1 month study plan

[ACE28]

Hey all,

I've finished all my content review except physics. I have EK 1001s, EK Verbal 101 as well as the AAMC 3-10. I was wondering if someone can suggest a good study schedule for the last 4 weeks?

Thanks!

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[0Complications]

Hey all,

I've finished all my content review except physics. I have one month left till the real thing but I worry because I don't think I'm ready yet. I am taking time off from work so I'll have one month completely free just to prep. I have EK 1001s, EK Verbal 101 as well as the AAMC 3-10. I was wondering if someone can suggest a good study chedule for the last 4 weeks?

Thanks!

10 hours a day, 6 days a week. 1 day rest and relaxation.

I would always do your FL exams before you start content/sectionals, so you can better gauge your scores.

Think about it like a long work week. If you start at 8AM you'll be free to enjoy your evening from 6PM onward.

Another way to do it would be to do 3 10 hour days then 1 day break, 3 on, 1 off, etc.

After looking at it I prefer the second method. It will keep you fresh.

Ultimately, it's up to you. I think I'm going to go with method two though when school ends, because I'll be in your same boat.

 

[SN2ed]

Do you have all of the EK 1001s? Have you done any work in the 1001s or 101 Verb? How much of physics is left? If you have a substantial amount of physics incomplete, you should delay. Are you in school? If you are, you should delay.

 

[0Complications]

Do you have all of the EK 1001s? Have you done any work in the 1001s or 101 Verb? How much of physics is left? If you have a substantial amount of physics incomplete, you should delay.

Dude, you can't always say that. Some people can get it done.

If he sucks at physics, maybe not. But I think it is always worth trying since he's going to have to be studying anyways. Increasing the intensity could only help him out.

Whether or not a delay is a good idea is going to come from the practice scores the OP is getting as he/she approaches the deadline for the exam reschedule date, ~2 weeks prior to the exam.

A lot can be done in 14 days.

 

[ACE28]

Yes I have all of the 1001s but I have not done work in any. As for Physics, I have 4 lectures left: Momentum, Fluids and Solids, Waves and Optics. I am not in school. I have the month completely off.

 

[ACE28]

Dude, you can't always say that. Some people can get it done.

If he sucks at physics, maybe not. But I think it is always worth trying since he's going to have to be studying anyways. Increasing the intensity could only help him out.

Whether or not a delay is a good idea is going to come from the practice scores the OP is getting as he/she approaches the deadline for the exam reschedule date, ~2 weeks prior to the exam.

A lot can be done in 14 days.

Thank you. I believe I can get it done! But I was just wondering what the best way to combine (or not) the 1001s, Verbal 101 and the FL3-10

 

[0Complications]

Thank you. I believe I can get it done! But I was just wondering what the best way to combine (or not) the 1001s, Verbal 101 and the FL3-10

EK Verbal everyday. I would say 3 passages a day, determine your weaknesses and address them daily.

Total time ~ 1.5 hours (this gets faster as your weaknesses decrease)

EK 1001's:

Bio: I would do 1 30-50 question timed exam a day

~2-3 hours depending on the number of questions, but focus on the review.

Other 1001's: Just do problems that cover material you struggle with. These are great to tackle weaknesses with fairly direct questions.

~1-2 Hours

Physics content review: Remaining time to fill up your day.

I would say if you do the 3 on 1 off, you should do your AAMC FL on the 3rd day on, so you can review it when your done and call it good.

On the AAMC days, just AAMC FL and review. This should take you 10-12 hours, but then you have the next day off to rest up. Then get back at your weaknesses the following day.

So,

Day 1 & 2:

EK Verbal: 1.5 hours

EK BIO: 3 hours

EK other: 1-2 hours (~1.5 hours)

Physics Content review: 4-6 hours, depending on your stamina.

Total day: 10-12 hours.

Day 3:

AAMC FL & Review

Total day: 10-12 Hours

Day 4:

Off

Rinse, wash, repeat.

This is pretty close to what I'm going to do as well.

 

[ACE28]

0Complications, sound strategy man. Thanks so much for the response. When doing the 1001s should I focus on sections I missed most on the AAMC test? In that perspective, maybe doing the full length on the first day is better.

