I was in a similar situation. You need to clear your schedule, apart from work, for about 2 months prior to the exam. It's just something you'll have to do. It takes work, and work takes time.
Take a Kaplan course but don't spend too much time in their class. I found some use from their test banks, and would recommend it if you have time. The bottom line is: you need to take practice full length exams. Take one on a Tuesday, then spend the next two days figuring out why you got the right ones right and the wrong ones wrong (this is the most important thing you can do!). Then take their formal full length on Saturday, and do the same thing. Try to knock out about 10 exams by the time you hit the actual test. Use the exams to study from and to figure out your weaknesses. You don't have time to go through your old text books and the Kaplan books are a good high yeild reference. I recommend doing all the AAMC 1-6 (that was the latest when I took them), and Kaplan tests 1-5, don't worry about 7 and above since they are way too computationally difficult. I was a math major (grad school as well) and laughed at some of their answers, one was a full page of computations. You'll never see that on the real test.
DO NOT take the test in April if you're not ready. You can take it in August and do just fine. Don't listen to the line of reasoning that some people give, "take it in April and if you don't do well, take it in August". I have heard from committees and administrators that it is better to take it once and do well than twice with a low score.
Do all of the exam including the writing portions on the Saturday (there will be some people in your class that want to get out early for some reason or another and will skip the writing portion). Take the day off before the exam and see a movie, there is nothing you will gain by studying the day before. Also, don't take a full length within a week of the exam. You will need time to review high yeild items and relax before the exam.
I took their initial exam and scored 15 without preparing at all, clearly not good enough for any med school. Taking practice tests will help you learn how they ask questions, which is more important that learning some obscure O-chem concept. I knew I wouldn't be ready by April so I took it in August. By the time my August test was coming up, I was batting 29s and 30s. My actual exam was 31 - 11V/10P/10B/Q.
I would recommend getting in the habit doing the verbal section in order, and not skipping around. There are many methods you will hear about. I thought the Kaplan method was worthless. Just get in the habit of pounding out each story and doing the questions in order. Skipping around makes no sense since you're going to have to read all of them anyway. You just have to get in the habit of getting "into" a story even if you can't stand the subject. Believe me, you will need that skill in med school. Do them in order, no reading the questions first, then "skimming the paragraphs" (whatever that means, again more time wasted since you're not retaining anything). Timing is crucial, and the more tests you take the more you will get used to how fast you need to go. I finally found a happy medium between speed and retention, and it worked.
Did taking it in August hurt me? No, in fact my application didn't hit the streets till December due to some AAMC blunder. I had two acceptances, and 4 waitlists, one at a top 4 school...
That's all I can say about that. But I'm now studying for Step I of the USMLE, and everyone who has crushed that exam that I have spoken with says that doing questions is the key to success. I'm going to do that for Step I, and I suggest you do that for the MCAT.
Take advice with a bucket of salt, including mine... You need to find what works for you, but I can't stress enough how important practice exams are.
PM me if you have any specific questions.
Good luck.
tintin007 said:
This is a new thread for Non trad:
Share how your MCAT preparation is going on. What all difficulties you are facing and how you are trying to over come them.
I am taking TPR prep course. I doing well in Phy/chem., but my bio is taking a big hit.
Also after so many years away from school, I am used to typing and finding it hard to write essays. I work full time and study around 2-4hrs/day apart from the prep classes.
Good luck