6 months till mcat

[AntonFreeman]

I am taking MCAT in September and I am planning on taking a berkeley review class starting in June. But I want to begin studying now. I am thinking about going through ek series before the class begins. Some people say I would burn out if i begin studying too early. Do you guys have any advice how I could efficiently prepare my self in 6 months?

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[ridethecliche]

I am taking MCAT in September and I am planning on taking a berkeley review class starting in June. But I want to begin studying now. I am thinking about going through ek series before the class begins. Some people say I would burn out if i begin studying too early. Do you guys have any advice how I could efficiently prepare my self in 6 months?

6 months is a bit much, but it really depends on how much time you have on your hands.

Your idea of going through EK is a good one. I would pick up their books and read through them while answering the problems as you go along. I would suggest reading for content understanding. Look at the big picture and get yourself in the mindset.

If you give yourself a good background this way, I think you'll get more out of TBR as it will be more in depth than EK. So you'll have the theory mostly down and you can drill down the content.

Make sure to take lots of breaks and have fun. 6 months is a long time to be studying for 1 exam.

 

[sdsoccer]

6 months is way too long. U can do tbr and ek all in 3 months. I'm takin in two weeks been studying for 2 months and already burned out lol. But I did almost all tbr so far tprh verbal ek vr 101 and ek 1001. I say I studied about 5-6 hours a day

 

[tttgo]

Are you still in school? make sure you know your prereqs well and brush up on older material. You have a higher chance of burning out if you study longer, flipping through EK probably won't hurt. You could also start reading a bunch of stuff, but 6 months might be too little.

 

[shushumiga]

I am taking the MCAT August 6 and am preparing with TBR material and I like it...so far. I wish I could take the course as well but it is only offered in CA

 

[cartman1980]

I plan on taking MCATs around Aug-Sep time frame. I started studying for it since end of Dec'10; but, only get an hour or two (max) each day to dedicate to the prep. Burnout is almost a certainty, but thats where the resolve comes into play

 

[NYR56]

6 months is way too long. U can do tbr and ek all in 3 months. I'm takin in two weeks been studying for 2 months and already burned out lol. But I did almost all tbr so far tprh verbal ek vr 101 and ek 1001. I say I studied about 5-6 hours a day

I agree with this. Three months is the optimal time if those three months are mostly dedicated to MCAT studying. Things change a bit if you have a lot of other stuff going on, but it sounds like you'll have the whole summer to study. Studying earlier than that drags things on too long. Don't take the burnout comment lightly - it's very true. You need momentum when you are taking the FLs and the real deal, and I promise you all those people that studied for ridiculous amounts of time will not have that. The content itself isn't all that crazy that you need half a year to learn it, even if you only moderately paid attention in your pre-reqs.

 

[gunito]

I plan on taking MCATs around Aug-Sep time frame. I started studying for it since end of Dec'10; but, only get an hour or two (max) each day to dedicate to the prep. Burnout is almost a certainty, but thats where the resolve comes into play

Im taking it in august and i just started studying, lightly. I have TBR and ive been reading physiology a little each night. Its helpful to have an interest in the material so that burning out is less likely. I LOVE physiology so i read just like im reading any other book but i go back and review info. Im taking 15 credits and im going to start on verbal in the next week. I think ill crank it up mid april.

 

[ridethecliche]

I agree with this. Three months is the optimal time if those three months are mostly dedicated to MCAT studying. Things change a bit if you have a lot of other stuff going on, but it sounds like you'll have the whole summer to study. Studying earlier than that drags things on too long. Don't take the burnout comment lightly - it's very true. You need momentum when you are taking the FLs and the real deal, and I promise you all those people that studied for ridiculous amounts of time will not have that. The content itself isn't all that crazy that you need half a year to learn it, even if you only moderately paid attention in your pre-reqs.

I work full time @ 40-50hrs a week.

I started studying in mid jan for the may 21st exam, just because I knew I had to travel in the middle a bit and can only study about 4-5 days a week for a few hrs at a stretch.

