How to get on pace for Fall 2019 admission

[deleted421268]

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Haven’t taken MCAT yet but need to take that so I can apply for Fall 2019 admission. Right now haven’t started prepping but if I manage to do 2 chapters a day different book each day than I can finish all the books in six weeks which will be almost end of February. Than I would need to do practice. How should I manage my mcat preparation to put myself ready for Fall 2019 admission? How should I space out the amount of time of practice? Would be studying while being a full time student

 

[stickgirl390]

Haven’t taken MCAT yet but need to take that so I can apply for Fall 2019 admission. Right now haven’t started prepping but if I manage to do 2 chapters a day different book each day than I can finish all the books in six weeks which will be almost end of February. Than I would need to do practice. How should I manage my mcat preparation to put myself ready for Fall 2019 admission? How should I space out the amount of time of practice? Would be studying while being a full time student

Leah4sci has a really good MCAT study pacing strategy. See if it’s on her site, or you can email her and ask.

 

[ladymiresa]

What books are you referring to? Kaplan? EK?
I think you’ll struggle to get 2 chapters a day of meaningful review done while going to school full time.
Check out some study schedules and timelines for reference, but I don’t think it’s a great idea to squeeze all content review in by end of Feb. You need your MCAT results by early summer to apply early... you’re probably looking at a May test date. Assuming you start now, you’ve got like 16 weeks. Most MCAT study schedules I’ve read hold practice and review off until the last 6 weeks before the test. If you’re going to school full time and have finals to deal with, this might need to be adjusted slightly, but Feb still seems too early to cease content review unless you’re able to dedicate several hours a day. Give yourself a bit more time —I recommend at least 8weeks— and focus on getting the content, not how quickly you can read it.

 

[deleted421268]

What books are you referring to? Kaplan? EK?
I think you’ll struggle to get 2 chapters a day of meaningful review done while going to school full time.
Check out some study schedules and timelines for reference, but I don’t think it’s a great idea to squeeze all content review in by end of Feb. You need your MCAT results by early summer to apply early... you’re probably looking at a May test date. Assuming you start now, you’ve got like 16 weeks. Most MCAT study schedules I’ve read hold practice and review off until the last 6 weeks before the test. If you’re going to school full time and have finals to deal with, this might need to be adjusted slightly, but Feb still seems too early to cease content review unless you’re able to dedicate several hours a day. Give yourself a bit more time —I recommend at least 8weeks— and focus on getting the content, not how quickly you can read it.

I am talking about Kaplan and when you say 8 weeks U mean 8 weeks of content review? Also when I am reAding the chapters my plan is to take notes in notebooks for each chapter I read. How should I study content?

 

[ladymiresa]

Yeah I mean 8 weeks of content review and then begin doing practice tests (but save the AAMC ones till the end), q packs, section banks, etc. More important than weeks, though, is probably total hours spent studying. If you're going to school full time, how many hours a day do you think you can dedicate consistently to MCAT?
Notes probably aren't the most efficient way of studying but I guess you know what works best for you. I'd recommend checking out something like Anki or another flashcard system. If I had another piece of advice about content review, it'd be to not do it completely linearly. Like, don't study SN1 reactions and then not touch that concept for six weeks. Try to study a mix of new and old things every day (hence, Anki being helpful). But there's tons of resources out there, I'm sure with some research you could find a study plan that is suitable to your needs.

 

[LizzyM]

When you do start taking practice tests, take them under test conditions meaning you'll need a 7 hour block of time. You'll need another significant amount of time to review the results of the test and plan your next move to remedy knowledge deficits that the test has revealed.

 

[deleted421268]

Yeah I mean 8 weeks of content review and then begin doing practice tests (but save the AAMC ones till the end), q packs, section banks, etc. More important than weeks, though, is probably total hours spent studying. If you're going to school full time, how many hours a day do you think you can dedicate consistently to MCAT?
Notes probably aren't the most efficient way of studying but I guess you know what works best for you. I'd recommend checking out something like Anki or another flashcard system. If I had another piece of advice about content review, it'd be to not do it completely linearly. Like, don't study SN1 reactions and then not touch that concept for six weeks. Try to study a mix of new and old things every day (hence, Anki being helpful). But there's tons of resources out there, I'm sure with some research you could find a study plan that is suitable to your needs.

When I make the cards should I memorize like each card or something? Idk how many hours a day I can dedicate but I'm going to try at least 6 days out of the 7 days in a week!

 

[PopeKnope23]

I'm in the same position as you! Looking at about a May 19 test date, getting back scores end of June (which isn't ideal, but the best I can hope for). Leah4Sci is FANTASTIC. I like taking notes from videos, and hers are very thorough. Start memorizing amino acids right away. Also, I only bought Kaplan books for my weakest subjects (Bio, Psych/Soc, Biochem) and am making flashcards of the major concepts. I also bought a 6 month subscription to UWorld Qbank. Gives you great practice on questions!

Not saying my study habits are going to work, but I sure as heck hope they do.