 

[0Complications]

0Complications, sound strategy man. Thanks so much for the response. When doing the 1001s should I focus on sections I missed most on the AAMC test? In that perspective, maybe doing the full length on the first day is better.

If that's a way that works for you, go for it.

I like finishing with the FL, but who knows. I might change up mine a bit as well.

Even if you don't necessarily miss a question on the AAMC, but you struggled with the concept or idea, or just weren't sure about the answer, I would cover all of those topics in the 1001 q's, in addition to the ones you miss.

So, unless you had it down when you took the test, visit those topics. They will seem daunting at first, because you might have a lot weaknesses, but if you keep plugging away at it you'll realize your weaknesses are starting to diminish and you're becoming more efficient at covering them allowing you to get through your review more quickly.

Oh, and don't forget to cover ALL of the answers on the AAMC's and your 1001's. This review is ideal. Because you might be sure you are right in your way of thinking, get the question correct and then realize after reading the answer that you got lucky as hell, because your logic was off base.

Not to mention, covering things you know in question format helps to familiarize yourself with the ways questions are asked and how to tackle them. This is best illustrated by topics you already know, because then you can focus on what the question was looking for. Once you get these styles down then when you come to an unknown topic you will be able to better gauge what the question is asking you even if you've never seen it before.

 

[SN2ed]

Dude, you can't always say that. Some people can get it done.

What I was thinking the OP's position might be was at the beginning of physics (i.e. only a chapter or two done) with a full school workload. In this case, it would have been a bad idea to rush through physics. Plus, the 1 month til test time would have meant the MCAT would have been around finals time. Studying for the finals, finishing school work, going over all of physics, and all of the regular MCAT late game studying is not conducive to a good MCAT score or a good GPA. During school, one's GPA is the top priority. Once you have that secured, you're in a solid position for med school.

I'm always going to say what I think is best to one-shot the MCAT. I think far too many people rush into the test with some arbitrary date in mind. While there are some that could handle the above position and do well, I doubt the majority could do it. I am not going to tailor my study strategies to the top MCAT students.

The reason why it seems like I usually say delay is because when people typically make a "can i do it" type of thread, they aren't in a good position. When someone posts, "I have a tough school workload, a part time job, and can only study for the MCAT 8 hours per week, can I do well on the MCAT?" I will always tell the person to wait. I'm not going to think, "well maybe this unknown person could do it, though I doubt the majority could accomplish it. Still, I don't know them. I'll tell them to go for it." I would hate to give such poor advice. I want my advice to help one go into the MCAT ONCE and come out with a great score.

Yes I have all of the 1001s but I have not done work in any. As for Physics, I have 4 lectures left: Momentum, Fluids and Solids, Waves and Optics. I am not in school. I have the month completely off.

Oh with only that, you can definitely get it done. As I said above, I was thinking you were in a significantly worse position (basically no physics done, finals in a month on top of the MCAT, and regular studying for the MCAT).

Here's a study schedule outline:

Always do the following at night as last bit of studying:

Try getting a hat and writing every single MCAT PS and BS topic onto a piece of paper. Then when you're ready to practice PS, put all the PS topics into the hat. Draw two or three pieces of paper and connect the topics together. In addition to connecting them, come up with what a passage might look like and what kind of questions you might get. If you can't do this, go back and review each of the three sections. Rinse and repeat.

Unless otherwise stated, include the following:

~45 TIMED questions from all of the EK 1001s
~4-5 TIMED Verbal Passages
Thorough Review of the above the day after you take it

Day 1: 2 Physics lectures
Day 2: 2 Physics lectures
Day 3: Review the 4 physics lectures
Day 4: ONLY take AAMC FL #3 and take the rest of the day off
Day 5: Thoroughly review your FL
Day 6: Continue review by going over content chapters of problems you missed (i.e. if you messed up a passage on kinetics, go over kinetics chapter)
Day 7: ONLY take AAMC FL #4
Day 8: Repeat, Thoroughly review FL
Day 9: Repeat, continue review
Day 10: ONLY take AAMC FL #5
Day 11: Repeat
Day 12: Repeat
Day 13: ONLY take AAMC FL #6
Day 14: Repeat
Day 15: Repeat
Day 16: ONLY take AAMC FL #7
Day 17: Repeat
Day 18: Repeat
Day 19: ONLY take AAMC FL #8
Day 20: Repeat
Day 21: Repeat
Day 22: ONLY take AAMC FL #9
Day 23: Repeat
Day 24: Repeat
Day 25: ONLY take AAMC FL #10
Day 26: Repeat
Day 27: Repeat
Day 28: BREAK, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING MCAT RELATED, no hat trick either
Day 29: MCAT

