*The Official January 2016 MCAT*

MCAT is Hard? Not with BeMo's 515 Score Guarantee.
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Medaholic Dr

Medaholic Dr

Houston, we've a problem !
10+ Year Member
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
97
Reaction score
37
Hello guys,
I don't see any thread made for January 2016 MCAT test date, so I thought to create one. I'll be graduating by the end of this year and will be giving my MCAT on January 2016. I had my test date set for September of this year, but something came up and I won't be able to dedicate myself to studying for the MCAT fully. So, let us make this thread rich with all the discussions about the MCAT. Let us support each other and make taking MCAT a pleasurable experience, so I think. Let's go.......
Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Sort by date Sort by votes
Upvote 0 Downvote
Medaholic Dr said:
Hello guys,
I don't see any thread made for January 2016 MCAT test date, so I thought to create one. I'll be graduating by the end of this year and will be giving my MCAT on January 2016. I had my test date set for September of this year, but something came up and I won't be able to dedicate myself to studying for the MCAT fully. So, let us make this thread rich with all the discussions about the MCAT. Let us support each other and make taking MCAT a pleasurable experience, so I think. Let's go.......
Click to expand...
Hmm I'm in the same situation as you. How do you plan on rescheduling though, considering according to AAMC registration for Jan won't open until October?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
@success16 : There will be no option for us to reschedule. We have to cancel our existing registration and get our refund. We have to register fresh with other January 2016 test takers when registration open on October.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hey. I'll be taking the test as well in January. I was going to take it in August, but did not feel comfortable/ ready for it. Therefore, it looks like I'll be taking a gap year. Nevertheless, happy studying! Looking forward to getting on here and sharing the MCAT prep struggles haha.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
BoasANT said:
Hey. I'll be taking the test as well in January. I was going to take it in August, but did not feel comfortable/ ready for it. Therefore, it looks like I'll be taking a gap year. Nevertheless, happy studying! Looking forward to getting on here and sharing the MCAT prep struggles haha.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat. I'm scheduled to take it next week but I know I am not ready so I'll be planning on registering for the January test. Still taking the test next week since I can't get a refund and figured I could use it to my advantage as an expensive practice test and void at the end. But I'll be ready by January! (at least i hope)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
how are you going t0 prepare. I'm definietly taking a physiology, biochem and psychology/sociology course. i have heard that biochem is heavy for this exam and the review book for psychology/sociology doesnt cover everythi
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi everyone, looks like I will be joining you guys in this thread. I'm in the current app cycle for a few DO schools but I decided to start some light prep to get ready for the January MCAT just in case I don't get in anywhere. I have a balanced 31 on the old exam that is set to expire before next cycle. Really hoping to be get in somewhere and avoid having to deal with this exam but don't want to end up in a tough spot by not preparing for all eventualities.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi everyone, I'm joining in. Was scheduled for 08/21 but it's going to have to be a void since I'm not where I want to be.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Taking MCAT for the first time, hopefully third or fourth week of January if they have those dates! I'm glad we'll be able to study from the second practice test they will be releasing soon!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I think you guys can count me in as well. I'm scheduled for the sept 23 test date but I've never taken psychology so it looks like I'll have to bite the bullet, sign up for a psych course, and take this beast of a test in jan 2016
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
jedi silva said:
I think you guys can count me in as well. I'm scheduled for the sept 23 test date but I've never taken psychology so it looks like I'll have to bite the bullet, sign up for a psych course, and take this beast of a test in jan 2016
Click to expand...
Look online for opencoursware ( UC opencourseware, MIT) Those help!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Medaholic Dr said:
Hello guys,
I don't see any thread made for January 2016 MCAT test date, so I thought to create one. I'll be graduating by the end of this year and will be giving my MCAT on January 2016. I had my test date set for September of this year, but something came up and I won't be able to dedicate myself to studying for the MCAT fully. So, let us make this thread rich with all the discussions about the MCAT. Let us support each other and make taking MCAT a pleasurable experience, so I think. Let's go.......
Click to expand...
I wanted to take the Jan test but didn't see the advantage. I'm not applying until May. I Didthf want to be locked away for the holidays (have a young child). Started studying 8/1. Plan to test in April. EK, BR.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You can count me in! I was going to register for the September 23rd exam but I'm not fully ready. If the AAMC are consistent with there past MCAT dates, I plan to take the MCAT on January 9th. So far this is my third week of prepping. I'm using the EK study guides.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jedi silva said:
I think you guys can count me in as well. I'm scheduled for the sept 23 test date but I've never taken psychology so it looks like I'll have to bite the bullet, sign up for a psych course, and take this beast of a test in jan 2016
Click to expand...

