30+ MCAT study habits???

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confewshz

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Hello everyone,

I know this question has been asked a zillion times, but I like to get fresh perspectives. For those who got 30+ MCAT scores(SouthernGirl, beanbean, JScrusader, Samoa, nero, and anyone else who has a 30+ MCAT score), can you post the following information please? It would be greatly appreciated.

1) Your individual scores and composite score

2) The study method used for each section

3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)

4) Which practice tests did you use?

5) What was your undergraduate major?

6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?

7) How long did you study for the MCAT?

Thanks guys and congrats to everyone who recently took the MCAT :clap: ,

confewshz

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There were definitely questions about the basic anatomy of the kidney and CNS/PNS on my exam. Maybe our definitions of anatomy differ though, seeing as I'm a Biochemistry major with virtually no experience in "actual" anatomy.

yes dont think there is anatomy but juss basic names/parts of organs that one should know. (i thinK)
 
I think my post is fairly clear that I took a 3 month break for fall term. This is because I didn't feel I was adequately prepared by the end of summer. Summer studying was only on the order of 15-20 hours per week, as is indicated in my post (3*5)
 
I think my post is fairly clear that I took a 3 month break for fall term. This is because I didn't feel I was adequately prepared by the end of summer. Summer studying was only on the order of 15-20 hours per week, as is indicated in my post (3*5)

o sorry missed that part. so you originally started studying in the summer with intention of taking it in aug/sept but delayed it till jan cuz you didnt feel "prepared"?
 
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Yeah, that was really my only option seeing as I had originally planned on taking the exam at the end of the summer. Rule: If you're trying to work 40hrs/week in the lab all summer while simultaneously studying for the MCAT, something's gotta give. It will probably be your sanity.
 
Yeah, that was really my only option seeing as I had originally planned on taking the exam at the end of the summer. Rule: If you're trying to work 40hrs/week in the lab all summer while simultaneously studying for the MCAT, something's gotta give. It will probably be your sanity.


Agreed, I had to take off from lab for a whole semester to study adequately for the mcats.
 
So honored to finally be able to post in here! The only reason I can is because of hard work and the help of all of SDN!

1) Your individual scores and composite score

PS: 14 BS:12 VR:12 Writing:R
38R

2) The study method used for each section

So my study method for both PS and BS was pretty much the same so I will go ahead and write that first.

BS and PS - I can't sing examkrackers praises enough! I feel like with my study method anyone could score at least near as well as I was able to. First thing I did was go through the entire 10 week study schedule for examkrackers. I didn't take any practice tests other than those that were in the material. This gave me an excellent base to start with. Next I made a schedule. THIS IS ESSENTIAL. Make a schedule in Excel and then stick to it! I laid out which chapters in Kaplan I would have to read each day to get through all of the material by X date. So while I was doing this I started taking practice tests. I started by taking one per weekend. And then I slowly ramped up to taking one in the middle of the week as well. Culminating in a weekend where I took one on a Friday and then one on Saturday at my actual testing time. So that is the essential study plan, I'll address tips and what not below.

VR- I feel like VR is one of those sections that is hard to study for. People say read this or read that... Personally I think studying aka reading for all of your other subjects helps a lot for VR as well. But if you really want to study for VR I would high suggest Verbal 101 passages. I thought they were difficult but helpful.

Writing- I just read the advice in Kaplan and then did a few outlines to get it into my head.

3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)
BS, PS - Examkrackers, Kaplan (and I referenced Princetonreview a little)
VR - 101 passages

4) Which practice tests did you use?
AAMC 3 - 30
AAMC 4 - 33
AAMC 5 - 30
AAMC 6 - 33
AAMC 7 - 36
AAMC 8 - 33
AAMC 10 - 33
AAMC 9 - 35

I thought the Kaplan tests were way to difficult and not representative of the actual experience.