Some adjustments if needed:

If you want, you could complete all of the FL review in one day and give yourself a break the next. If you do, adjust the 1001 and 101 Verb numbers so it comes out even. Also, if you feel like you're doing too many EK 1001 problems, do every other problem. This could easily happen, don't worry if you have to cut back. Try doing all of them for a few days and see where you're at. If it feels manageable, continue. If you're concerned, cut it in half. The last thing you need is burn out. Let me stress again, don't worry if you have to cut it down. However, for trouble areas, complete all of the corresponding problems. Don't cut back on EK 101 Verbal or EK Bio 1001.

 

[0Complications]

What I was thinking the OP's position might be was at the beginning of physics (i.e. only a chapter or two done) with a full school workload. In this case, it would have been a bad idea to rush through physics. Plus, the 1 month til test time would have meant the MCAT would have been around finals time. Studying for the finals, finishing school work, going over all of physics, and all of the regular MCAT late game studying is not conducive to a good MCAT score or a good GPA. During school, one's GPA is the top priority. Once you have that secured, you're in a solid position for med school.

I'm always going to say what I think is best to one-shot the MCAT. I think far too many people rush into the test with some arbitrary date in mind. While there are some that could handle the above position and do well, I doubt the majority could do it. I am not going to tailor my study strategies to the top MCAT students.

The reason why it seems like I usually say delay is because when people typically make a "can i do it" type of thread, they aren't in a good position. When someone posts, "I have a tough school workload, a part time job, and can only study for the MCAT 8 hours per week, can I do well on the MCAT?" I will always tell the person to wait. I'm not going to think, "well maybe this unknown person could do it, though I doubt the majority could accomplish it. Still, I don't know them. I'll tell them to go for it." I would hate to give such poor advice. I want my advice to help one go into the MCAT ONCE and come out with a great score.




Oh with only that, you can definitely get it done. As I said above, I was thinking you were in a significantly worse position (basically no physics done, finals in a month on top of the MCAT, and regular studying for the MCAT).

Here's a study schedule outline:

Always do the following at night as last bit of studying:

Try getting a hat and writing every single MCAT PS and BS topic onto a piece of paper. Then when you're ready to practice PS, put all the PS topics into the hat. Draw two or three pieces of paper and connect the topics together. In addition to connecting them, come up with what a passage might look like and what kind of questions you might get. If you can't do this, go back and review each of the three sections. Rinse and repeat.

Unless otherwise stated, include the following:

~45 TIMED questions from all of the EK 1001s
~4-5 TIMED Verbal Passages
Thorough Review of the above the day after you take it

Day 1: 2 Physics lectures
Day 2: 2 Physics lectures
Day 3: Review the 4 physics lectures
Day 4: ONLY take AAMC FL #3 and take the rest of the day off
Day 5: Thoroughly review your FL
Day 6: Continue review by going over content chapters of problems you missed (i.e. if you messed up a passage on kinetics, go over kinetics chapter)
Day 7: ONLY take AAMC FL #4
Day 8: Repeat, Thoroughly review FL
Day 9: Repeat, continue review
Day 10: ONLY take AAMC FL #5
Day 11: Repeat
Day 12: Repeat
Day 13: ONLY take AAMC FL #6
Day 14: Repeat
Day 15: Repeat
Day 16: ONLY take AAMC FL #7
Day 17: Repeat
Day 18: Repeat
Day 19: ONLY take AAMC FL #8
Day 20: Repeat
Day 21: Repeat
Day 22: ONLY take AAMC FL #9
Day 23: Repeat
Day 24: Repeat
Day 25: ONLY take AAMC FL #10
Day 26: Repeat
Day 27: Repeat
Day 28: BREAK, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING MCAT RELATED, no hat trick either
Day 29: MCAT

Some adjustments if needed:

If you want, you could complete all of the FL review in one day and give yourself a break the next. If you do, adjust the 1001 and 101 Verb numbers so it comes out even. Also, if you feel like you're doing too many EK 1001 problems, do every other problem. This could easily happen, don't worry if you have to cut back. Try doing all of them for a few days and see where you're at. If it feels manageable, continue. If you're concerned, cut it in half. The last thing you need is burn out. Let me stress again, don't worry if you have to cut it down. However, for trouble areas, complete all of the corresponding problems. Don't cut back on EK 101 Verbal or EK Bio 1001.