We surveyed our classroom course students in terms of their experience in psychology and sociology coming into the review course, and found that about 40% had never taken psychology and about 90% had never taken a sociology class. Admittedly, this worried us and made us rethink our class schedule. But we stuck to our guns and kept the lecture sequence as is (at seven classes that focused on experiments and theories). To our very pleasant surprise, the Psych/Soc scores have been through the roof. It floored us in fact, that the psych/soc scores have been right there with the Ph/Ch and Bio/BC scores. Even more surprising was that our psychology majors were scoring about the same as our non-psychology majors.

So you can do this based on a thorough cram course. In fact, what might be a better idea that actually taking a single psychology class would to instead sit in on the midterm reviews and final reviews for a few different psychology and sociology courses. This is what we have been recommending to our students, and it seems to be working very well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
For the 2016 January test, how is everyone studying/prepping for the B/B section? That section is my weakest and I don't think EK or Kaplan prepared me. (I took it in July 2015 and now will retake it in January)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi everyone! I'm planning to take the MCAT in January as well :) I figure that January (before classes really start) is a better time than April (around finals season for me). I've already taken psychology, sociology, and biochem, although I really should start studying... :hungover::hungover::hungover:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hello! I am planning on taking my exam in late January :) Preparing with Kaplan at home using the study books.
Taking 15 hours of upper levels, working full time and TAing bio.

Who is ready to dominate this thing???
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I have a question about how long the MCAT is good for. I know most schools accept an MCAT that is three years old. I took the MCAT in 2013. I will be taking the MCAT again in January and apply in June 2016, so for the 2017 cycle. This means my older MCAT isn't valid anymore correct? Does the admissions office still see the old score even though its not valid anymore and if they do, do they consider it. I didn't do bad on it, so it's nothing to worry about, but I know I can do better.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hello everyone! I also plan on taking it in January in order to have ample time to study in case I need to retake in April/May. I do not want to take this exam more than twice so I want to plan everything and do it right the first time. I tried to start studying earlier this month, but I have been falling behind lately so I have decided to join a study group in order to help me stay on track and reinforce what I have learned. We can do this guys! Stay motivated!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I have been lightly studying since the first week of August to get my feet wet or so to speak, but I plan on having a more disciplined regimen now that we are rolling into September.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jedi silva said:
I think you guys can count me in as well. I'm scheduled for the sept 23 test date but I've never taken psychology so it looks like I'll have to bite the bullet, sign up for a psych course, and take this beast of a test in jan 2016
Click to expand...

Psychology and sociology courses are not necessary and can take up time. So far this section does not seem really complicated by reading the general consensus, so I would just recommend to go and grab the best prep book for this subject along with Khan academy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
supremus said:
Psychology and sociology courses are not necessary and can take up time. So far this section does not seem really complicated by reading the general consensus, so I would just recommend to go and grab the best prep book for this subject along with Khan academy.
Click to expand...

What prep book do you plan on using. I think I'm leaning toward TPR. Then I'll add the Khan videos/questions.

Thinking about getting the Berkeley book when it comes out in a few weeks as well. Not sure yet.

