MCAT and non trads

[Chimichica]

Hello everyone, I just wanted to know for those of you who are non trad that havent been in any sort of school or taking any classes in the last 2 years, how do you find it studying for the mcat . Anyway I just wanted to get a feel for how you all are doing in your studying endeavours

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[68PGunner]

I find br to be helpful. The other review materials don't do it for me.

 

[Chimichica]

1.

 

[Doug Underhill]

I'm a non-trad who successfully took the MCAT in 2014 for a very high score. I used EK and TBR to study, followed by the AAMC full-length practice exams. The Biological Sciences section covered material I use every day, so I had a substantial advantage. My advice:

-Doing practice questions is much more helpful than doing content review.
-Take your practice exams under the same conditions as your actual MCAT. Same day of the week, same time of the day, same format (CBT). Don't eat or drink anything during the exam, you can't do it for the real test.
-Study the material you're weak on and get beat down by it. Don't just practice the stuff you can ace for an ego-boost: ask yourself what your weak points are and do questions on it until they're no longer weak points.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Unfortunately, the students who are taking the 2015 MCAT don't have official practice exams like the old MCAT, as far as I know. This is very sad: the AAMC full-length practice exams were very similar to the real thing, and the practice exams offered by companies like Kaplan were garbage.

 

[ridethecliche]

The MCAT is different now. The old materials won't help. If you've had issues in the past I would wait till better and more tested materials are available. Your odds are already not great given 3 tests...

 

[Goro]

SDNers seem to have a liking for Examkrackers.

Hello everyone, I just wanted to know for those of you who are non trad that havent been in any sort of school or taking any classes in the last 2 years, how do you find it studying for the MCAT? I have truly given it a good try once ( the other times I was not prepared), however I still did not score well. But I have not been in school since dec 2010. Anyway I just wanted to get a feel for how you all are doing in your studying endeavours

 

[wholeheartedly]

I've been out of the pre reqs for more than a decade, although I work in a science/ healthcare field. I've forgotten a ton.

Don't know how successful I'll be but my plan in addition to taking my time to master the material is to supplement my weak areas with free online resources by folks like khan academy and taking evey practice question and test I can get my hands on.

 

[chooks]

They key is discipline -- you need to basically be doing something every day. Focus on your weak areas and like the posters stated above, get a handle on practice taking tests under the same conditions as you will in real life. Make sure that you develop good test taking skills as well -- this will serve you probably the best if you embark on a medical career (e.g. developing strategies to maximize your chances of getting the question right, even if you don't know the answer).

I did Kaplan online (this was back in 2005, so not sure if there is something better) which fit my schedule. I "followed" the same schedule as the in-person classes in terms of content and what to study each week, when to take the practice tests, etc... This kept me on track and helped me not to procrastinate. Working a full time job and taking pre-reqs you can hammer out at least one to three hours a day during the week and then get a bunch done on weekend (without killing the entire weekend -- morning workouts and evenings were still good to go!). The key though is to stay focused for the long haul, don't get discouraged, and keep working. Believe me, med school and residency are not any easier, and if you progress, you will look fondly back on being able to set your own schedule and having the luxury of both weekend nights off.

- chooks

 

[jamcat]

I really like The Princeton Review books. I hadn't taken all of the pre-reqs when I took my MCAT; others were nearly a decade old. I feel as though TPR does really well with teaching you the material, rather than just reviewing it.

I focused on understanding every concept. MCAT writers are not trying to trick you; they are testing how well you can understand and apply the concepts. I found success not by doing practice problems (although I did take all of the AAMC practice exams) but by making sure my content foundation was rock solid so I could handle whatever they threw at me.

Since I was working full-time, taking classes, only studying for a short time, and hadn't taken all the pre-reqs yet, time management was really important to me. What I found helped me (a suggestion on SDN actually!) was actually timing myself and stopping the timer whenever I was not working on the MCAT. If I wanted to do a quick email or Facebook check in the middle of studying, fine, but my timer stopped for that. So when I set out to do 2 hours of studying, I actually got in two hours of studying, and I think that was important in keeping me honest! If you're running into that same problem as a non-trad, perhaps the timer suggestion will help.

Good luck!

 

[ChodeNode]

They key is discipline -- you need to basically be doing something every day. Focus on your weak areas and like the posters stated above, get a handle on practice taking tests under the same conditions as you will in real life. Make sure that you develop good test taking skills as well -- this will serve you probably the best if you embark on a medical career (e.g. developing strategies to maximize your chances of getting the question right, even if you don't know the answer).

