Breaking Down the MCAT: A 3 Month MCAT Study Schedule

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by CavAggie

for anybody that is using the BR and ExmCrkers

for the " 1/3 of BR Chapter (.).."

are yall doing 1/3 of the passages for each section in the chapter

or

1/3 of the sections in the chapter

I'm gonna do 1/3 of the passages for each section in the chapter but was wondering what everyone thought. thanks.

For the 1/3, you do every third passage for the entire chapter. Do NOT skip a section's passages. It is formatted like this for a reason Pretty much everything in the schedule is there for a reason.

[dayNight]

hello SN2ed...

i am using your 3-month study guide to study for the mcat. thank you for such a wonderful schedule that really breaks down the studying and shows us all that we can study for the test by doing a chapter or two a day along with practice problems. i do have 2 questions...

1. do you suggest taking your own notes when reading the chapters or focus on reading and connecting ideas and then move along to integration of the material?

2. i substituted BR bio because i needed a more detailed approach because i only took general bio. do you have any suggestions on how to use this book?

thank you so much again!!!

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by dayNight

hello SN2ed...

i am using your 3-month study guide to study for the mcat. thank you for such a wonderful schedule that really breaks down the studying and shows us all that we can study for the test by doing a chapter or two a day along with practice problems. i do have 2 questions...

1. do you suggest taking your own notes when reading the chapters or focus on reading and connecting ideas and then move along to integration of the material?

2. i substituted BR bio because i needed a more detailed approach because i only took general bio. do you have any suggestions on how to use this book?

thank you so much again!!!

1. I'd go with what works best for you. Since you should be re-reading the chapters, you could also do both. The first time you would read and take notes because that's the only chapter you're working on. Then, for the second read through, try to connect the topics together. If you do both (notes and connecting), I suggest this order. You don't want to be reading all of the week's chapters and take notes on all of them in one day. In any case, keep in mind that you will be reading every chapter twice if you follow this guide.

2. BR Bio is very easy to integrate into the schedule. On the EK Bio days, simply read through BR Bio. Next, take 1/3 of the passages. Finally, do 1/3 of the passages whenever there's a 1/3 BR passage day. In other words, go through BR Bio the same way the other BR books are outlined.

[LALAKERS24]

Originally Posted by SN2ed

For the 1/3, you do every third passage for the entire chapter. Do NOT skip a section's passages. It is formatted like this for a reason Pretty much everything in the schedule is there for a reason.

For the "1/3 passages" do we follow the BR Guideline/Passage Selections that was in the form of a .PDF posted somewhere here on SDN. Or when we get to the Passage sections for each chapter, do we do every third? Sorry, I'm a bit confused....

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by LALAKERS24

For the "1/3 passages" do we follow the BR Guideline/Passage Selections that was in the form of a .PDF posted somewhere here on SDN. Or when we get to the Passage sections for each chapter, do we do every third? Sorry, I'm a bit confused....

Again, every third for the ENTIRE chapter, do NOT skip sections.

Let's say the passages for chapter are like this:

Physics Chapter 1

Section 1
1
2
3
4
Section 2
5
6
7
8
Section 3
9
10
11
12

You would then do EVERY THIRD: 1, 4, 7, and 10

For the second third: 2, 5, 8, 11

For the last third: 3, 6, 9, 12

[UntitledFlow]

Are flashcards and notes necessary when studyinf for the MCAT? or am I better off reading throroughly and doing as many questions as I can? I'm taking the Jan 30th MCAT, and am way pressed for time.

Thanks!!

[loveoforganic]

I bought the Kaplan pack of like 700 cards and ended up going through maybe half of the biology ones, once. I didn't find them very helpful, and I tend to make use of notecards to study pretty frequently.

[zetabetazeta]

SN2ed, you are such an amazing person!

[Malayna]

Originally Posted by zetabetazeta

SN2ed, you are such an amazing person!

I second that. And no doubt it will be thirded and fourthed, etc.

[SN2ed]

Thanks for the compliments!

Also, I was thinking about making a calendar of the schedule for people to print out and have easy access to the day's activities.

[coffeeslug]

Originally Posted by SN2ed

Thanks for the compliments!

Also, I was thinking about making a calendar of the schedule for people to print out and have easy access to the day's activities.

+1 If you want someone to put it into excel just shoot me a PM

[JP2740]

SN2ed, I am taking TPR Hyperlearning class. What books would you recommend for me to get in addition to these books (mostly in terms of essentials. I mean realistically I can't read every book out there)? I will go along with the class and kind of incorporate my own stuff along the way.

By the way, if you do not mind, can you answer my thread really quick with your opinion? Thanks for the help. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=677856

[CORockDoc]

Thanks for the awesome schedule, book list and tips. Really great stuff!

I know you made it clear that this study plan isn't compatible with a full time work schedule... However here I am asking the question... Do you think the 4 month option would be doable without burnout? I'm sure you get this question all the time -- my apologies -- not working isn't an option for me so I'm trying to plan accordingly... I took the test about 5 years ago and got a 30 with a full time work schedule, but I'm confident that if I take studying more seriously I can boost my score... really looking for high 30's so I'm thinking ~400-500hrs of quality time might get me there with a plan akin to what you've outlined... any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks for your time.

[lDanny]

when you go over the chapters do you take notes or just read it?

