Ian Finnegan graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in 2018 with a major in Neuroscience. Last year he took the MCAT and scored a 518 which is in the 96th percentile. Just recently in this cycle, he was accepted to medical school. In this episode, Ian discusses his strategy for the MCAT and how it can be applied to other standardized tests. He also talks about the power of Anki, how to use it, and find decks, and the importance of sleep, diet, and exercise when studying for a test.

Timestamps:

0:00-0:50 Intro

1:25 - 4:43 Why Ian wants to be a doctor

4:44 - 5:22 Ian's shower routine during MCAT

5:22 - 6:25 Discipline/making bed and getting early wins in the day

6:25 - 8:04 What is the MCAT (test breakdown) and the tests required to be a doctor

8:05 - 8:38 How he did on the MCAT

8:39 - 9:13 MCAT strategy high level

9:13 - 17:56 What is Anki. The magic of Anki and how to use it

17:56 - 19:12 How long should you be studying for a test

19:12 - 20:50 How do you balance new content with review

20:50 -21:50 What he means by practice sections

21:50 - 23:02 Good test taker vs knowing material

23:02 - 25:00 Daily routine during study period/importance of sleep

25:00 - 27:14 meditation

27:14 - 28:20 Study location

28:20 - 29:44 Total daily study time

29:44 - 30:58 Workout

30:58 - 37:06 What did you cut out from your life

37:06 - 42:27 Test day routine

42:27 - 46:53 Managing distraction/feeling of doing well on the test

46:53 48:07 Motivation

48:07 - 50:34 Take one day off a week/working full time during the study process

50:34 - 52:06 How you figure out what you don’t need to study

52:06 - 55:56 what excites Ian about becoming a doctor

55:57 - 58:16 EMT training contributes to excitement towards being a doctor

58:17 - 59:37 Can this strategy be used for any standardized test?

59:38 - 1:00:48 How many practice tests do you do?

1:00:49 - How to not get lonely and organize your life

1:02:25 can these techniques work for anyone?

1:02:50 Outro