I hear you. I can understand why you normally provide generalized advice, which is usually very good. I only said I think he can do it because he stated he is planning to take the month off of work, so by default it seemed logical that he wasn't going to be in classes or at least wasn't concerned about them interfering with his study schedule.

I do have some advice on your study schedule though. Firstly, I don't think there are enough breaks... 1 in 30 days is not enough. I would at least take one break a week. Secondly, I think some days are very light, with just review, especially with 2 days for review. If he's going to make this happen he is got to make the most out of his days and 2 days of content review is just too much.

I think dedicating 1 whole day to exam review is too much, unless he's missing a lot of questions. If he's going to do exam review the day after his exam then he is going to need to keep studying after the fact.

Granted he is done with most of his content review, I still think he should be hitting it pretty hard, especially since he took off work.

This is my opinion, so I am basing it on how I would approach studying, so that doesn't mean it's going to work for him.

Overall, OP, you are just going to need to do what feels right to you.

 

[ACE28]

Both of your advices have been extremely helpful and have placed my mind at ease. Thank you!

SN2ed, one quick question. Are you suggesting to do 45 TIMED 1001 questions from EACH subject and 4-5 TIMED Verbal passages everyday? 2nd day of repeat? I am not quite sure what you meant for those.

The hat idea is cleaver. However, seems like it would take forever to do. But as 0complications mentioned, maybe the time it takes to finish will decrease as I become more efficient.

 

[SN2ed]

When I talk about thoroughly reviewing, I really mean thoroughly reviewing. Also, the OP should be reviewing ALL of the questions on a test. Skipping the ones you got correct is a bad idea.

Here's what I wrote in another post on reviewing:

Do NOT dismiss any wrong answer as a "stupid mistake." You made that error for a reason. Go over your tests again.

Some things to keep in mind when reviewing:

1. Why did you get the question wrong? Why did you get the question right?
2. What question types get you?
3. How is your mindset when facing a particular passage?
4. Are you stressed for time?
5. Where are your mistakes happening the most? Are they front loaded? Are they at the end? All over?
6. What was your thought process for both the questions you got right and the ones you got wrong?
7. For verbal, what was the author's mindset and main idea?
8. Did you eliminate all of the answer choices you could from first glance?
ex. You know an answer should be a positive number so you cross out all of the negative number answer choices.
9. What content areas are you weak in?
10. How can you improve so you don't make the same mistake again?


This should be done on every question. Hence is why I give more time to reviewing. It's helpful to make a log book. Doing so allows you to keep track of what's going on to catch any trends, both good and bad.

Additionally, some of the days are supposed to be light to help avoid burnout. One of the biggest problems with the last month of studying is the high chance of burnout by taking too many tests, too fast. Throwing in light days is the main reason why I don't have a break day in between everything. Another reason why I spaced out my tests like that is because the OP doesn't have that many. Furthermore, on the practice days, one should try to emulate test day as much as possible. Go through the exact routine you'll be doing for the actual test. Wake up on time, eat whatever you'll eat, and, if possible, drive to a library and take the test. Try to sit around other computers so you constantly hear the clicking of keyboards.

On the review days, that's not the only thing the OP should be doing. On those days the OP should be doing the things I listed as "always do" and "unless otherwise stated." In other words, the OP will be doing the hat trick, taking TIMED practice problems, AND review those practice problems. The OP won't being doing only review.



ACE28: Read through the above because it may be helpful. I originally started writing it just for 0Complications, but I think it will help you too.