How are you guys studying for biochemistry and doing questions for it?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Dropped my september MCAT. So I'm joining the Jan. club. I will get the high score I want slowly but surely!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Does anyone know (probably not) whether there will be an MCAT exam on the first half of January?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
nolookpass said:
What prep book do you plan on using. I think I'm leaning toward TPR. Then I'll add the Khan videos/questions.

Thinking about getting the Berkeley book when it comes out in a few weeks as well. Not sure yet.

How are you guys studying for biochemistry and doing questions for it?
Click to expand...

To further add on to my previous post, what exams will you guys be using. There will be two AAMC exams by the fall (not sure when in the fall the AAMC is releasing its second exam).
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yorick said:
Same here! I was going to take in September but I'm taking biochem and physiology this fall so decided why not wait and be safe with having all the material down cold.


I've been studying by following the content outline very closely for each section. For biochem, I have Lehninger and my course text. For Psychology/sociology, I've been watching the Khan Academy videos, taking notes on each one and also reading the textbooks in that excel sheet for psych/sociology resources. I'm not studying too much for chemistry and physics because I TA'ed physics the last few semesters and it's not tested that heavily and I took ochem I/II last year so all that is still pretty fresh. The main subjects I'm focusing on is biochem, physiology, psychology and sociology.

I have the Princeton review books and I'm starting to go through those. Honestly, I'm mostly reading and taking textbook and khan academy video notes because I don't want to miss anything but I'm still using PR to see if I did miss something. I'm probably going to order the NextStep books for more practice problems soon and the Kaplan for the sake of reviewing more material and having more practice. Luckily my semester ends in the beginning of december so my goal is to have all the content review and most practice problems done by then and have a month of just full length exams from the AAMC and all the companies.

I'm not really doing much for CARS, I'm a huge reader, I read every night and a lot of classic novels, Dickens, Austen, Melville, Bronte, Hemingway, etc and I've been a subscriber to the Economist and Wall street journal so I'm just going to continue that, reading books and articles. However, I've started to read research papers, one a day, in biochem (from pubmed), various biology papers, and social sciences, mostly psych and sociology papers, to get more practice reading those and analyzing data. I switch fields with every paper, going biochem -> psychology -> immunology -> sociology -> cell biology -> public health -> clinical medicine (from NEJM).

I also downloaded Anki and found that program super useful for flashcards. I have nearly 1000 flashcards so far and use anki for reviewing topics and quizzing myself.



I'm going to use everything that's available, nextstep, AAMC, kaplan, PR, EK, etc. I'll have the time and figure it will only help me to do as many problems and simulated full length exams as possible.

For biochem, besides my biochem course, I'm reading and taking notes from Lehninger. I also got the online access code for Lehninger, which I think is super useful because besides having an online version of the textbook, you also get many practice problems for each chapter and resources like problem solving videos, tips and a ton of supplemental material.




Now with classes started, I'm studying about 3-5 hours on weekdays. I study for 1-2 hours in the morning (from 7-9 am or 6:30-8 when I have an 8 am class), generally just review old material, flashcards and I read the research paper. Then I study for 2-3 hours at night, which consists of taking textbook and Khan Academy notes and/or going through review books. Weekends I put in around 5-6 hours each on Saturday and Sunday.

Some days may might be worse depending on research and how much work I have, heh I'm a BME senior and I'm also taking 2 BME courses this semester so there might be some nights I don't get much studying done but I do always study in the morning.
Click to expand...

How do you find papers on pubmed/other resources. Do you search something specifically or is there some sort of app that sends you an article a day? Not sure exactly what to search and how I would know if the article is beneficial to read.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I've officially decided to take the MCAT in January. I was planning take it on September 23rd, but I as well don't feel confident and simply need more time. Here's to more studying o_O
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi! I am joining this thread as well. Looking for any help I can get. I am starting to study for MCAT and hoping to take it in January. Where should I get practice tests? Also, how are you guys studying?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
January 2016!
Because I'd rather be a hermit in the winter than the spring.

