Is one month enough time?

[Dr. Josh]

to study for the MCAT if i do nothing else during that period? I graduate at the end of May and want to take the MCAT at the end of June so that I can get my application in shortly after that and then take calculus during summer session and then get a job or something during my year off.

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[deleted102545]

I did 1 month of hardcore studying and a little bit of floozy studying before that. It is possible if you are a masochist. So...no, you should give yourself more time. 😛

 

[GujuMD]

I agree with ReDox...you need more than one month

 

[hp540]

I spent 2 weeks doing lazy studying because it was the World Cup 🙂 and then went intense for a month.

I don't recommend it...but it's enough if you're the cramming kind of person (I don't work well unless I'm under stress)

 

[Dr. Josh]

Oh, so not the answer I was hoping for. 🙁 Then is two months enough time to study and i take the MCAT in July? But then I won't apply until after that. And I also wanted to volunteer at this overnight cancer camp for a week. I wanted to do this before writing my app but after my MCAT. I also need to take calculus in summer school. How can I fit all this in and not be too far behind?

 

[estairella]

Oh, so not the answer I was hoping for. 🙁 Then is two months enough time to study and i take the MCAT in July? But then I won't apply until after that. And I also wanted to volunteer at this overnight cancer camp for a week. I wanted to do this before writing my app but after my MCAT. I also need to take calculus in summer school. How can I fit all this in and not be too far behind?

I think you should take a diagnostic first. If you get a 20 and your goal is a 35, don't count on a month (or even two) being enough. If you get a 25 and your goal is a 30... it's much more feasible to study in a month.

 

[Writer1985]

That's intense. The people I know who took the August MCAT did nothing but study for 3 months, 5 hours a day. Have you considered taking a lighter load in the spring, so you can study during the semester and then get really hardcore once you graduate so you'll be ready for the June exam?

Good luck!

 

[babaghannough]

i spent three months studying for the mcat, and i still felt like i needed more time...i guess i'll always feel that way though

 

[GujuMD]

how about taking a light load of classes during spring semester, so you can have time to study for MCAT? That would mean that you would have to take some classes during fall the following year and not graduate in May. I am not sure if you are willing to do that.

 

[Dr. Josh]

how about taking a light load of classes during spring semester, so you can have time to study for MCAT? That would mean that you would have to take some classes during fall the following year and not graduate in May. I am not sure if you are willing to do that.

I'm not willing to do it; I'll take courses post bac but not graduate late. However i need some of these pre-reqs for the MCAT. I have way more than necessary credits to graduate but some may be needed for requirements in a sequence or GE courses or pre-med courses.

 

[Dr. Josh]

i spent three months studying for the mcat, and i still felt like i needed more time...i guess i'll always feel that way though

Wow; how did you do on them?

 

[Dr. Josh]

That's intense. The people I know who took the August MCAT did nothing but study for 3 months, 5 hours a day. Have you considered taking a lighter load in the spring, so you can study during the semester and then get really hardcore once you graduate so you'll be ready for the June exam?

Good luck!

Unfortunately I need the courses, for one reason or another.

I think you should take a diagnostic first. If you get a 20 and your goal is a 35, don't count on a month (or even two) being enough. If you get a 25 and your goal is a 30... it's much more feasible to study in a month.

That's a good idea. How late can i reasonably take the MCAT and still apply in 2007 for 2008?

 

[mr burrito]

i studied for just over a month and did fine. it really depends on you and your study habits. could you just study a day or two before exams and do well? it also relies heavily on how much of the material you covered during undergrad.

 

[leahmaria]

i found that it was best to do my application things while still in school so that i could get feedback from an english prof and be on top of LORs and such.

as for MCAT, I took Kaplan so it didn't take up too much of my time, and i studied a bit extra the week before. i did pretty well. I started out with a 25 on my diagnostic.

 

[OCPreMed]

take a diagnostic.. if you are within 5 points of your target... 1 month is plenty..... you really don't know until you know your baseline...

 

[LifetimeDoc]

take a diagnostic.. if you are within 5 points of your target... 1 month is plenty..... you really don't know until you know your baseline...

You also need to be consistently achieving at or above your target MCAT score before you take your test. You are likely to achieve very near the same score on the real MCAT as one of the AMCAS practice tests (such as 5R). If your target is 32 and you are consistently scoring 25, then you'll need to figure out what is going wrong and fix it. This takes time.

