Breaking Down the MCAT: A 3 Month MCAT Study Schedule

[Baboo Bhaiya]

Great work SN2ed on making this schedule

[jryckman3]

Way to go SN2ed. Thanks a lot for taking the time to do this!

[PreMedHopeful]

wait so you only need 3 months to study like here are my questions:

So I have to take the BIG test next summer, but I started reviewing/studying but a lot of medical students have been telling me you only need 3 months before the test to prepare because you will only remember stuff then and that's when the practice tests will come in handy...

So what's the basic study time frame and how do people study? I know my questions are lame and generic but I'm wondering what most people do to be successful?

[phEight]

Originally Posted by PreMedHopeful

wait so you only need 3 months to study like here are my questions:

So I have to take the BIG test next summer, but I started reviewing/studying but a lot of medical students have been telling me you only need 3 months before the test to prepare because you will only remember stuff then and that's when the practice tests will come in handy...

So what's the basic study time frame and how do people study? I know my questions are lame and generic but I'm wondering what most people do to be successful?

Check out the sticky topic on how people studied to get a 30+.

[streetenigma23]

Great topic SN2ed. I'm about to embark on the arduous journey of studying for this beast. I do have all the EK, is it possible to sub that for BK sciences? Or are EK series they not really that adequate for sciences?

[hopefullkid]

^^Would like to know the same thing

[Kaushik]

Originally Posted by streetenigma23

Great topic SN2ed. I'm about to embark on the arduous journey of studying for this beast. I do have all the EK, is it possible to sub that for BK sciences? Or are EK series they not really that adequate for sciences?

EK for the physical sciences is great if you have a good foundation in the stuff already (ie. did well in class, understood the concepts, etc.). If you're a bit shaky on the material though, the Berkeley Review books are great. So it all depends on how comfortable you are with the material.

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by streetenigma23

Great topic SN2ed. I'm about to embark on the arduous journey of studying for this beast. I do have all the EK, is it possible to sub that for BK sciences? Or are EK series they not really that adequate for sciences?

Originally Posted by hopefullkid

^^Would like to know the same thing

I wouldn't suggest you try to sub EK for BR. There are two reasons. First, the content review in BR is much better. Secondly, and most importantly, BR offers tons of practice passages. I believe MCAT preparation hinges on taking as many timed practice passages as possible. Hence, when I made up my schedule, I put in tons of timed practice passages. Without BR, you will basically go 2-3 months (depending on whether you're using the 3-4 months schedule) without taking many science practice passages which is a bad idea. The amount offered in EK's content review books isn't enough.

[hopefullkid]

But for Bio, EK is sufficient in your opinion? I did the Kaplan for all four sciences and verbal, really didn't like it too much. Now I have the EK for Bio, so far no complains.

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by hopefullkid

But for Bio, EK is sufficient in your opinion? I did the Kaplan for all four sciences and verbal, really didn't like it too much. Now I have the EK for Bio, so far no complains.

With EK Bio 1001 it's sufficient for those that prefer a non-detailed Bio approach (which most prefer). EK Bio 1001 contains both passages and discretes. EK Physics 1001, Gen-Chem 1001, and O-chem 1001 do NOT offer passages.

[Abe468]

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post this!

[hopefullkid]

Yea thanks guys!!

[parachutes]

Hi SN2ed,

Thanks for the awesome schedule. I was wondering how I should approach the BR passages. Since each day entails doing the chapter and the passages, how will I go through the passages if I don't have the equations in my mind? I know it's not important to memorize all of them, but for example, uniformly accelerated motion for chapter 1 physics, etc...the same question applies to all the subjects with equations. I really don't know how to approach the passages without knowing at least the important equations first.

Thanks!

[parachutes]

Hey SN2ed, one more question...

For the EK 1001 problems, specifically the physical sciences/orgo, is it absolutely necessary to do the problems timed? If I am not understanding how to do them right away can I take my time and figure it out, or if I can't get it at all go to the solutions guide? Normally I would take my time with these and if i don't get one try to follow their explanation. I get the importance of timing but i'm just worried i won't be able to understand a good chunk of them right away since they are for practice.

Thanks!!

[papercookies]

hey SN2ed, nice guide much appreciated.

I have a question though, in your opinion how would you rate the TPR hyperlearning science workbook? I don't have the BR books, but the TPR science workbook has passage based questions.

