u/Procrastination__Pro

One thing that used to get me on C/P all the time was knowing what I was doing conceptually and then still missing the question because I messed up the scientific notation.

What helped me was just separating the regular numbers from the powers of 10 instead of trying to do the whole thing in my head at once. So for something like (3 × 10^-4)(2 × 10^6), I’d do 3 × 2 first, then deal with the exponents separately: -4 + 6 = 2, so 6 × 10^2.

Same thing with division. I’d do the actual numbers first and then subtract the exponents separately.

It sounds really basic, but I used to make way more mistakes when I tried to do all of it together, especially when I was rushing. Once I started treating the exponent part like its own step, I stopped randomly moving decimals in the wrong direction nearly as much.

Hi everyone! Second-year medical student here. When I was studying for the MCAT, C/P was by far the section I struggled with most. I had formula sheets, Anki cards, all of it, but when I actually got to practice questions I was constantly struggling to recall the right formula.

I kept hearing people say “use the units,” and that eventually became the thing that helped me most. But it took me a really long time to figure out what “use the units” actually meant beyond just checking whether my final answer had the right unit.

What finally clicked was using dimensional analysis at the beginning of the problem instead of only at the end. I would start by looking at the units in the answer choices to figure out what I needed to end with. Then I’d gather the quantities the passage gave me, break the target unit and the given units into forms I could actually compare, and see what would need to multiply, divide, or cancel to get from one to the other. Only then would I worry about the actual numbers.

A lot of the time, that was enough to show me the relationship I needed even when I couldn’t immediately remember the formula.

After my MCAT, I kept thinking about how useful it would have been to have all of this laid out clearly from the beginning. I originally started turning my notes into a little guide for other students. Then I kept adding to it, testing examples, reorganizing things, and figuring out where the approach works and where it doesn’t. It slowly became a much bigger project than I planned.

That eventually became Unit Hack for the MCAT® exam.

It’s now a 25-lesson course built around using units as part of the reasoning process instead of treating them like labels you add at the end. I organized the process as Target → Decode → Collect → Build → Cancel → Check, but the underlying idea is dimensional analysis taught in a much more deliberate, MCAT-specific way. I definitely did not invent dimensional analysis lol. I basically built the resource I wish someone had handed me when people kept telling me to “use the units” without really showing me how far that could take me.

I’m at the point now where I really need current MCAT students to test the full course.

I’ve been working on this for so long that I need people who are actually studying right now to go through it and tell me what works, what’s confusing, what drags, what feels unnecessary, where you still get stuck, and what I’ve convinced myself is obvious because I’ve looked at it 500 times.

If C/P calculations or formula recall are a weak point for you and you’re willing to actually use the course and give me honest feedback, you can apply here:

https://mcat.theprocrastinationpro.com/unit-hack-tester-application

Selected testers get free access to the full course in exchange for genuinely testing it and giving feedback. I do not need you to tell me it’s amazing lol. I need to know what needs fixing.

There’s also a free preview on the Unit Hack site if you want to see the teaching style and try the approach before applying.

And just to be completely transparent, this is also a paid product. Unit Hack Founder Access is currently $79 one-time with no subscription. Everyone who applies to be a tester will also be sent a discount for the full course whether or not they’re selected for free tester access.

I’m in med school now, and this has basically become my giant side project because it’s genuinely the resource I wish I could have handed to myself when I started studying.

If you understand the science but then hit a calculation and immediately start searching your brain for which formula you’re supposed to remember, that’s exactly the problem I built this around.

When I was studying for the MCAT, C/P was easily my least favorite section.

Any time I asked for help with calculations, the advice was usually some version of:

“Just use the units.”

“Just do dimensional analysis.”

I understood the idea in theory, but in practice it always felt like people were skipping the actual hard part. A lot of explanations felt like:

Step 1: Look at the units.

Step 2: Somehow multiply and cancel your way to the right answer.

That was not enough for me. I needed something much more step-by-step so I wouldn't freeze or try and pull a random formula from the depths of my mind.

I’m an MS1 now, and I’m putting together the C/P units resource I wish I had when I was studying. The goal is to make “use the units” feel less like vague advice and more like a structured way to approach C/P calculations.

I’m considering turning it into a small digital course/practice tool with guided examples and interactive practice, but before I keep building, I want to make sure I’m solving the right problem for people actually studying right now.

A few questions:

Would a unit-first C/P practice resource be something you would actually use?

Where do you personally get stuck when people say “just use the units”? Derived units? Scientific notation? Setting up fractions? Knowing what you’re solving for? Something else?

What would make a resource like this worth using instead of just watching another YouTube video or reading another Reddit explanation?

Just to be clear up and upfront: this is not an ad, and I’m not not trying to sell anything here. I’m genuinely looking for feedback from people currently studying so I can figure out whether this is actually useful and what would make it better.

Any honest feedback would help. Thanks, and good luck to everyone studying.

When I was studying for the MCAT, C/P was easily my least favorite section.

Any time I asked for help with calculations, the advice was usually some version of:

“Just use the units.”

“Just do dimensional analysis.”

I understood the idea in theory, but in practice it always felt like people were skipping the actual hard part. A lot of explanations felt like:

Step 1: Look at the units.

Step 2: Somehow multiply and cancel your way to the right answer.

That was not enough for me. I needed something much more step-by-step so I wouldn't freeze or try and pull a random formula from the depths of my mind.

I’m an MS1 now, and I’m putting together the C/P units resource I wish I had when I was studying. The goal is to make “use the units” feel less like vague advice and more like a structured way to approach C/P calculations.

I’m considering turning it into a small digital course/practice tool with guided examples and interactive practice, but before I keep building, I want to make sure I’m solving the right problem for people actually studying right now.

A few questions:

Would a unit-first C/P practice resource be something you would actually use?

Where do you personally get stuck when people say “just use the units”? Derived units? Scientific notation? Setting up fractions? Knowing what you’re solving for? Something else?

What would make a resource like this worth using instead of just watching another YouTube video or reading another Reddit explanation?

Just to be clear up and upfront: this is not an ad, and I’m not not trying to sell anything here. I’m genuinely looking for feedback from people currently studying so I can figure out whether this is actually useful and what would make it better.

Any honest feedback would help. Thanks, and good luck to everyone studying.

When I was studying for the MCAT, C/P was easily my least favorite section.

Any time I asked for help with calculations, the advice was usually some version of:

“Just use the units.”

“Just do dimensional analysis.”

I understood the idea in theory, but in practice it always felt like people were skipping the actual hard part. A lot of explanations felt like:

Step 1: Look at the units.

Step 2: Somehow multiply and cancel your way to the right answer.

That was not enough for me. I needed something much more step-by-step so I wouldn't freeze or try and pull a random formula from the depths of my mind.

I’m an MS1 now, and I’m putting together the C/P units resource I wish I had when I was studying. The goal is to make “use the units” feel less like vague advice and more like a structured way to approach C/P calculations.

I’m considering turning it into a small digital course/practice tool with guided examples and interactive practice, but before I keep building, I want to make sure I’m solving the right problem for people actually studying right now.

A few questions:

Would a unit-first C/P practice resource be something you would actually use?

Where do you personally get stuck when people say “just use the units”? Derived units? Scientific notation? Setting up fractions? Knowing what you’re solving for? Something else?

What would make a resource like this worth using instead of just watching another YouTube video or reading another Reddit explanation?

Just to be clear up and upfront: this is not an ad, and I’m not not trying to sell anything here. I’m genuinely looking for feedback from people currently studying so I can figure out whether this is actually useful and what would make it better.

Any honest feedback would help. Thanks, and good luck to everyone studying.