I've received quite a few inquiries about how, what and when I studied for the MCAT. I'll paste below the response I've been sending to most people. It probably absurdly long, but I hope it will help someone. [Should I post this in another thread like the 30+ study tips? Anyone, feel free to let me know!]
First I should say that I took my first diagnostic (the 18) 1 year post college so it had been a long while since I'd done much of any of the subjects tested. My first practice test (AAMC 3) after a month or so of studying was a 31 (I did each section on a separate day though). My average was about 30-31 on AAMCs before the first real MCAT, so I think I was too nervous/stressed/burnt out and just bombed.
The first time I studied I used the Kaplan book (not the class-I didn't take a prep class) and studied for big chunks of time. I wasn't very focused (got distracted really easily and felt sorry for myself a lot of the time - lame) and was really stressed out about the whole thing. I also used Exam Krackers 101 passages in verbal reasoning.
The second time I made sure I was focused while I was reading the material. If I found my concentration wavering I would get up and take a short break or stop studying, go do something fun, and come back a few hours later. A big key for me was to stay calm about the whole thing. I also used the Exam Krackers books the second time. They worked much better for me than the Kaplan book. I think there are a few reasons why:
1. The books are much shorter since they are divided by subject; I think this made the material less intimidating to me.
2. They have cute pictures and mnemonics that helped me remember key concepts.
3. They tell you exactly which formulas you need to memorize and tell you which you should just understand/know how to use if presented to you on the test - this helped keep me from freaking out.
4. I felt they were less technical (while still presenting the content) than the Kaplan books which made the material seem more approachable.
5. They have lots of practice questions within chapters and at the end of chapters. Those were great for checking my understanding - something I'm afraid I didn't really do the first time around.
I also used the 1001 questions in physics book (Exam Krackers). I'm not sure that I really needed the questions (I used only a small portion of them) but it was really helpful for getting my confidence up and helping me to solve problems quicker for topics that I felt I was struggling with. Confidence was a big factor for my retest. I'm not really sure how much more material I knew, but I felt really good about what I did know. That was very important for me (message is: attitude makes a big difference). I used the 101 passages in verbal reasoning again the second time to keep up on the verbal passages.
Finally, the second time I listened to the Exam Krackers Audio Osmosis over and over again. Luckily I have about a 20 minute drive to and from work so was able to do it then. This could possibly be done while walking to and from class? I liked it because it made me really think about things in a different way ie: without a piece of paper and pen in front of me. They also give out a lot of good tips for quick problem solving.
Practice tests:
I believe that I did 5 of the AAMC practice tests the first time around and like I said was averaging around 30 on those (this is why I think anxiety got the best of me on the first attempt). The second time I did the remaining 3 AAMC tests and a Kaplan test that came on the disk with the Kaplan book I used the first time. I think my scored on this second set of practice tests was about 32-34.
Amount of time studying:
1st time: About 3.5 months, probably 2+ hours per night weekdays and 8+ hours per weekend. This wasnt good studying, I was very distracted. I believe spending so much time was why I got burnt out and freaked on the first test.
2nd time: About 2.5 months on a sort of strange schedule because I was working full time and taking a night class. First 1.5 months about 2-3 hours during the week and 4 over the weekends. Last 1 month about 3-5 hours M-Th, 4 hours F and about 8 hours over the weekends (doing a practice tests, reviewing the answers and doing some studying). The study times for the last month are probably what I did during the most ambitious week. I was able to handle this schedule for 4 weeks, but I probably wouldn't have been able to keep it up much longer. I paced myself pretty well so that I finished going over all the material about 1.5 weeks before the test and had the rest of the time to do a final practice test and review things I was uncomfortable with.
In the end I went from 8ps 10vr 8bs to 14ps 11vr 11bs.
Tips for efficient/focused MCAT study:
-Study in a quiet place without distractions (no music for me!)
-Don't do study marathons, they wear me out, it's hard to stay focused and I don't retain all the information very well. Set aside a block of time (1-2 hours) and study that whole time without checking email, facebook, getting a snack, etc. The exception is if you find your mind wandering stop right away and do what you need to get back on track (bathroom break, cup of coffee, put the book down and come back an hour later, etc.)
-Don't feel overwhelmed by the material, break it down and attack a small portion. Eventually you will get through it all!
-Vary the subject you study. For example I would do one chapter in EK physics, then switch to biology, then chem, then o chem. That way I didn't get "sick" of one subject and never had too much time between subjects
-Check your understanding frequently
-Do what you need to boost confidence and your speed for solving problems especially in PS (do practice questions, etc)
-Try to figure out which equations you NEED to memorize (for PS) and which you just need to know how to use, it takes a lot of pressure off if I know I just need to understand a concept
I hope this helps, please feel free to ask me follow up questions if this answer yours or if this post just raised a thousand more questions.
Good luck!