[capn jazz]

How would you suggest incorporating other FLs? As of tomorrow I have 27 days til my MCAT and I've just taken AAMC3. I have the TBR paper FLs and the old Kaplan paper FLs - are any of these particularly good to take? I don't want to take drastically different exams if I can avoid it, so I don't want to waste my time taking easy or ridiculously hard FLs.

[loveoforganic]

What's the problem capn? It sounds like you're pretty much right on pace to finish/review all the AAMC FL's in the appropriate amount of time. Trying to squeeze in one or two more? :P

[capn jazz]

I'm perfectly on pace, which is good, but I was wondering if I should try to squeeze in a few more FLs if they'd be helpful. If there isn't time, I might just use the individual sections on practice question days.

[loveoforganic]

Personally, I wouldn't deviate from the AAMC's, but I've never taken the MCAT before so what would I know :P I'll wait for a more educated answer too.

[SN2ed]

capn jazz: I think it would be best to just stick to the schedule. If you had a little bit more time, I might have suggested you take a few paper exams to build your FL endurance. Remember, you should be doing plenty of practice passages on off-days from BR.

parachutes:

About BR: You should try to gain a grasp of the equations during your first reading. Try your best to remember them as you take the passages. If you need to spend some time re-reading the chapter to learn the equations, do so. Also, you should have seen all or most of the equations before in your pre-med classes. If you haven't completed your pre-med classes, you should wait to take the MCAT.

Also, the reason why I segmented my passages the way I did is to help reinforce one's retention of the necessary equations. I think the ideal way to learn the equations is through drill and kill until they become second nature. Hence, the day you read the chapter and are first exposed, you immediately take some passages utilizing the equations from the chapter. Then you retake problems from the same topics multiple times at different points in the study schedule.

About the EK 1001: What you might want to try is giving yourself a little more time and scaling back as you go on. I'm a firm believer that all practice problems should be taken under timed conditions. I think it helps you get used to the pressure. It may even be beneficial in the long run if you stick to the strict time limits. That way, on a hard passage, you might be able to be more relaxed since you've dealt with a similar kind of pressure. Furthermore, missing problems due to concepts can help some people recall the concept better. It's the old, because you messed up, you remember it better.

Also, remember that you will have all the time you need to review your problems afterward.

One last thing, going off of your two posts, it appears that timing may be an issue for you. Be careful of that.

papercookies: It's a good book. The only problem with it is that I don't think it offers as many practice problems as the BR books. Since I place a high value on completing as many practice problems as possible, I don't recommend you switch out BR for the TPR Hyperlearning workbook. Again, good book, but I don't think is has enough problems. Just to double check, roughly how many passages does it contain?

[Trisphorin]

Hey, i am trying to plan ahead for my mcat study schedule next summer. my school ends around may 22 and i want to take the mcat on august 25th. so i have around 3 month to study. is it helpful to take a prep course by kaplan or princeton review? and in case i do take the prep class, how can i fit the prep class into the 3 month study schedule?

Thanks in advance

[papercookies]

Haha thanks. Well, it contains 62 passages for physics, 93 for chemistry, 87 for bio, and 44 for orgo. I also have the EK1001 series, so hopefully it be okay. Just gotta actually get through them all

[SN2ed]

Trisphorin: Whether or not a prep course is helpful is more of a personal thing. Some people love them for the structure, camaraderie, and practice problems. Others think they're a waste of time. Another factor to beware of is that the quality of teachers differs greatly from area to area. Ask students in your area what they thought about either company. Also, ask to sit in on a class. There's no real trick to fitting in a prep class into my 3 month schedule. You just do both at once. Though you should choose which schedule you want to follow (the prep company's or this one).

papercookies: Oh that's pretty good then. I didn't know there were that many passages.

[papercookies]

Yeah, it is a monster of a book lol.

[capn jazz]

My problem with the TPR workbook is that it's enormous. I never want to/am able to carry it with me to the library if I want to bring other books also. So it's my do-at-home practice book.

[papercookies]

That is true, you can only bring so many things to the library for one day haha. The other tpr books are pretty much ridiculously big as well.

[lostking243]

Hey guys and gals, so if I take the MCAT next year mid-June, and get done with finals mid-May, I will only have around 1 Month to study for it...

SN2ed says 3 months. But I have to take it in june to apply EDP to KU SOM.

how many hours a day are you calculating every day for 3 months? It makes sense to spend 3 months in prep, but I just won't be able to have that kind of time....I was planning on cranking down my hours at school spring 2010 to give myself time during the semester.

let me know what you think

FIRST POST ON SDN!!!!

