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MCAT HYC Study Groups

Self-register weekly for our Spring 2024 MCAT study groups! Click the “Schedule Group Appointment” button to the right in the sidebar and sign up! See the Registration section below for more information. 

Do note that the option for REDCap registration for all 8 weeks up front for our Spring 2024 MCAT HYC study groups is currently closed. Please refer to the weekly self-registration option below to join a group meeting. 

 

Gearing up for the MCAT?

Consider joining us at Tutoring Services for our MCAT support program, MCAT High-Yield Concepts. This semester, we are offering 2 MCAT HYC: Biochemistry groups and 2 MCAT HYC: Chemistry/Physics groups. Students may register for one Biochemistry and/or one Chemistry/Physics group. The format for each group’s meetings is listed for each group individually (whether in person or over Zoom).

About MCAT High-Yield Concepts: Biochemistry and MCAT High-Yield Concepts: Chemistry/Physics (MCAT HYC)

MCAT High-Yield Concepts (MCAT HYC) is a weekly opportunity for you to gather with a small group of your peers to collaboratively review high-yield biochemistry and/or chemistry/physics concepts according to a schedule created by Tutoring Services tutors. 

MCAT HYC this semester will offer 2 Biochemistry groups and 2 Chemistry/Physics weekly groups, with each group capped at 10 participants. Each group will be facilitated by a biochemistry or chemistry/physics tutor eager to support others in their review and to use their own experience as tutors and learners to keep discussion and activities productive and focused. 

As a Tutoring Services program, MCAT HYC is free and open to all currently enrolled Vanderbilt undergraduates as long as space remains. Students interested in participating in an MCAT HYC: Biochemistry group should have taken or should be currently enrolled in biochemistry. Students interested in participating in an MCAT HYC: Chemistry/Physics group should have taken or should be currently enrolled in general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. Students interested in participating in either group should be planning to take the MCAT within the next 9 months.

No purchased materials are needed–participants will make use of the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Road Map (available for Biochemistry), relevant Vanderbilt-assigned course textbooks, and open-access web resources along with participants’ own notes from relevant Vanderbilt courses. 

Group Meetings – Spring 2024

Group meetings are weekly, and each group runs for 8 weeks. Meeting dates are listed next to each group.

Space is limited to 10 participants per meeting per group.  See more details on registration below.

Group meetings begin Monday, February 5 and run for 8 weeks (through Thursday, April 4). Run dates for each group are specified below. 

 

MCAT HYC: Biochemistry

Tuesdays from 7-8 PM (2/6-4/2) 

Online via Zoom

Facilitated by Marina He

 

Thursdays from 6-7 PM (2/8-4/4) 

In Person at Stevenson 1, Room 117

Facilitated by Timothy Egbonim

Topic Schedule (subject to change)
  • Week 1: Amino Acids, Proteins
  • Week 2: Enzyme Kinetics, Protein Separation
  • Week 3: Metabolism 1
  • Week 4: Metabolism 2
  • Week 5: Metabolism in the Big Picture
  • Week 6: Recombinant DNA Technologies
  • Week 7: Organ System Review 1
  • Week 8: Organ System Review 2

 

MCAT HYC: Chemistry/Physics

Mondays from 6-7 PM (2/5-4/1)

In Person at Stevenson 1, Room 117

Facilitated by Timothy Egbonim

 

Wednesdays from 8-9 PM (2/7-4/3)

In Person at 1801 Edgehill, Room 129 

Facilitated by Joel Douglas

Topic Schedule (subject to change)
  • Week 1: Math Essentials and Techniques + Intro to Physics
  • Week 2: Physics: Forces and Fluids
  • Week 3: Physics: Waves: Light & Sound
  • Week 4: Physics: Circuits + Relevant Chemistry Topics
  • Week 5: General Chemistry Essentials 1
  • Week 6: General Chemistry Essentials 2
  • Week 7: Organic Chemistry Essentials
  • Week 8: Lab Techniques + Extra Practice 

Guidelines and Expectations for Participants in the MCAT High-Yield Concepts: Biochemistry and MCAT High-Yield Concepts: Chemistry/Physics (MCAT HYC) Program

