Applying to Med/PA School
How One Premed Student Used Khan Academy to Conquer the MCAT
About Marissa
Marissa is a recent graduate of Clemson University where she received her B.S. in Health Sciences. During the summer of 2019, Marissa participated in the Atlantis shadowing program in Trento, Italy, and now works as an Alumni Representative with the company. She is currently applying to medical school where she hopes to become a primary care physician.
If you are about to start studying for the MCAT, you may be feeling anxious or overwhelmed. You may be struggling to create the right study routine or to know which materials to use. As someone who was once in your shoes, I know exactly how difficult it is to overcome these worries. Take a deep breath and know that there are some phenomenal resources out there that will help you crush your exam on test day. For me, the best place to start was Khan Academy.
What is Khan Academy?
Created in 2008, Khan Academy is a non-profit organization that has forever changed the way that students study. This personal learning resource offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empowers students to study at their own pace. Now that Khan Academy is partnering with AAMC, all of the content and videos are selected to match the material that is expected on test day.
What makes this platform so unique?
Thanks to the AAMC and donors, Khan Academy can continue to provide all of its MCAT resources for free. While you do need to create an account to access the learning material, the entire process is simple and very user-friendly. By creating an account, all of your progress is saved as you go, making it difficult to lose your place. This is a valuable resource for students who lack access to expensive course materials and are looking for content to help enhance their understanding and improve their scores.
Additionally, in order to make the site as interactive as possible, students can accumulate points and earn badges from watching videos and taking practice exams. This fun and exciting gamification feature encourages learners to complete their lessons throughout the program. Overall, the online platform is easy to use and minimally designed to avoid feeling overwhelmed with information.
Resources like Khan Academy are invaluable in preparing for the MCAT. Even though the MCAT can feel like the top priority of your pre-medical journey, it is also crucial to make sure you are prioritizing other qualities medical schools look for, like healthcare exposure and specific core competencies. You can be strategic in selecting extracurricular opportunities that don’t interfere with your studies that provide these experiences, such as Atlantis shadowing programs over school breaks. Doing so makes you an applicant that is able to embody the qualities medical schools are looking for.
How did I use Khan Academy?
I spent a lot of time trying to create a study routine that worked for me. With my MCAT months away, I needed to do a significant amount of content review to prepare me for the exam. Since I am a visual learner, I greatly benefited from the comprehensive videos that Khan Academy provides. The drawings that the instructors provided were often very helpful in how I conceptualized difficult topics. It was nice that I could pause the videos or speed them up to suit my needs. If you are not a textbook learner, I highly recommend checking out this alternative.
While the curriculum and video instruction is unparalleled, I found that there were not enough practice materials for me to apply the information I was learning. To compensate for this, I used AAMC practice material as well as AnkiWeb to round out my studying. I used Khan Academy as my main source of content review and found other resources to supplement what was lacking. Khan Academy was my foundation and helped me create sustainable study habits as I prepared for test day.
How does Khan Academy compare to Kaplan or Princeton Review?
Unlike Kaplan and Princeton Review, there are no practice tests or question banks. The practice exercises that Khan Academy does provide are superficial and do not resemble the depth of understanding that you are expected to know for the MCAT exam. However, unless you are willing to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars, many third-party companies do not have video courses available for content review. By using Khan Academy, you are able to save a significant amount of money. For me, I chose to use the money that I saved to participate in the Atlantis shadowing program, which I knew would strengthen my passion for medicine.
How do I know if Khan Academy is right for me?
Every student is different, and it often takes trial and error to find the right study materials for you. Fortunately, Khan Academy is free, meaning that you can watch as many videos as you want before deciding if this is the right resource for you. For more information on Khan Academy and how it has helped other students, you can reach out on Reddit or with your university advisor. Happy studying!
Our Alumni Enter Great Medical Schools
John Daines
- Atlantis '17
- Brigham Young University '19
- Washington U. in St. Louis MD '23
Zoey Petitt
- Atlantis '17
- U. of Arizona '18
- Duke MD '23
Zoey Petitt
Hungary ’17 || University of Arizona (undergraduate) ’18
Completed Atlantis Program Location and Date:
Hungary, Summer 2017
Do you believe your Atlantis experience helped you get into your graduate program?
I believe it was very helpful.
Generally, why do you think Atlantis helped you get into your graduate program?
For me, my Atlantis experience played a key role in confirming my decision to go into medicine. This was important for me to discuss during the admissions process.
Specifically, did you talk about Atlantis in your interviews?
Yes
Yong-hun Kim
- Atlantis '17
- Stanford '19
- Mayo Clinic MD '24
Yong-Hun Kim
Budapest, Hungary ’17 || Stanford University
Program:
Budapest, Hungary – Winter 2017
Undergraduate:
Stanford University class of 2019
Major:
Computer Science
Honors:
Bio-X Grant (award for research)
Undergraduate Activities:
President and Founder of Stanford Undergraduate Hospice and Palliative Care, Volunteer for Pacific Free Clinic, Research Assistant in Wernig Pathology Lab, President of Hong Kong Student Association, violin performance
Describe Atlantis in three words:
Eye-opening. Spontaneous. Exhilarating.