[capn jazz]

You CANNOT spend 1 month studying for the MCAT. I have the same amount of post-finals time as you (1 month) but I spent three months leading up to finals doing content review/practice questions. It's doable, but take as light of a courseload as possible. If you can't study during the school year, POSTPONE and apply a year later.

[lostking243]

that's the number one thing i'm seeing, is 3 months prep is a must for a good score. i can study during school and take my hours down to about 13/14 hours with about 7-10 hours per week in lab, with a few other obligations. i still have a year so ill get it together somehow

[onebeautifulday]

Sorry this is quite a stupid question, but I can't figure out the hat trick: how specific are our topics supposed to be when we write them onto pieces of paper? For example, in PS, according to the pdf, is it better to just write "electron structure", or go in more depth and write each of the numbered topics on different pieces of paper (ie, orbital structure, ground state, etc)?


Thanks!

[SN2ed]

It's really up to you and how you ultimately want to utilize the Hat Trick. A good starting point would be at least writing down the bolded topics. Then, when you're doing the Hat Trick, you should think about each topic more in-depth. Remember, you're trying to think up an MCAT style passage. In other words, the passage won't be simple; it will involve some of the complexities of each topic.

[MedSchoolNoob]

very nice post! a lot of useful information! thanks!

[Kinesio]

SN2ed,

I am a non-trad working a full-time, 40-hour-a-week job and despite the fact that you had mentioned that your study schedule is not designed for non-trad who are working, I am going to try and spread your schedule out and make it work for me. I am taking the MCAT in January 2010.

I have cut off ties from friends, Facebook, and other distracting devices. Do you foresee any problems in trying to follow your schedule if I have six months of time?

[pandoraaj009]

Wow, this is...above and beyond. Thank you so much SN2ed! You obviously spent a ton of time, and it shows. I found your advice extremely helpful.

I didn't know what the "hat trick" was...but I guess I do my own variation: I go to random.org, and use their random number generator to spit out 3 numbers. I usually pick a range of pages-so, for ek 1001, ill have it generate 3 numbers for pages 1-160. Then, depending on my mood, I do either all the questions on that pg, but I try to do the whole section (say, I pick a pg in the middle of "density" in fluids, I try to do the whole density section).

I think it's fun...plus I get caught up in craft prjects and procrastinate, so cutting up the aamc topics would just be bad lol.

[SN2ed]

Kinesio: You'll most likely have problems remembering the material you studied first. You will need to adjust this schedule to work for your specific job.

pandoraaj009: The Hat Trick is explained in the first post.

[FeatherPen]

Any critique appreciated. Embarking on a ~45 day study binge (strict) for Aug. 25th MCAT.

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by FeatherPen

Any critique appreciated. Embarking on a ~45 day study binge (strict) for Aug. 25th MCAT.

A 45 day schedule, in any form, is not recommended.

[pandoraaj009]

Originally Posted by SN2ed

pandoraaj009: The Hat Trick is explained in the first post.

Definitely MY BAD. I skimmed it too quick and assumed it was like another member's hat trick where they'd randomly pick topics from a hat to do ek 1001 problems. Thx for the correction...

And anyways, it looks really helpful.

[SN2ed]

Added a couple Q/A to the fourth post.

[jryckman3]

Here's a Hat Trick excel spreadsheet... it's not perfect but it's good if you don't want to write out all the topics. Let me know if it works for you guys!

Good luck all!

[BennieBlanco]

Originally Posted by jryckman3

Here's a Hat Trick excel spreadsheet. Let me know if it works for you guys! Also, I have a Mac, so the Microsoft Office might act weird on your computer.

Also, please let me know if the F9 trick works to refresh. I have a Mac and it doesn't work for me, but if I just reload the page then it does work.

Good luck all!

Good work dude.

I want to be helpful like all of you have been!

After I finish studying and get a pretty good score I hope to do as much good as you guys have! Thanks.

[loveoforganic]

AAMC's so far

3: 33
4: 33
5: 36

You were very right saying the first few review days were intense.

A recommendation I'd make to people planning to follow this schedule is to allot say, 95-100 days instead of 90. Use the extra days as spare days for yourself to either take a much needed break or catch up when you get behind.

[SN2ed]

Originally Posted by loveoforganic

AAMC's so far

3: 33
4: 33
5: 36

You were very right saying the first few review days were intense.

A recommendation I'd make to people planning to follow this schedule is to allot say, 95-100 days instead of 90. Use the extra days as spare days for yourself to either take a much needed break or catch up when you get behind.

