I am writing the MCAT this August and I am registered in the Kaplan course for the months of June and July. I just finished my pre-reqs over the last two years and did very well. However, I am really nervous about the exam as I am unaware of the amount of studying that will be involved for the next two months. I'm working full time this summer and now I'm thinking that squeezing everything in over the next two months is crazy when I'm trying to get a good score on this test. Any comments, advice,....anything??
taking the mcat
- Thread starter Ricki
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I'm not saying these things to scare you away, but here is my experience...im currently preparing right now, and will take the test in june.
It's rough as hell. Just to learn the content will take forever, and I studied about 8 hours a day, while going to school at the same time, and having 2 parttime jobs. I hardly slept.
Then, doing practice tests usually takes about 5 hours, and then takes about the same amount of time to go over each of those tests, to see where you went wrong, what you could have done better, and how to avoid your mistake next time. THen, it takes time to go back to the content that you had trouble with, and study again.
Whatever you do, practice the verbal section as heavily as possible. Thats my weakest section still, and i have worked the hardest for it so far. Do at least 3 passages a day to start off studying per day, and then slowly increase to about 8 passages. The actual MCAT has only 7 verbal passages, but doing 8 at a time builds stamina. I highly recommend the Exam Krackers strategy for verbal - it may seem like crap at first, but it works if you keep practicing and practicing.
Once again, im being as realistic as possible with you, given my experience with studying. Now, you may have an easy time with verbal. If thats the case, then study the sciences hard, and keep doing practice problems.
Hope this helps.
Goodluck!
-T
It's rough as hell. Just to learn the content will take forever, and I studied about 8 hours a day, while going to school at the same time, and having 2 parttime jobs. I hardly slept.
Then, doing practice tests usually takes about 5 hours, and then takes about the same amount of time to go over each of those tests, to see where you went wrong, what you could have done better, and how to avoid your mistake next time. THen, it takes time to go back to the content that you had trouble with, and study again.
Whatever you do, practice the verbal section as heavily as possible. Thats my weakest section still, and i have worked the hardest for it so far. Do at least 3 passages a day to start off studying per day, and then slowly increase to about 8 passages. The actual MCAT has only 7 verbal passages, but doing 8 at a time builds stamina. I highly recommend the Exam Krackers strategy for verbal - it may seem like crap at first, but it works if you keep practicing and practicing.
Once again, im being as realistic as possible with you, given my experience with studying. Now, you may have an easy time with verbal. If thats the case, then study the sciences hard, and keep doing practice problems.
Hope this helps.
Goodluck!-T
Hey, I'm taking the MCAT in the August as well and I've somewhat started preparing for it. From what I have experienced so far, it really depends on how you manage your time and how much you can concentrate in a given amount of time you have.
I am using the examkrackers book to study and so far, in good 3-4 hours, I've finished half of the physics book, including the 30 minute text exams and practice questions for each sections. You said that you have finished your pre-reqs in the past 2 years and did well in them. The material should rather be a review than learning something new for you unless you really have horrible memories. Even if you don't remember some of the things, just reading through will somewhat feel familiar and you could probably catch on quicker. Remember, studying for long time doesn't necessarily mean that you are getting the best out of those hours, it is how much you concentrate and how much you are devoting yourself to grasp the concepts. You must be eager and be actively participating to learn the stuff and make it your own.
You should be doing some kind of verbal excercise daily to incrementally strenghthen your reading comprehension levels. This is crucial since the MCAT is highly passage-based.
Most importantly, I suggest you work out a schedule that maximizes the available time you can have to study.
I am using the examkrackers book to study and so far, in good 3-4 hours, I've finished half of the physics book, including the 30 minute text exams and practice questions for each sections. You said that you have finished your pre-reqs in the past 2 years and did well in them. The material should rather be a review than learning something new for you unless you really have horrible memories. Even if you don't remember some of the things, just reading through will somewhat feel familiar and you could probably catch on quicker. Remember, studying for long time doesn't necessarily mean that you are getting the best out of those hours, it is how much you concentrate and how much you are devoting yourself to grasp the concepts. You must be eager and be actively participating to learn the stuff and make it your own.
You should be doing some kind of verbal excercise daily to incrementally strenghthen your reading comprehension levels. This is crucial since the MCAT is highly passage-based.
Most importantly, I suggest you work out a schedule that maximizes the available time you can have to study.
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It depends on your strengths. I worked about 60 hrs a week this past semester and studied evenings (when I wasn't working) and weekends. Essentially, I began prepping for the MCAT about 4 months out.
I definately never put the time into that some people do. I hadn't taken Chem, Orgo or Physics since graduating college in 2000 - so I didn't remember a whole lot. On the other hand, I teach college level bio, so that means I didn't have to study for the Bio part at all. Also, I was happy with my 12's on verbal practice, so I didn't study that or pratice the writing either. So....I spent an average of 1-2 hrs a day max and studied Chem, Organic, and Physics only. I ended up with a 33. I'm happy with that, but if I wanted a 36+ I would have definately needed the above poster's schedule.
I definately never put the time into that some people do. I hadn't taken Chem, Orgo or Physics since graduating college in 2000 - so I didn't remember a whole lot. On the other hand, I teach college level bio, so that means I didn't have to study for the Bio part at all. Also, I was happy with my 12's on verbal practice, so I didn't study that or pratice the writing either. So....I spent an average of 1-2 hrs a day max and studied Chem, Organic, and Physics only. I ended up with a 33. I'm happy with that, but if I wanted a 36+ I would have definately needed the above poster's schedule.
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Oh, and to give you a feel for what I actually accomplished during my studying..my first dignostic test was a 26. So my route upped my score by 7 pts. Some people have a much greater increase than that, some much less. Take a dignostic test and see exactly what you hope to accomplish in the next few months. Some people need alot of time, others less.
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I'm taking the MCAT on August 9th and am sumitting my AMCAS application this June. I've repeatedly heard that it's important to apply & complete your application early.
Anyone know if an August MCAT date is going to adversely affect my application? If so, are the adverse affects so bad that I should consider putting off applying until 2009?
Anyone know if an August MCAT date is going to adversely affect my application? If so, are the adverse affects so bad that I should consider putting off applying until 2009?
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