Jack Westin MCAT Podcast

What do med school admissions committees actually look for after the GPA/MCAT screen? In this Jack Westin Pre-Med Admissions Podcast episode, Molly Kilty (Director of Instruction) hosts Dr. Anita Paschal (MD, double PhD, 30+ years on admissions committees) as she breaks down the CLASS framework for building a well-rounded application: Clinical, Leadership, Academic enrichment, Service, and Social.

Dr. Paschal explains why acceptance rates hover around 40–44%, why many applicants with strong stats still get rejected, and how committees review your application through categories, hours, time commitment, and evidence of core competencies.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

- How med schools screen applications and what happens after GPA/MCAT ✅
- The CLASS framework to assess your readiness for med school 🎓
- What “enough” clinical experience looks like (shadowing + hands-on care) 🩺
- How to diversify shadowing (primary, specialty, underserved, international) 🌍
- What strong leadership actually means beyond titles 👥
- How research + teaching/tutoring signal academic readiness 🔬📚
- What service should look like (clinical + nonclinical) and why it matters 🤝
- How hobbies/social interests can strengthen rapport and relatability 🎻🏃

🎧 More admissions episodes: AMCAS timelines, personal statements, experiences, and what adcoms really prioritize.

Want to learn more? Shoot us a text at 415-855-4435 or email us at [email protected]! 📱
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💻 Try our Chrome Extension (video solutions to every AAMC passage) https://tinyurl.com/4jw5pad8
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In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down MCAT signaling cascades with a clear, test-focused walkthrough of G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs). You’ll learn the core GPCR structure, how GDP → GTP activation works , why signaling pathways create amplification, and how cells shut signals off with built-in termination steps.

We cover the high-yield cAMP pathway in detail, including Gs vs Gi, adenylyl cyclase → cAMP → protein kinase A (PKA), plus the key ideas behind the Gq pathway (PLC and calcium signaling). We also connect GPCR signaling to common MCAT contexts like hormones, fast cellular responses, and a classic passage-style example (cholera toxin) to show how the AAMC tests cause-and-effect in pathways.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
🌊 What a signaling cascade is: signal → receptor → transduction → amplification → response → termination
🧬 GPCR basics (membrane receptor + G protein alpha/beta/gamma)
🔄 How GPCRs activate G proteins (GDP swapped for GTP, then subunits dissociate)
🚀 The Gs pathway: adenylyl cyclase → cAMP → PKA → phosphorylation
🛑 The Gi pathway: inhibiting adenylyl cyclase and lowering cAMP
🧩 The Gq pathway: PLC, second messengers, and calcium
📈 Why amplification matters (small signal, big cellular response)
⏱️ How signaling is shut off (GTP hydrolysis + cleanup of second messengers)
👁️ Vision callback: how GPCR-style signaling shows up in phototransduction

Next up: Smell & taste and how these senses rely heavily on GPCR signaling

Want to learn more? Shoot us a text at 415-855-4435 or email us at [email protected]! 📱
📌 Success Advising: https://calendly.com/academic-advising-4/jack-westin-academic-advising?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
💻 Try our Chrome Extension (video solutions to every AAMC passage) https://tinyurl.com/4jw5pad8
📚 Free Resources: https://jackwestin.com?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
🎓 Live Education Sessions: https://jackwestin.com/sessions?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
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MCAT CARS Reading Skills Workshop: Struggling to find the main idea on MCAT CARS passages? In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Molly and Usher break down the Jack Westin Daily CARS Passage "Hamburger University" sentence-by-sentence, showing you exactly how to track competing ideas, understand arguments efficiently, and identify the most-supported argument even when the author buries it mid-passage.