5) What was your undergraduate major?
Biological Sciences

6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?
This test is doable!!!! I know that sometimes it seems like learning all that material for such a short test seems pointless... But believe me, it is worth all of the effort you put into it. I am convinced that the MCAT is 50% knowledge and 50% test taking. So make sure you don't neglect either one of those! Practice, practice, practice... Most important part about practicing is to pay attention to the questions that you got wrong!! If you get one wrong, figure out WHY you got it wrong. I went back through all of the AAMC's at the end and redid the questions I got wrong... as a whole I got them right, not because I remembered but because I learned from my mistakes. I guess that is all for now... One last thing that helps is having a goal... not a score, but an ultimate goal... I know not everyone in here believes in God, but I do! And my goal is to be able to go on short term medical missions trips once I am a doctor... So when I had studied 7 days in a row and was feeling burnt out I remembered WHY I was taking the test. So figure out why you are taking the test beyond "to get into medical school" and then focus on that as an inspiring factor!!!


7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
Total it would be about 6 or 7 months. But I started really studying in like September or so... So 4 or 5 months...

I may come back and add more to this later. But please, I use to be a teacher at Kaplan and I have studied for the MCAT a ton so if you have any questions at all please feel free to PM me or ask me a question in a a thread, anything I can do to give back to SDN!

Good luck to everyone!!!!!!
 
1) Your individual scores and composite score
34M (12 BS, 12 PS, 10 VR)

2) The study method used for each section
I made flash cards for the most important concepts. I didn't do any of the assigned homework. I probably don't deserve my score. :laugh:

3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)
I took TPR's "Holiday Hell" course- 5 hours a day, every day during Christmas break.

4) Which practice tests did you use?
TPR 1 (21)
TPR 2 (28)
TPR 3 (29)
AAMC 10 (36)

5) What was your undergraduate major?
Biochemistry

6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?
I'd highly recommend the condensed one month course. I didn't put in a lot of effort, but it feels like a good amount of the material stuck from just going to class. I don't see how you guys can put up with 6 months of work. Quick and easy, please. :scared:

7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
I'd say about a month. The only time I studied for it was during the four week long review class. You have about a five day break between the end of the review course and the January 25th MCAT, so it works out well.
 
I hate the MCAT, but I did break 30.

1) Your individual scores and composite score

PS: 12 VR: 11 BS: 9 Writing R. 32 R

2) The study method used for each section

I did very little actualy studying for Verbal. I did some EK 101 Verbal passages. And I took a lot of practice tests. I am most angry about this section since I was averaging close to 13 on all my tests. The only real thing to do is to practice passages and go over all your answers. I found that going over my right answers actually helped more than taking a look at the wrong ones.

For PS and BS I used Kaplan and EK. Just took a lot of practice tests and went over all the questions. Had a big Word document with all the stuff I didn't know. Really helpful for me.

Writing I did nothing for.

3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)

Used Kaplan and EK for all sections

Practice Tests:

All AAMCs (averaged around 34). All Kaplans (except 10 and 11) averaged around 35.


5) What was your undergraduate major?

Political Science and History with an Econ minor.

6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?

The test isn't as hard as the Kaplan people make it out to be. Its really a test of endurance. You have to study a lot to make it pay off. Repetitiion is really important.

7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
I started in mid October and studied a good amount right up until the last week.

Good Luck, I may be stopping the whole medical school thing for a while. We'll see.
 
I found a lot of useful information on this site and I just thought I should give back by telling you guys how I prepared:

1) Your individual scores and composite score

PS: 14 VR: 11 BS: 15 Writing Q. 40Q

2) The study method used for each section

Practice, practice, practice. I practiced until my brain was numb and my hands started aching. For more detailed:

Physical Sciences:
I learned a lot of the things that may be covered on the mcats just from going through my practice exams. I'm sure my engineering knowledge helped a bit. I noticed that there are often Modern Physics topics covered as well. It might be worth taking if you're looking for an added boost in physics mcat knowledge. Even though they're not passage based, i thought the 1001 physics and gen chem books were good enough to get me prepared for this section. Most of the passage based questions in this section are discretes in disguise anyways.

