Is it really necessary?

Started by DrStraggler
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DrStraggler

DrStraggler

Full Member
10+ Year Member
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So, in my CellBio class, I have an awesome professor who is really involved with students who want to go to professional grad schools (Mainly Med). He set up various study groups in the class so that we can study with people who are trying to do the same things as us. He said something about a MCAT study group....I'm in my first year, and so are like the 5 or 6 people around me. So I thought, what's the use to do it so early? ALL of the other people signed up for that study group!

Am I losing out??
 
DrStraggler said:
So, in my CellBio class, I have an awesome professor who is really involved with students who want to go to professional grad schools (Mainly Med). He set up various study groups in the class so that we can study with people who are trying to do the same things as us. He said something about a MCAT study group....I'm in my first year, and so are like the 5 or 6 people around me. So I thought, what's the use to do it so early? ALL of the other people signed up for that study group!

Am I losing out??
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Your choice. IMO, don't waste your time. Dedicate your efforts to acing your classes and mastering the material. You will profit much more from using your time wisely. Study hard for 3-4 months before taking your MCAT. There are some very good MCAT study resources on the SDN forums..
 
Don't worry about it. Just focus on doing well in your classes right now. That's the best prep for the MCAT at this point for you.
 
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deep122 said:
Don't worry about it. Just focus on doing well in your classes right now. That's the best prep for the MCAT at this point for you.
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So true. If you do well in your prereqs/upper level bio courses you put yourself in a great position. Then when you prepare for the MCAT, some of the material will actually feel like review, you won't be relearning everything. This definitely applied to me for almost every section the MCAT (minus verbal). Yes there were something I had to relearn, but there was a good deal that I was genuinely reviewing.

So yes focus on doing well in your courses now.
 
Definitely. Prepping this early won't be very useful and your time is better spent elsewhere.
 
If I were you I wouldn't do it. Mainly because I don't think study groups are effective if you, yourself have not mastered all of the material first.
 
The more important lesson here is, are you smart enough to catch up on the social cliques people form in class? 😛
 
The only reason everyone else signed up for the study group is that they have absolutely no idea what they're doing. Not only is it not necessary, it's also a dumb idea.
 
Chops369 said:
The only reason everyone else signed up for the study group is that they have absolutely no idea what they're doing. Not only is it not necessary, it's also a dumb idea.
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unless they have a someone knowledgeable leading the discussion, like a grad student
 
In response to some questions: I went to one meeting (stupidest decision ever!), there were 6 people there, and everyone was a freshman except one guy the self-appointed group leader....He'd gotten a C- in Cell Bio the year before and was taking it again so he made everyone know well and good that he was an "expert" on this subject -__-

Long story short, there was one large MCAT book sitting on the table, we accomplished absolutely nothing, and talked about how much we're afraid of OChem with Big Brother chiming in with his expert advice here and there.

Overall...never going again, seriously discourages me about ALL sorts of study groups!

Thanks for the advice guys, I should've listened!


Oh and whoever posted about the social clique thing, seriously, in your free time, would you CHOOSE to hang out with Pre-meds? For me, that's a definitive No haha
 
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