This, pretty much, but adding that discipline must work in conjunction with a plan/schedule to stick to. The SN2ed schedule that was on here was great for the old format. While the test is now different, the concepts behind the approach are still valid:

• Map out the content.
• Create a schedule according that content.
• Give yourself a break day every week and only a handful of flex-days.
• Do your reading.
• Do your practice problems.
• Explain to yourself why you got the problems right.
• Document your mistakes and the reasons you made those mistakes.
• Review your documentation from the prior point the next day.
• Take whatever practice exams you can.
• Review said exams the way you did practice problems.
• Review your results for readiness and accept that miracles don't happen on test day.

Stick to your plan. If you can't maintain discipline and adhere to your plan then either 1) life circumstances aren't calm enough for you yet, 2) you don't want it bad enough, or 3) you just aren't competent enough. The vast majority aren't #3. I would argue the vast majority aren't even #1. My experience talking to others is that they are actually #2, but lying to and convincing themselves they're #1 (or sometimes #3).

 

[wagonwheel23]

I have been out of grad school (hard science discipline) for about 2.5 years and am currently studying for the MCAT. I have given myself about 14 weeks to study. I reached this number by taking the ExamKrackers recommended study time (10 weeks) and tacking on time to account for the time I've been out of school.

Follow ChodeNode's advice. It's incredibly accurate. Additionally, I incentivize my studying. For example, if I get through Lectures A, B, and C, then I can go on a sunset hike that evening. It works quite well.

I have also found ExamKrackers audio osmosis to be very helpful. My commute is quite long, so I get in a lot more studying than I would without it. I also find that learning the material in different formats helps solidify it.

Also, be sure to take time for yourself. Don't skimp on exercise and be sure to eat well and try some mindfulness meditation. You want to treat your body well in many ways, because it isn't just the amount of studying that you do that will prepare you to succeed on game day.

Best of luck! Oh and, perhaps most importantly, have confidence. If you speak negatively to yourself about your abilities, you will fail. Instead, tell yourself you will kick the MCAT's ass!

 

[nontradmom]

I'm currently using the Examkrackers 2015 Live Course with their new edition books. I love it. I get it. I read the content, make a few summary notes for factoid material. But, I'm focusing on questions and more questions and the what, the who and the when of my answers. Really focusing on stems and pieces; strategy and technique that transcends all of the test domains. I did Kaplan On Demand last year. I hated it. I really think I was still struggling for content and this was a part of my reaction to the course. I ditched Kaplan in April and switched to EK 7th Edition books and independent study. I lost prime study time for a May MCAT 2014. I had two MCAT test dates last year and canceled them. I just was not there yet. It is another story this time around. I am very, very non trad, but I have a graduate degree. I decided three years ago that I needed to "do over" general biology and general chemistry, micro and genetics - 24 hours of do over when I had a 4.0 in those courses. Those courses were old and very old. I've taken every cell and molecular biology course my local university offers plus physics, biochemistry, organic and parasitology. I have research hours, research talks, research posters and I will be a first author (hopefully) on a paper submitted this summer. I have many hours of shadowing and relevant volunteer work in medicine venues. I did not begin at this point of thought. I was very much thinking 4 biology, 4 chemistry and 2 physics and apply. I saw very quickly that as a non trad, I needed to look just like those competitive straight through matriculants. So, here I am. Reading and answering EK and practice test questions over spring break. My day for MCAT 2015 is April 18th. It is the only variable I can impact at this point. The non-trad status is really not a fear for me. I know I will succeed. I need to convince any and all admissions committee people that I offer zero risk of non matriculation in medical school and zero risk of not passing Step 1 and Step 2. Good luck to everyone. I am convinced all of this is more than worth it. The best is really yet to be.

 

[Darth Doc]

I've been out of the pre reqs for more than a decade, although I work in a science/ healthcare field. I've forgotten a ton.

Don't know how successful I'll be but my plan in addition to taking my time to master the material is to supplement my weak areas with free online resources by folks like khan academy and taking evey practice question and test I can get my hands on.

Like you, I worked in healthcare and was more than a decade out from my last college course (this will get you automatically ignored by multiple medical schools but there are some that will give you more than a passing glance). I didn't know about SDN until it was too late so I didn't know any proven formulas. I studied examkrackers for 8 weeks straight every night after work, ignored my kids, did minimal laundry and no cleaning. I purchased every practice test from AAMC. I had a couple other inexpensive sources with practice questions (old Kaplan etc.). I got a passable score, enough to get me into a MD school that isn't top 30. I also didn't apply widely to schools due to location limitations, but I got an acceptance. I'm doing fine in school, so not having recent college courses doesn't make this impossible.