That is correct, you should be doing 45 questions from each EK 1001. This may sound like too many problems, but it's really not that bad. The timing for EK physics, o-chem, and gen chem should be 1 minute per problem because they're mostly discretes or discrete-like. Yes, I know there are questions that are grouped together, however, you can easily pretend they're discretes. None of those problems are really similar to MCAT passages. For instance, they show you a picture of two people on a scale with two plates (think like the scales of justice). Then the corresponding questions give you different weights for the two people. You could simply pretend they're discretes if you put the numbers into the question. Uh...I hope you get that. Anyway, if you think 45 questions from each EK 1001 is too much, you could cut it in half for EK physics, o-chem and gen chem.

On EK Bio the timing should be about 6 minutes per passage and 1 minutes per discrete.

On EK Verb, aim for 6-7 minutes. You want to practice under harsher timing conditions. You aren't supposed to take EK Verb on test days because you've already taken a verbal section on your FL.

For the repeat days, just put in this:

First repeat day:
Day 5: Thoroughly review your FL

Second repeat day:
Day 6: Continue review by going over content chapters of problems you missed (i.e. if you messed up a passage on kinetics, go over kinetics chapter)

I didn't want to copy and paste that every time. On your review days, you're also supposed to do what's written as "always do" and "unless otherwise stated."

The hat trick shouldn't take too long. It's more of an in your head exercise. You don't actually write everything out.

Lastly, the only thing you should be doing everyday is the hat trick. For the stuff that's "unless otherwise stated," you do that everyday EXCEPT days you take a practice test.

 

[whitefang21]

dude
i with i am in the same state, yow lets talk everyday until the exam. i am doing 10 hours a day until exam

 

[pam61371]

.

 

[ACE28]

SN2ed, thank you very very much for the thorough and a prompt responses! I will do my best to encompass all your strategies.

For those who are and will be in the same position, let's make the most out of the last month and kick ass on test day!

 

[SN2ed]

I'm glad my post has been helpful to you two. Now go beat down the MCAT on test day.

 

[0Complications]

I think you make some very good suggestions, SN2ed. However, I think the break option is very individually based. I know when I decided to push back my last exam I was trying "heavy study" and "light study" days, but I was still burnt out, which is one of the primary reasons I pushed my exam back.

So, for me, I now know that I need a day when I am completely MCAT free. This even includes flash cards, formulas, brief coverage, or anything of the like. If I so much as start to think about the MCAT I try to change my thoughts to something more enjoyable.

These off days typically include things like, golf, tennis, gym, long runs, or work (which is very far removed from the MCAT). I do work pretty close to full time as well, so maybe that pushes me closer to burnout than those without work. I think either way, it's a stressful time and breaks help to midigate the stress and keep you on track and focused. I cannot speak for everyone, but I know that if I won't get a break for a month my study days will become more about staving off procrastination, and less about studying full time. Essentially, I'm not as efficient as I could be. It's somewhat akin to saying on the Friday before spring break that you're going to bust @ss and do all of your looming assignments prior to their due date just so that you can get them out of the way. What usually ends up happening is people just stress about doing them, cancel on plans to do fun things, procrastinate with SDN or some other random site, some clean, others do random things, but most do nothing associated with the assignments except stressing about getting them done. Sure they might work on them a little bit, but it's probably the equivalence of what could have been done in 1 or 2 days of solid studying, but instead they wasted their entire break stressing about it and still not getting anything really remarkable accomplished except ensuring that they returned to school worse for the ware than they left. So, I would suggest to individuals with these lofty ideals to say that they'll take 1 or 2 days to study during a spring break and enjoy the rest of the break. Granted MCAT studying is a little different, I feel the underlying concept is the same. If you create unrealistic goals you simply invite in stress and kick out any sort of efficiency. Planned breaks help to eliminate this sort of stress and keep one focused on the task at hand.

I would suggest that if the OP or anyone else is starting to get to that point of burnout or extremely elevated stress, take a day off. It will be more beneficial than driving yourself further into burnout or increased levels of stress.

This is just my opinion, but I'm basing it on human nature and the general tendencies of people, not on the alpha-studier type who can go months at a time without a break (these are a rarity).

 

[SN2ed]

I agree with 0Complications, if you (OP) ever feel like you're burning out, take a day off. You could easily skip AAMC #3 (it's not that good anyway) and use those three days as breaks. I would space those days out so they're once a week. Doing so, you'll have one break day per week (counting the break on Day 28, 4 break days total). If you had any problems of burning out in months prior, skip AAMC #3 and follow the above.