  • Keep in mind that MCAT HYC groups are opportunities for students preparing for the MCAT to review high-yield biochemistry and chemistry/physics concepts in a collaborative group setting.
  • Students interested in participating in an MCAT HYC: Biochemistry group should have taken or should be currently enrolled in biochemistry. Students interested in participating in an MCAT HYC: Chemistry/Physics group should have taken or should be currently enrolled in general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. Students interested in participating in either group should be planning to take the MCAT within the next 9 months.
  • Keep in mind that MCAT HYC tutors are peer undergraduate tutors drawing on their own studies and coursework within a peer learning support model. As such, your group’s tutor is there as a facilitator to help as you review and to help the group focus on concepts your tutor has identified as high-yield in preparing for the MCAT.
  • MCAT HYC uses only the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Road Map (available for Biochemistry), relevant Vanderbilt-assigned course textbooks, and open-access web resources. Participants may also use their notes from relevant Vanderbilt courses.
  • Prior to each group meeting, participants are expected to preview/review the week’s topics independently so as to be prepared to talk through problems and questions about that material, and participants may have the opportunity to prepare to lead certain portions of the review to solidify their grasp of the material.
  • At the beginning of each group meeting, participants are expected to fill out an intake form to identify study priorities.
  • Like all Tutoring Services programs and offerings, MCAT HYC is available at no cost to currently enrolled students. 
  • Participants will be asked to provide feedback on their experience with their MCAT HYC group at the end of the semester.

Participants should be aware of the intentionally limited scope of MCAT High-Yield Concepts: Biochemistry and MCAT High-Yield Concepts: Chemistry/Physics (MCAT HYC) as detailed below.

  • MCAT HYC is a group learning support opportunity offered by Tutoring Services. It is neither a class nor a credit-bearing Vanderbilt course.
  • Facilitated by peer undergraduate biochemistry, chemistry, and/or physics tutors, MCAT HYC does not attempt to recreate the services of commercial, for-profit test prep companies and is in no way affiliated with commercial, for-profit test prep companies.
  • To maintain this distinction, neither participants nor facilitating tutors may bring materials produced by commercial, for-profit test prep companies to MCAT HYC group meetings.
  • With its explicit focus on a selection of “high-yield concepts,” MCAT HYC does not aim to provide comprehensive subject review of all possible MCAT subjects or topics within a subject.
  • Likewise, MCAT HYC is not designed to guide students through MCAT-specific test-taking strategies.
  • MCAT HYC tutors will be prepared to support review of each meeting’s designated subject matter, but they will not lecture.
  • MCAT HYC seeks to support each participant in meeting their study and review goals; however, MCAT HYC does not guarantee a minimum score on the MCAT.

Registration

Please read the following registration options carefully, as registration options changed as of Fall 2023.

NB: Those who register for all 8 weeks up front via REDCap form will be assigned to groups as space allows. Those interested in signing up weekly as needed will be able to do so as space remains once up front registrations conclude. For example, if 5 students register up front via REDCap for an MCAT HYC group, then there will be at least 5 open spots each week for students to self-register on a weekly basis. 

 

1. Register for all 8 meetings up front: Sign up via REDCap if you are interested in registering for all 8 meetings up front. Attendance at all meetings is expected. However, if you cannot make a meeting, it will be your responsibility to cancel your appointment at least 4 hours in advance. Failure to do so will result in a no-show, and students with 3 no-shows in a given semester will have their accounts disabled for the remainder of that semester, as is Tutoring Services’ policy. Do note that the option for REDCap registration for all 8 weeks up front for our Spring 2024 MCAT HYC study groups is currently closed. Please refer to the weekly self-registration option below to join a group meeting. 

2. Self-register weekly: Students may instead choose to register as needed for meetings on a week-by-week basis in WCOnline, depending upon the topic covered. See above for a weekly topic list. You SHOULD NOT fill out the REDCap form for this option. Rather, you should plan to register in WCOnline for meetings. Registration for individual weeks will become available in WCOnline beginning Monday, February 5 by 4p CT. After this point, you may register up to one week in advance of the meeting date.

 

Questions? Contact Dr. Megan Minarich, Associate Director of the Writing Studio & Tutoring Services, at megan.l.minarich@vanderbilt.edu.