Forum Members 100 DAY MCAT STUDY PLAN adapted from SN2ed & MCATjelly - EK, TBR, TPRH, Kaplan

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_Nymeria_

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Hey Everyone!

Using this plan (<--Click), I went from 30th Percentile to 90th Percentile!

HERE IS AN UPDATED ARTICLE How I Went from 30th to 90th Percentile (<--Click) I WROTE ABOUT THE SPECIFICS OF MY STUDY PLAN


***UPDATED 2021 100 DAY MCAT SCHEDULE*** CLICK HERE for an updated version incorporating more modern resources. Created by the SDN team based on all of YOUR advice on various pages. Looks awesome!

I created a 2015 adaptation from @SN2ed's and @mcatjelly's study plans. I tried to eliminate some of the physics not covered in the new MCAT and am open to suggestions! I'll also probably combine some of the days if I can get through the chapters quicker than expected.

Key points: Practice is important! Don't read too much about Verbal strategy, just practice and hone your skills. REVIEW EVERYTHING! Always question why you missed something and always question why you got it right. Review should take as long as the actual passage, test, etc.

**I keep getting questions about why I RECOMMEND the pre-2015 books, this is inaccurate. It is not that I recommend pre-2015 MCAT books. I used pre-2015 MCAT books because that was all that was available to me when I was studying for the 2015 MCAT, and it worked fine for me.

**PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS BECAUSE I KEEP GETTING REPEAT QUESTIONS: The Kaplan column was adapted from mcatjelly's schedule specifically for individuals that only have Kaplan books and do not want to buy the entire set of materials I used. I did not personally complete mcatjelly's study plan, nor did I study using that. I only used their plan to adapt mine to Kaplan materials. Though I do not recommend the Kaplan books. They are too detailed. The MCAT is more broad!! Don't focus on details.

- Materials I Incorporated:

-SN2ed Complete Set (<-- CLICK AND READ) (BR Verbal not necessary) YOU MUST READ THIS PLAN FOR MINE TO MAKE SENSE- I used Pre-2015 BR books

-2015 Kaplan Study Books & On-Demand Course (optional - only added for individuals that already have Kaplan books) - Not recommended. Too detailed.

-NextStep Psychology and Sociology Strategy and Practice book 2015

You can buy these off of Ebay, Amazon, or you can get them here: For Sale and Advertisements

Here are some updates that you can make to the plan:
- Add AAMC practice question packs the 2-3 weeks before your MCAT. This is a great way to become comfortable with the way the authors write.
- You do not necessarily need three different CARS/Verbal resources. You can use the AAMC question packs, EK101 (though these seem easier than the new CARS section), TPRH Verbal Book
- Think of this plan as a checklist. You can rearrange it however you want
- Realize I posted this plan before I even took the MCAT. I was still trying to make sense of the 2015 MCAT
- Taking forever to read through a chapter? I mostly watched Khan Academy MCAT section to learn a lot of the material then skimmed the chapters for anything Khan Academy did not cover. Then I went and did passages. REVIEW YOUR PASSAGES. Review your mistakes. Review the questions you got right. Spend a lot of time figuring out how you can eliminate answer choices. LEARN to beat the test.
- Don't focus on minute details. The MCAT is BIG PICTURE.
- YOU MUST KNOW YOUR AMINO ACIDS! Here are the two quiz sites I used to learn them (I literally did these every other morning for three months). Click here for structure and Click here for abbreviations
- I made an equation sheet as I was studying. Memorized the equation sheet. Then reproduced the equation sheet on the scratch paper given to me during the tutorial time allotted. I found this very useful.

**Please read all of my responses. It is important to learn the skill of self-learning and researching. I continue to get repeat and ill-researched questions. Remember to review SN2ed's stuff as well. I promise reading these things WILL help you!

You will do A LOT of reading, researching, and planning before you start taking the MCAT
. Remember, AAMC recommends a minimum of 300 hours of studying.

I think the biggest takeaway from all of this is ADAPT these materials to your learning style. PRACTICE. Be tenacious!

Good Luck Everyone!

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Thank you so much for this! Quick Question, for SN2ed full set what edition/year did you use for the EK and BR books? Is there a reason why you went with those over the post-2015 EK and BR books? Thanks.

I believe I used 2013 TBR books or 2014 (if there is a 2014). All of my materials were PRE-2015. I studied before any 2015 materials were available (except the Kaplan books). You will have to look elsewhere for reviews on the EK 2015 books and whether or not they are actually suited more for the new MCAT. The content and strategy is still going to be pretty similar minus the addition of psych/soc and biochem (thought the TBR Bio book has some biochem and physiology in it). I also made this study guide with all the materials I had available to myself.
 
