Going crazy on MCAT.

[pizzamaker]

I posted before, I dont really have the money for a course, so I took some people's suggestion on this forum and purchased 2 EK books the biology and physics. I just finished the biology and I am doing the practice exams and I keep getting 9-10 range on the exams. I am going crazy 'cause I dont know what else to do. How do you guys study for the MCAT. I am taking the MCAT in May some time and I also have an extremely heavy load this winter term coming up with genetics, histology, immunology, etc, and I really need to get some studying done before this break is done. What should I do, what did you guys do to get 33+ on the MCAT. Please help me!

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[cbrons]

I posted before, I dont really have the money for a course, so I took some people's suggestion on this forum and purchased 2 EK books the biology and physics. I just finished the biology and I am doing the practice exams and I keep getting 9-10 range on the exams. I am going crazy 'cause I dont know what else to do. How do you guys study for the MCAT. I am taking the MCAT in May some time and I also have an extremely heavy load this winter term coming up with genetics, histology, immunology, etc, and I really need to get some studying done before this break is done. What should I do, what did you guys do to get 33+ on the MCAT. Please help me!

Pizzamaker,

I'm taking it in May too. Do me a favor and don't sit next to me if your gunna be hyperventilating the whole time.

Damn alright I'll give you a serious response.. you'll be fine. Why are you freaking out.. it isn't even January? Make a study schedule like I'm doing. You're going to have to sacrifice some weekends here and there. Sucks but thats what I'm doing too Besides.. the EK /30 min lecture/ questions are generally harder than the real dealio.

 

[Pedsbro]

I posted before, I dont really have the money for a course, so I took some people's suggestion on this forum and purchased 2 EK books the biology and physics. I just finished the biology and I am doing the practice exams and I keep getting 9-10 range on the exams. I am going crazy 'cause I dont know what else to do. How do you guys study for the MCAT. I am taking the MCAT in May some time and I also have an extremely heavy load this winter term coming up with genetics, histology, immunology, etc, and I really need to get some studying done before this break is done. What should I do, what did you guys do to get 33+ on the MCAT. Please help me!

I swore by the EK series of prep books and it got me a really good score. I read each one at least twice though. 10 isn't bad after one read-through. Identify any trends on what you're missing...as to subject matter. I noticed you haven't taken genetics yet, but will be soon. That should shore up that part of the Bio section, which has much more genetics on there than in the past.

BTW, this thread is probably going to be moved to the MCAT prep section...you might just want to head over there now.

 

[MC Tasty]

I taught EK bio/verbal classes for a little bit. The biggest thing about bio is don't try to memorize every little detail. Try to figure out how all the facts link together. It will make facts easier to remember and you will find the entire subject makes more sense.

The EK books are great reviews, but they do assume that you have had a decent amount of bio material already. Immunology is an under addressed subject by EK. The immunology class will help you out a bunch. I don't remember seeing too much genetics on my exam.

I will also say that the EK verbal is by far the best method out there. I preped for my MCAT using princeton review and it did virtually nothing for me. EK helped a lot more.

Keep at it and your scores will go up. It is a evil test, that just takes a bit of practice to get comfortable with.

 

[justdoit31]

I think if you are in the 9-10 range with this much time left you are doing good- you will want to purchase and do as many practice MCATS (from AAMC) as possible. Spend a lot of time analyzing what you got wrong (and right!) I didn't do that when I studied and I think it hurt me... also the genetics and histology courses will help you prepare some more in that section just because you will see genetics/anatomy on the MCAT

 

[DrYoda]

The most hepful thing I did was take all the AAMC practice exams.

 

[SDN2013]

i studied for 3 weeks. read all the examkrackers review books, didn't do any of the problems in the book though (no time), and did all of the AAMC tests (never did writing, no time). Then I went back through the book the second time real fast and just looked for anything red in the book, those are the high yield things to know, and I tried to understand what they mean or how to apply the formulas etc. The rest is just whether if you are good at taking standard tests or not. If you aren't good at eliminating/guessing, then you just gotta practice more that's all.

 

[BlueElmo]

Wouldn't this thread be more relevant in MCAT Discussion forum, moderators?

 

[cast128]

I wouldn't worry too much, especially about your biology. You are putting yourself in an excellent position by taking genetics before the MCAT. I was glad I did because I had THREE passages about genetics. It helped immensely. Just get your study schedule down and you will do great! Best of luck.

