*Official MCAT 2017 Thread*

[leelee12]

This thread is for anyone that is looking to write the MCAT in 2017. Have a question, post it here.

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[Bottle]

No, many have 2 or 3 passages, which is the most practice you will get along with a book that covers content review - BR's psych book has 1-3 sections as well, and they mostly suck. Moreover most of their text looks like repeated content from the biology books.

Kaplan has no passages. Zero.

Khan academy has free passages from memory, but I've not looked into them.

Are we talking about the same book? I just checked my Psychology/Sociology TPR and they only have ONE passage per chapter. They offer "drill questions" which are 5-7 free standing questions followed by ONE passage. Can you please check your book edition?

 

[DexterMorganSK]

The new BR books are great overall. For Psy/Soc, I would stick to FLs, KA and AAMC materials.

 

[geronimo11]

What do you recommend for Practice? TPR only offer 1 passage per chapter.

Why is TPR better than Kaplan for psych? I have also heard they don't have many passages for practice.

Retaker, here P/S is usually my best section and I have both the TPR and Kaplan psych books and they're pretty comparable imo, I think I may like TPR more organization wise, I liked some of their graphics and tables more. I have the 2015 editions, not sure how the new ones are but both Kaplan and TPR were missing information. I recommend you pull up the AAMC psych outline and make sure you have everything down, I often see new things on tests that I haven't seen pop up in my books so keep notes.

As for practice Khan Academy is THE BEST, hands down. yeah their format is completely off and its hard to time multiple passages but they are the best practice I found and I wish I had found them sooner. They're very experimental based and I found them extremely representative to what I encountered on the real deal. I just timed myself per passage. There B/BC is good as well. Haven't tried their C/P but I've heard its overly detailed.

Also I liked this site for notes as well
https://www.medschooltutors.com/mcat2015-expanded-psych-soc-outline

So I'm seeking feedback on my materials. after further research and after reading the opinions on this thread, I think I'm actually going to do the following:

AAMC tests, section bank, Q bank, and hopefully 6 other FLs from somewhere (not sure who would be best)??

Definitely EK exams, they're hard but they're the best. I did a lot of Kaplan and TPR exams and then finally did an EK and wished I had time to do more of them. I heard NextStep is best after EK. I liked Kaplan's Psych section and TPR's CARS sections, but they weren't very representative.

 

[geronimo11]

Also, where to get CARS strategy? Does the hyperlearning include this or is this even necessary if I just do plenty of practice and develop my own method?


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There's the Kaplan mapping method, which was too extensive for me but I'm sure you could find it online. I hear good things about the EK method, but I didn't use those books so I can't speak from experience. Honestly, I think it's best to definitely check out methods but to do passages and see what works for you naturally. The things I've found that help me most is
- looking for at certain words and grammar, i.e. semicolons, words like but, therefore, furthermore etc
- assessing the language, look at the adjectives they use and such do they convey neutrality, complete adoration, opposition or do they read like a textbook (i.e. education purposes), this helps with finding the authors tone and who the audience might be and thus purpose
- when I would read a paragraph I'd in my head be like, okay this provides context, this next paragraph states the authors position, this one provides evidence, this one transitions into opposing views or a new argument etc.
- Highlighting dates and names, there's always questions that ask you to refer back to these type of things, you'll get a feel for it once you start doing more passages and highlighting them makes it so much easier to reference than searching through the passage.

 

[chiderachin]

I was studying to take the January 28 date and then realized that my state isn't administering any tests in January at all... Either that or I dropped the ball despite registration opening a week ago. Guess I'm taking the test in March in a neighboring state /:


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[ICUBlue]

There's the Kaplan mapping method, which was too extensive for me but I'm sure you could find it online. I hear good things about the EK method, but I didn't use those books so I can't speak from experience. Honestly, I think it's best to definitely check out methods but to do passages and see what works for you naturally. The things I've found that help me most is
- looking for at certain words and grammar, i.e. semicolons, words like but, therefore, furthermore etc
- assessing the language, look at the adjectives they use and such do they convey neutrality, complete adoration, opposition or do they read like a textbook (i.e. education purposes), this helps with finding the authors tone and who the audience might be and thus purpose
- when I would read a paragraph I'd in my head be like, okay this provides context, this next paragraph states the authors position, this one provides evidence, this one transitions into opposing views or a new argument etc.
- Highlighting dates and names, there's always questions that ask you to refer back to these type of things, you'll get a feel for it once you start doing more passages and highlighting them makes it so much easier to reference than searching through the passage.