Verbal Reasoning
101 passages was king followed by all the practice that kaplan gives you in their online course. I can't think of any other strategy for this section. I take no notes, it seems like a waste of precious time. If you find yourself being slow, practice speed reading the newspaper first until you have plenty of time every single time you practice VR. I think most people have trouble with VR because they spend too much time on the passage itself.

Biological Sciences
Review everything from the major topics that are covered, ie physiology, cell bio, genetics, biochem, orgo. Topics seem random and randomly detailed. Have a wide breadth of knowledge and practice with the 1001 Q in BS from EK.

3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)

Most of the actual topical review came from Kaplan and EK. Most of my practice also came from the first two sources. I got every 1001 book and forced myself to finish them to the last question. It was torture but I think it paid off in the end.

Practice Tests:

My practice tests started at around 32 and went up as high as 45 on AAMC6. Did all AAMC and Kaplan tests. They become less and less accurate predictors the higher scoring you become.

5) What was your undergraduate major?

Biomedical Engineering and Physics

6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?


Do not fear the mcat. Study enough so that you can go into the testing center confident that you will dominate. If you don't feel good about taking it on test day, don't take it that day!

7) How long did you study for the MCAT?

I started studying on and off (3hr a week) about 5 months before the test. During winter break, I studied up to 12 hr a day for it since it was right after break ended. During the 2 weeks of school leading up to the exam, I maybe spent 3hr/day on it and took a half week to rest before the exam on the 26th.

I'm so glad that this is behind me and that I can have a life again. Good luck to everybody who still face this challenge!
 
I've been eagerly awaiting the day I would get to post on here for so long. Sweetness.

1) Your individual scores and composite score
PS: 12, VR: 9, BS: 13, WS: P
Total: 34P

2) The study method used for each section

BS: This was definitely my strongest section. I always loved orgo and have taken a few upper level bio class like biochem & physiology and these helped a lot too. So for this section I mainly just reviewed and didn't try to memorize much at all. Just have a solid understanding of the orgo principles (I didn't memorize any rxns) and know about genetics/cell bio and some physiology.

PS: I was always pretty good with gen chem, but I hadn't taken it for a while so I had to review a lot of it. I just did a lot of practice problems. Physics was a lot harder for me, and honestly I still don't know how I managed to do so well in it. I was pretty good with light/sound/magnetism/electro and all the second semester stuff, but I was absolutely terrified of motion/kinematics. I just did a lot of problems and tried to read as much as I could for subjects I didn't understand.

VR: Oh man. I must have tried everything. I got a 10 on my diagnostic and have always been a pretty good reader/writer, so I thought this section would be a breeze. However, my practice scores dropped precipitously and I realized I needed help quick. I did everything from mapping the passage, to trying to read more (atlantic, economist, etc.). The thing that helped me most though was just doing tons of practice questions. I wish I would have had more. Mainly, though I'm no expert on this section, the thing that helped was learning to eliminate half the answer choices, I could do this about 85% of the time.

Writing: I wrote a couple essays with my practice tests, just to get the timing down and so I wouldn't have any surprises on test day. I was a slacker in this section.

3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)

Took a Kaplan online course. Otherwise, it would have been much too hard to get even close to the amount of practice questions they have. These were the most helpful part of the course. The lectures felt like a chore and I don't think I got much out of them. I thought the books were a nice, clear review of everything. Reading these closely helped a lot too. Whenever topics weren't clear, I'd look them up online or in an old textbook.

4) Which practice tests did you use?

