Originally Posted by protonate

1) Your individual scores and composite score
PS=14 VR=09 WS=O BS=12 Composite=35O

2) The study method used for each section
For BS+PS I followed SN2ed methodolgy with the following exceptions:
-Used TPR hyperlearning for content review
-Did not bother to use the 1001 series of EK-I substituted it for TPR workbook discretes
-So I used a combination of TPR science workbook and TBR passages
For WS, the first time I practiced was on test day lol
For verbal: English is my second language so I suck at it. I did 3 passages every morning from TPR and EK.
3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)
-TPR
-TBR
4) Which practice tests did you use?
AAMC 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10. AAMC 8 had the exact same breakdown as AAMC8.
5) What was your undergraduate major?
Biology
6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?
Be confident in yourself. If I can do it, you can!
7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
Over the summer while having a full time job.
Please send me a PM if you want more info.

Originally Posted by Techmed07

1) Your individual scores and composite score
PS=10 VR=12 WS=O BS=11 Composite=33O
2) The study method used for each section
I did not take an diagonostic test untill I was little bit in to SN2ed method. I found that even focusing on one section (PS) full time it was too much. I switched to EK and was able to actually finish it before I started a 6 week intensive MCAT course. The course was great but the classroom time (which was mandatory) took up 3 hours of my during the work week. Coupled with seminars and guest speakers...well you get the picture. I started verbal prep the semester before I took my MCAT. I ran through all the EK 101 before I started my Kaplan prep... looks liked it helped scored in the 95.5-98.8 percentile.

At the Kaplan prep camp, we took a diagnostic the first week (I got a 25) and than every subsequent week we took a Kaplan full length under timed and test like conditions (the last week we took two). I guess this helped with getting use to Kaplan exams. In terms to AAMC.. well that is a different story.



3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)
EK, TBR and Kaplan- Physics, Biology, Chemistry (more EK than anything)
VR- Kaplan, EK, TPR (Did all Kaplan sectional tests, and the whole EK verbal).
WS- Kaplan... I know my score is horrible.. but believe me it could have been worst.

4) Which practice tests did you use?

Kaplan Diagnostic- 8,8,9--> 25
Kaplan Full Length I- 9,9,8----> 26
Kaplan Full Lengh II- 8,11,9---> 28
Kaplan Full Length III 9,10,12----> 31
Kaplan Full Length IIII 9,10,9------> 28
Kaplan Full Length VI- 8,10,11---->29
AAMC 3------------------- 7,10,9------26
AAMC-5--------------------8-9-10----26
Kaplan Full Length 6---10-11-12- 33
AAMC-6---------------------10-12-11----33
AAMC-7------------------8,9,11--------------28
AAMC 8------------------10,10,11----------31
AAMC 9-------------------12,9,10----------31
AAMC 10-----------------11,8,11--------30

5) What was your undergraduate major?
Biology, I was fresh out of Cell Biology so I was legit for the BS section..or so I thought.
6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?

My SAT score

480 Math, 620 VR, 520 WR, 12-Writing Sample

If I could with these score.. Score in top 12-8% of test takers in the country the first time. You can too.. Believe in yourself.


7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
May--->September. (4ish months).

Took a week or two off because the test got me down. It ended up being a much needed rest!

Originally Posted by erskine

I can finally post here

1) Your individual scores and composite score
PS=13 VR=11 BS=15 Composite=39P

2) The study method used for each section
Attempted to follow SN2ed’s 3 mo schedule but this was compacted into ~8 weeks of content review plus lots of BR passages and then ~2 weeks of FLs and practice passages due to poor planning on my part (IE vegas trip + food poisoning=little mcat studying). I had also borrowed some Kaplan material from my library the month before, which I just browsed over and re-familiarized myself with some of the content. During my official content review, I would read the designated section (one/day), do 4-5 practice passages, and then review them. I would alternate subjects and after reading 1 chapter in all of the books, I would take a day to review everything from the past few days. Couple verbal passages a day on the side. Last 2 weeks was doing more practice passages (i probably only finished 2/3 of all the ones i had) and FLs. Was a little burned out at the end.

3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)
BR for Gchem, Physics, and Ochem. EK and EK 1001 for Bio. EK 101 for verbal. I had BR for verbal as well but after doing a few tests decided to ditch it.

