff. Howthey because I'm really big into
like mantras and you know, speakwhat you want and kind of
visualize and all that. So Ialways work with students on
like what are mantras you canhave on test day. They were
like, I thought of you and yourvoice in my head, the whole MCAT
and what you would say to me andit was my sister walked in
thinking like, this is crazy.
(33:41):
Like, they're telling you thatthey had your voice in their
head for like an eight hourexam. This sounds really weird,
but they were saying it from aplace of like genuine, I think,
appreciation that, had you by myside imagine in an imaginative
way.
Mollie (33:58):
You're just like, that's not how I see you.
Meghan (34:00):
Yeah. Like but it was and I've had multiple students
say, like, I I thought aboutthings you'd tell me or, like,
what you'd say in the moment andshe still will make fun of me
for it. Like, when I'm to sayingI'm going off to tutor or
whatever, she'll say, like, youreally gotta make sure you stay
out of their heads because,like, that's but but if I can
(34:23):
because it is isolating to likebe by yourself. So if I give a
mantra that like works well, Ithink that's a good thing. Yeah.
So you're applying to residencypediatrics, that's so exciting.
What does like the typical weeklook like for you then? Like
what is your day to day routine?I'm trying to give some
(34:46):
inspiration for listeners whomay be like, I hate the MCAT and
like just wanna get to medschool. So you're fourth year.
What does that entail right now?
Mollie (34:54):
Well, let me tell you about fourth year of med school.
If you if you are tired oftaking the MCAT and tired of
studying, I have seven monthsof, like, protected time, not
off, but, like, for for thingsthat I want to do and for me to
get, like, research and studyingdone. And so I have not so many
(35:16):
clinical rotations this year,and a lot of the ones that I've
done are things that I want todo and I'm really excited about.
And so fourth year is a lot offun. I am in the middle of three
months of protected researchtime, and so I'm getting
research done, and I'm reallyexcited about it.
But it's also totally on mytime, and I wake up when I want.
And I go for lots of walks andsee my friends who are also on
(35:38):
their research time. And, yeah,it's it's great. And four year
is great.
MedLife Admin (35:43):
Yay.
Meghan (35:44):
Well, that's something maybe I can look forward to too
since I'm like behind you inthis process. That's really nice
to hear. Last question then.What would your like if you had
to give any kind of likemotivational last phrase, word,
advice for someone who's feelinglike overwhelmed, burnt out
(36:04):
listening to this whether maybethey're taking the MCAT or maybe
they're applying or maybethey're waiting for interviews,
wherever they are in their likepremed journey, what would your,
like, parting words be for themin terms of motivation?
Mollie (36:20):
I think one thing, and I'm not sure if this is
motivating, but you've doneharder things probably. And so
just be confident in what you'vedone so far and knowing that you
can do hard things and that youwill continue to do hard things,
and you will be fine, and youwill do well at those things.
And I think in terms ofmotivation, this is this is,
(36:42):
like, more so my I'm not sure ifthis is great motivation, but
think about, like, all of thepeople who had to take the MCAT
and had to do all these thingsand are now doctors. And think
about some of the people thatyou've met, and they've all done
it. And some of them are notnecessarily, like you know?
I don't know. We've all we'veall met some people, and we're
(37:03):
like, oh, okay. Okay. Not
Meghan (37:05):
the therapist tool necessarily.
Mollie (37:07):
Right. Like, sometimes it just it just happens. And so
I think that's I think that'sone of those things to think
about. And also just, like, beconfident in the hard work that
you've put in and you reallyhave done it and just, like,
don't second guess yourself.Listen to your intuition.
That is your best tool that youhave and just focus on all the
(37:29):
hard work you've put in becauseit's a lot.
Meghan (37:31):
It's a lot. And I don't think I always ask students when
like at our last session, like,what are you most proud of? And
that they always hesitate tolike even have a list in the
MCAT process or their admissionsprocess. They'll always tell me
their growth areas and theirweaknesses, but when I ask what
are you most proud of, it's likethe longest pause. I think
(37:52):
that's great advice.
Molly, you're teaching the livecourse, right? That's coming up?
Yeah. Okay. Yay.
So for listeners, Molly isteaching a lovely live course.
What information could youshare? Do you have any that
would be helpful for people toknow?
Mollie (38:07):
Yeah. So we are starting the live course in a week or so.
It's six weeks long and we'llmeet twice a week for two hours
for each session. So you'llspend lots of time with me. Yay.
We're gonna cover all of thethings, cars, sciences,
strategy, and there's anopportunity to just make a
(38:28):
session of whatever y'all want.And we just get to hang out for
a whole lot of hours and I thinkit's gonna be a of fun.
Meghan (38:35):
I think that sounds like a lot of fun. So listeners, if
you want more of Molly, there'sa live course coming up and I'm
sure the editors, please I guessput a link somewhere wherever
this is going for people toclick on and also more
information on the MedlifeMastery webpage. Molly, thank
you. I really appreciate yourtime and this is a treat for me
(38:55):
too because I feel like Ilearned a lot and it's fun to
hear like other people's stylesand approaches and perspectives
and also just like it's nice. Ithink medicine's really special
and that there's like mentorshipat every level so it's really
fun to have someone like you tolook up to and learn from.
So thank you so much forchatting with me tonight. This
(39:16):
was great.
MedLife Admin (39:21):
Before we sign off, remember, the path to med
school isn't always smooth. It'sfull of set backs, doubts, and
days that feel like you're notgetting anywhere. But that's
part of the process, and it'sone every doctor you admire has
gone through. Don't stop now.You got this.
And if you're looking forsomeone to actually look at your
prep and help you figure outwhat's missing, what's working,
(39:43):
and what needs to change, youcan work with one of us. We
personally pair you with themost ideal top scoring mentor
for your MCAT situation. Learnmore at
medlifemastery.com/mcatmentors.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.