MCAT
The MDM method focuses on strategy, timing, and test-taking skills. Most often, students who have recently completed their prerequisites are not lacking in content knowledge. You likely have a better foundation of knowledge than you think. There are many ways to glean the information required to answer questions. The MDM focuses on how to make sense of the question stem, isolate key information, and avoid spiraling when selecting answer choices.
Together, we will answer questions one-on-one and review question types, specific strategies for each question type, and how to identify trap answer choices. Often, after just a session or two, my students see a jump in their score. Those first few sessions are often described to me as being eye-opening. They radically change the way students look at and approach the exam.
During our meetings, we will also create a personalized study plan based on a diagnostic we take together. You’ll receive instant feedback and a list of content deficiencies and ways to secure them. You’ll learn targeted strategies, how to “look” at the exam, and you’ll reach a point where you’ll read a question and instantly know how to tackle it. Mastering the MDM method can be as fast and lead to dramatic score increases.
I typically work with students over the course of 4-8 weeks for the MCAT and over a similar range for their application. Sessions are two hours long and are conducted via Zoom.
Admissions
I will walk you through how to craft your applicant profile, how to develop your pathway, how to hone in on your key personal characteristics. There are brainstorming sessions, strengths and weaknesses, and suggestions on how to structure your time.
Students often come in with many misconceptions. They pat themselves on the back and “sell” themselves too much. They create narrow, top-heavy school lists that don’t serve to improve their chances. They write a personal statement in the typical, resume-dump format with no sense for what makes a personal statement emotionally evocative. They write free-flow “most meaningful” essays in their experiences section that end up being read past by admissions officers.
You’ll have a chance to dissect the structure of a great personal statement, and along the way, you’ll have chances to brainstorm your own ideas. You’ll see bad examples, and quickly learn what to avoid. Learning to create an amazing application requires a depth of understanding when it comes to personal branding, storytelling, writing, and plot.
My students have been accepted to top schools across the country, many on scholarship. The process of developing your personal narrative should be reflective, introspective, and provoking. Often, they tell me that years later, when they go back to their personal statements, they cry while reading them.