Question for you @_Nymeria_ I am confused about the last few days where you have indicated to complete the last 1/3 of passages..you say , for example, to do the last 1/3 of Chapter 9 on Day X and then again on Day Y. Do you mean just reviewing them, or actually completing them again? Sorry for the confusion...i may be missing something.

If you've already completed all of the passages for that chapter, then you can't do them anymore. I would move on to a different chapter or a different source of practice. It's probably a typo. :)
 
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Also @_Nymeria_ , did you incorporate the AAMC Question Pack materials anywhere? There are also section banks now, though I know those weren't available when you studied. I'm confused about when/where I should do this..if it should be before I finish content review or somewhere within that timeframe. Maybe @mcatjelly can chime in??? :shy: you folks are seriously my heroes.
 
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Nymeria, did you tend to think that the BR books for O-Chem and Physics were more detailed than necessary? I'm planning on using EK for content for every subject (not just bio), but using BR passages for practice. I'd just like to minimize unnecessary reading and maximize practice time. Any thoughts?
 
Nymeria, did you tend to think that the BR books for O-Chem and Physics were more detailed than necessary? I'm planning on using EK for content for every subject (not just bio), but using BR passages for practice. I'd just like to minimize unnecessary reading and maximize practice time. Any thoughts?

This is exactly what I'm doing except I am using TPR for Psych/Soc and Kaplan for Biochem. If I need to, I'll look into TBR to get a different aspect.
 
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Also @_Nymeria_ , did you incorporate the AAMC Question Pack materials anywhere? There are also section banks now, though I know those weren't available when you studied. I'm confused about when/where I should do this..if it should be before I finish content review or somewhere within that timeframe. Maybe @mcatjelly can chime in??? :shy: you folks are seriously my heroes.

Hey great question! I actually did a LOT of AAMC practice in between full lengths after the content review section. I think this is an EXCELLENT resource to learn how the AAMC test makers write questions. I did them untimed and reviewed the questions right after I finished them.
 
Nymeria, did you tend to think that the BR books for O-Chem and Physics were more detailed than necessary? I'm planning on using EK for content for every subject (not just bio), but using BR passages for practice. I'd just like to minimize unnecessary reading and maximize practice time. Any thoughts?

Hey! I think that's great. I did find them to be a bit detailed, especially for the new exam. In fact, a lot of times I just watched Khan Academy videos and used the passages as practice/review.
 
I apologize in advance for being incapable of understanding this.

I can't seem to figure out how to use the 1/3 method in this plan. So, day one for instance, I read chapter 1 of ochem and then do 1/3 of the 25 review questions, then 1/3 of the 52 practice exam questions. Then, for day 11 (the second day of ochem) I read chapter two, but then I go back and do the 2/3 part of chapter 1's practice problems?

If the above statement is true, how will this plan allow me to complete all of the practice problems?

Thanks
 
Using your schedule, roughly how many hours a day did you spend reviewing over the course of the 3+months? I know this varies greatly case by case but I want a ballpark idea of how to organize my schedule for the spring term.
 
This is exactly what I'm doing except I am using TPR for Psych/Soc and Kaplan for Biochem. If I need to, I'll look into TBR to get a different aspect.
Are you using TPR (psych/soc) and Kaplan (biochem) just for content review? If so, what source are you using for practice questions in psych/soc & biochem?
 
Are you using TPR (psych/soc) and Kaplan (biochem) just for content review? If so, what source are you using for practice questions in psych/soc & biochem?

Yeah I'm using these for content review. For practice, I am using BR(biochem) and Khan Academy(psych/soc).
 
Excellent! I remember using SN2ed's plan studying way back in the day.

I think these should be conditional though and tailored to the user's specific needs. So if you're already killer at Physics, then maybe you can devote more time to the other subjects. If you have a whole year to prep, then maybe intensity can drop tons every day.

I'm a software developer, so if there's interest I can make a website version of the plan that adapts with an initial questionnaire. Thoughts?
 
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I'm a software developer, so if there's interest I can make a website version of the plan that adapts with an initial questionnaire. Thoughts?

That sounds great! I'm ~3 weeks into the plan but wow, a website version would be awesome!


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Hey Everyone.

Using this plan, I went from 30th Percentile to 90th Percentile!