 

[cgscribe]

Know your SAT score, know your target vs. diagnostic, know how well you already know the material.

SAT score is a rough correlate of your test-taking skills and ability to use applied knowledge, which are essential on the MCAT. If you got around a 1400, you'll be studying a lot less than 1200 or below.

Target vs. diagnostic: if you're starting at a 30 and want to get to a 35, it's a lot harder than going from 25 to 30. You'll need hardcore months to increase in the mid-35's.

If you did well in the original classes and think the review will be easy, that cuts time.

All in all, a month is unrealistic to do really well on the MCAT.

 

[CptCrunch]

I studied for about 5-6 weeks. First week was my spring break and I went through my entire review book just refreshing the material. Took my first practice test at the end of that week, then attacked my weaknesses. I'd review material on my way to and from class or work, and I'd take a practice exam every weekend. I didn't spend any time practicing the writing section. I was happy with my score, so it's do-able.

 

[Quix]

I'll also recommend doing the diagnostic test before judging your study time, but my knee-jerk response is that one-month isn't enough. I studied off-and-on for 3+ months before the test, and then really crunched on it the six weeks before the exam.

 

[Falco2525]

I studied for 2 weeks...it was plenty of preparation...granted those 2 weeks were like hell but I did fine

 

[Wooly Bugger]

1 month is not enough for the mcat unless you have a great grasp of the info. i would seriously rethink your tactics.

 

[PZMO]

Like everyone has said, you really won't know unless you take a diagnostic. If you are happy with it... I don't see why a month wouldn't be plenty.

I was happy with my diagnostic, so I planned about a month to study. I ended up with a family emergency and studied for less than a week. Obviously NOT an ideal situation. But, my score turned out just a point lower than my diagnostic which has worked out ok for me; so the diagnostic was a good predictor.

The bottom line is it depends a lot on what kind of test taker you are; how consistent you are, how quickly you take tests, etc. And how happy you are with your practice attempt.

 

[Dr. Josh]

Thanks everyone for all your great advice. So the first step seems to be to take a diagnostic. A stupid question: is that just any AMCAS test, or is there a specific one to take? I could do that during Thanksgiving or Christmas break cold but i know i haven't taken some of the courses needed. Should i go into it cold?

 

[45408]

it's been done, and if you're a master crammer, it can work. Like others said, it depends on what you're aiming for and where you start. I went up 8 points from my diagnostic without a whole lot of studying in the Kaplan course, so it's hard to say how much studying you need to move up a certain amount.

 

[Misfit!]

Don't do it to yourself.
Unless you are a standardized test-taking whiz, don't expect more than a 4-5 pt. improvement from your diagnostic with just a month of studying.

I am the queen of cramming and last-minute studying, and have always done well that way, but studying for the mcat is not like cramming for an exam. There is too much to remember. You will be best off with at least 2 months.

Good luck!

 

[45408]

Thanks everyone for all your great advice. So the first step seems to be to take a diagnostic. A stupid question: is that just any AMCAS test, or is there a specific one to take? I could do that during Thanksgiving or Christmas break cold but i know i haven't taken some of the courses needed. Should i go into it cold?

it's kinda pointless to take it if you haven't even started some of the classes, although you could get an idea of your VR and PS sections if you're not done with organic. Yes, you can take the AAMC practice MCATs for an idea, or Kaplan usually offers a free half MCAT (which may be artificially hard to make you take their course).

 

[Quix]

Kaplan and TPR have practice exams you can buy; you can always give it a go out of the box and see what your baseline is.

 

[BleepTastic]

Hey it IS possible. I studied for about a month and two weeks. That time was devoted to studying and not much else. Consider that I haven't taken any science courses for 5-6 years.
If you're still in college and recently took your science classes, it may be fine. Then again, if you're aiming for a 40, maybe my example's no good.

 

[Dr. Josh]

it's kinda pointless to take it if you haven't even started some of the classes, although you could get an idea of your VR and PS sections if you're not done with organic. Yes, you can take the AAMC practice MCATs for an idea, or Kaplan usually offers a free half MCAT (which may be artificially hard to make you take their course).

what courses should I have completed before I take a diagnostic?

 

[szhao]

studying for the mcat was both the best time i invested and worst.

best: i would have never invested it if i didn't have a sunk cost (though not very economic reasoning but i don't care)

worst: omg so boring and a waste of time, would have rather played counter strike