MCAT - To Take or Not to Take - Need Advice!

[EyeoftheTiger14]

Hey,

So I had originally intended on writing the MCAT this Summer, 2015, I was aiming for August 22nd date, and I was hoping to start studying end of May.

However, things didn't go according to plan. First two weeks of May I couldn't study, end of May I as deliberating too much HOW I would study (I cancelled a prep course a couple days before it began and bought a bunch of books, returned some, was too neurotic about it), June I had bought a bunch of stuff and was ready to study but I was unable to focus on studying and was too busy with work and trying to find some ECs for the summer (wasted time). So, its been pretty frustrating, Ive only done a few chapters of self study with EK books... I re-scheduled my test date to Sept 11th, but I;'m thinking about calling it quits for this summer...

Im a Canadian student btw.So I need advice, on whether or not I should take this Sept 11th MCAT date or if I should just drop studying this summer and focus on other application aspects like ECs, and then next summer I come in more prepared and give studying a good 3-3.5 months. My Concerns are:

1) Is 1.5 months enough time to give the MCAT on Sept 11th a good go?
2) Even if its not enough, will it still be worth my time to study and do the test, so that, even if I don't get the score I want, it will still be a great experience?
3) If I write next summer, I would write Late July, early August....Would this leave enough time for applications? From what I heard, absolutely yes.
4) Would it be possible for me to do this: Study as much as I can for the rest of the summer, hopefully get through content review and some practice tests, AND then study during my WINTER break, and Write the exam in EARLY January?
5) Another thing Im considering doing is just Studying for the MCAT and getting through MCAT review, and maybe not even writing the MCAT itself, just studying and taking notes that I can use for next summer...

Any advice/help/input would be very much appreciated! If anyone has had similar prior experience please let me know what you did.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

1) Is 1.5 months enough time to give the MCAT on Sept 11th a good go?

Not at all. There is so much material to review, especially with the volume of psychology jargon you need to know now, that you probably need at least two months to thoroughly absorb it all. But more important than absorbing information is practice. You need to apply the information to passages, review the passages, re-review some material, and then do more passages. This all takes time. If you can commit 10 to 12 hours every day for 1.5 months, then you might be able to cover the material, but you need some downtime to let stuff sink in and stew a little.

2) Even if its not enough, will it still be worth my time to study and do the test, so that, even if I don't get the score I want, it will still be a great experience?

Are you willing to pay $300 for a practice exam? Keep in mind that if you have it scored, it will be on your record.

3) If I write next summer, I would write Late July, early August....Would this leave enough time for applications? From what I heard, absolutely yes.

As far as American school are concerned, it would be best to apply early (before your MCAT), so that you don't fall too far behind. As far as Canadian schools go, you should ask friends at those schools, because they'll have a better answer. If you've heard yes from people with expertise on the Canadian application system, then you should use that information more than anything at SDN.

4) Would it be possible for me to do this: Study as much as I can for the rest of the summer, hopefully get through content review and some practice tests, AND then study during my WINTER break, and Write the exam in EARLY January?

YES!!! That is exactly what you should do. You have 1.5 months now to master the material. The next four months can be used to practice and organize.

5) Another thing Im considering doing is just Studying for the MCAT and getting through MCAT review, and maybe not even writing the MCAT itself, just studying and taking notes that I can use for next summer...

It's hard to be intense without an actual date staring you down. Studying a year in advance sounds great in theory, but rarely does it work as the person had originally planned. If you do this, then spend your time making east-to-process outlines while saving passages and questions for next year.

 

[EyeoftheTiger14]

Thanks alot for your help! It gave me some great perspective. I have some follow up questions

"Are you willing to pay $300 for a practice exam? Keep in mind that if you have it scored, it will be on your record."

- Yes, it will be on my record, but lets say I dont get a score im satisfied with, If I re-do it, and get a better SCORE which is satisfactory adn competitive, than that first weak score wont look bad at all, correct? And overall it would be a great learning experience

"YES!!! That is exactly what you should do. You have 1.5 months now to master the material. The next four months can be used to practice and organize."

- I'm in school from Sept -December, first semester of my third year (junior year I believe Americans refer to it as), do you think it would be manageable for me to do a few MCAT practice tests and study for MCAT mixed in with my school work? Im also gona be working a part-time research job about ~10 hours a week (do you think I should give that up in order to havemroe time to study?) What I had thought about doing was studying for the MCAT now, then not studying for it during the school year, and then come winter break, I review and then do practice tests for two weeks and write early janurary (this would be a cumulative studying (summer and winter break) of 8 weeks.

 

[bearintraining]

Hey,

So I had originally intended on writing the MCAT this Summer, 2015, I was aiming for August 22nd date, and I was hoping to start studying end of May.

However, things didn't go according to plan. First two weeks of May I couldn't study, end of May I as deliberating too much HOW I would study (I cancelled a prep course a couple days before it began and bought a bunch of books, returned some, was too neurotic about it), June I had bought a bunch of stuff and was ready to study but I was unable to focus on studying and was too busy with work and trying to find some ECs for the summer (wasted time). So, its been pretty frustrating, Ive only done a few chapters of self study with EK books... I re-scheduled my test date to Sept 11th, but I;'m thinking about calling it quits for this summer...

Im a Canadian student btw.So I need advice, on whether or not I should take this Sept 11th MCAT date or if I should just drop studying this summer and focus on other application aspects like ECs, and then next summer I come in more prepared and give studying a good 3-3.5 months. My Concerns are:

1) Is 1.5 months enough time to give the MCAT on Sept 11th a good go?
2) Even if its not enough, will it still be worth my time to study and do the test, so that, even if I don't get the score I want, it will still be a great experience?
3) If I write next summer, I would write Late July, early August....Would this leave enough time for applications? From what I heard, absolutely yes.
4) Would it be possible for me to do this: Study as much as I can for the rest of the summer, hopefully get through content review and some practice tests, AND then study during my WINTER break, and Write the exam in EARLY January?
5) Another thing Im considering doing is just Studying for the MCAT and getting through MCAT review, and maybe not even writing the MCAT itself, just studying and taking notes that I can use for next summer...

Any advice/help/input would be very much appreciated! If anyone has had similar prior experience please let me know what you did.

1) Probably not. If you have never written it before, and you don't know the material well, then it's probably not worth it. Also, September 11 is likely too late for any Canadian schools, so you may as well push it to Sept 22nd if you were going to write it this year.

2) If you want to get an idea of what the new exam is like, then yes, go ahead and VOID no matter what. That said, please know that exams can be VASTLY different (trust me, I voided June on purpose and found the July exam much harder)

3) For most Canadian schools you can write into August. For American schools I'd write as soon as you can and are ready.

4) I don't like this idea because I honestly think you'll forget most of what you've learned. Have a solid goal with plenty of time, but do not stretch it out over more than 3 months in my opinion.

5) See above.