HOW ARE YOU STUDYING FOR THE MCAT?

[together]

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Dear All:

I know that taking practice MCATs ad nauseum is of benefit for people preparing for the MCAT, but what about methods to REALLY understand the sciences for the MCAT. How have you been preparing (text books, Kaplan, TPR, etc) for all those long-forgotten principles of general chemistry or physics and/or orgo and bio? For those who have already taken the MCAT, which method(s) did you find to be most helpful in increasing your score?

Thanks!

Together

 

[Dr JPH]

I haven't taken the MCAT yet, but here is my schedule:

15 hours/week of Princeton Review Classes
12 hours a week outside class doing passages
8 hours a week outside class reading

All in all, it makes for a good time.




------------------
Joshua Paul Hazelton, CNA, EMT-B
[email protected]
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (2002)
"D.O. Wannabe"

 

[mpp]

I take practice tests using Kaplan and Peterson's and the tests from AAMC. While taking the tests I mark any answers for which I was a bit uncertain or hesitant about the correct answer. I also mark any answer that was a total guess...where I had no idea. Once I'm done with the test I go over each and every question to be sure I understand what the correct answer is paying particular attention to those I had difficulty with even if I got them right. Then, if I feel I'm lacking in a particular topic (for example, figuring out if reactions are SN1 or SN2, or doppler shift problems) I go back to my course notes, text books, professors, Kaplan review material, web site, etc., to study that stuff and be sure I understand it.

I think if you do this you will find out where your weak areas are. This way you don't have to go studying everything. I've taken a dozen or more practice tests and it's definitely all getting easier. My scores are slowly improving and I'm looking forward to April 21.

 

[rxfudd]

I started studying in late January - I spent one month (about 3 hours per day, every day) doing a full review using the Kaplan prep book. My current schedule is now the same three hours a day, every day, but now with a full length MCAT thrown in on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The time I spend actually studying is focused on whatever it is that I got wrong on the most recent practice MCAT.

I HIGHLY recommend spending an hour or two going through your textbook for each subject - not actively reading, just flipping through, cover to cover to get an idea of what subtopics are involved in that subject. It's amazing how much comes back just by doing that.

My primary focus for the next few weeks is definitely going to be verbal - it is just kicking the hell out of me.

 

[fishtolive]

I spend 12 hours/week at Princeton Review and finishing all the homework they assign (passages and problems) under timed conditions comprises another 6-10 hours. Also, another 2-5 studying old, forgotten stuff (I don't find this as helpful as doing passages and independent questions but it's good to refresh). On Saturays when I don't have a diagnostic, I take two sections of a practice MCAT...I've been steering away from full length ones as the stamina thing is not a big issue in my opinion. Also, one thing I definitely recommend is doing verbal sections under full time, Physical sections in 70-80 min, and Bio in 50 minutes! You'll be suprised how well you do when you know you'll have to rush like crazy.
Oh and most important, never miss a day, but give yourself at least one "light day" where you can actually sleep, breathe, and eat right.
sdm

 

[simitree]

How do you make time to study so much? Between classes, research, and volunteer work, I am definitely feeling overwhelmed.
I am trying to prioritize my time better, but it sometimes is hard to justify spending five hours on MCAT when I have another test the next day. It just doesn't seem as urgent. Besides which, I like to sleep once in a while..... Anyone share my worries?

 

[rxfudd]

Think about it like this - that one test comprises a fraction of a grade, which is itself a fraction of your gpa. The MCAT is one big test and what you score is what they see. Contrary to how you feel about it, it makes me feel like my classes this semester pale in comarison to the magnitude of the MCAT.

 

[simitree]

rxfudd,
I agree completely. It's just my perfectionism that holds me back! But I am working on it. Time to go study!

 

[Cobragirl]

rxfudd is completely right about the magnitude of the MCAT. I've been busting butt for 5 years to maintain (and graduate with) a 3.86...unfortunately my 28 MCAT is overshadowing my gpa in the application process. Yes, I've received interviews, but I've also been waitlisted 3 times so far. DO NOT take the MCAT lightly...it IS the most important test of your life (for now, anyway).

Good Luck!

 

[jimjones]

Glad someone brought the question up. I'm doing lots of practise tests and reviewing the big Kaplan book. THe ones I get wrong on the tests I do a bit of practice from texts, etc. But I'm wondering if its not better to really concentrate on practice from the textbooks, for instance I'm pretty clueless with organic but can usually snoop out the write answer on an MCAT practice exam. same with the physics stuff. Do you people think its important to have stuff mastered or just have the general principles down well?

 

[rxfudd]

In general, I would say that if the principles have been mastered, you are 90% there. In organic class, we have all memorized hundreds of rxn's just to get by on the tests. The MCAT does not test like this: just knowing a few mechanisms and the differences between Sn1, Sn2, etc, will leave you in relatively good shape for the bio section.

Furthermore, you master the subjects in the classes so that on the tests you can do well. However, class tests are usually near-duplications of text problems or lecture problems - stuff you have seen before. Unless you have taken upper-level courses that might have familiarized you with the material in the passages, you will likely never have seen this material before. You have nothing BUT the fundamentals to go on.

In light of this, I would encourage everyone to get the principles down COLD. If you have time, prepare for specific types of problems (for example, it is imperative to know how mirrors and lenses work - once this has been accomplished, you might want to think about what kind of spin the MCAT might put on this, such as double lenses in microscopes).

 

[Ian Wong]

Slow and steady wins the race.

You need to really set up a realistic study plan that doesn't burn you out. That happens to an awful lot of people, especially if you are writing the April MCAT which coincides with finals at many/most undergrad universities.

Make sure to balance a decently heavy study schedule with breaks in which to have fun, relax with friends and family etc. Also, just to echo the last few posters, the MCAT is the stand-alone entity that allows the med schools to really compare between candidates. You can't afford to take it anything less than very seriously.

I've got a premed website out with a fairly substantial amount of writing about my personal experience with the MCAT, along with some hints and tips for writing each section. You can check it out here:

http://www.geocities.com/mdpremie

Ian, MS2