Vanessa Graf
I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a specialization in Global Health at the University of Chicago. After graduating, I went to work in life sciences consulting and now I work at an oncology diagnostics company. In my free time, I began to run marathons, and I approach the MCAT just as I approach running (this is definitely a marathon, not a sprint).
My coaching style places curiosity and steady encouragement at the forefront with a strong structure as support. Like in marathon running, for the MCAT, you have to have a strong foundation, consistent practice, and grace with yourself. We’ll work together to improve your performance over time through multiple tactics. To create a strong foundation, we’ll lay out your baseline content understanding and review new content to fill any gaps. With practice problems, we’ll test this content base but also work to help understand how to answer MCAT-specific questions.
By practicing consistently, we’ll have data to inform further content review, test-taking strategies and guide study schedules. The last part of MCAT prep is having grace with yourself. There will be good days and bad ones, but as long as we continue practicing and reviewing, performance will grow. My goal is to make sure you feel confident in yourself come test day.
In my 1:1 sessions, I want to understand your goals, strengths, and weaknesses so we can prepare accordingly. Then we can jump into working through content questions, practice questions, and overall study schedules; we’ll set goals that will adjust over time to reflect your progress. Since I recently studied and took the MCAT, I know the current test well and find that it’s easiest to break the big problem down into smaller challenges that can be easily tackled, both for test day and individual MCAT questions. Hopefully, by breaking things down, the overwhelm of the MCAT feels just a bit more manageable.
At the end of the day, like running a race, you are the one that has to cross the finish line, but having a support system to help prepare for that day makes all the difference. So I work best with students who are highly motivated, enthusiastic, and willing to ask for help when needed. Together, we can work to build test-taking strategies, confidence, and mental endurance. Hopefully, these skills will prepare you for the MCAT, medical school, and anything you pursue after.
Outside of work, I enjoy running, baking, and reading new books.