Is 15 weeks with the Kaplan books, UWorld, and AAMC FL's a good enough strategy to get 505-508?

[futurestudent2021]

I want to take the MCAT in August. I just finished my pre reqs with a 3.2 GPA.

I really don't know what strategy the high scorers are using but if I use the resources I mentioned and study around six hours a day, six days a week, do you think I will get into the 505-508 range or is there more to it than that?

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[Stranger00120]

I think it depends on where you're starting and your base knowledge level. Have you taken a practice test yet to see where you're scoring?

 

[futurestudent2021]

No, I am really good with bio and anatomy. Not so strong with chem, orgo, and physics.

How many hours do people usually study to get a 505?

 

[mc3894]

I took the MCAT September 2020. I graduated almost 5 years ago now, so it had been a while since I had taken the prereq's. I also worked full-time while studying, so I had to optimize my time. Each person is different, and whether the described timeline/plan is enough for you is hard to say. You'll want to take a diagnostic to see where you're starting and monitor your progress with full length exams. I studied about 4 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. I started with about 6 weeks of content review with the Kaplan books and then did 5 weeks of practice questions and full length exams. I utilized UWorld for practice and liked it (they have good explanations), but the AAMC material should always be top priority since it's most representative. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of practice. This test is a beast, but you don't need to know everything to beat it. Practice and get used to the questions and types of answers they're looking for. This helped me a lot. I ended up getting a 510+ on the exam following the schedule I just mentioned. So, is it possible to get your ideal score in the 15 weeks you mentioned using the resources you listed? Absolutely, it's possible. You just have to make it happen. Good luck!

 

[RBC]

I took the MCAT September 2020. I graduated almost 5 years ago now, so it had been a while since I had taken the prereq's. I also worked full-time while studying, so I had to optimize my time. Each person is different, and whether the described timeline/plan is enough for you is hard to say. You'll want to take a diagnostic to see where you're starting and monitor your progress with full length exams. I studied about 4 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. I started with about 6 weeks of content review with the Kaplan books and then did 5 weeks of practice questions and full length exams. I utilized UWorld for practice and liked it (they have good explanations), but the AAMC material should always be top priority since it's most representative. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of practice. This test is a beast, but you don't need to know everything to beat it. Practice and get used to the questions and types of answers they're looking for. This helped me a lot. I ended up getting a 510+ on the exam following the schedule I just mentioned. So, is it possible to get your ideal score in the 15 weeks you mentioned using the resources you listed? Absolutely, it's possible. You just have to make it happen. Good luck!

When you were doing your content review, were you taking notes or making flashcards? Or just doing a methodical reading through the material?

Also, do you feel that 5 weeks of practice was sufficient to really acclimate yourself to the test style?

 

[mc3894]

When you were doing your content review, were you taking notes or making flashcards? Or just doing a methodical reading through the material?

Also, do you feel that 5 weeks of practice was sufficient to really acclimate yourself to the test style?

I did take some notes while studying, but mostly because I felt that writing things helped me remember. I did Anki cards for review, but I downloaded the Milesdown deck (it can be found through Google). I didn’t make my own flashcards to save time.

Five weeks worked out for me. I think if I had wanted to do any additional practice I would have only done another week or two. I think if I would have done much more than that, I would have gotten burnt out.

 

[RBC]

I did take some notes while studying, but mostly because I felt that writing things helped me remember. I did Anki cards for review, but I downloaded the Milesdown deck (it can be found through Google). I didn’t make my own flashcards to save time.

Five weeks worked out for me. I think if I had wanted to do any additional practice I would have only done another week or two. I think if I would have done much more than that, I would have gotten burnt out.

Thanks. I just signed up for the July 17th MCAT a few days ago, which is 12 weeks away. I've also been out of school for a similar period of time (6 years for me). I have no job or other obligations though so I can study full time.

Still, I've been telling myself today that it's just too much, that 12 weeks full-time still isn't enough time, etc. But your post definitely refreshed my perspective and made me rethink that maybe I can do this.

 

[mc3894]

Thanks. I just signed up for the July 17th MCAT a few days ago, which is 12 weeks away. I've also been out of school for a similar period of time (6 years for me). I have no job or other obligations though so I can study full time.

Still, I've been telling myself today that it's just too much, that 12 weeks full-time still isn't enough time, etc. But your post definitely refreshed my perspective and made me rethink that maybe I can do this.

I totally get it. Studying felt so overwhelming at times, and there were points I felt like there was no way I could get a good score. In those hard moments, it’s important to cut yourself some slack - step away and take a break. It’s the stress talking, and it doesn’t do any good to let those thoughts take hold. Your timeline and planned resources are good. Just make a schedule for yourself so you can get through all the content and practice you want. I found making a schedule was vital for me to stay on track and keep accountable. It also took away the “what should I study today?” part. I already had it all mapped out. I highly recommend! But anyway - I definitely think you’ve got a good plan and a good set of resources to utilize. It’ll be tough and intimidating at times, but it’s definitely doable.