4) Which practice tests did you use?
AAMC FL 3-10, and 3 kaplans. Kaplans were all low thirties, and AAMC average was 36.5

5) What was your undergraduate major?
Biology

6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?
Practice passages definitely help to develop your test-taking skills like the ability to think under stress, time management, not being freaked out by weird questions, and wise guessing. Background knowledge is only part of getting a good score. I highly recommend BR- their passages really helped me. BR science questions are probably a good estimate of what the actual mcat will have (maybe BR is a little harder) and EK 101 verbal passages are about the same difficulty (maybe EK is a little harder) but the actual MCAT will have longer verbal passages (EACH passage 1-2 paragraphs longer).

Try and replicate the test day as much as possible when doing the FL practice. I think a healthy diet can work wonders on cognitive abilities. I was also a little burned out before my actual test day from the 11 FLs in 2 weeks time before, but I’m thinking that this actually might’ve helped my score. Being slightly fatigued on test day alleviated most of my anxiety and it allowed me to concentrate specifically on each passage, forgetting the past sections. I didn’t let any challenging questions get me down- I gave it my best shot and moved on. I highly doubt I would’ve scored so high (around 2.5 pts higher than aamc average) if I had been completely well-rested since I know my test-taking apprehension would’ve been through the roof. Just something to consider for other slightly-neurotic test takers.

I graduated last year so I didn’t have too much going on except the mcat, which I think definitely helped. Being able to exclusively focus on the sciences involved with the MCAT was helpful in being able to remember everything. Plus, this means I took the mcat after all my upper div sciences, like genetics, mo bio, biochem, ecology, developmental biology, etc..., which aren’t necessary but definitely helped me answer a few questions on my actual mcat that weren’t mentioned in my review books.

7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
10 weeks officially, probably around 4 hours a day during content review, then ~10 hours/day during the last 2 weeks. I also was reviewing some Kaplan material the month before, checked out from the public library- the new Kaplan premier program book, just to refresh general chem and general bio concepts.

Originally Posted by loveoforganic

I used this schedule from the first day. I didn't really keep up with all of the verbal practice, and I was burning out a little at the end and decided not to do any hat trick, but other than that followed it to the T. I'll get my scores in two days, and will post them here. I kind of agree with SN2ed though, in that one or two examples of scores is essentially irrelevant. Unless one were take a matched sampling of say, 200 students following this schedule, 200 students following their own self study schedule, 200 students following each different class, then crunching all the numbers when the MCAT comes back, the scores you do see mean nothing really.

I feel like it was a great schedule.

Originally Posted by loveoforganic

35 n. 12/11/12

Originally Posted by mattnumbernine

I posted earlier in this thread, and ended up following this program for the 4 month variation. I took a full class schedule that was not terribly difficult while studying in the fall.

I got back my scores today and was satisfied with a 33P (12 PS 10 VR 11 BS).

I just wanted to post this because when I was first starting out I hadn't seen anyone claim that they had used this program while in school. It can be done as long as you don't have too many other commitments.

Thanks to SN2ed for the program, and best of luck to everyone else.

Originally Posted by mattnumbernine

I took a 4 class schedule.

Introductory Statistics-about 1 hour work/week
Perception Psychology-No work except for the weeks of the three tests
Independent Study/Neuro Research-About 10 hours/week, mostly in the morning at the local teaching hospital
Introductory to Business-About 2 hours/week

I also play Division 1 baseball, which took up about 15 hours a week in the fall.

I put aside about 2-3 hours/day to do MCAT stuff. Obviously, my schedule was a bit hectic, but I also had all of my 5 week winter break to polish up on stuff. I never fell behind on the readings, and felt like I reached an information saturation point about 2 weeks before my January 30th test day.

Originally Posted by cpufreak3

I just wanted to chime in on this thread.

I followed this schedule (though I simplified it ALOT) and got a 35.

I just want to thank you for laying everything out.

Originally Posted by drfancypants

yet another reminder that SN2 is a hero. i owe my 38 to this lesson plan. 8 months ago i knew nothing about the mcat; this plan gave me the confidence to resist the intimidation i'd feel from kaplan, PR, et al, and i'm pretty sure i did better studying on my own. i had to be flexible to suit my personal schedule and other demands, but it was an excellent framework. thanks!!

Originally Posted by Colbare

I apologize in advance, this is a bit of a long one but worthwhile for somebody I hope.

Finally got my scores and I can say after all of it I'm happy the way it turned out. I didn't know I wanted to be a doctor until basically the last few pre-reqs and so my grades in those classes were definitely sub-par, C's and B's mostly. I wasted 3 of the early AAMC FLs and averaged a 22 before I did any studying. I knew going into this I wasn't coming from as solid of a background as most in these forums, but I put in the hours and did the best I could. My average PS was 5, VR 8, and BS 9.