Great looking AAMC scores. Keep up the good work. I wasn't sure if 2 chapters for those review days were too much or not. Based on your input, I adjusted the schedule. See if that's better. I made it so you only cover 1 chapter after each test.

[loveoforganic]

That looks great. I think one a day would be significantly more manageable. However, I stand by my recommendation that, when following this or any other schedule, you should start a couple days before you need to so you have some emergency miscellaneous use days.

I definitely recommend the schedule to others though, having followed it from day 1.

1) The workload is, overall, very manageable. I still volunteer ~20 hours a week, spend plenty of time with the gf, exercise, etc. I had originally planned on trying to work full time during the schedule, but in hindsight I would agree with what SN2ed said will say that that would have been a very bad idea.

2) I thought doing the second set of passages just a week after would be too soon to solidify memory, but the setup of going over material, then again a week later, then again about a month and a half later works quite well. It really sticks after the last review.

3) (Note, these statements don't apply to EK 1001 Biology). I didn't like the EK 1001 series that much. Organic is my best subject, and working through the Organic 1001 book, I found quite a few mistakes. I'm not sure if I wasn't able to find the same quantity of mistakes in the other books because they weren't present or because I wasn't able to recognize them. It was alright for making sure you know how to work problems though, particularly for physics. For making sure you know concepts, it's pretty meh.

4) The combination of books is perfect. TBR is just amazing, and EK Bio is quite good too.

5) Despite having TPR verbal workbook and EK verbal workbook, I slacked and only made it through about half the EK book. I feel I'm decent in it though, and figured the extra practice through the AAMC's would be enough (so far 10/10/11).

6) Have yet to do the hat trick because I started to feel myself burning out and preferentially took that out over reviewing the practice tests or passages. Gonna give it a go once I get into the single-chapter days, and I'll let you know then.

7) Anything else to input on?

[SN2ed]

That's not a bad idea on the buffer days. I think I'll add that as well.

I'm glad the schedule was manageable for you. Still, as you mention, this schedule would NOT be manageable with a full time job.

I think I'll stick with the EK 1001 series since I have seen it help out people that aren't solid with the basics. Furthermore, too many people think they have a strong grasp on the basics, when they don't. Though, if you're poor, that would be the first thing I'd cut (not including EK 1001 Bio or EK 101 Verbal).

Keep me updated on how this schedule works for you.

[BennieBlanco]

I wonder if there is any benefit in re-doing verbal passages as it relates to this prep plan?

If you have done say 150, then you cycle back would it be beneficial?

Also in terms of using practice material more than once, would it be better to:

1. Going over AAMC a 2nd time
2. Go over new materials that may be second-rate for the first time

For example, lets say I want to take 10 practice exams. Do I redo a few of the AAMCs or go buy a Kaplan or EK FL?

[SN2ed]

You should never retake practice problems for the same reasons you should never retake FLs (my detailed explanation is in the fourth post). You must get new practice material and new practice tests. BR and GS offer the best easily available practice tests.

[Excelsius]

This is a great thread.

I was also thinking on a schedule variation: let's say you have more than a year before you have to take the MCAT, why not do all the studying starting a year before the test? It doesn't have to be intense - perhaps an hour per day. Then, once you're 1-3 months away from the test, you really start going intensely over the material, but this time it will just be review and reconsolidation. The AAMC tests should be saved until the intense preparation, but other FLs can be used during the "no pressure" study. There is also Audio Osmosis + flash card/supermemo.

A note: if you don't have great verbal skills, you should start working on the verbal as soon as possible, perhaps even years before your MCAT test. It just takes a while to build those skills and learn all the vocab words. Try reading The New Yorker and books like Grammar Smart and Word Smart. In general, any book your read is going to increase your VR ability, but this is especially true about great works of art such as philosophical works, novels like Atlas Shrugged, psychology books, etc. This will make the VR section second nature and you won't necessarily have as much to learn from MCAT verbal preps.

[capn jazz]

You'll forget everything. Literally everything. I read through Gen Chem and Physics and OChem the summer before I started studying in April, and reading it in April I had NO recollection of anything. Don't waste your time. The yield is miniscule.

[ncguy2005]

Originally Posted by capn jazz

You'll forget everything. Literally everything. I read through Gen Chem and Physics and OChem the summer before I started studying in April, and reading it in April I had NO recollection of anything. Don't waste your time. The yield is miniscule.

Yea, I agree. I only have slivers of what I learned from the July 2008 MCAT still in my head. I am planning on a retake in April and I know that Jan-Apr is going to be a fresh start, just like the first time a year ago...