HERE IS AN UPDATED ARTICLE I WROTE ABOUT THE STUDY PLAN:
http://www.studentdoctor.net/2015/1...0th-percentile-explaining-my-mcat-study-plan/

I created a 2015 adaptation from @SN2ed's and @mcatjelly's study plans. I tried to eliminate some of the physics not covered in the new MCAT and am open to suggestions! I'll also probably combine some of the days if I can get through the chapters quicker than expected.

- Materials I Incorporated:

-SN2ed Complete Set (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/breaking-down-the-mcat-a-3-month-mcat-study-schedule.623898/) (BR Verbal not necessary)

-2015 Kaplan Study Books & On-Demand Course (optional)

-NextStep Psychology and Sociology Strategy and Practice book 2015

Good Luck Everyone!

Hello _Nymeria_,
I see that you used TBR books for the older MCAT.
I was wondering if you had no problem studying with this for the new MCAT?
Thank you!
 
Where can one buy the books necessary for this study plan?
@TurkDorian: I have the same question. People keep talking about the practice full lengths on here but if I buy used books and DO NOT take the prep course, I wonder how I will get access to the FL exams/passages. Are they in the books as well (as in paper-format kinda thing)?
 
@TurkDorian: I have the same question. People keep talking about the practice full lengths on here but if I buy used books and DO NOT take the prep course, I wonder how I will get access to the FL exams/passages. Are they in the books as well (as in paper-format kinda thing)?
exactly :S Also, I'm not sure whether I should use the old books or purchase new books written for this year
 
The only way someone can use this schedule is if they have all these review book. What if it is someone like me who only has EK.
 
Great schedule! I only have one question... so on day 1 : I do Orgo Ch1 + 1/3 + 3 verbal TPRH..... what is the with the kaplan chapters on the side? Is that for people who want to you se the kaplan instead of berkeley or a person should do ALL of Orgo Ch1 + 1/3 + 3 verbal TPRH + Kap ch.1,3,4,11?

Please someone let me know I am going to be starting to study very soon! Thanks
 
O-Chem days 1, 19, and 25 all have kap ch 4 as readings. Is it suggested to re-read this chapter each time?
 
In one day, how are you supposed to do, for example, reading, notes, and review for four chapters from Kaplan in addition to doing one BR chapter and the rest of the stuff on Day 1?
 
Hello _Nymeria_,
I see that you used TBR books for the older MCAT.
I was wondering if you had no problem studying with this for the new MCAT?
Thank you!

Hi Seosaerim, you're correct! I used the Pre-2015 TBR books. I found they worked great! I relied on Khan Academy and Kaplan materials for the Biochem and Psych/Soc content.
 
Using your schedule, roughly how many hours a day did you spend reviewing over the course of the 3+months? I know this varies greatly case by case but I want a ballpark idea of how to organize my schedule for the spring term.

I studied 9am-5pm did yoga, the studied 7:30-10pm almost every day. It's quite the commitment! Sometimes I finished more chapters than one in one day, and sometimes chapters took me more days than originally planned. For some of the material, I watched Khan Academy videos instead of reading the chapter.
 
I apologize in advance for being incapable of understanding this.

I can't seem to figure out how to use the 1/3 method in this plan. So, day one for instance, I read chapter 1 of ochem and then do 1/3 of the 25 review questions, then 1/3 of the 52 practice exam questions. Then, for day 11 (the second day of ochem) I read chapter two, but then I go back and do the 2/3 part of chapter 1's practice problems?

If the above statement is true, how will this plan allow me to complete all of the practice problems?

Thanks

You do not complete all of the passage problems. You can if you want to go back and do the rest of them, but this is not entirely necessary.
This entire method is explained in SN2ed's plan.
For Day One, you do 1/3 of the questions at the end of the chapter. I do not have these books anymore so I cannot look at them to see what you are referencing. If I remember correctly, these are sorted by passage? I would do 1/3 of the passages (Passage 1, Passage 4, etc.) and if there were discretes, then you do 1/3 of those as well.
Day 9 is when you go back to that same chapter as day one and do the second set of 1/3 of the questions. (ie do Passage 2, Passage 5, etc.)
Day 11 is a new Ochem Chapter. So you would start this process over again
 
@_Nymeria_ is there an adjusted 4 month study plan? If anyone has adjusted this schedule to 4 months it would be nice to see.