It comes down to what you're doing the rest of the time and how well you know yourself. My day job doesn't involve studying, so I don't mind studying for 4-5 hrs after work. If I was a student, I couldn't imagine myself studying for 3-4 hrs a day in addition to studying for classes all the time.

Cramming over winter break isn't ideal, but studying a metric ton over summer is very do-able!

 

[AntonFreeman]

I am not really trying to begin hardcore studying until I start my class in June. One of the reason I want to start studying early is class starts in June and goes to end of August and I don't know if i will have enough time to do fl's and passages for test in September.

 

[peanut11]

I am not really trying to begin hardcore studying until I start my class in June. One of the reason I want to start studying early is class starts in June and goes to end of August and I don't know if i will have enough time to do fl's and passages for test in September.

If you've done well in your undergrad courses, that should be plenty of time.

 

[luckviii]

You could try audio osmosis that give overall picture of everything. Maybe practice doing verbal passages. Might also be a good time to fine tune all your study techniques ie speed reading course, practice reading difficult subjects, time management system.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Im taking it in august and i just started studying, lightly. I have TBR and ive been reading physiology a little each night. Its helpful to have an interest in the material so that burning out is less likely. I LOVE physiology so i read just like im reading any other book but i go back and review info. Im taking 15 credits and im going to start on verbal in the next week. I think ill crank it up mid april.

The problem with this is that there's a good chance you'll forget a decent chunk of what you're studying now. So, it's fairly low-yield to start studying for the MCAT this far ahead of time.

 

[KaplanSam]

I work full time @ 40-50hrs a week.

I started studying in mid jan for the may 21st exam, just because I knew I had to travel in the middle a bit and can only study about 4-5 days a week for a few hrs at a stretch.

It comes down to what you're doing the rest of the time and how well you know yourself. My day job doesn't involve studying, so I don't mind studying for 4-5 hrs after work. If I was a student, I couldn't imagine myself studying for 3-4 hrs a day in addition to studying for classes all the time.

Cramming over winter break isn't ideal, but studying a metric ton over summer is very do-able!

Great points. You seem like you've got a great plan and that you're pretty well set up for the test at the end of may. I agree totally in your point about not cramming over winter break (I've tutored dozens of students who've tried to do so and just couldn't with all the things they had going on at that time).

The only thing I'd add is that when you're a student you build the MCAT studying in as a class (like 3 or 4 units). So I recommend that my students take the minimum coursework (12 or 13 units depending on the school) and then treat MCAT studying as a 3-4 class. That way you don't wind up trying to grind in MCAT prep with all the other assignments and tests you'll have in the semester. Hope this helps.

 

[gunito]

The problem with this is that there's a good chance you'll forget a decent chunk of what you're studying now. So, it's fairly low-yield to start studying for the MCAT this far ahead of time.

I have 5 months until the test. I don't intend to remember everything but I will remember the larger concepts. Ill work on the details in May. It will be easier to recall than not knowing the info. Its just like reviewing earlier chapters in a class through the semester to prep for the final. I know ill be alright.

 

[ridethecliche]

Great points. You seem like you've got a great plan and that you're pretty well set up for the test at the end of may. I agree totally in your point about not cramming over winter break (I've tutored dozens of students who've tried to do so and just couldn't with all the things they had going on at that time).

The only thing I'd add is that when you're a student you build the MCAT studying in as a class (like 3 or 4 units). So I recommend that my students take the minimum coursework (12 or 13 units depending on the school) and then treat MCAT studying as a 3-4 class. That way you don't wind up trying to grind in MCAT prep with all the other assignments and tests you'll have in the semester. Hope this helps.

I agree with the winter break thing and that a student should treat it as a 'course' because of the time required for doing everything.

I have to admit that I didn't figure this stuff early enough and was scheduled for an April exam. The 'extra' month is making a huge difference by giving me a ton of time to drill down and take a break here and there.

 

[bbottle]

How many hours a day is ideal for a six month study plan? 3-4?