Feedback on study timeline

[C@rol]

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Hi all,

I'm an starting to study for the MCAT and feel very overwhelmed. I plan to take it next April, but I would like to start asap because I have a full-time job and I'm taking 2 online classes until December (neither of which can be avoided).

After looking around I got the Berkley Review books and Exam Krackers, and would like to also utilize Anki. From now to December I can study 10-15 hours per week, and can then greatly increase January to April.

Should I start by going through 1 subject at a time, or do several subjects per week? I know that the time that I can currently allocate is minimal, so I would appreciate any tips on maximizing it. I took my pre-requisites a while ago, so I will definitely need to do contact review...

Thanks in advanced 🙂

 

[lumya]

I don't know what your level of science-based knowledge is, but the first thing I did when I started studying was take a full-length practice exam. While you do have a lot of time between now and April, doing a practice exam might help you narrow down what you need to work on - you might even surprise yourself at how much of certain topics you still remember.

Do at least a couple CARS questions a day, especially if you think that is an area of weakness. Critical reading skills aren't something you can study, only practice.

Memorize the amino acids, everything about them (name, abbreviation, structure, properties). This helped me a lot with biochemistry questions I was iffy on.

I was a psychology major in undergrad so I didn't have many issues with the P/S section, but I have heard from classmates that the Khan Academy videos are really good if you're not very familiar with those concepts.

Take practice exams periodically. I did a practice exam every 4 weeks ago when I started studying, and then did one every Saturday for the 6 weeks leading up to my actual test. Actually review your tests. I made a spreadsheet that tracked each question, whether I got it right or wrong, what topic it fell under, and I also tried to figure out why I got the question right/wrong. If I got the question right, I divided it up into questions I got right because I knew the concept, made an educated guess, or made a random guess. For questions I got wrong, I divided it up into questions I got wrong because I misread the question, made a stupid mistake, or if I didn't know the concept. This helped me keep track of which topics I was still struggling with and helped to narrow down how to allocate my time.

Personally, I would study one topic at a time instead of trying to do a little of each per day. I just find it more helpful to focus in on one thing.

When I studied, I was also working full-time and taking classes part time. Make notecards or jot down things you need to review on a small notebook. I tried to squeeze in as much random time throughout the day that I could (e.g. waiting in line for coffee, taking the bus, etc.)

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions and best of luck in your study endeavors!