Do you think it's a good study plan?

[ThatNerdyKid]

Currently, I work a full time job training to be an IONM Tech (which also helps me review some of the information needed for the MCAT). I'm scheduled to take my first MCAT October 25th which gives me a total of 65 days to study. I'm registered for the Princeton Review self-paced course to help me prepare. To spend my time wisely, I've taken the AAMC diagnostic exams in order to rank the topics that need the most work. I've also mapped the topics on the diagnostic exam to topics in the books I received with the class. I plan to study for the exam as follows:

-Take an AAMC practice exam to judge how well I am doing now.
-Work through the book chapters for each topic, one per day for the subjects that I've done the worst, multiple per day for the subjects that I performed much better. (This will take up a total of 23 days to review the 34 chapters).
-GO back through the worst topics a second time or third time to help solidify that knowledge (A total of 18 days).
-(Verbal Reasoning passages will also be completed daily, no matter the topic)
-Complete a second set of diagnostic tests, this time the Princeton review set (4 days)
-Re-rank topics and use online and book help for clarification/practice for remaining 20 days, leaving 3 days out for practice exams, 1 day out for recovery before the test, and also leaving 3 days to fit into the schedule in case there is an emergency.

Currently, I'm putting in roughly 2.5-3.5 hours a night studying the topics. As I get into the middle of September, I anticipate spending 4-6 hours a night studying.

Is this a solid study plan? What should be changed? The diagnostic exams told me I'm sitting at an average of 6% below the average MCAT score for those who have taken the exam. I would really like a 30-32.

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[ThatNerdyKid]

shameless self bump

 

[ConfusedChemist]

It may be reasonable, but it's hard to say without knowing where you are starting from (ie if you're starting from high twenties it should be fine, but I would be a bit more worried if your diagnostic score was in the low twenties). I would also recommend, from my experience, that you start doing full-length practice tests on all of the weekends after you've done a couple weeks of review. This will give you a better idea of what to study, and at least get you familiar with the format

 

[ThatNerdyKid]

it sounds reasonable to do a practice exam every weekend. I'm going to take one this weekend(maybe one of the AAMC 9-11 exams). Assuming I scored in the low 20s on my first practice exam, what would you(or anyone) suggest I adjust to better prepare? I would love to avoid rescheduling as I've already pushed the exam back already.
it definitely i

 

[ConfusedChemist]

Given that you only have 2 months and want to improve your score significantly, I'm guessing you are weak with at least some of the content and not just unfamiliar with the weirdness of the MCAT question style. If PS was a lower section, I would start with a review of the material then start doing non-practice test practice questions (ie just end of chapter from your review books, focusing on doing the calculations and learning to do them quickly). Also if you're struggling with time practice your mental math skills-this will give you more time to think about the problems! I am by no means an expert in this stuff, but trying to go from low twenties to thirties in 2 months will take a substantial amount of time and effort, especially if you are working full time too

 

[ThatNerdyKid]

that seems logical. My scores were down significantly in only a few areas on the diagnostic exams. The rest were hovering around average to a little below average. Assuming I take one of the practice exams and score around a 28-29, do you think my original plan will be sufficient to raise my score to 31-32?

 

[DoctorInASaree]

Two to three hours per day won't cut it. In addition to that, your diagnostic scores are irrelevant - you must immerse yourself in content review now. You need to be putting in at least six to eight hour days, and covering two to three chapters a day. Recognize that reviewing content, and making notes is only part of your study day. You must be solving passages and reviewing them, and that takes a lot of time.

You have approximately two months before your MCAT, and you need to finish content review ASAP, so you can begin taking FLs - which is the most important part of studying for the MCAT. All the best!

 

[ThatNerdyKid]

Thanks for the input. It's going to be challenging putting in 6 to 8 hours a day and work full time in the OR but that is something I guess I'll just have to tough it out and do it. I need to get a full length practice test in so I truly have an idea where I stand in terms of my knowledge.

 

[ThatNerdyKid]

also, what are FLs? Full length tests?

 

[ConfusedChemist]

FL=full length tests. The best way to estimate mcat scores is doing the full aamc tests under test conditions, so ten minute breaks!
I know how hard it is to find time around work-I'm putting myself through university and I was working 50+hours a week this summer while I studied for the MCAT. I did have three months, and I still studied at least 3 hours on weeknights and 10 hours per day on the weekends. It's certainly possible, I was getting up at 5:30am to study for an hour before work but if you take advantage of lunch breaks, etc, fitting in 4 hours is possible!

 

[ThatNerdyKid]

How did you use your time? I.e. Did you review the book materials, or did you spend more time doing practice problems. Currently, I'm spending about 1.5-2 hours (or longer based on chapter length/my understanding of the material) reviewing the materials and doing in-book questions, .5 hours doing the end of chapter passages, and another .5 hours doing a few Verbal Reasoning passages.

 

[ConfusedChemist]

Honestly how to use your time really needs to be an individual thing-what I needed to focus on was probably a lot different than you because of different strengths, different degree programs, etc. What you have there looks like it could be a solid plan,in general I went through chapters in my books and then did the end of chapter questions all once. After that I found more prep books and did more questions with my weaker topics/studied those topics more

 

[ThatNerdyKid]

I'll probably stick to the study plan I outlined above but make two adjustments. First, I'm going to study more each night (thanks Doctorinasense) and second, I'm going to add FLs every Sunday until the exam. That way I'm getting weekly feedback on how I'm doing overall in a simulated test environment. Thanks ConfusedChemist! Does anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[ThatNerdyKid]

Update: I just took the AAMC Practice exam 9 and scored 10PS, 11VR, BS11, giving me a 32. Obviously I need more data to know if this is what I could expect to score which I will only get over the next few weeks, but I think it's a good sign that I'm doing well before reviewing the material heavily, at least on this first practice test.