Career Changer Nontrads, when did you start Studying?

[RichardSM]

I am beginning my postbacc in the spring, but I am using the fall to familiarize myself with science material for my prereqs. Some people have recommended looking at MCAT material now too. Has anyone done this this early?

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[popopopop]

I'm a perpetual over prepared type of person and never even thought of prestudying. Your goal is to get As in your postbacc classes, don't worry about MCAT materials at the moment. Studying for the MCAT mean acing your classes and knowing the materials. That doesn't mean blow off the MCAT. I would check out what type of MCAT materials are available(heard there were good anki decks), prepare your timeline and be ready for changes, and maybe get familiar with the blueprint/outline of what's tested. If you're weak at reading, now is the time to strengthen that because I've seen many posters tank the MCAT on CARS alone.

 

[RichardSM]

I'm a perpetual over prepared type of person and never even thought of prestudying. Your goal is to get As in your postbacc classes, don't worry about MCAT materials at the moment. Studying for the MCAT mean acing your classes and knowing the materials. That doesn't mean blow off the MCAT. I would check out what type of MCAT materials are available(heard there were good anki decks), prepare your timeline and be ready for changes, and maybe get familiar with the blueprint/outline of what's tested. If you're weak at reading, now is the time to strengthen that because I've seen many posters tank the MCAT on CARS alone.

Thanks for this! My thought was that maybe having a small bit of MCAT overview before I start my courses could help me with managing myself, (I.e. "pay extra attention to this, it'll be on the MCAT." But of course I don't want to overload myself either, so I appreciate the advice!

 

[GreenDuck12]

I agree with the poster above. The MCAT tests a much lower level of detail than you will typically need to learn to excel in your prerequisite classes. Instead, the MCAT emphasizes broad chemical/physical/biological concepts presented in novel situations. For this reason, it is really hard to memorize one's way to a high MCAT score. Reading comprehension and reading quickly is an important skill for the exam. I highly recommend getting in the habit of reading topics that are unfamiliar to you and written at a higher academic level: philosophy, art history, literary/critical theory, as well as research papers in biology chemistry and physics. You should be able to access journals through your schools library.

Since the MCAT is likely 18+ months away at a minimum, you could spend some of your next few months getting familiar with some of the material you will cover in your first semester. Khan Academy has great videos that cover major concepts covered in general/organic chemistry, biology, physics, and biochemistry. Additionally you can find open source textbooks for many of those classes as well.