how much time to dedicate for MCAT study

[docjolly]

Hi Everyone,

Can anyone who is currently studying for the Apr. 2004 MCAT or who has already taken the MCAT in the past (and gotten a 30+) tell me about some of your study habits? How much time (per day/week) did you dedicate to studying for the MCAT? Did you study with a group? Or did you fly solo?? I started Kaplan in Nov. '03, and everyone in my class is so very tense and antisocial.
I'm feeling a bit lonely in the process and unsure if I'm spending enough time studying...

Thanks a million for your help

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[finnpipette]

I think two months, 3 hours a night is sufficient.

 

[docjolly]

finnepipette

(Sorry if I incorrectly spelled your name)...are you currently in med.school, or are you applying for 2005??

 

[exilio]

This question seems to get asked a lot..I have been wondering myself..and from all that i have read it varies widely depending on your own circumstances.

What resources people use

How much time per day

April or August

2,3,4,5, or 6 months in advance. Hell I saw one guy write that you should get an MCAT book before you begin undergrad.

And then peoples results vary with their methodology. Some people studied for relatively little time and scored high, some scored low...others studied for months and hours a day, some did poorly others fantastically.

It really boils down to X. And X is you. Look at how you study and what grades you get depending on the amount of studying you did.

 

[Supadupafly]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=1093970#post1093970

MCAT's are VERY important. In some ways, moreso than grades. Also, it's probably too late to do amazing changes in your GPA; focus on MCAT scores. Spend as much time as you possibly can studying. See the link above.

 

[Pooh Chong]

My roommate from undergrad studied about two weeks and got a high MCAT score. The most brilliant, natural genius I have ever known. He is at HMS doing the HST MED program...which is the absolute cream of the crop. I have another friend who studied an INCREDIBLE amount for the MCAT and got a mid-twenty. Why do I tell you this? He studied long enough to get what he needed. The second friend didn't study long enough and/or study the right type of way to get what she wanted..

What have you been doing on your diags? If they are poor...then you need to study a lot. If they are already above 30...then maybe you don't need to study as much. Perhaps instead of getting a set # of hours...it should depend on where you're at, what you want to get, and how fast you can consistently get that score. You need to study long enough to get you need/want AND you need to study in a way that maximizes the usefulness of your time (no daydreaming).

IMHO

 

[mlw03]

if you learned the material when you took the courses, you should be primarily reviewing material, rememorizing some details, and learning test strategy. that's where i was last year, and i started late january taking kaplan. on average i studied about 1.5 hours per day, 6 days per week.

if you really didn't learn the material the first time through, well then you playing a totally different ballgame.

my last bit of advice - don't got psycho taking EVERY practice test kaplan offers, and don't take any practice tests the last 10 days before the real deal. you wanna be fresh and primed for the mcat, not burned out from a 6 hour practice test 3 days prior.