Why did you choose Atlantis?
I chose the Atlantis program because it combines opportunities to shadow physicians and travel abroad, both of which I had little prior exposure to.
What was your favorite experience as an Atlantis participant?
My favorite experience as an Atlantis participant came in the stories exchanged over meals or excursions and the breadth of conversation that reflected the diversity of backgrounds within our cohort and site managers.
What was the most meaningful aspect of your time shadowing?
I appreciated the chance to speak with physicians in Budapest and hear their personal motivations for pursuing medicine because it really helped better contextualize and validate my own interest in medicine. The physicians were also just really welcoming, relatable, and down-to-earth people.
How has Atlantis helped equip you for the future?
The Atlantis program has equipped me with a better understanding of what a career in medicine looks like, which I think is an invaluable gift considering the long road ahead of those who aspire to be a physician.
How has Atlantis equipped you for active leadership in the medical field?
The ability to interact and empathize with patients of diverse backgrounds and communities is a necessity to be a leader in the medical field. I think the Atlantis program, through my interactions with mentors and their patients, has helped me take my first steps toward attaining the cultural vocabulary and literacy required of a physician.
Megan Branson
- Atlantis '18
- U. of Montana '19
- U. of Washington MD '24
Sarah Emerick
- Atlantis '19
- Eckerd College '20
- Indiana U. MD '25
Snow Nwankwo
- Atlantis '19
- Catholic U. of America '21
- Georgetown U. MD '26
Tiffany Hu
- Atlantis '16
- U. of Maryland '17
- U. of Michigan MD '22
Tiffany Hu
Tereul, Spain ’16 || U Michigan Medical School
Program:
Teruel, Spain – Summer 2016
Undergraduate:
University of Maryland class of 2017
Admitted medical student at:
University of Michigan Medical School
Major:
Neurobiology
Honors:
Honors Integrated Life Sciences Program, Banneker/Key Scholarship
Extracurricular Activities:
American Medical Student Association Co-President & Advocacy Day Liaison, Alternative Breaks Experience Leader, Health Professions Advising Office Student Advisory Board, Biology Teach Assistant, Health Leads, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, NIH Research Intern, Physicians for Social Responsibility Environment & Health Intern
Describe Atlantis in Three Words:
Educational. Eye-opening. Exhilarating.
Why did you choose Atlantis?
I wanted to expand my horizons and understand a culture of health different from the ones I am accustomed to. I had shadowed doctors in the United States and Taiwan prior to my Atlantis program experience, and being able to see first-hand the healthcare system in Spain allowed me to draw comparisons between the different complex healthcare systems.
What was your favorite experience as an Atlantis participant?
Bonding with the other participants and celebrating our time together along with the doctors we shadowed. We would discuss our interests, passions, and motivation for medicine, and it was an incredible experience to learn from and alongside them.
What was your experience with the doctors you were shadowing?
Because of the pre-established relationships with the hospitals in which we shadowed, all the doctors were very welcoming and accommodating. They were willing to translate for us and explain in detail all of their medical decisions. My doctors and I had wonderful conversations about the differences between life in Spain vs. the United States.
What was the most meaningful aspect of your time shadowing?
I was excited to scrub in on surgeries and watch as the doctor explained what he was doing throughout the operation. Before and after surgeries, as well as in my other rotations, I observed how the doctors reassured and communicated with their patients. I was able to glean insight into differences between the experience of health in Spain versus the United States through observation as well as conversations with the doctors.
How has Atlantis helped equip you for the future?
Besides the wealth of medical knowledge I gained from shadowing the doctors, I challenged myself to step outside of my cultural comfort zone and explore more than I thought I was capable of. Atlantis allowed me to make connections with people from all around the United States and abroad, and the friendships I gained helped me learn so much more than I would have on my own.
Lauren Cox
- Atlantis '18
- Louisiana Tech '20
- U. of Arkansas MD '24
Lauren Cox
Libson, Portugal ’18 || Louisiana Tech
Completed Atlantis Program Location(s):
Lisbon, Portugal
Year of most recent program:
Fall ’17 – Summer ’18
Season of most recent program:
Summer
Do you believe your Atlantis experience helped you get into your graduate program?
Extremely helpful
Generally, why do you think Atlantis helped you get into your graduate program?
It exposed me to shadowing that was hard to come by in the states. It also gave me a chance to see other systems of healthcare.
Specifically, did you talk about Atlantis in your interviews? If so, how much relative to other topics?
Yes – they wanted to know about my experience, and specifically how the healthcare I saw in another country compared to what I had seen in the USA.
Kayla Riegler
- Atlantis '18
- U. of Kentucky '20
- U. of Kentucky MD '24
About Atlantis
Atlantis is the leader in pre-health shadowing and clinical experience, offering short-term programs (1-10 weeks) over academic breaks for U.S. pre-health undergraduates. Medical schools want 3 things: (1)healthcare exposure, (2)GPA/MCAT, and (3)certain competencies. Atlantis gives you a great version of (1), frees you to focus on (2), and cultivates/shows (3) to medical school admissions committees.
Watch Video: The Atlantis Shadowing Experience and How it Helps In Your Med/PA Admissions Future
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