ADVICE NEEDED! How long to spend on content review for a specific subject before moving on?

[phixius12345]

Hey all I had a question. During content review, most of the guides (SN2, etc.) tell you to spend a day reading or getting content down for a specific chapter and then reviewing it in the future. I've been having a hard time with this. I feel like I barely get the material down and then move on and when I come back to it, I've forgotten what I learned.
I'm a non trad and have to learn most of these subjects from scratch (namely bio, psych soc and gen chem)
My question is, would it be better to spend more time doing one subject, like doing lots of practice and understanding it totally before moving on to another? Or is it better to study it for a day move on and then come back to and address it later when you see it nailing you on practice tests?
If anyone has any advice as to what worked for them, I would really appreciate it. Because as of right now, I'm getting (OKAY) at various topics on the MCAT, but I'm hardly close to mastering anything to the point of getting a great score.
I really appreciate the help. Thanks!

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[phixius12345]

Also, as a side note, I'm taking my MCAT by the end of this summer. Thanks again!

 

[MCAT-MVP]

Hi @phixius12345

There are a ton of small details in any MCAT prep book. Don't fall into the trap of trying to memorize every small detail. The MCAT rewards reasoning over memorization. Because you are a non traditional student I would recommend you spend a week or two (or more) with just content review depending on how long it is been since you have seen some of the MCAT material.

would it be better to spend more time doing one subject, like doing lots of practice and understanding it totally before moving on to another?

Doing practice questions after you review a certain section is good, but only to reinforce concepts that you just learned; you may pick up some extra information this way, so be sure you do that. However, getting through the material and doing practice exams is where you will see the most improvements. Doing practice exams instead of practice questions will give you a better idea of how the MCAT words questions and ask about certain topics.

When you are studying for the MCAT you want to get to a point where you are doing one practice exam a week and then reviewing your exam. Make sure you review every question even the questions you get right. There are many practice exams from third party MCAT companies. I would recommend purchasing some of those if you have not already.

Hope that helps.

 

[phixius12345]

Hi @phixius12345

There are a ton of small details in any MCAT prep book. Don't fall into the trap of trying to memorize every small detail. The MCAT rewards reasoning over memorization. Because you are a non traditional student I would recommend you spend a week or two (or more) with just content review depending on how long it is been since you have seen some of the MCAT material.



Doing practice questions after you review a certain section is good, but only to reinforce concepts that you just learned; you may pick up some extra information this way, so be sure you do that. However, getting through the material and doing practice exams is where you will see the most improvements. Doing practice exams instead of practice questions will give you a better idea of how the MCAT words questions and ask about certain topics.

When you are studying for the MCAT you want to get to a point where you are doing one practice exam a week and then reviewing your exam. Make sure you review every question even the questions you get right. There are many practice exams from third party MCAT companies. I would recommend purchasing some of those if you have not already.

Hope that helps.

Thanks so much for your response. When you say a week or 2 of content review, do you mean a week total of all of the content? Or specific chapters in books? Or finish a book in a week? I feel like I understand what I'm reading during review, but when I test myself with questions, I'll get 2 or more wrong (using BR I get much more wrong sometimes) and that makes me feel like I don't know the material well enough, which causes me to doubt that I should be moving on before I'm Acing all of the practice problems. Should I spend time becoming really good at every section? Or should I just get the main concepts of every chapter, and worry about perfecting everything when I start taking practice tests? Thanks so much for the help!

 

[kwu]

I didn't take the MCAT yet but here is my strategy. I am a biology major and I took most of the courses that the MCAT focuses on (ex: molecular biology, physiology, a couple of gen chem and biochem..etc) So I have a pretty good understanding in most of the material.
I got the Princeton review and I started studying each subject alone. I spent much of my time focusing on the material (Not memorizing the small details though). For example, in physiology, you should be able to know the systems and how they work. Most importantly, you should be able to apply your knowledge in other courses like chem and biochem in physiology.
Another suggestion I have is that you should practice practice and practice. The more you practice the more you retain the information. Don't be discouraged if you couldn't solve the question. Go back and review the material until you master it.

 

[MCAT-MVP]

@phixius12345
I mean total, but it really depends on how much of the information you know. It may take you 4-6 weeks to get through all of the material. If you have a good general idea of how a topic works in a MCAT book, then don't spend too much time on it. Don't worry about understanding the smallest detail because you missed 2 questions.

Some MCAT questions from third party test prep companies are written not to mimic what is on the AAMC MCAT exam, but to give you a different approach to solving a problem. Once you take a practice exam you will see what I mean. Understanding the main concepts of every chapter will be more helpful. If you run into a problem of something you do not understand you could always post it here and move onto a different area of the MCAT.

Also do not worry about making mistakes as you study. Everyone who studies for this test makes lots of mistakes. The key is to take practice exams weekly so you know where you stand at getting the score you need and be sure to review the entire exam once you finish.