Kap Diag: ___PS:7__ VR:10 __BS: 11 (28)
Kap FL 8: ___PS:11 __VR:8__ BS:14 (33)
AAMC 5 : ___PS:12__ VR:10 __BS:11 (33)
Kap FL4: ____PS:8 __VR:10 __BS:14 (32)
AAMC 6: ____Ps:12 __Vr:10__ Bs:12 (34)
Kap FL5: ____PS:12__ VR:11 __BS:14 (37)
AAMC 4: ____Ps:12__ Vr:10__ Bs:14 (36)
AAMC 8: ____Ps:12__ Vr:13__ Bs:11 (36)
Kap FL8:____PS:13___VR:10__BS:14 (37)
Kap FL7:___PS:12__VR:13___BS:14 (39)
AAMC 9:___PS:12___VR:10__BS:15 (37)
AAMC 10:__PS:14__VR:14__BS:12 (40)----I'd already seen the VR section
AAMC 7:__PS:12__VR:12__BS:13 (37)

So my average was about a 36 I think. My VR average was a couple points above 9, but I'm not going to complain. I think on test day I was just so tired of studying and just wanted it to be over so bad that I just gunned it and neglected some of my VR skills.

5) What was your undergraduate major?

Nutritional Science (Never heard of it? It's ~90% female, you should check it out sometime)

6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?

Take tons of practice tests, read questions carefully.The best thing I did to study for the MCAT was, without a doubt, always paying attention and doing good in my classes. Everything I studied felt more like a review and I didn't have to struggle to learn a ton of unfamiliar material.

Also, it was helpful to have taken the test during my senior year, after I'd taken some upper level bio courses. These made every bio topic a piece of cake.
Again, I wish I'd had more preparation for VR. I don't know why this one got me. I think a big part of it was not reading any kind of literature/reviews/etc. and only reading science textbooks for the last 2 years. I would say take a broad range of classes and read a lot. I really thought this section would be easier for me.

7) How long did you study for the MCAT?


Took diagnostic 8/25/07. Studied anywhere from 1-8 hours a week during the semester, but nothing too insane. Didn't take any practice tests until winter break, when I studied a solid 5-8 hours a day. Having a break from classes to take lots of practice tests was crucial. So overall about 5 months.
 
1) Your individual scores and composite score
8VR, 11PS, 12BS (31Q)

2) The study method used for each section

PS:

I primarily used EK and Princeton Review as a reference. I always been really good at physics so PS is the part that I am most comfortable with. I just reviewed a lot of G-chem stuff.

VR:
I used EK 101 Passages and Princeton Review online practice passages. Those were really helpful. I began with a 4 and steadily improving. Considering the fact that English is not my first language, I will gladly take my 8 on VR.

WS:
This section is complete BS. I just used Princeton Review material to go over for literally 30 min the night before the real exam. Im surprised I pulled a Q.

BS:
I have to say EK Bio book saved my life on this section. At first I began using Princeton Review material but it was wayyyyy too much info that I didnt even know how to start. USE EK BOOK FOR THIS SECTION IF YOU WANNA GET ABOVE 12.

3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)
Refer to my above response.

4) Which practice tests did you use?

I did all of Princeton Review and AAMC tests.

5) What was your undergraduate major?

Economics

6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?

Know you ****. Literally know your ****. If you dont know how kidney works, go over it 10 times until you know it cold. If you dont know titration, go over it 10 times until you know it cold. Set aside about 2 months of doing nothing but MCAT for 10 hrs+ everyday.

7) How long did you study for the MCAT?

Studied all summer but lightly then crammed everything in the month before. I think I spent about 10 hrs+ on MCAT everyday during that time. If you study, you will do well. It's just a matter of how much effort you put into. Goodluck everyone who will be taking it in the future.
 
I'll just post this here for future mcat people.. since the other thread won't last long

Since you guys love numbers so much, let me start with them:

Kaplan diagnostic (after going through EK): 23 (8 PS, 8 VR, 7 BS)
August 20th MCAT (after 4 months of prep.. studying 5-6 hours a day): 29Q (10 PS, 9 VR, 10 BS)
January 26th MCAT (after 2 months of light prep... 1-2 hours every other day): 37O (14 PS, 10 VR, 13 BS)

What does this mean? What were my practice scores like? I'll post the exact numbers later at the end of this post.