Thank you for your reply, that's very helpful. I think I will look at the EK CARS I will get w that set and start going through passages and as you said see what works best for me.


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[GrayArea]

Anyone registered to take the exam in March?

My original plan was to test in Jan, but my state filled up within hours.

Do you guys think it is a good idea to study as if I am going to test in Jan and recheck for seats? Or should I just settle with my registration date in March and change up my plan a little but so I do not burn through the material too quickly?

 

[chiderachin]

Ah, I'm in the same boat! I'm thinking about just settling on the March date because there is no guarantee that a January date will open.


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[GrayArea]

Ah, I'm in the same boat! I'm thinking about just settling on the March date because there is no guarantee that a January date will open.


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Exactly my thought. Completely sucks though... So now it is 5 months instead of 3 until test date. Not sure on how much I should study each day now.

I do not want to stop studying but I also do not want to run through all the material.

 

[chiderachin]

Exactly my thought. Completely sucks though... So now it is 5 months instead of 3 until test date. Not sure on how much I should study each day now.

I do not want to stop studying but I also do not want to run through all the material.

Exactly... I think for now I'm going to go pretty slow with content and FL's, but keep working on verbal passages.


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[geronimo11]

Anyone registered to take the exam in March?

My original plan was to test in Jan, but my state filled up within hours.

Do you guys think it is a good idea to study as if I am going to test in Jan and recheck for seats? Or should I just settle with my registration date in March and change up my plan a little but so I do not burn through the material too quickly?

Ah, I'm in the same boat! I'm thinking about just settling on the March date because there is no guarantee that a January date will open.


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Sign up for March, but study for Jan, you'll most likely be able to get a seat, people drop and reschedule all the time. Look around the deadline date for rescheduling/canceling and around 2-3 weeks before the exam. I found my seat in Sept like 2 weeks before, just had to keep frequently checking the site.

 

[geronimo11]

Looks like the second official AAMC practice exam is available now guys btw

 

[irishRN2doc]

According to AAMC site, they will be revising the complete bundle in the next few weeks. This is clutch!

 

[irishRN2doc]

Just in case anyone didn't know, the new AAMC bundle that includes the second practice exam is now available.

 

[WizzyWatkins]

Did anyone use Varsity Tutors' online free resources, and if so how good were they and would you recommend spending time on them?

 

[KevinMD5552]

Did anyone use Varsity Tutors' online free resources, and if so how good were they and would you recommend spending time on them?

Hey, I totally recommend them, I used them a year ago when I did it, it was tremendously helpful. But what subjects is the question, I only thought they were useful for their independent questions, so I recommend doing the tests on bio with passage-independent questions.

 

[WizzyWatkins]

.

 

[Nicole Kidd]

Hi,


If you have the time which study schedule leads to a better score? Longer (1 year plus) or shorter more rigorous study schedules (3 months or so)

Any feedback is welcomed.

Don't do a year, cuz in the back of your mind you'll still have the thought: Oh it's still early. Better just kick it start 3 month before the test and push yourself with moderate stress.

 

[chiderachin]

Hey! I'm taking the exam June 16, 2017. I have a quick question. Does anyone have access to the Online Official Guide with AAMC? I do, and I'm struggling with the second passage over transmission of genetic information from gene to protein. Not really my strong suit. Anyone care to help me out? Thanks.

 

[fourandtwo]

Hey! I'm taking the exam June 16, 2017. I have a quick question. Does anyone have access to the Online Official Guide with AAMC? I do, and I'm struggling with the second passage over transmission of genetic information from gene to protein. Not really my strong suit. Anyone care to help me out? Thanks.

Try taking a screen shot and posting it here


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[ariri]

I agree with the above, I wouldn't do more than a few months of hardcore studying.