In this episode you'll learn:
✅ How to read actively and ask "why?" at every step ❓🧐
✅ How to track a dichotomy (old 🏛️ vs. new 🆕) across multiple paragraphs
✅ Why the main idea isn’t always the broadest topic — and how to avoid that trap 🚫🪤
✅ How to map repeated ideas 🗺️ without losing passage context 🔎

Practice this passage: jackwestin.com/daily/mcat-practice-passages/cars-practice-passages/hamburger-university

Want to learn more? Shoot us a text at 415-855-4435 or email us at [email protected]! 📱
📌 Free Academic Advising: https://calendly.com/academic-advising-4/jack-westin-academic-advising?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
💻 Try our Chrome Extension (video solutions to every AAMC passage) https://tinyurl.com/4jw5pad8
📚 Free Resources: https://jackwestin.com?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
🎓 Live Education Sessions: https://jackwestin.com/sessions?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
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Struggling with the AMCAS Work & Activities (Experiences) section and the Most Meaningful entries? In this episode of the Jack Westin Pre-Med Admissions Podcast, Dr. Anita Paschal (MD, double PhD, 30+ years on medical school admissions committees) breaks down exactly how admissions committees evaluate your 15 AMCAS experiences, your 700-character descriptions, and your 3 Most Meaningful (1,325 characters) sections.

You’ll learn:
🧑‍⚕️📋 How adcoms use Work & Activities after GPA/MCAT screening
✍️✅ What to include in the 700 characters (role, impact, outcomes, growth)
🏆🧠 How to choose the 3 Most Meaningful experiences (what schools want to see)
🚫💥 Common mistakes that cause applicants to “crash and burn” in this section
⏳📌 How to handle anticipated vs completed hours (and what you cannot anticipate)
🔤📝 Why formatting like bullets/bold/italics won’t display in AMCAS (plain text only)
🧩📖 A practical framework to write Most Meaningful entries with a strong narrative and reflection

Dr. Paschal also shares real examples and a simple structure you can follow to make your experiences read like a compelling, high-impact application.

🎧 More Pre-Med Admissions episodes: personal statement strategy, AMCAS timelines, and what adcoms actually look for.

Want to learn more? Shoot us a text at 415-855-4435 or email us at [email protected]! 📱
📌 Free Academic Advising: https://calendly.com/academic-advising-4/jack-westin-academic-advising?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
💻 Try our Chrome Extension (video solutions to every AAMC passage) https://tinyurl.com/4jw5pad8
📚 Free Resources: https://jackwestin.com?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
🎓 Live Education Sessions: https://jackwestin.com/sessions?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
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In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down how vision works from start to finish, tying together physics (optics) and biology (retina + neural pathway) in the exact way the MCAT can test it across Chem/Phys, Bio/Biochem, and Psych/Soc.

You’ll learn how light refracts through the cornea and lens, why the cornea does most of the refraction, and how the eye focuses images onto the retina. Then we walk through transduction in the retina (rods and cones → bipolar cells → ganglion cells), how signals travel through the optic nerve, cross at the optic chiasm (by visual field, not by eye), relay through the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), and arrive at the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe for perception.

We also cover high-yield MCAT optics and vision topics, including:
Cornea vs lens refraction and why LASIK reshapes the cornea
Fovea and why cones drive high-acuity color vision
Rods vs cones (low light vs color/detail)
Myopia vs hyperopia and which lenses correct each (diverging vs converging)
The blind spot and why it exists
Why real images are inverted on the retina and how the brain interprets vision

🎧 Listen, take notes, and use this as a clear, connected review for any MCAT passage that mixes optics + anatomy + perception.

Want to learn more? Shoot us a text at 415-855-4435 or email us at [email protected]! 📱
📌 Free Academic Advising: https://calendly.com/academic-advising-4/jack-westin-academic-advising?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
💻 Try our Chrome Extension (video solutions to every AAMC passage) https://tinyurl.com/4jw5pad8
📚 Free Resources: https://jackwestin.com?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
🎓 Live Education Sessions: https://jackwestin.com/sessions?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
👨🏻‍🏫 Courses: https://jackwestin.com/courses?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast
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