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CaptainTB said:
Hi Everyone, I will try to stay as concise as possible. I recently left dental school to pursue medicine and have been looking around for study materials for the MCAT. I plan on taking the exam this January/February and applying next cycle. It seems that there is a lot out there in terms of prep material, however, I was hoping to get the 411 on what most people have found helpful. Also, since it looks like I will have around a year until the next cycle, does anyone know of any opportunities I could look into to gain more healthcare or clinical experience? Thanks in advance!
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1)whatever resources you choose, definitely watch Khan Academy MCAT prep collection. This is one of the best review resources out there, and it is free. I watched every video at least 5 times. No one explains the material better than him, in my humble biased opinion, especially if you are a visual person.
2) i printed out the list of all the topics for MCAT and hung it on the wall (it was about 11 pages, double column), as i was reviewing the topics, i would cross them out. It helped, because it gave a good visual of the end goal.
3) write down formulas for Gen Chem and physics, and hang them on the wall, where you will see them all the time. Rewrite them every few days from memory. One of the best ideas, in my opinion, for the gen chem and physics, when you sit down for that section in MCAT, write down major high yield formulas ("brain dump"). Helped me, at least.
4) write down high yield stuff from biochem (structures of amino acids, for example, with names and categories) and hang them up too. I did the mind trick thing, - for example, i hung the hydrophobics above the sink, etc. This gave me additional memory clues. Also i rewrote them regularly from scratch (free recall is a very powerful thing).
5) dont spend too much time on reading books, use them for review, but spend most time on questions. Your day should look like this: do 20-40 practice questions in the "tutor mode", where you will get the correct answer immediately. If you got something wrong, or right but you were not sure, write down the name of that topic. After you finish the questions, take a break. Then take the list of those topics, and review them one by one REALLY well. Practice explaining (teaching) that topic to your cat, for example. Review it so well that you can explain it very well. Next day - next 20-40 questions, and review more. This way, over time, you will run out of topics to review, and you will get very good practice in answering the questions.

6) try to do at least several full length tests before the "big day". I did 6 full length tests, and when i showed up to the testing center, i was so used to sitting, and staring at the screen for hours, that it didnt seem like a big deal anymore. Plus i was used to the "rhythm" of answering questions, and i didnt have to worry about going overtime as much. it took so much pressure off.

if you have more questions, please feel free to PM me.
 
I personally prefer videos for content review, so my content review resources were primary:
- Khan Academy: Great collection of videos specifically tailored to the MCAT.
- MCAT Self Prep website: This site has a collection of Khan academy videos as well as other video resources like AK Lectures that cover the vast majority of MCAT subjects. I personally liked this because it had self-study pacing guides and small quizzes at the end of modules.
- If you prefer books Berkeley Review seems to be well regarded.

In terms of actually practicing for the exam, you'll want to use AAMC question packs and AAMC full length tests to get used to MCAT test question style. Both can be purchased at the AAMC website. I think what makes the MCAT harder than DAT is the fact that the questions are passaged based (DAT is nearly all discrete questions), so you'll want to get a lot of practice with that format of question.

In regards to clinical experience, 50-100 hours of shadowing and 150+ hours of clinical experience is generally the rule of thumb. Since you'll have a year and won't be a full-time student, you can probably hold a full-time job. Scribing, EMT, or MA seem to be the most popular routes. You could also try to do clinical volunteering, but that's become a lot more challenging with COVID.
 
CaptainTB said:
Hi Everyone, I will try to stay as concise as possible. I recently left dental school to pursue medicine and have been looking around for study materials for the MCAT. I plan on taking the exam this January/February and applying next cycle. It seems that there is a lot out there in terms of prep material, however, I was hoping to get the 411 on what most people have found helpful. Also, since it looks like I will have around a year until the next cycle, does anyone know of any opportunities I could look into to gain more healthcare or clinical experience? Thanks in advance!
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Suggest checking with the MCAT forum.

For clinical exposure, try scribing

for non-clinical volunteering, try Meals on Wheels, election poll working (normally done by retirees), food banks, or check in with your local houses of worship
 
HKSZYU said:
Really good ones in fact, tailored to the content of the test.
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They started making them around the new mcat came around. I took the new one and at the time there was a total glut of resources. They were still building their library at the time, but it was looking promising.
 
For healthcare and clinical exposure volunteer opportunities are likely to be restricted in the near term due to pandemic. It’s unclear when they might return given how many hospitals and medical schools have restrictions in place. Paid employment might be the only way to gain some of those experiences if you’re looking to make the next cycle. Check out positions as a scribe, clinical research coordinator, medical assistant, etc.

For mcat prep: all AAMC materials, at least 3 additional 3rd party FL exams to practice timing and identify content gaps, UWorld, and any comprehensive content review books. I prefer and recommend TBR due to spaced repetition at the end of their chapters but folks do well on the mcat from TPR, Kaplan, next Step, Exam Krackers, etc. just give yourself 3-4 months to prep.
 
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