In addition to your knowledge and scientific concepts, you also need solid fundamental math skills to do well on the MCAT exam. You must be able to do all the calculations, without a calculator of course. Math on the MCAT is fundamental e.g. arithmetic, algebra and trigonometry. As you might expect, most math-based questions will appear in subjects like physics, chemistry, biology and biochemistry. Basic understanding of statistics will be very helpful since most of the passages have a research-based background. The followings are some tricks to help you with the math in MCAT

• Practice without a calculator
  When you are practicing with MCAT question banks, try to do everything by hands. This should give you some rough ideas where are your math skills at and where you need to improve.
• Rounding up
  Fortunately, you don’t have to be 100% accurate for MCAT math. You can make approximations so that you can do the calculations quickly. You have more chances of getting numbers right when rounding up, plus, you will have more time to do the exam.
• Pace yourself
  Remember that you have limited about of time to do each question, about 1.5 minutes/question. If you find yourself spending too much time on one question, it means that you are not doing the calculations efficiently. So practice your pacing as well.
• Math review
  If math is your weak point, include the math in your study plan. Topics include arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, vectors, proportions, logarithms etc.
  Life without a calculator is difficult in real life, but in MCAT, you need to make it ‘it’s a piece of cake’!!!
  Jane