Please help! TPR? TBR? EK1001? All 3?

[Linoleic Acid]

I'm having a little trouble finding a way to combine different prep materials, and would really appreciate some insight, especially because I have no idea how long doing certain passages might really take me.

I currently have access to all TPR materials, and am going to purchase TBR (bio/gen chem/o-chem/physics) and EK 101. My plan is to do content review and the workbook with TPR, as well as passages from TBR (and EK101). I also wanted to purchase all the EK1001 books for extra practice, so that each day I'd do a chapter of TPR for content, TPR questions, TBR questions, and EK1001 questions for the specific TPR section I learned... This sounds like a lot just typing it out, and I have no idea how feasible this is.

I probably sound completely oblivious, but I really don't know what to expect in terms of how long practicing questions from 3 different companies (albeit only specific sections a day) would take or if it's even possible. I don't really have that much else going on and have about 4 months to study.

Could someone please let me know how feasible this might be, or if I should just stick to TPR and TBR without EK1001?

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[MCAT-MVP]

If you are going to purchase the EK 1001 books I would recommend only using them for topics you are weak in. I am pretty sure that is what an EK representative will also tell you. I would definitely not try to do all of the questions in all of the 1001 books because it probably would not help your MCAT score that much since the MCAT is a passage based test.

I would also not spend too much time doing the 1001 physics questions because physics is only about 6% of the exam. We have an interactive tool that breaks down the percent and number of questions on our website in the "About MCAT" tab. I will provide the link here: www.mcat-mvp.com

I would recommend you do the questions at the end of each chapter (of which ever MCAT book you use) and then every week do one practice exam. There are some really good schedules on here, so I would follow one of those if you are looking for a schedule to follow.

I think you are better off purchasing FL exams from different MCAT companies but use the AAMC exams as the ultimate judge for how you will do on the MCAT. Doing a practice exam will let you know exactly where you stand as you prep for the MCAT and will let you now how close you are to getting the score you need. If you just do the free standing questions you will not know exactly how much better you are getting as you prep for the MCAT.

Hope this helps,

Good luck studying for the MCAT

 

[Linoleic Acid]

If you are going to purchase the EK 1001 books I would recommend only using them for topics you are weak in. I am pretty sure that is what an EK representative will also tell you. I would definitely not try to do all of the questions in all of the 1001 books because it probably would not help your MCAT score that much since the MCAT is a passage based test.

I would also not spend too much time doing the 1001 physics questions because physics is only about 6% of the exam. We have an interactive tool that breaks down the percent and number of questions on our website in the "About MCAT" tab. I will provide the link here: www.mcat-mvp.com

I would recommend you do the questions at the end of each chapter (of which ever MCAT book you use) and then every week do one practice exam. There are some really good schedules on here, so I would follow one of those if you are looking for a schedule to follow.

I think you are better off purchasing FL exams from different MCAT companies but use the AAMC exams as the ultimate judge for how you will do on the MCAT. Doing a practice exam will let you know exactly where you stand as you prep for the MCAT and will let you now how close you are to getting the score you need. If you just do the free standing questions you will not know exactly how much better you are getting as you prep for the MCAT.

Hope this helps,

Good luck studying for the MCAT

Thank you for your response!
In terms of doing a practice exam every week, would this be alright to do despite not completing all of the content review (since I'm only learning a few chapters a week)?

 

[MCAT-MVP]

@Linoleic Acid

If it has been a long time since you have seen Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics then I would recommend spending 2-3 weeks of just review then doing a practice exam.

Depending on how long you give yourself to prepare for the exam it will be ok if you are not doing a practice exam every week, but you would want to build up to that. Also, don't fall into the trap of trying to learn every small detail in Biology for example.

I would recommend doing one practice exam somewhere near the beginning of your MCAT prep because this will give you a good idea of exactly what you are prepping for. It will give you a good idea of how questions will be asked and the length of each passage. However, make sure you save the AAMC practice exam for somewhere near the end of your prep. Don't worry about making mistakes as you prep, everybody makes mistakes when they first start it is completely normal.

Here is a link to some practice exams:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/wiki/mcat2015faq/practiceexams

We posted an article on our Instagram a few days ago for some good test prep strategies. I will post the same article here: http://college.usatoday.com/2016/04/11/unusual-test-prep-methods/

The article mentions that you should spend about 30-45 minutes of intense study time then take a small break or change up your study habits with something else. Some students find this helpful and others may not find it helpful. I think it is a good read and something to consider during your MCAT prep to see if it works for you.