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by CORockDoc

Thanks for the awesome schedule, book list and tips. Really great stuff!

I know you made it clear that this study plan isn't compatible with a full time work schedule... However here I am asking the question... Do you think the 4 month option would be doable without burnout? I'm sure you get this question all the time -- my apologies -- not working isn't an option for me so I'm trying to plan accordingly... I took the test about 5 years ago and got a 30 with a full time work schedule, but I'm confident that if I take studying more seriously I can boost my score... really looking for high 30's so I'm thinking ~400-500hrs of quality time might get me there with a plan akin to what you've outlined... any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks for your time.

There are too many factors to take into consideration, so I really don't know. It's up to the individual to control the burnout. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Originally Posted by lDanny

when you go over the chapters do you take notes or just read it?

I'd go with what works best for you. Since you should be re-reading the chapters, you could also do both. The first time you would read and take notes because that's the only chapter you're working on. Then, for the second read through, try to connect the topics together. If you do both (notes and connecting), I suggest this order. You don't want to be reading all of the week's chapters and take notes on all of them in one day. In any case, keep in mind that you will be reading every chapter twice if you follow this guide.

[JP2740]

Hey SN2ed. If I took the Princeton Hyperlearning Course and ended it a month before my MCAT, what kind of plan do you think I should carry out in that month? Should I mimic the last month you got there on yours (even though I'd have different books)?

Or do you think I should just end the course as close to my MCAT as possible?

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by JP2740

Hey SN2ed. If I took the Princeton Hyperlearning Course and ended it a month before my MCAT, what kind of plan do you think I should carry out in that month? Should I mimic the last month you got there on yours (even though I'd have different books)?

Or do you think I should just end the course as close to my MCAT as possible?

It doesn't really matter when it ends. The important part is whether you're prepared. For your last month, I suggest you try to emulate the last month presented here.

[JP2740]

Originally Posted by SN2ed

It doesn't really matter when it ends. The important part is whether you're prepared. For your last month, I suggest you try to emulate the last month presented here.

Thank you. I am not sure if you have covered this already, but what is your opinion of taking the prep courses?

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by JP2740

Thank you. I am not sure if you have covered this already, but what is your opinion of taking the prep courses?

Unfortunately, that's not really related to the guide, so I suggest you make run a search or make a thread. This question has come up before. I want to keep the questions in this thread to the guide.

[ballinplayer03]

Hey everyone!

I really like the setup of this study schedule, but I was just wondering if people who used this method could share some insight into its effectiveness. For example, some of the practice test scores you had and then your actual MCAT score after using this method. Please do share, Im sure a lot of people reading this would love to know! Thanks!

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by ballinplayer03

Hey everyone!

I really like the setup of this study schedule, but I was just wondering if people who used this method could share some insight into its effectiveness. For example, some of the practice test scores you had and then your actual MCAT score after using this method. Please do share, Im sure a lot of people reading this would love to know! Thanks!

There were a couple posters that gave their feedback on the schedule I made earlier in the thread. There are also some more responses scattered in various threads. Unfortunately, none of it has been localized to one spot and I doubt it ever will since people generally talk about their own performance in their respective MCAT date threads. Also, keep in mind that the schedule is relatively new.

[JP2740]

Is there a proper way to rank how close the practice problems of each company is to the real deal? Like you pick Berkeley Review because of content/number of problems, but is that also because the questions are close to the real thing?

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by JP2740

Is there a proper way to rank how close the practice problems of each company is to the real deal? Like you pick Berkeley Review because of content/number of problems, but is that also because the questions are close to the real thing?

Yes, the practice passages are also close to the real thing. However, they're usually slightly harder than what you'll encounter.

[JP2740]

I got confused a bit with the 1/3 thing. Does this guide not go into the last third of the EK1001 questions?

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by JP2740

I got confused a bit with the 1/3 thing. Does this guide not go into the last third of the EK1001 questions?

This schedule does not go through the entire EK 1001 set. They're good practice, but I focused on passage practice as that is more beneficial. If you run into a trouble spot in any EK 1001 topic, you have plenty of practice to strengthen your understanding of the topic.

[JP2740]

Do you think it would be way too much to do both TPR Hyperlearning and TBR but in accordance with your posted schedule (I am doing 5 months, so it will be stretched out a little more)? Maybe this would be possible if I didn't do the EK1001?

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by JP2740

Do you think it would be way too much to do both TPR Hyperlearning and TBR but in accordance with your posted schedule (I am doing 5 months, so it will be stretched out a little more)? Maybe this would be possible if I didn't do the EK1001?

I don't think that's a good idea. What you could do is use TPRH and BR for content review, picking whichever suits you more. Then do the practice problems from BR and TPRH workbooks. You should still get EK 101 Verbal. On the positive side, you probably won't need EK 1001 since you'll have a large number of practice passages between both sources.

[JP2740]

Originally Posted by SN2ed

I don't think that's a good idea. What you could do is use TPRH and BR for content review, picking whichever suits you more. Then do the practice problems from BR and TPRH workbooks. You should still get EK 101 Verbal. On the positive side, you probably won't need EK 1001 since you'll have a large number of practice passages between both sources.

Ok so, I'll have TPRH series, BR series (except verbal), and EK101 Verbal. I can still pretty much do what you say on your schedule, just substitute a few things here and there. Do you believe that is adequate for practice? I'm just going to leave out EK1001.