Does Content Review Have ANY Use?

[Kinesio]

It's been a long time since I have completed my pre-reqs so before I take the MCAT in January, I have decided to dedicate the first phase of my MCAT study-plan strictly for content review and the types of practice problems that reinforces what I pick up during this review.

However, as I browse through the forums I am constantly seeing student who have just taken the MCAT typing up their frustration over how nothing they studied in their content review came up on the actual exam. This includes all of the so-called high-yield information that prep books like to point out: hormones, acids/bases, enzymes, etc.

If there is nothing on the actual exam that draws from content review, then what is this exam all about???

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[capn jazz]

Um... people are frustrated because topics that you think will be on the exam are completely missing. But come on, what do you think they're testing on? My test had nothing on the "big ones": hormones, kidney, digestion, acids/bases. But of course it had other topics I studied like fluids/solids, microbiology, etc. The thing is that you have no idea WHAT will be on your MCAT so you need to have EVERYTHING down solid. But really, where in the world did you gather that NOTHING on the MCAT is from content review? EVERYTHING on the MCAT is from content review.

 

[LostInStudy]

It's been a long time since I have completed my pre-reqs so before I take the MCAT in January, I have decided to dedicate the first phase of my MCAT study-plan strictly for content review and the types of practice problems that reinforces what I pick up during this review.

However, as I browse through the forums I am constantly seeing student who have just taken the MCAT typing up their frustration over how nothing they studied in their content review came up on the actual exam. This includes all of the so-called high-yield information that prep books like to point out: hormones, acids/bases, enzymes, etc.

If there is nothing on the actual exam that draws from content review, then what is this exam all about???

That means that these so-called people did not take enough practice exams to get the point of this test. ONLY 1/6 questions will be straight factual knowledge. 2/6 will be from comprehending the passage. The 3/6 or HALF are integrating what you comprehended with what you know. When you are practicing you should be trying to get good at these skills. The MCAT is not a memorization or content test. There will be stuff you don't know on it but the point is that if you prepared properly then you should be able to answer these questions as well as you did in practice with other "high-yield" topics. Learn the basic concepts and then work on comprehension of passages and application of these basic concepts.

Another plausible explanation is that they did these things and used previous knowledge without realizing it. As for questions asking for straight up factoids then this is expected because only 1/6 questions are supposed to be like this and on an orgo heavy test this comes out to be a couple of questions max if any at all.

Hope this helped,

-LIS

 

[LostInStudy]

Um... people are frustrated because topics that you think will be on the exam are completely missing. But come on, what do you think they're testing on? My test had nothing on the "big ones": hormones, kidney, digestion, acids/bases. But of course it had other topics I studied like fluids/solids, microbiology, etc. The thing is that you have no idea WHAT will be on your MCAT so you need to have EVERYTHING down solid. But really, where in the world did you gather that NOTHING on the MCAT is from content review? EVERYTHING on the MCAT is from content review.

Agreed, because EVERYTHING is your basic foundation from which to answer unfamiliar questions. If the MCAT was as easy as recall everyone would get 40s.

-LIS

 

[2010houston]

I had a long, LONG time from some of my prereqs to the actual MCAT, and content review was far and away the most useful prep I did. Especially if you're already a decent test taker, you're only going to improve a little by learning the tricks of the test, practice questions, etc. But if its been a long time since your prereqs, you're going to improve your score a LOT with content review. Worth it!

 

[RogueUnicorn]

everything you read on SDN should be taken with a bag of salt.

 

[LostInStudy]

everything you read on SDN should be taken with a bag of salt.

Or in context in this case.

-LIS

 

[doopdidoop]

everything you read on SDN should be taken with a bag of salt.

hahahahhah.

i wholeheartedly agree.

 

[movax]

Depends on time available to study. I have (had) 30 days; July 30th test date, started studying June 20th or so, while juggling ~32hrs class per week (engineering). I did content review for the first week, and barely finished the EK Phys review (last time I had Waves/Optics was HS), and did a few lectures from EK Chem.

All I am doing now is using full-lengths as problem banks. I've got around 30 of them, plus 3 AAMCs as "final" review. Its basically like jumping into the deep end - get destroyed on the full-lengths, review mistakes, lick wounds, and jump back in. In a month, I've gone 27 from the first MCAT to averaging 38-40s on Kaplans. Just keep practicing.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

going from 30ish to 40ish is a way different beast than from teens to 30s.