 

[RubyRed]

If you can't break 10 on those sections it's probably b/c you have some problems with the fundamentals of the science sections. (Granted you will learn more science stuff with your upcoming courses) I would note what topics you got wrong/didn't understand and then pull out your old books (e.g. gen chem etc,) and read through the chapters and DO SOME chapter problems for extra practice. This was my approach and I was 33+. PM if you like!

 

[phospho]

I wouldn't worry too much, especially about your biology. You are putting yourself in an excellent position by taking genetics before the MCAT. I was glad I did because I had THREE passages about genetics. It helped immensely. Just get your study schedule down and you will do great! Best of luck.

true 'dat

genetics was a bitch

Also, mc tasty's post is great advice

good luck!

 

[flip26]

i studied for 3 weeks. read all the examkrackers review books, didn't do any of the problems in the book though (no time), and did all of the AAMC tests (never did writing, no time). Then I went back through the book the second time real fast and just looked for anything red in the book, those are the high yield things to know, and I tried to understand what they mean or how to apply the formulas etc. The rest is just whether if you are good at taking standard tests or not. If you aren't good at eliminating/guessing, then you just gotta practice more that's all.

Umm, you got a 24?

Unless your example is what "not" to do, how is your advice helpful to anyone?

 

[stixx]

The 2008 MCAT overall was light on organic chemistry (and heavy on genetics). I never broke 11 on the AAMC practice tests, but ended up with a 13 on the real thing because my weakest subject, org, was barely tested. Of course no one knows what the tests will be like, but the MCAT forum is a great place to read about others' experiences and judge the general trends from there.

 

[phospho]

Umm, you got a 24?

Unless your example is what "not" to do, how is your advice helpful to anyone?

very true...

 

[bluesmd]

i would say definitely buy all of the EK books. my score isn't that great. but i only used those books, no course for three weeks

 

[Mobius1985]

There are several good essays on this thread about How to study for a 43: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=578461

 

[Myuu]

Not sure if you mean the EK 1001 series or not, but if you just mean the regular subject review books, you should know that it's not a particularly mcat-like organization. What I did was go through them until I could answer the end-of-chapter questions in my head (they're very conceptual and lend themselves well to this), then go over a Kaplan book (to work out timing) and do AAMC practice tests to familiarize myself with the format and content delivery.

Edit: I did it in four weeks, so study in a way that you know works best for you.

 

[Jolie South]

Moving this to MCAT Discussions.

 

[futuredoctor10]

if you just mean the regular subject review books, you should know that it's not a particularly mcat-like organization

Myuuchan- do you mean the subject review books' in-class exams passages are not MCAT-like or the end-of-chapter questions?

The in-class exams for each chapter in EK Bio seem to be pretty good, so just wondering if you could elaborate on what you mean / why you didn't like them.

 

[TheBoondocks]

Umm, you got a 24?

Unless your example is what "not" to do, how is your advice helpful to anyone?

he got a 38, his mcat on mdapps is to preserve anonymity.

 

[nancy88]

I found the AAMC practice tests extremely helpful too. Just letting you know.

 

[Myuu]

Myuuchan- do you mean the subject review books' in-class exams passages are not MCAT-like or the end-of-chapter questions?

The in-class exams for each chapter in EK Bio seem to be pretty good, so just wondering if you could elaborate on what you mean / why you didn't like them.

Neither! I do actually like them because they are good questions for solidifying conceptual knowledge. What is not MCAT-like is that they're presented in a giant, topically-related group. For example, you would not find an MCAT passage or group of stand alone questions entirely on kinematics or just on hormones. Part of the "fun" of the MCAT is jumping around from topic to topic, constantly changing it up. But there are good opportunities available for that with the AAMC practice tests, which are relatively cheap individually. Some schools, like mine, also have a group purchasing option, where you can get together with your fellow premeds and buy in bulk.

 

[futuredoctor10]

Neither! I do actually like them because they are good questions for solidifying conceptual knowledge. What is not MCAT-like is that they're presented in a giant, topically-related group. For example, you would not find an MCAT passage or group of stand alone questions entirely on kinematics or just on hormones. Part of the "fun" of the MCAT is jumping around from topic to topic, constantly changing it up. But there are good opportunities available for that with the AAMC practice tests, which are relatively cheap individually. Some schools, like mine, also have a group purchasing option, where you can get together with your fellow premeds and buy in bulk.

Ohh ok I see what you mean... the topic-related clustering makes it different from a real MCAT.

I have all the AAMC exams and Kaplan FL exams to supplement, but just wanted to make sure you didn't see something inherently wrong with the EK tests. I am using EK Content books for additional practice questions and have the EK Bio 1001 also.