Do I have enough time to study?

[imtriene]

Hello guys, I'm looking to take the MCAT in late January 2020. While I'd prefer to take the test on this date, I'm not entirely sure if it will be feasible given my schedule and I could instead take it during the summer of 2020.

Here's some background info:
- I'm currently at the start of my junior year
- I am a full time student
- I am also committing about 20 hours a week in a research lab
- I probably have 20-30 hours a week to study if I manage my time well during the semester and a month of unlimited studying for winter break
- I have a decent background in the subjects covered on the MCAT (Done well in the pre-req classes) aside from biochemistry which I am taking this semester

I'm shooting for a 515+, but hoping for a 520+ (Like everyone else lmao). I have enough money saved up and am committed enough to purchase pretty much any study material that I would need to do well on the MCAT. I have the kaplan set right now, but it seems like a lot of people are using TBR on this forum.

So here's my question: Do you think I can realistically perform well on the MCAT studying 20-30 hours a week until the testing date in January 2020 or should I look to push back my testing date until summer of 2020? (I would prefer if this wasn't the case since I'd like enough breathing room for a retake if everything goes horribly wrong). Additionally, I would truly appreciate any studying material recommendations as well as study schedules that worked for people in situations similar to mine.

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[imtriene]

Are there any diagnostics that you would recommend that I take right now?

 

[MyOdyssey]

Are there any diagnostics that you would recommend that I take right now?

Try Next Step’s free diagnostic.

 

[MyOdyssey]

Hello guys, I'm looking to take the MCAT in late January 2020. While I'd prefer to take the test on this date, I'm not entirely sure if it will be feasible given my schedule and I could instead take it during the summer of 2020.

Here's some background info:
- I'm currently at the start of my junior year
- I am a full time student
- I am also committing about 20 hours a week in a research lab
- I probably have 20-30 hours a week to study if I manage my time well during the semester and a month of unlimited studying for winter break
- I have a decent background in the subjects covered on the MCAT (Done well in the pre-req classes) aside from biochemistry which I am taking this semester

I'm shooting for a 515+, but hoping for a 520+ (Like everyone else lmao). I have enough money saved up and am committed enough to purchase pretty much any study material that I would need to do well on the MCAT. I have the kaplan set right now, but it seems like a lot of people are using TBR on this forum.

So here's my question: Do you think I can realistically perform well on the MCAT studying 20-30 hours a week until the testing date in January 2020 or should I look to push back my testing date until summer of 2020? (I would prefer if this wasn't the case since I'd like enough breathing room for a retake if everything goes horribly wrong). Additionally, I would truly appreciate any studying material recommendations as well as study schedules that worked for people in situations similar to mine.

Most people who reported very high scores 519 or more on SDN spread out their studying over many months.

Get a copy of the Khan Academy 300 page outline for P/S. This is an outline of all the Khan Academy videos.

TBR is very good for C/P and B/B.

I liked Testing Solutions and Khan Academy for CARS.

 

[deleted936470]

Most people who reported very high scores 519 or more on SDN spread out their studying over many months.

Get a copy of the Khan Academy 300 page outline for P/S. This is an outline of all the Khan Academy videos.

TBR is very good for C/P and B/B.

I liked Testing Solutions and Khan Academy for CARS.

Agree with this 100%

 

[Dochopeful13]

Most people who reported very high scores 519 or more on SDN spread out their studying over many months.

Get a copy of the Khan Academy 300 page outline for P/S. This is an outline of all the Khan Academy videos.

TBR is very good for C/P and B/B.

I liked Testing Solutions and Khan Academy for CARS.

Would you say testing solutions was similar to AAMC cars??

 

[MyOdyssey]

Would you say testing solutions was similar to AAMC cars??

It was reasonably similar. Their suggested strategies were helpful as well as their insights about which third party CARS practice materials were high quality and which were not.

You can read about their approach here and/or take their CARS bootcamp:

https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/testing-solutions-30-day-guide-to-mcat-cars-success.1131850/

I took their CARS boot camp and found it helpful.

 

[imtriene]

So I ended up taking the NextStep diagnostic and got a score of 503. I guess this means that I don't remember that material as well as I had hoped. I noticed that its moreso getting information from the passages rather than problem solving (Think I had like 1 physics problem that required an equation) and I was wondering if this is similar to that of the regular MCAT. Additionally, what are the steps that I should take now? Go hard on content review and hope I can make it for the january 2020 MCAT or space my studying out for the summer MCAT?

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

Most people who reported very high scores 519 or more on SDN spread out their studying over many months.

Get a copy of the Khan Academy 300 page outline for P/S. This is an outline of all the Khan Academy videos.

TBR is very good for C/P and B/B.

I liked Testing Solutions and Khan Academy for CARS.

This is great advice. I also did TPR for P/S and found it very helpful. I wish I would have used Testing Solutions or Jack Westin for CARS.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

I was actually in the exact same situation as you, and was able to score in your desired range. If you do study 20-30 hours a week from now until January, there's no doubt you'll be able to score a 515+. It's always hard to guarantee if somebody can get a 520+, but you seem to have the mentality for it. I personally didn't even begin studying until the beginning of my winter break but I had a very strong foundation in the science classes covered so I only spend about 2 weeks going over content. For the 6.5 weeks I had to study, I was probably studying about 10 hours a day and in the last 3 weeks, I was probably taking a practice test every 3-4 days.

You have much more time than I did, so you should try to spend your semester going through all the content and make sure you have a very strong foundation. Once you feel comfortable with the content (I would recommend Khan Academy 300 pg P/S, EK + Kaplan review books), begin to do practice material. By winter break, you should be doing practice every day and reviewing your mistakes. Towards the last few weeks of your studying, take the AAMC practice tests and that will let you decide if you should push your test back or not.

Good luck! You have a very realistic plan and as long as you're able to stick with it without burning out, you should have no problem killing your MCAT!

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors