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I wrote this for a friend:
Study materials needed:
EK study package and EK1001s
TPR Package
TBR Complete Test
AAMCs 3-11
So you decided to pursue a career in medicine?
Well, to be successful you must take baby steps.
The two most important things you can do right now are:
1. Gaining clincal experience
2. Preparing for the MCAT (getting a score 30+)
Other things that are important (are required):
3. Shadowing experience (You should get this done when you have free time, I would start doing it now: talk to your surgeon and ask to shadow him, get at least 50 hours of shadowing and ask him a lot of questions about his career and his motivation to be a surgeon, and get a letter of recommendation)
4. Getting all your letters of recommendation (2 science professors, 1 non science professor, 1 from shadowing, 1 from your job: you must make sure you ask for a GOOD letter, and EMPHASIZE GOOD)
5. Either community volunteering/outreach (for black colleges and medical schools that have programs for underserved, you would want to do be involved with outreach in underserved areas) or research
6. Do a hobby and be actively involved in it (whether it will be rugby or writing poems, medical schools will be VERY interested in your hobbies)
Now onto preparing for the MCAT:
You have 6 months if you are going to take it in January and I advice you to do so. Sign up as soon as possible because spots will fill up in your area. Trust me, I had to drive to AZ for 5 hours before I took my test.
Now, first things first.
Are you good at reading comprehension? I advise you to take a full 60 minute sectional exam from either AAMC or Examkrackers verbal 101. TAKE IT ON A STRICT TIME LIMIT. Each passage should take on average 7.5mins.
If you can complete the exam on time, only get 1 or less wrong per passage, you are in good shape and you don't need to practice verbal. I would do 2-3 full sectionals, and if you did well, you don't need to study for this section.
However, if you are getting 2-3 or 3+ wrong per passage, you need to do 3 passages a day, review what you did wrong, and re read the passage for the main idea/authors opinion and understand why you answered correctly and incorrectly. Strict time limit of 7.5min per passage.
If practice your reading comprehension, read the economist.com EVERY DAY. This will greatly improve your reading ability if you CONSISTENTLY read many articles a day. This will also help you in your reading prompt on the test day. (You do not need to study for this section, you just need to write something that agrees with the statement given, when it doesnt, and what is the rule of thumb. worry about this the day before the test).
For studying take a 2 day break/week until you are at 3 months before the test. 1 day break/week before the test.
Content review:
There are 4 fields of science subject in the MCAT
Biology, General Chemistry, Ochemistry, Physics
ALWAYS ROTATE 1 section each day like so: (even for practice passages, etc)
1. Bio
2. GChem
3. Ochem
4. Physics
I would like 8 days total to read all materials using examkrackers (EK) so 1/2 the book for each section a day.
After, read through 2 section of a subject per day and take careful notes. It should take 14 days total (without breaks)
Also do the sectional questions and exams the same day.
This should be about 1 months of studying.
After going through EK review books, do the same thing for the princeton review books (TPR). This time, read through 1 section and then do the corresponding homework problems and passages. You will definitely need 3-4 hours of studying per day. I suggest you do each subject once a week and have a review day. This will probably take about a month to 2 months.
This should be a total of 3 months. After completing 3 months of FOCUSED/CONSISTENT/DISCIPLINED studying, you should have a great grasp on the content, verbal comprehension, and concepts. If done correctly, if you took a test immediately after (without a mental breakdown during the test), you should score a 30 easily. A 30 will get you interview, but it will not get you any guaranteed acceptances.
Part 2 is about practice, detail, and knowing how to take the test, eliminating wrong answers, and killing the MCAT.
Part 2 coming soon....
Study materials needed:
EK study package and EK1001s
TPR Package
TBR Complete Test
AAMCs 3-11
So you decided to pursue a career in medicine?
Well, to be successful you must take baby steps.
The two most important things you can do right now are:
1. Gaining clincal experience
2. Preparing for the MCAT (getting a score 30+)
Other things that are important (are required):
3. Shadowing experience (You should get this done when you have free time, I would start doing it now: talk to your surgeon and ask to shadow him, get at least 50 hours of shadowing and ask him a lot of questions about his career and his motivation to be a surgeon, and get a letter of recommendation)
4. Getting all your letters of recommendation (2 science professors, 1 non science professor, 1 from shadowing, 1 from your job: you must make sure you ask for a GOOD letter, and EMPHASIZE GOOD)
5. Either community volunteering/outreach (for black colleges and medical schools that have programs for underserved, you would want to do be involved with outreach in underserved areas) or research
6. Do a hobby and be actively involved in it (whether it will be rugby or writing poems, medical schools will be VERY interested in your hobbies)
Now onto preparing for the MCAT:
You have 6 months if you are going to take it in January and I advice you to do so. Sign up as soon as possible because spots will fill up in your area. Trust me, I had to drive to AZ for 5 hours before I took my test.
Now, first things first.
Are you good at reading comprehension? I advise you to take a full 60 minute sectional exam from either AAMC or Examkrackers verbal 101. TAKE IT ON A STRICT TIME LIMIT. Each passage should take on average 7.5mins.
If you can complete the exam on time, only get 1 or less wrong per passage, you are in good shape and you don't need to practice verbal. I would do 2-3 full sectionals, and if you did well, you don't need to study for this section.
However, if you are getting 2-3 or 3+ wrong per passage, you need to do 3 passages a day, review what you did wrong, and re read the passage for the main idea/authors opinion and understand why you answered correctly and incorrectly. Strict time limit of 7.5min per passage.
If practice your reading comprehension, read the economist.com EVERY DAY. This will greatly improve your reading ability if you CONSISTENTLY read many articles a day. This will also help you in your reading prompt on the test day. (You do not need to study for this section, you just need to write something that agrees with the statement given, when it doesnt, and what is the rule of thumb. worry about this the day before the test).
For studying take a 2 day break/week until you are at 3 months before the test. 1 day break/week before the test.
Content review:
There are 4 fields of science subject in the MCAT
Biology, General Chemistry, Ochemistry, Physics
ALWAYS ROTATE 1 section each day like so: (even for practice passages, etc)
1. Bio
2. GChem
3. Ochem
4. Physics
I would like 8 days total to read all materials using examkrackers (EK) so 1/2 the book for each section a day.
After, read through 2 section of a subject per day and take careful notes. It should take 14 days total (without breaks)
Also do the sectional questions and exams the same day.
This should be about 1 months of studying.
After going through EK review books, do the same thing for the princeton review books (TPR). This time, read through 1 section and then do the corresponding homework problems and passages. You will definitely need 3-4 hours of studying per day. I suggest you do each subject once a week and have a review day. This will probably take about a month to 2 months.
This should be a total of 3 months. After completing 3 months of FOCUSED/CONSISTENT/DISCIPLINED studying, you should have a great grasp on the content, verbal comprehension, and concepts. If done correctly, if you took a test immediately after (without a mental breakdown during the test), you should score a 30 easily. A 30 will get you interview, but it will not get you any guaranteed acceptances.
Part 2 is about practice, detail, and knowing how to take the test, eliminating wrong answers, and killing the MCAT.
Part 2 coming soon....
