Anyone taking the test this year...

[Ebete]

---

Members do not see this ad.

...how are you all doing? How are you balancing family/work/home/study...?
I am ahving a hard time squeezing time to study for the test (planning on taking in June). I study about 2-3 hrs in the afternoon and 2-3 at night, and feel like this is no where enough of how much time I need!!!! There is soooo much material to cover in a little time that I can't seem to find!!!😱
Sorry for the little vent, I guess it was a tough day today.

Please share your journey, thanks...E

 

[QofQuimica]

...how are you all doing? How are you balancing family/work/home/study...?
I am ahving a hard time squeezing time to study for the test (planning on taking in June). I study about 2-3 hrs in the afternoon and 2-3 at night, and feel like this is no where enough of how much time I need!!!! There is soooo much material to cover in a little time that I can't seem to find!!!😱
Sorry for the little vent, I guess it was a tough day today.

Please share your journey, thanks...E

Are you talking about the USMLE or the MCAT? If it's the MCAT, 4-6 hours of studying per day for five straight months is almost certainly massive overkill, and you're running the risk of being completely burned out by spring break, never mind June. Start studying in another month or two at the earliest, and focus on reviewing your weakest areas instead of trying to cover every single possible test topic equally.

If you're taking Step 1, well, same thing, IMHO, but I'll leave advising to the people who've already taken it. (I'm taking this summer also.)

 

[gman33]

The amount of study time you need depends on your background and how long ago you've taken the prereqs. I didn't feel I had a strong science background so I probably studied more than most. I found that doing practice problems and tests was more beneficial than just reading information about the various topics. In addition to learning the material you need to get good at answering MCAT style questions. Search the MCAT forums for study tips.

I would do a little planning on how much total time (in hours) you think you need to prepare for the test. If you are using a review course like Examkrackers, you can follow their 10 week schedule as a guide. I found just setting a goal and focusing on executing my plan was the best way to control the stress of the upcoming exam. Focus on what you need to accomplish to prepare and not so much the outcome. If you prepare well the results should follow.

 

[Luxian]

If you're studying for the MCAT, please please buy an MCAT prep book! You should be studying as much for the test as for the material. There's no way to know all of O-chem and Physics and Bio for the test. A prep book like ExamKrackers will help narrow it to the things you DO need to know so that you won't burn out before the exam!

 

[kronickm]

...how are you all doing? How are you balancing family/work/home/study...?
I am ahving a hard time squeezing time to study for the test (planning on taking in June). I study about 2-3 hrs in the afternoon and 2-3 at night, and feel like this is no where enough of how much time I need!!!! There is soooo much material to cover in a little time that I can't seem to find!!!😱
Sorry for the little vent, I guess it was a tough day today.

Please share your journey, thanks...E

I am taking the MCAT in April. I have been studying a bit while working FT and taking a prep course at night. I study at work a bit, but not very much outside of it. I tend to go back and forth between worrying that I am not studying enough and thinking to myself, I am on schedule, why overkill it and stress myself out unneccesarilly. I just finished with all my pre-reqs in the last year and a half however, so the material is pretty fresh.

It is very weird, the amount of material effects me differently from day to day. Some days I look at the table of contents in my review books and am like, it's really not all that much. Other days, I get to a topic that I have completely forgotten and I am like how am I gonna be an expert on all this stuff. Basically just try to stay level-headed.

 

[Ebete]

Forget it 😡I just spent 1/2 hr replying to all (in detail!)and it got erased!!!!!by the login!!!!!

Its for the mcat...I'm using TPR Hyperlearning EK and Google....I'll detail later.