Been studying for a few weeks and have already discovered something that may be helpful - I give myself 45 min max to review content for a chapter and usually do it quicker than that. Otherwise I have trouble telling myself I know enough to move on to the next section.
"Do I know that? Hmmm maybe I'll read it 10 more times."
Bad strategy.
So I go quick, skim reading & banging out the examples on scratch paper before getting to the questions/passages. I won't spend more than a few minutes on any one question, otherwise I might stare at it forever. I don't need to memorize everything. The MCAT will have the answer. I just need to find it.

My more thorough content review then occurs while reviewing my answers and going over notecards. After that, I do another passage on that same material sometime the next day plus a quick 2 verbal passages first thing every morning.

I am working with:
  • ExamKrackers 1001 series
  • Berkley Review books for bio/biochem/chem/physics/orgo/verbal
  • ExamKracker's psych/sociology and verbal books
  • Kaplan verbal (can never have enough verbal!)
  • Khan Academy videos (will get to the passages eventually)
  • animations on YouTube
  • MCAT Mastery Android App (great resource, includes terminology, mneumonics, quizzes... $20)
  • AAMC full length (haven't done it yet)
  • AAMC question packets
  • custom notecards (I make one for nearly every content-related question I get wrong AND nearly every MCAT test taking tip and shortcut in the BR books).
  • Kaplan notecards
  • Barron's notecards (very good)
  • Google images to print out bio maps (embryology etc) biochem (glycolysis + Krebs etc) and orgo pathways and mechanisms
  • QuickStudy laminated review pamphlets as quick reference sheets ($7 each on Amazon, biochem one is good)
Some things I've noticed:
I retain more and pay better attention after I've squeezed in a run/swim/workout and I've eaten healthy all day
Each test prep company's notecards are pretty different but test the same material...just in different ways.
Memorize your units for chem and physics! No need to spend hours memorizing formulas when the answer choices essentially tip you off to the formula by telling you you need to find Joules, N/c, M, etc. "Well all the answer choices are all in N/c, so I guess I should find Newtons and coulombs and divide them."

Cant' wait to get this test out of the way and just focus on applications.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 6 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
How far is everyone with studying? January feels like it's coming up soon. I know it sounds ridiculous but September feels like it's flying by.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Retake for me. Got my scores on sept. 8 and not happy. Have already applied (only 3 schools though). Received secondaries but pretty sure won't receive an interview with my scores. In case you were wondering, average 125,125, 124 (on biology) and 122 on CARS...bad I know! 3.75sgpa 3.5cgpa. Full time working RN with 2 years exp. Going to shine on this next test in January. Will kill myself studying now....results were a rude awakening~! Good Luck!
...disregard the username (hubby is a D1) didn't want to create another profile!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Joining the January MCAT crew!

Quick question - Is the only way to get all of the Kaplan FLs by taking the class?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Joining this thread as well. Re-taker from the August 6th exam

August 6th exam:
c/p=130
CARS=124
B/B=128
P/S=126
total=508

If anyone knows of any ways to significantly improve CARS I'm all ears. I've exhausted literally every source...EK101, TPR hyper learning, question packs, etc...so not quite sure what to do given I have around 3-4 months before I retake this beast. My best bet is probably Next step verbal workbook and just doing more full lengths?...but I feel like thats still very limited CARS practice. Should I read the economist? Novels?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

agentfaithmd
AAMC MCAT Official Prep Complete Bundle Worth It?
Replies
0
Views
377
agentfaithmd
agentfaithmd
N
Any Non-Traditional Applicants Writing the MCAT this January?
Replies
2
Views
851
omogedoctor
O
T
Study partner for January 2023 MCAT in PA
Replies
0
Views
681
tabush
T
NoahBerden
  • Question
Can I take the MCAT in January for the 2021-2022 cycle?
Replies
5
Views
3K
Dral
Dral
K
  • Question
August MCAT or wait until January?
Replies
6
Views
956
KnightDoc
K
Top