 

[Systemic]

I took the MCAT September 2020. I graduated almost 5 years ago now, so it had been a while since I had taken the prereq's. I also worked full-time while studying, so I had to optimize my time. Each person is different, and whether the described timeline/plan is enough for you is hard to say. You'll want to take a diagnostic to see where you're starting and monitor your progress with full length exams. I studied about 4 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. I started with about 6 weeks of content review with the Kaplan books and then did 5 weeks of practice questions and full length exams. I utilized UWorld for practice and liked it (they have good explanations), but the AAMC material should always be top priority since it's most representative. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of practice. This test is a beast, but you don't need to know everything to beat it. Practice and get used to the questions and types of answers they're looking for. This helped me a lot. I ended up getting a 510+ on the exam following the schedule I just mentioned. So, is it possible to get your ideal score in the 15 weeks you mentioned using the resources you listed? Absolutely, it's possible. You just have to make it happen. Good luck!

Did you feel rushed at all in terms of covering the content? 6 weeks of content review translates to about 1 week per subject (Bio/Biochem/Organic/Phys/Gen Chem/Sociology and Psych). At 4 hours per day that's only 28 hours of review per subject. That just seems incredibly short to me.

After reviewing a subject, how did you keep up with it? Did you review notes or flash cards are anything like that?

 

[mc3894]

Did you feel rushed at all in terms of covering the content? 6 weeks of content review translates to about 1 week per subject (Bio/Biochem/Organic/Phys/Gen Chem/Sociology and Psych). At 4 hours per day that's only 28 hours of review per subject. That just seems incredibly short to me.

After reviewing a subject, how did you keep up with it? Did you review notes or flash cards are anything like that?

It was definitely a lot of ground to cover, but my background is science and my FT job is in medical-related research. So, even though I had a lot of basic science to review, I wasn’t re-learning everything. To study, I ended up doing about 2 chapters from the Kaplan books a day on average (I didn’t use the CARS book). I would do more on the weekends, especially if I fell behind. I did all the review questions at the end of the chapter, reviewed notes I took during chapters, and did Anki cards every night before bed to help keep content fresh. Did I retain everything? No way. It’s just not possible. For me, doing content review in a short amount of time was preferred over spreading it out over 6+ months. It kept me focused and didn’t allow much time to forget things.

 

[Systemic]

It was definitely a lot of ground to cover, but my background is science and my FT job is in medical-related research. So, even though I had a lot of basic science to review, I wasn’t re-learning everything. To study, I ended up doing about 2 chapters from the Kaplan books a day on average (I didn’t use the CARS book). I would do more on the weekends, especially if I fell behind. I did all the review questions at the end of the chapter, reviewed notes I took during chapters, and did Anki cards every night before bed to help keep content fresh. Did I retain everything? No way. It’s just not possible. For me, doing content review in a short amount of time was preferred over spreading it out over 6+ months. It kept me focused and didn’t allow much time to forget things.

Were you taking practice tests throughout content review, or did you save them until about 5 weeks before your test date when you had covered all the content?

 

[mc3894]

Were you taking practice tests throughout content review, or did you save them until about 5 weeks before your test date when you had covered all the content?

I took a diagnostic in the beginning to identify my weak areas. Then I waited to take any additional practice tests until the 5 weeks of practice. At that point, I took one every weekend. I did AAMC FL 1-4 and then took the sample test the week before my exam. The sample was the easiest of the FL exams, so taking that one last was a good ego boost. In between FL exams, I would review questions I missed on the FLs, do Anki cards, and work through UWorld questions and the AAMC question banks.

 

[Systemic]

I took a diagnostic in the beginning to identify my weak areas. Then I waited to take any additional practice tests until the 5 weeks of practice. At that point, I took one every weekend. I did AAMC FL 1-4 and then took the sample test the week before my exam. The sample was the easiest of the FL exams, so taking that one last was a good ego boost. In between FL exams, I would review questions I missed on the FLs, do Anki cards, and work through UWorld questions and the AAMC question banks.

Wow, that sounds like a ton of practice condensed into a 5 week period. So basically your content review for a given week was structured like:

- AAMC Practice Exam (1 day)
- Review practice exam (1-2 days)
- Ank cards + UWorld practice for the rest of the week

Then rinse and repeat? I want to get Uworld but it's so expensive.

How many UWorld questions did you manage to get through in those 5 weeks? Sorry for all the questions by the way lol....I'm wrapping up my content review and getting nervous about transitioning from standard studying to more active test taking.

 

[mc3894]

Wow, that sounds like a ton of practice condensed into a 5 week period. So basically your content review for a given week was structured like:

- AAMC Practice Exam (1 day)
- Review practice exam (1-2 days)
- Ank cards + UWorld practice for the rest of the week

Then rinse and repeat? I want to get Uworld but it's so expensive.

How many UWorld questions did you manage to get through in those 5 weeks? Sorry for all the questions by the way lol....I'm wrapping up my content review and getting nervous about transitioning from standard studying to more active test taking.

Yeah! That’s exactly how my schedule worked out! Honestly, I probably did UWorld the least. I probably answered a total of 100-200 UWorld questions across all the sections. I prioritized the AAMC material most. Since they make the test, it’s most representative. I don’t think it’s a huge deal if you don’t get UWorld. I got it because I was nervous and wanted some extra practice but didn’t even use it as much as I thought I would. I thought the AAMC materials were really good though! Some of them are tough, but they’re great practice!

 

[Proudfather94]

I want to take the MCAT in August. I just finished my pre reqs with a 3.2 GPA.

I really don't know what strategy the high scorers are using but if I use the resources I mentioned and study around six hours a day, six days a week, do you think I will get into the 505-508 range or is there more to it than that?

I did about that time frame and got a 512 with uworld and the Kaplan books, but that was a retake. shoot for the stars and take good notes!