Great question. This schedule can easily be adjusted to 4 months. You can build in more break days, more review days, and can extend some chapters into more than one day depending on your own content weaknesses. For example, I hadn't taken physics yet, so I built in extra physics days for myself (this was a mix between Khan Academy review and re-reading the chapters to learn the material). I used this schedule more like a checklist of days that needed to be completed. I studied closer to 3.5 months, since I had some unplanned break days, etc.
 
Great schedule! I only have one question... so on day 1 : I do Orgo Ch1 + 1/3 + 3 verbal TPRH..... what is the with the kaplan chapters on the side? Is that for people who want to you se the kaplan instead of berkeley or a person should do ALL of Orgo Ch1 + 1/3 + 3 verbal TPRH + Kap ch.1,3,4,11?

Please someone let me know I am going to be starting to study very soon! Thanks


The Kaplan chapters on the side were for people that only had Kaplan books. No need to do more than the BR books!
 
O-Chem days 1, 19, and 25 all have kap ch 4 as readings. Is it suggested to re-read this chapter each time?

It is up to you. Whatever you need content wise. I did not use Kaplan review books (except for the biochem and psych/soc books). I adapted that column from MCATJelly's study plan and relied on that to correlate the BR schedule with Kaplan books.
 
In one day, how are you supposed to do, for example, reading, notes, and review for four chapters from Kaplan in addition to doing one BR chapter and the rest of the stuff on Day 1?

Can you please be a bit more specific? Day one only has one chapter, verbal practice, and the practice problems for that chapter.
 
I studied 9am-5pm did yoga, the studied 7:30-10pm almost every day. It's quite the commitment! Sometimes I finished more chapters than one in one day, and sometimes chapters took me more days than originally planned. For some of the material, I watched Khan Academy videos instead of reading the chapter.

did you go hard 6-7 days a week?
 
I found it. Hard to find and hard to interpret without finding it. Recommend it get explained in the PDF imo. Been using the schedule though

Lol you know she doesn't get paid to do this right? Kinda rude of you:whistle:
 
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Has anyone tried this study schedule with using mainly the Kaplan books?
I can only afford the EK, TPRH verbal, and NextStep Psych/Soc. I'm not sure if Kaplan would be as helpful or as highly recommended as BR. :unsure:
 
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Hi @_Nymeria_,
First of all, I wanted to thank you for taking the time out and making this and sharing it with everybody! I have a quick question, is there any particular reason why you took out the EK 30 minute exams? Also every 7th day, you have the "re-read all chapters" from the previous 6 days, how were you able to re-read all those chapters in one day? Did you look at your notes or you skimmed through the chapters or you actually read them all?
 
·
· Berkeley Review General Chemistry--$69

· Berkeley Review Organic Chemistry--$69

· Princeton Review Hyperlearning Biology Workbook--Various old versions, prices below

§ 2006-$44

§ 2005-set of books-$299

· Berkeley Review Biology--$69

· Berkeley Review Physics--$69

· EK 1001 Series---Physics, Orgo, Chem,---Total of $89.85

· EK 101 Verbal-$39.95

· TPR Hyperlearning Workbook (old)

o 2011, $79


· NextStep Psychology and Sociology-$37

Total price: $565.90 (this is not including that $299 hyperlearning set) (Is this correct?)

· He (Sn2ed) lists either EK bio for less detail, or Princeton Review Hyperlearning/Berkeley Review for more detail..... And then below lists Berkeley Review for Biology passages.

o So does that mean, if you want more detail, you should not get the hyperlearning workbook and just get BR for content and passages? I don’t think you would want to buy the hyperlearning book and the BR.

· Also, can someone explain what the hyperlearning workbooks are? I provided links to the books I found, and they seem outdated. The books I found were from 10+ years ago. Are those what people use for the new MCAT?





So the Kaplan set is not necessary?

I'm a little confused because I am trying to figure out what you mostly used for content review, and what you mostly used for practice.
Based on Sn2ed, you used BR for most of your subject content review and EK 1001 for practice?
and then EK for bio review and BR for Bio practice?

I don't know about EK because I have heard people say bad things about it, and I feel like I need quality content review because my prereqs are slightly weak.



Here are the links to the outdated books I found:
o Amazon product
o Amazon product
o Amazon product
 
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1. So after doing some researching, I found that apparently the Princeton Review Hyperlearning books for bio and verbal (newest editions) are only available if you take the class? So is the PRH bio book in this guide not relevant then? Because I could only find very old editions for sale around online.
However, I believe the verbal PRH book is relevant, even if you get an old edition? I found some people online saying that older editions for verbal still work for the new MCAT.
Not sure how much of this is true.