Let me start off by telling you that I'm your average Joe.. there are a lot and I mean ALOT of people on here who are "smarter" than me... whatever that means.. it means nothing now. I've always been the hardworking type who envied the "smart" kids who always seemed to do well without much preparation on standardized tests or who aced the SATs... I feel like that no more. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.. I took the SAT 3 times and the ACT 3 times. Scores didn't improve much. (I even took a Kaplan course for the SAT :eek:) I never understood standardized tests. By putting in enough time on the MCAT, I guess I figured out the MCAT.


The MCAT is something you can definitely study for.. no matter what anyone says. Take as much time as you need... if you think about it... I had 6 months of prep... 4 at first, and 2 after retake.


Just because you see someone study for 1 month and end up with a 40.. but see one of your buddies bust his *** off on a Kaplan course, spend 4 months studying, and still not score as well... means jack ****. That means nothing. I'm a prime example.. look at how much time I spent studying the first time, compared to the second. You need to study right AND you need to use Berkeley Review for PS.. if you're weak at it.. it's like free points on your test lol .. which I'll mainly talk about in the strategy/guessing section.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Use it to your advantage.. mindset is important.

Test Day

I feel that taking the test once gave me confidence.. but still, in January, the nerves hit me somewhat... as I knew I got 4 Qs wrong on PS right off the bat (I was thinking about it during break), and I had marked 22 questions on the BS section of the test. I felt miserable.


Materials/Review Course

Chemistry:

EK EK EK EK and BERKELEY REVIEW, BERKELEY REVIEW, BERKELEY REVIEW, BERKELEY REVIEW, BERKELEY REVIEW, BERKELEY REVIEW, BERKELEY REVIEW, BERKELEY REVIEW, BERKELEY REVIEW, BERKELEY REVIEW

Chemistry was one of my weaker sections... I dreaded it... 3 weeks with the Berkeley Review chem books made me a Chemistry master. I didn't miss any chem questions on the real deal.. and on top of that, the passages are amazing practice. I'll elaborate on this more later on.

Physics:

EK and Berkeley Review for sure, ... great practice.. Physics is by far my weakest section. I never got As in Physics and always struggled. Definitely use BOTH for Physics. I promise you'll do well.

BS and O Chem:

I didn't find Berkeley Review's Bio helpful on Biology... way too detailed
I used EK and Kaplan.. they worked

In terms of practice, Kaplan's section tests were great!! There are what... 10 of them!? 10 full length BS sections.. that's a looot of practice. I exhausted Kaplan.. definitely worth it.

I'm a Bio major.. but felt the most uneasy about this section on practice tests.. since it required a lot of reading. I suck at reading comprehension... so I had to improve my "guessing" strategies.. I'll write more about this later. This is what helped me get my BS score. O Chem.. no opinion on my abilities... just meh.


I took Kaplan over the summer.. to be honest, the lectures were useless. The online material was great. If you have the money to spend, definitely, definitely get the online course. You get the AAMCs along with the Kaplan FLs.. which I really suspected for the looongest time... but they turned out pretty accurate, atleast the second time.

Strategy/Guessing/What I did

General Stuff

Look at the AAMC topics list and identify the topics you had difficulty with and study those mainly... for me it was Circuits, Doppler Effect, Solubility, Acid/Base Chem, Torque, Sugars/Carbs in O Chem, Digestive System.... make notecards! I'm really not a notecard person... but writing down questions like "What are the 4 pancreatic hormones down" and having the answer on the other side reallly realllly improves recall. I made over 150 notecards on topics I was not sure about. Helped BIG TIME.... I can't believe I forgot to post this above... adding it now.

