MCAT: content review v. practice exams

[coolcucumber91]

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I know you should do both, but what did you guys think was more helpful? Which should I allot more time to? I've heard that it's better to take a practice test after a fast content review, and then go over the stuff you missed in depth, and that's when you take out your textbook or in depth prep book such as the BR.

If I have 2 months (say 8 weeks) to study, how should I split up my studying?

 

[NickNaylor]

If you don't know the material, practice exams aren't going to help you. You need to have a firm foundation in the material before you do practice exams exclusively.

I also never understood the dichotomy of practice exams OR studying. What precludes you from doing both?

 

[coolcucumber91]

If you don't know the material, practice exams aren't going to help you. You need to have a firm foundation in the material before you do practice exams exclusively.

I also never understood the dichotomy of practice exams OR studying. What precludes you from doing both?

No, I know both are important, but I've been hearing that more focus should be put on practice exams.. I won't a practice exam without looking at everything first

I've always thought content review should have more time allotted to it, but people who have been studying/ took the MCAT with good scores that I know has been saying the opposite

 

[NickNaylor]

No, I know both are important, but I've been hearing that more focus should be put on practice exams.. I won't a practice exam without looking at everything first

I've always thought content review should have more time allotted to it, but people who have been studying/ took the MCAT with good scores that I know has been saying the opposite

MCAT studying isn't a one-size-fits-all proposition. Since YOU'RE the one taking the exam and YOU'RE the one that will have to deal with the results, you should go with what YOU think is best. Sure, do some reading and get some input from people that have taken the exams, but just because someone gets ____ score doesn't mean you should follow their study plan blindly. If you haven't done so already, check out the 30+ MCAT thread in the MCAT forum for some ideas.

 

[vk79]

I don't know if this helps, but I've been trying to maintain a balance between the two as well.

Basically I have 3 months to study, so I spent the first month on pure content review. I will spend the second month doing practice problems (1001 EK sets) and nailing down the concepts and making sure I know how to do the math problems. Then the last month will be all FLs with time to review my weak areas.

I don't know how well this gells with your current study plan, but I think the main point is that you need to review material until you are comfortable enough to be tested on ANYTHING in your review books

 

[elevenses]

My opinion: you should have learned the vast majority of the content you need to know in the prerequisite classes.

My suggestion: take a diagnostic MCAT like AAMC #3 and see how you do. If you score 10+ on BS and PS, you do not need to do a comprehensive review of the content. Just do practice passages and tests and review the weak areas that those exercises reveal. If you score less than a 10 on either section, then it may be a good idea to do a comprehensive content review, but if you aced physics and bombed chemistry, don't spend a lot of time reviewing physics. I also found it helpful to look at the outlines in the official guide to the MCAT to see what content areas my classes simply didn't cover, and I made sure to cover them on my own before I used up the limited number of official practice tests.

 

[ccfman1991]

lolz i spent 8 months studying for the mcat...i spent about 6 months reviewing material and 2 months taking about 5-6 practice tests (full simulation). I guess if you had 2 months, it would be 6 weeks of review and 2 weeks of testing. but i agree with nicknaylor, your study plan should be a reflection of what you're good/bad at.

 

[campbellsoup29]

I did a diagnostic test first (scored rather low) and then did a comprehensive review of all of the material. I then did practice tests and studied areas I needed to work on. The practice exams really helped with the verbal in terms of understanding how the questions were worded and what to be on the lookout for when reading the passages. I did all of the AAMC exams and about half of the Kaplan exams by the time I actually took the MCAT. Happy studying!

 

[Chir0nex]

]I did a diagnostic test first (scored rather low) and then did a comprehensive review of all of the material. I then did practice tests and studied areas I needed to work on[/B]. The practice exams really helped with the verbal in terms of understanding how the questions were worded and what to be on the lookout for when reading the passages. I did all of the AAMC exams and about half of the Kaplan exams by the time I actually took the MCAT. Happy studying!

This. Practice tests are great for seeing what needs work, but are fairly useless as far as learning the material.

 

[Narmerguy]

I personally am more concerned with content review. I've taken dozens of standardized tests before. If time runs out, I won't need as many practice exams to get a feeling for how that works. Not to mention that most review books have practice problems as you go.