Would I have time for content review?

[deleted647690]

So I am currently a second semester junior. I am shooting to take the MCAT on September 10th, and I am now trying to make up a study schedule/order materials for the summer.
I think I will try to study from about mid May-August.
I'm not sure how many hours I will spend a day studying, but I am currently looking over the study schedules posted on SDN and on the premed Reddit. I will probably just use one of those and order the relevant materials for that schedule.

In terms of content, I haven't learned second semester biochem material (metabolism) or sociology. So I'd probably have to learn that sometime soon. Should I just learn these subjects through the MCAT materials?

Also, throughout my pre reqs, I feel like I haven't been doing that great. I get mostly Bs in chem/bio/physics classes with some scattered As. I think my science GPA is like a 3.4 right now.

I'm not sure that I'm entirely comfortable with all of the pre req material. Should I just do a lot of content review? Do you think I can do all of this in the timeframe I have provided?

Thanks for any advice,
acetylmandarin

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted647690]

I'm not sure if this was the right forum. Would someone mind moving this to the MCAT forum for me? Thank you, I appreciate it.

 

[tdod]

You should definitely take biochem course before you study for the MCAT. The MCAT studying should be about reviewing, not learning. Also, when you study for the second time you make connections between material that enable critical thinking.

I don't know about sociology b/c I took the MCAT back in 2014 (I got a 35).

I would say Mid-May to August could be enough time if you have taken all the courses and studied well during the courses.

Here's the most important advice I have for you: even if you spend three months studying, you don't have to still take the test. If your scores are still mediocre by the end of your studies, just don't take the test.

if you have any questions feel free to PM me. i probably won't check back on this thread otherwise.

 

[efle]

So I am currently a second semester junior. I am shooting to take the MCAT on September 10th, and I am now trying to make up a study schedule/order materials for the summer.
I think I will try to study from about mid May-August.
I'm not sure how many hours I will spend a day studying, but I am currently looking over the study schedules posted on SDN and on the premed Reddit. I will probably just use one of those and order the relevant materials for that schedule.

In terms of content, I haven't learned second semester biochem material (metabolism) or sociology. So I'd probably have to learn that sometime soon. Should I just learn these subjects through the MCAT materials?

Also, throughout my pre reqs, I feel like I haven't been doing that great. I get mostly Bs in chem/bio/physics classes with some scattered As. I think my science GPA is like a 3.4 right now.

I'm not sure that I'm entirely comfortable with all of the pre req material. Should I just do a lot of content review? Do you think I can do all of this in the timeframe I have provided?

Thanks for any advice,
acetylmandarin

It is totally normal to still have some less comfortable subject areas after prereqs, and it is common to teach yourself some new material from prep books (I did this with Physics). Hard to answer about feasibility without knowing the time you can commit. ~8-10 weeks of prep is normal, if that's done while treating the MCAT as a part time job level of commitment (~15-20 hours per week). You generally want to do content review and practice material simultaneously, for example reading content review about the citric acid cycle followed by practice passages + Qs on that subject. Then in the last few weeks leading up to the test, you take full practice sections and exams. If you are struggling a ton in a particular area, revisit it in your schedule or also do a second prep company's sections on that topic (for example I mixed Berkeley Review and Examkrackers).

 

[deleted647690]

You should definitely take biochem course before you study for the MCAT. The MCAT studying should be about reviewing, not learning. Also, when you study for the second time you make connections between material that enable critical thinking.

I don't know about sociology b/c I took the MCAT back in 2014 (I got a 35).

I would say Mid-May to August could be enough time if you have taken all the courses and studied well during the courses.

Here's the most important advice I have for you: even if you spend three months studying, you don't have to still take the test. If your scores are still mediocre by the end of your studies, just don't take the test.

if you have any questions feel free to PM me. i probably won't check back on this thread otherwise.

I took biochem I, just not biochem II. So I covered everything necessary except for metabolism subjects.

 

[deleted647690]

are you taking it Sept 10th with the plan to apply this cycle?

No. I was going to apply in 2017

 

[deleted647690]

What if I took biochem over this summer along with mcat prep?
I wasn't planning on doing this, and it sounds like it could be overwhelming, especially since I will also be working a job and doing lab research on the side.

But from what people are saying, it sounds like the metabolism stuff is really important.