Test Prep Events and Resources
HPA is excited to offer plenty of resources for those planning and preparing for a standardized exam for health professional school every quarter throughout the year. All of our events are free and open to all current UC Davis students and alumni. The majority of events will be hosted virtually.
To view a full calendar go to the Events page.
Go to our Standardized Exams page for more details on each exam and general preparation.
2025 Winter Quarter Test Prep Sessions
Test Prep Zoom Drop-Ins
Every Monday | 9am- 12pm PDT | Zoom Link
Get help with all your test prep questions including practice questions, content, strategy, and planning during Test Prep Drop-Ins. Join the zoom and you will be placed in a waiting room and we will pull each of you, individually, into the meeting room on a first-come, first-served basis. Each appointment will be limited to 15 minutes if there are people in the waiting room. Let's study for those tests online together!
MCAT Science Review Session
Every Tuesday, January 7th - March 18th | 6pm- 7pm PDT | Zoom Link
Review a common seen MCAT science topic each week and apply that content to practice questions.
- Preparing for the MCAT
- When preparing for the MCAT, students often get sidetracked by the draw of refreshing and/or relearning science concepts they have learned previously as that serves as the lowest barrier to entry. In doing so, they forget that it’s not only what you know that gets tested on the MCAT, but also how you can read, interpret, and apply new information in conjunction with your own knowledge. The AAMC outlines two separate skill sets called “CARS” and “SIRS”. The CARS skill set is covered on the accurately named CARS section while the SIRS skill set is covered on all three of the science-based sections. It can also be said that the CARS skill set is tested indirectly on the science sections as well. Both skill sets are outlined below as described by the AAMC.
- CARS (Critical Analysis & Reasoning Skills) Skills
- Skill 1: Foundations of Comprehension
• Understanding the basic components of the text
• Inferring meaning from rhetorical devices, word choice, and text structure
Skill 2: Reasoning Within the Text
• Integrating different components of the text to increase comprehension
Skill 3: Reasoning Beyond the Text
• Applying or extrapolating ideas from the passage to new contexts
• Assessing the impact of introducing new factors, information, or conditions to ideas from the passage - Science (SIRS: Scientific Inquiry & Reasoning Skills) Skills
- Skill 1: Knowledge of Scientific Principles
• Demonstrate understanding of scientific concepts and principles
• Identify the relationships between closely-related concepts
Skill 2: Scientific Reasoning and Problem-solving
• Reason about scientific principles, theories, and models
• Analyzing and evaluating scientific explanations and predictions
Skill 3: Reasoning about the Design and Execution of Research
• Demonstrate understanding of important components of scientific research
• Reason about ethical issues in research
Skill 4: Data-based Statistical Reasoning
• Interpret patterns in data presented in tables, figures, and graphs
• Reasoning about data and drawing conclusions from them
DAT/OAT Math and Science Review Session
Every Tuesday, January 7th - March 18th | 7pm- 8pm PDT | Zoom Link
Review a common seen DAT/OAT science topic each week and apply that content to practice questions.
MCAT Passage Practice
Every Monday, January 6th - March 17th | 12pm- 1pm PDT | Zoom Link
Each week we will tackle one or two MCAT passages (both science and CARS). Learn and practice strategies to identify question types, skip questions strategically, skip passages strategically, skim instead of read, and more!
GRE Math and Vocabulary Review Session
Every Tuesday, January 7th - March 18th | 8pm- 9pm PDT | Zoom Link
Review important math topics and expand your vocabulary for the GRE exam and apply that to practice questions.
Mock Exam Day
Saturday, October 26th | 9am- 5pm PDT | Event Info
Practice taking the MCAT, GAT, or DAT/OAT at HPA's free Mock Exam Day! This event is held in-person to best simulate a real test day environment, which is crucial to preparing for your standardized exam.
- Free Mock Exam
- Every quarter we host a FREE Mock Exam Day for the MCAT, GRE, and DAT/OAT. We highly encourage all applicants to start their studying by taking a practice exam first. For dates, visit our Mock Exams page. We strongly encourage applicants to watch the Test Prep 101: Intro to Standardized Exams before taking the exam when possible. Registration will be available approximately 2 weeks before the event.
Bring your results from the Mock Exam to develop a study schedule that makes sense for you at Test Prep Drop-Ins.