Length of Time Teaching MCAT Prep: 17 Years
Favorite MCAT Subject/Content to Teach: Lab techniques and experimental analysis!

BIO

For the past 17 years, Chris has enjoyed helping students methodically break down intimidating subjects and connect it to the science of medicine. Outside of Kaplan, Chris is a vaccine research scientist focused on characterizing T cell responses to experimental vaccines against emerging diseases.

Fun Fact: Beyond teaching and vaccine research, I'm an avid gardener with a focus on urban permaculture. What does that mean? It means I like to do things like figure out how to make watermelons grow up walls and use carnivorous plants to control the mosquito population.

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Q&A

Q: What was your strategy when studying for the MCAT exam?
A: I was fortunate to prepare with Kaplan, which gave me the structure, strategy, and streamlined study materials to help me study effectively. It was a lot of work, but Kaplan helped me make all the hours target the biggest opportunities for improving my score.

Q: What was your biggest "aha!" moment when studying for the MCAT exam?
A: The MCAT exam doesn't reward you for mastering and memorizing content, it's far more interested in how you apply your general knowledge and think through problems. Sure, you have to be competent in a wide-range of topics, but few questions will ever reward knowledge of obscure details. You will always be confronted with information you've never seen in the passages and questions, so it's impossible to learn everything that can be tested. Instead, it's better to focus on general review and hone your methodical approach to reading MCAT-style passages and attacking questions.

Q: Why do you teach? What do you love about it?
A: I teach because there are few things as rewarding as empowering others with knowledge and instilling a sense of wonder about the world. As a former pre-med student, I remember having to memorize my way through different chemistry, physics, and biology classes. This can be pretty frustrating and boring when it's not your goal to be a chemist or physicist. However, it all makes sense when you break it down and make the connections between the different disciplines. Before you know it you'll be looking at mitochondria and think "wow, that Electron Transport Chain has the same chemistry as a battery!"