How to ace MDCAT? 2/2

IN THE LAST ARTICLE I TALKED ABOUT MDCAT AND ITS RELATED INFORMATION. IN THIS PART WE WILL DISCUSS HOW TO PREPARE EACH SUBJECT, IN DETAIL!

Biology

Many students consider Biology as the easiest among the four subjects. It was my favorite too. It is definitely easy but is the most important as it carries 80 marks. If you fail to achieve excellent marks in this subject your admission may be in danger. Securing these 80 marks can give you some much-needed confidence.

If you need any guidance regarding this subject just download the syllabus from the UHS website, mark the topics in your book, and start learning.
Solve MCQs for practice using different MCQs books available on the market.
Remember, the main idea is to CRAM BOOKS. Biology does not require a lot of concepts just the basics. You have to learn the lines thoroughly and understand their meaning. You can score an 80 in biology very easily if you just cram the whole syllabus.
Do not overlook the minor details in the diagrams and the captions written below them. Each and every word included in your syllabus is important!
I attempted the biology section first because I had prepared it well. With good preparation, you will know if your answers are correct, and knowing I had gotten 80 correct at the start boosted my confidence for the rest of the paper.
Also if you have a good grip over Biology you can save an ample amount of time for the rest of the sections. However, it is important to not be hasty while filling the answers, take your time, as haste makes waste.

CHEMISTRY

Some of you guys will be surprised to hear that I just loved Chemistry. The best thing about the chemistry section is that most questions are from organic chemistry which is very interesting.

Focus on organic chemistry. The rest of the syllabus is also important but for gaining maximum marks in this section you have to be a pro in organic chemistry.
Plus there are a few formulae that you’ll have to learn and practice. When I say practice it means memorizing the formulae and practicing them by solving different problems.
You might have heard the phrase “Practice makes perfect”.The same applies here too. Practice, practice, and practice. Practicing the formulae will allow you to have a grip over them and eventually will help you save time in the exam, as you’ll just read the statement and you’ll know what to do.
The chemistry section also requires a bit of cramming. You’ll have to learn the context of the topics too. You can underline or highlight important statements.
You’ll have to learn values like Avogadro’s number etc. plus some of your questions from your exercise appear as it is in the exam so you can also cram them well so that you won’t have to solve them in the exam and that will save your time too.
Also, questions similar to those in your exercise can appear so practice well.
Questions can be both concept-based and numerical based.
Have a good grip over balancing the equations. Master this as it will help you in solving questions

Chemistry is also germane to our aim for achieving excellent marks in MDCAT. Place a do or die bet on these 60 marks too. You can attain full marks in this section so prepare it well.

Physics

The most time-consuming and tricky portion of MDCAT which I never liked was Physics. I preferred attempting this section last as it required time. If you mess up with time in this section your whole exam will be at stake.

But the good news is if you are very good at mathematics and you have full confidence over your problem-solving skills then you can easily solve this section in time. Physics in MDCAT is always a treat for the mathematician students.

Physics preparation should be based on concept development and practice. If you acquire both skills you’ll become a pro in attempting this section. Here below are a few tips you might want to read for help in physics:

Write all the formulae on a single sheet and learn them well.
As a calculator is not allowed so try solving questions and use a stopwatch to see how much time you take solving questions without a calculator.
Keep on practicing until you start breaking your own record of time. Set the record then break it. Keep repeating.
Derive formulae from formulae and also write them on the sheet of paper ( Relate different formulae)
While solving a problem make it as simple as you can don’t fall into complexities.
Learn important values from the tables.
Write the units of all terms on a sheet and also relate if they do.
Do not ignore the context of the book because not all the questions are problem-solving some are just statements from the book or conceptual questions.
Be very keen while solving numerical questions and keep an eye on time too. One major mistake I made during my MDCAT that I lost track of time and that led to a disaster. So better keep a tough check on time especially during this section.
If you fail to attempt a numerical in the first attempt, leave that and go on the next one. In the end, you’ll solve all the easy questions and you’ll have an ample amount of time to solve the difficult ones. Repeat the process again.
Don’t panic if you are unable to solve one or two questions just be sure the rest are correct.

English

Last but not least comes the English section. Many students don’t pay much attention to this and rely on their inherent ANGREZI SKILLS, but let me tell you it is not as easy as it seems.

You’ll hear a lot of your seniors saying that we watched Hollywood movies and that helped a lot , well I don’t believe this. Then you’ll hear a lot of them saying “MAI TO EK BAAR ENGLISH KHOL K NI DEKHI , JO ZYADA ACHA LAG RA THA BOLNAY MAY WO TICK KAR DIA” I’ll especially request you all to stay away from such TUKKA MASTER pieces of advice and such TUKKA MASTERS too. (Mai to jitney tukkay maray sab ghalat ho gae thay ,lol! )

20 marks may value nothing against 180 but believe you me guys these 20 marks can turn the table upside down. Either they can let you get a really good score of around 185+ or they’ll put you in trouble if you mess this section up.
UHS has uploaded 209 words in its MDCAT syllabus. You have to memorize their synonyms as well as antonyms.
What I used to do was I picked 10 words every day and searched their antonyms and synonym from Google. I wrote all of those words in a notebook and I revised them on daily basis. All of them every day as I kept on adding more words.
Also, there are books available in markets of different academies containing synonyms and antonyms. Either way, you just have to learn them really well.
Also, try using those words in your everyday life. I tried that and it worked too! For Example, I used the word telepathy as “I can tell what’s going on in his mind through telepathy” Funny! But it worked!
I bought several practice books for practicing different rules. You learn the rule then practice. You can also learn and practice rules on the internet there are several sites there too that may help you.
Start from the basic rules then go for complex ones as mostly questions regarding basics are more often asked in exams.
Use practice books as much as you can for memorizing as mastering grammar rules and synonyms.

Hopefully, this information will prove valuable to you in your MDCAT. Keep the above-stated points in mind and you will succeed in attaining seats in the renowned institutions of Pakistan.

Written by: Fatima Ayub

About the Author

Fatima Ayub is currently studying MBBS from Allama Iqbal Medical College.
She has been actively involved in guidance activities and webinars for PrepVitals and her juniors.