How soon is too soon to study for the MCAT

[Akay04]

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I have already taken biology and am currently taking chemistry. Next year I will be taking Physics and Organic. Would it be helpful to complete a few problems a day from my MCAT practice tests or should I wait until the time is nearer? I could begin with either the verbal, biology, and some of the chem sections.

When do you plan to begin studying?

 

[TRN1983]

Don't use the practice tests yet. Wait until the months leading to your actual MCAT exam.

I personally don't see anything wrong with slowly breaking into MCAT studies way in advance. Its a different way of thinking than many people are prepared for, so the sooner the better IMHO. Just don't kill yourself over it. Do little bits at a time, it can only help.

One thing I'd definitely suggest is finding out where you stand with your VR. Pickup reading high-level literature and try to have fun with it.

 

[DenaliView]

So if you dont recommend the practice tests what would be a good way to start studying that early.... getting an MCAT book and going through topic by topic???

 

[TRN1983]

So if you dont recommend the practice tests what would be a good way to start studying that early.... getting an MCAT book and going through topic by topic???

Yeah. Maybe start cranking out the ExamKracker 1001 books (although IMHO they're not representative of MCAT questions, they do require you to get into a "similar" mindset). Practicing identifying key concepts in questions and quickly performing the calculations will really benefit you. That's all the MCAT is. Oh, and don't forget to evaluate formulas. Often times a question will feel as if there isn't enough given info and if you broke a formula down into its component variables you'll often see that things cancel. The calculations are almost always stuff you can do in about 15-45 secs.

I.e. a car going 20m/s and with a coefficient of friction between the road and tires of 0.2 comes to a stop, how far did he travel before he stopped? Seems like stuff is missing... like mass, right? Nope... its a question that can be solved with the work energy theorem and mass cancels, but you'd never see if it if you couldn't identify the concept and break the formula into its component variables. 🙂

PS sorry for mispellings etc, I'm posting from an iPod.

 

[JTubule1386]

What I did, and what I think many people on SDN did from what I read, was to starting scanning, reading and getting familiar with the info a few months before you actually start hardcore studying. Then 2-3 months before you actually take the test start studying like your medical career depended on it.

 

[GamjaXnamjA]

would it be ok to take the mcat before I take Ochem 2?

 

[156925]

would it be ok to take the mcat before I take Ochem 2?

Yes.

 

[Retsage]

Start reading. Lots.

Fiction, non-fiction. Read every night.

 

[PremedIowa]

Find/get access to about 10-12 practice tests, including the AAMC ones. Take them once a week on Saturday or Sunday for the 10-12 weeks leading up to the test. Start studying a couple of weeks before you start taking practice tests and study concepts during the week.

 

[iA-MD2013]

We have a specific forum for pre-meds studying for the MCAT. I'm going to move this thread to that forum.

Good luck studying

 

[DrJD]

So if you dont recommend the practice tests what would be a good way to start studying that early.... getting an MCAT book and going through topic by topic???

If you want to prep from really early then this is what I'd recommend... Set up a schedule between now and when you want to start "really" studying, and plan out how many questions you can do from the 1001 books to get you till you start studying. Like a previous poster said they aren't like real MCAT questions but they will help you prepare for the content.

Also, personally I think that all practice tests suck except for the AAMC. So don't do any of the AAMC right now, but the Kaplan, and many other companies that make them are fine. Split those up between now and the "real" study time. Then obviously the real study time will be going through all of the material and using the AAMC's for practice... Good luck!