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- Jan 22, 2013
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** This post is ESPECIALLY pertinent to those who are writing in 9-10 weeks or later, but can benefit anyone! **
So I want to start off by saying that I in no way represent nor am affiliated with John Wetzel or Wikipremed. If you look at my post history you can probably tell anyway, but yeah. The reason I am making this post is that I wish more than anything that I could rewind time to 10 weeks ago and put a lot more of my emphasis on this gold-mine. I'm hoping someone who is taking the test this year can see this and do what I wish I would have.
Over the past 6 months of me obsessing over the MCAT (3 months of freaking out and frantically searching for the absolute best prep material, followed by 3 months of studying) I have learned a lot.
My biggest regret however has been that I had underestimated the legitimacy of Wikipremed, and unfortunately I know that if I would have followed the course I would be lightyears ahead of where I am today. If I don't get my goal score in a few weeks and need to retake in July or August, I will at least feel confident knowing I now have this resource to really shape me up. Fortunately I have used it just enough for it to make an ENORMOUS impact, especially on my physics understanding...for I didn't learn it well at all in undergrad (we never even covered optics or magnetism ) . Wikipremed is not only free (unless you want to order hard copies of the flashcards), but I personally believe that it is without a doubt one of the greatest resources that I've encountered in terms of truly mastering each topic. As one of moderators who scored 40+ on the real thing mentioned, Wetzel is one of the few true MCAT experts. Here's a brief breakdown as to why Wikipremed is phenomenal:
- The physics flashcards are second to none. With about 1000 cards, half of them explaining formulas/concepts/relationships, and half of them as quizzes with thorough, in-depth explanations on the other side. Not only are these 500 extra physics questions, but the questions themselves are well thought out and really make you think. I cannot stress enough the quality of these cards and just how instrumental they can potentially be to anyone , but especially those who truly struggle with physics
- A well thought-out spiraling-curriculum that introduces the concepts in an order as such that it allows you to really connect ideas, build a solid foundation, and see the big picture in everything.
- Very helpful visual database of all the important organic chemistry mechanisms
- Reading comprehension practice. I personally have never seen anyone praise how Wikipremed does verbal, but I am a true fan. It does not replace practice passages, but (especially if your exam is way far away), it is set up for you to really get good at focusing for a long time on boring passages, as well as providing exercises that build your ability to really digest each passage.
- If you are especially weak in a topic, his videos are slow/long but very helpful. The biggest complaint I've heard is that his video lectures of each topic is long and slow. This is true, but to me this would only be negative if it were long, slow, and not very helpful. John's explanations, however, are incredibly clear and helpful. In physics, after he explains a topic he'll do one or two of the physics flash-questions with you and really explain things. Because the lectures are slow paced, it really requires patience, but to me, it is well-worth it, and you can obviously skip around and what not.
Good luck to all of ya'll, and I hope this helps someone