Also write stuff like, what happens if I add a resistor in parallel to a circuit? How is current affected... just knowing stuff like this like the back of your hand will save unnecessary time. The first time I had circuit questions, I had to draw 2 resistors in parallel to check if my thinking was right. Just knowing this high yield facts by making notecards will save you a tonnnnnn of time on the real deal. You reduce unnecessary thinking time. On the real deal, I was presented with a rather complicated looking circuit... there was shortcut to the problem. Making flashcards on what happens when a) happens, b) is added c) is removed etc... helped me find great shortcuts that I was able to employ on the real thing.


PS:

Definitely the easiest section to improve on! Knowing the formulas/basics can get you a 10. Also remember that it is very likely for you to get a few points lower on any section... your goal is to not be satisfied with whatever score you have. Even if you're getting 12s (like I did the first time), there is still a chance you could get a 10 on the real deal. PS is something you can really perfect. No matter what your background, seriously, everyone should be going for a 15 on PS. It's possible!!!

My physics background sucks... chemistry, I barely got by. I was never a Math person... more of a biology person... and I turned PS into my strongest section. Use as many books as possible without wasting too much time. I looked at EK, Nova, Berkeley Review, and Kaplan. EK was great.. Kaplan was similar. What's missing in 1 book, you can find in the other. Berkeley Review seemed great for Physics... but I didn't have much time to review it. I only did the Fluids section (something I never understood).. and it made perfect sense to me afterwards. I know I only did 1 section... but I'll assume it's Physics is pretty darn good. But of course, its Chem section is amazing.. I won't repeat the same thing over and over :p. If you really want, you can find them on Craigslist for cheap probably... But $60 for these brand new Chem books is def. worth it in the grand scheme of things. And lol for those who IMed me about selling them.. sorry.. I'm letting someone use them right now .. and saving them for my brother haha.

First 2 are probably the most important tips by far that you can improve on very easily

1) Improve your arithmetic... get really, really, really fast with basic Math. Your confidence will improve, and you won't have to keep checking your answers. TBR's practice passage based questions had a tonnnnn of math.. no I naturally got good at this while working through the passages.

2) Dimentional Analysis ... PERFECT this... I had around 5-7 questions that seriously required you to do this. For example (I'm making this up), a question will ask you how to represent FORCE. You automatically think F = ma... but mass * acceleration will never be in the answer choices. Each choice will have some something convoluted like Energy * Mass * density .. blah blah.. etc... these questions, you simply have to go through each answer choice in order. Working on this will help bigtime...

but more importantly, some questions will do it in a subtle way... and under time pressure, if you don't look at the UNITS of the answer choices, you can get a question wrong. Something I frequently noticed was: having the correct number as the answer but paired with the wrong units. Learn to look for this on every calculation question.

3) CHECK FOR BALANCED EQUATIONS every time.

Even if it doesn't ask you to.. do it! I recognized one on the real deal... simply b/c during practice tests, I forced myself to check if every Chemical equation I saw was balanced. If it's not balanced, you will definitely get a limiting reagant question wrong. It's just a great habit to get into.

4) Learn to Skim Passages when necessary

I had a hard looking roller coaster passage... I didn't even want to look at it. Chances are.. if a passage looks obnoxiously hard, it's that way for everyone. I went straight to the questions... and sometimes, the questions alone can give you information on what the passage is about. Be flexible, practice this on practice tests!

5) Keep a log of the types of questions on each exam you took ..

you'll start to see some patterns in how the AAMC is formulating questions... On the earlier AAMCs when I was preparing the second time, after Berkeley Review, I was getting consistend 12s. I only improved my scores to the 13 - 15 range within the last 3 weeks before the exam! I guarantee you that if you keep a log, you will notice that some types of questions start showing up again and again and again.... you'll just say to yourself, "Hey! it's that type of question! I know how to do it." You're not going to be shocked on the exam.