Also:
2. What is a discrete?

3. I see that for biology content review, you guys give the option of EK Bio or BR/TPR Hyperlearning (I can't find an updated 2015 version for this).
I feel like I should do the more content heavy one, so should I just go with BR Bio?

I just have this idea that if I go with lighter content source material I am going to miss out on something important.





4. Why would you do the EK Bio for content and then BR Bio for practice passages? Aren't they different books of different difficulties, so you'd be missing information that would make it very hard to do BR practice problems?



5. Also, what is the point in doing the EK Bio in class exams at the end of each week? What does this mean? Is biology the most relevant section on the MCAT or something? Why are there not EK Chem in class exams, EK physics in class exams.....etc....

6. Also, on your study guide, it repeats "EK Bio in class exam #1 for each week". I'm assuming you meant each successive exam? Are these for each chapter? So the 2nd week would be chapter, 2, etc....




7. Also, so it looks like you use mostly BR for content. Or Kaplan for content if that is all you have, and then for bio content only, you use either EK/BR/Or TPR.


So I feel like for all of this, I should use a heavier content material because I did okay in my pre req classes, but I feel like I should learn the material well again and not just skim over stuff.
I've heard BR is good, but also somewhat more detailed than needed. How does BR compare to Kaplan in terms of doing in depth without going too in depth? lol












I'm sorry for all of the questions. I've been going over your notes and guide and Sn2eds stuff over the past few days trying to wrap my head around this large volume of prep material haha. I didn't think the challenge of the MCAT would begin at this point when I am only trying to figure out my plan and which books to buy.......I just want to make sure I have all my bases covered and don't miss anything important.
 
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Hi @_Nymeria_,
First of all, I wanted to thank you for taking the time out and making this and sharing it with everybody! I have a quick question, is there any particular reason why you took out the EK 30 minute exams? Also every 7th day, you have the "re-read all chapters" from the previous 6 days, how were you able to re-read all those chapters in one day? Did you look at your notes or you skimmed through the chapters or you actually read them all?

Thanks for the appreciation! I did not mean to take out the EK 30 Minute exams. I didn't do all of them, but I think they are still useful! I skimmed the chapters and went through my review sheets I made for each chapter. Hope this helps!
 
Hey @_Nymeria_ sorry for all the questions, do you mind answering any of them? Thanks a lot, I appreciate this.
Also, I'm currently editing your plan with the 4 month plan made by SN2ed to try and make yours into a 4 month plan
 
Hey @_Nymeria_ sorry for all the questions, do you mind answering any of them? Thanks a lot, I appreciate this.
Also, I'm currently editing your plan with the 4 month plan made by SN2ed to try and make yours into a 4 month plan

That's a lot of questions you asked. Nymeria is not getting paid to do this. Besides, it is said that this plan is modified version for the new MCAT from sn2ed.

Look through SN2ed post first because the answers you're looking for are listed all in there.
 
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Anyone have any recommendations for review courses? Kaplan vs TPR?


After lengthy review, in no specific order these are the best re-occurring sources I found.

1. Khan Acadaemy (https://www.khanacademy.org )

2. Kaplan (http://www.kaptest.com/mcat)

3. Master the Content (https://masterthecontent.com )

4. Berkeley Review ( http://www.berkeley-review.com/ )

5. Princeton Review ( http://www.princetonreview.com/medical/mcat-test-prep )


Let me know if you come across any others that are worth mentioning.
 
I actually haven't looked at the MCAT in over 10 years, which was the last time I studied for it, and then my life got derailed, so if anyone on here thinks they're confused by anything regarding the MCAT, take heart and have no fear, for I am here, and I don't even know what kind of new scoring system they're employing now so that I can go from having a 41 P to whatever these 3 digit numbers are. If you're not as far behind as I am and you still plan to kick the MCAT's butt and get into a Top 30 med school, I just want you to remember one very important thing: There IS no spoon.
 
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I actually haven't looked at the MCAT in over 10 years, which was the last time I studied for it, and then my life got derailed, so if anyone on here thinks they're confused by anything regarding the MCAT, take heart and have no fear, for I am here, and I don't even know what kind of new scoring system they're employing now so that I can go from having a 41 P to whatever these 3 digit numbers are. If you're not as far behind as I am and you still plan to kick the MCAT's butt and get into a Top 30 med school, I just want you to remember one very important thing: There IS no spoon.
:clap:
 
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