Practice Scores:

I attached a spreadsheet of practice passage BR scores I made during the schedule. I basically just multiplied my percentage by 15 and put the numbers in to get an estimate and watch trends.

Gold Standard: I did 3 Gold Standard plus the remaining 5 AAMC tests. I wanted to do BR FLs but I didn't have time to wait for my mailed money order to go through (their ordering system is absurd). I did GS first and scored PS-7 VR-6 BS-9 ->22, PS-8 VR-8 BS-9 ->25, and PS-9 VR-8 BS-9 ->26. I was pretty demoralized, but I heard the GS were pretty hard compared to the real thing.

AAMC: #5: PS-9, VR-8, BS-10 ->27, #6: PS-9, VR-10, BS-10 ->29, #7: PS-8, VR-6, BS-10 ->24, #8: PS-9, VR-10, BS-9 ->28, #9: PS-10, VR-9, BS-10 ->29.

July 8th MCAT: PS-9, VR-9, BS-11 ->29 N

I definitely did zero writing practice and consequently bombed that part, but I think they have a better sample of my writing in the essays I’ve done for them anyway. I improved my score by 7 points on AAMC tests using this guide and can honestly say I followed it nearly word for word minus the hat trick due to near burn out at the end. Thanks SN2ed for everything, this guide has been epic to say the least. Good luck to everyone and I hope I’ve helped some decide how they want to prepare for this test.

Originally Posted by Ranger Doc

SN2ed,

I just want to say thanks so much for your work in putting this plan together and sharing with everyone. I followed the 3-month plan almost exactly. It was tough, no doubt. But completely worth it. I got a 39R. I love you man!

Originally Posted by Couglar

Just wanted to stop in and say thanks! I'm a Canadian so I'm dealing with tough VR and WS cut offs, and by using this guide and doing some serious WS practice I scored a 32R (11/11/R/10- PS/VR/WS/BS)!! The guide works great, thanks again!

Originally Posted by islanders11040

I used Sne2d 3 month review course with the Berkely review which i highly reccommend

2.5 weeks into studying got 23 on free Princeton review practice test

i took a free kaplan test 6-7 weeks into studying and got a 27

AMCC practice. I took them in order the month before the real mcat with a practice test every 3 days

3-26
4-29
5-29
6-31
7-28
8-30
9-29
10-33

9/3 2 pm
Actual 32P 11-10-11

I am happy the score and i actually did better than my average. The score i was most happy with was verbal 10. it aamc 3,4,5 i got 6,7,8 in VR so i was definitly able to improve it with practice. I left the last page in the PS section blank by mistake and that had 3 questions. maybe could have got a 33 but im not gonna stress over it. Im happy with the score i got since i felt pretty low about it when i found out i left the last page blank and the overall difficulty of the test. My summer of studying wasnt a waste and im never gonna open a MCAT book again. I have a 3.16 gpa 32P mcat score and am trying to go D.O incase anyone was curious. This mcat score may be what makes me a competitive applicant.

Originally Posted by phonyreal98

Hey SN2ed, just wanted to say thanks for this! I used your schedule and just got my scores back and I just wanted to let you know that I'm thrilled with my score!

Originally Posted by RichardParker

Hi SN2ed,

I wrote my MCAT on Jan 29 and just got my score back, 35R. I followed the 4 month schedule. I want to thank you for the study schedule and all the useful tips you posted.

Also thanks to Berkeley review books, really helped me in orgo and gen chem. If you were a girl I would definitely be thinking long term.

Thanks
RP

Originally Posted by LastPolarBear

Thanks SN2ed for the schedule. Really great stuff on here. I also took the 1/29/11 test and got a 31. I did it while on a light schedule of school work. Improved my score by 7 points. Thanks again brother. YOU DA MAN!

Originally Posted by diamethuel

Another thanks for the schedule. I took the Jan 29 MCAT and here are my results using (more or less) your plan.

34Q (12ps, 10vr, 12bs) on real thing.

Average of AAMC's was 33.88
AAMC 3 12/26/2010 - 37 (13ps, 9vr,15bs)
AAMC 4 1/3/2011 - 29 (10ps, 9vr, 10 bs)
AAMC 5 1/6/2011 - 36 (13ps, 11vr, 12bs)
AAMC 7 1/13/2011 - 33 (12ps, 8vr, 13bs)
AAMC 8 1/15/2011 - 33 (12ps, 8vr, 13bs)
AAMC 9 1/18/2011 - 33 (12ps, 9vr, 12bs)
AAMC 10 1/22/2011 35 (12ps, 10vr, 13bs)
AAMC 11 1/26/2011 34 (13ps, 9vr, 12bs)