VR:

I'm no Verbal expert.. but I tried finishing each passage within 7.5 minutes.. as fast as possible without losing accuracy (Vihsadas' advice).

Understand that you can read! you've been doing it since kindergarden... my reading comprehension isn't great.. it's normal. I got a 630 Verbal or something like that on the SAT. I've read a net total of 3 books (non-science) for college since I graduated. You want to get a 10 on Verbal. Unfortunately, I didn't do as well on Verbal as the other sections... so I think my advice is probably not the best.

BS:

I guess my knowledge base is OK. The only advanced classes I took were anatomy and genetics (which was basically just high school level Bio with extra details). I never took Biochem.. it probably would have helped. I had a Western blot passage that I thought I missed completely. However, by looking at the images given, I was able to predict answers for each question. Again, if a passage seems complicated, it probably is for everyone! Go to the figures and questions!

Take the AAMCs and look over all your marked/wrong questions. Keep looking at them.. analyze them. Figure out what you were thinking when you answered the question.

1) Draw a map of the body systems in the human body... start with what happens when food enters your mouth.. or what happens when air enters your nose? If you do this over and over (write it down once and practice recall), physiology will make a lot more sense to you. how does this affect the heart? stomach? lungs? etc..

2) Try and relate this to fluid flow in physics, for example. As one of my engineering friends told me, imagine the body as a circuit with blood being the current.

3) Know which systems normally "go together"... for ex: Nervous and Endocrine system... at times, if you don't know what a question is talking about, knowing which "things" go together can be a big help.

4) Again, make a log. It'll help.


Final Word of advice: Take the MCAT when you feel ready. Don't rush it at all. When I was going to take it the 2nd time, I felt fairly confident I would pull off a 33 atleast, a very competitive score. Also, taking it once boosted my confidence bigtime before going in there. Of course, after coming out, I felt like I got run over haha.... but your attitude going in there matters a lot. AAMCs are good indicators. Do noooot hope for a miracle on test day. Assume you'll score around your average + or - 2-3 points ... if you're not happy with your average, and if there is no urgency, wait and take it when you are happy with your practice scores.

Set a goal and do not get your mind off it. If you work hard and don't slack off, you can pull it off.


Practice Scores:

First time:

CBT 4: 12/8/11 (31)
CBT 5: 13/8/12 (33)
CBT 6: 12/8/11 (31)

CBT 7: 10/10/12 (32)
CBT8: 12/10/10 (32)
CBT9: 12/9/11 (32)


FL 1: 11/9/9 (29)
FL 2: 13/10/10 (33)
FL 3: 11/12/14 (lolol) (37)
FL 4: 11/8/12 (32)
FL 5: 13/8/11 (33)

My scores were all over the place.. as seen above.. and Kaplan can be very inaccurate at times.. lol

Second Time: remember I took these twice

AAMC 4: 13 PS, 10 VR, 12 BS (35)
AAMC 5: 12 PS, no VR, 12 BS
AAMC 6: 12 PS, 12 VR, 12 BS (36)
AAMC 7: 15 PS, 12 VR, 11 BS (38)
AAMC 8: 13 PS, 10VR, 10 BS (33)
AAMC 9: 14 PS, 11 VR, 13 BS (38)
AAMC 10: 14 PS, 9 VR, 13 BS (36)

Kaplan FL#7: 12 PS, 12 VR, 14 BS (38)
Kaplan FL #8: 12 PS, 13 VR, 13 BS (38)

Comments on these: What's important to realize is ... I didn't really do a whole lot more studying for the Jan. MCAT.. I picked up Berkeley Review, worked on the passages, and that MINDSET leaked into the other subjects... moreover, I completed 20 section tests and the 8 AAMCs with 4 additional Berkeley Review practice tests... I saved more than a month for practice tests and analysis alone. Also, I made around 200 flashcards on topics I wasn't sure about... so I guess it was studying.. but very focused and efficient studying (only my weak areas).
 
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