MCAT Homeschooling

[Naf]

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Hello everybody!
Will be glad to hear your opinion.
I was in the university for a while on pre-med major and right now by some reasons can't attend classes.
So I decided to learn MCAT test by myself with a hope that after a while I can use of what I've learned.
I already learned some art's skills and foreign language by myself so I like it.
My question is:

1. Should I start study whole book (for.ex. Chemistry) and then applied skills or its better to get MCAT preparing test book (like Kaplan, Examcrackers) and follow their chapters?

2. Would you please recommend me some online study resource paid or free that can be helpful for home study?

Thanks to all advises!

 

[HowTragic]

If you study entire textbooks you will burn out fast. They cover way too many unnecessary topics at an unnecessary depth. Specialized prep books are better, but most of them still cover the topics much too comprehensively. In my experience, practice exams >>>content review. The MCAT isn't a memorization exam.

If you can devote at least two months entirely to the MCAT, and by devote I mean 9AM-11PM every day, you can pull it off without any online study tools or courses provided that you are advancing at an efficient pace. I was using outdated 2007 and 2010 Kaplan books and pulled a 36 with 2 months of intensive studying.

 

[Naf]

If you study entire textbooks you will burn out fast. They cover way too many unnecessary topics at an unnecessary depth. Specialized prep books are better, but most of them still cover the topics much too comprehensively. In my experience, practice exams >>>content review. The MCAT isn't a memorization exam.

If you can devote at least two months entirely to the MCAT, and by devote I mean 9AM-11PM every day, you can pull it off without any online study tools or courses provided that you are advancing at an efficient pace. I was using outdated 2007 and 2010 Kaplan books and pulled a 36 with 2 months of intensive studying.

Thank you for respond!Congrats you have a really cool result! One question: By saying "Content review" you meant mcat study review books?

 

[Muvis]

It is entirely possible to score well on the MCAT using a self-study method, and the MCAT forum on here should be able to help you on that. I personally used a variation on the SN2ed method described in detail on that forum for about 2-3 hours per night while working full time in a summer research position, then spent 5-6 hours per day on the weekend catching up on anything that slipped through the cracks. This worked really well for me and I came out with a score in the high thirties, but your mileage may vary depending on your prior experiences and learning style.

The key thing is finding what works best for you in the situation you are in. Review books are definitely worth the money, and the MCAT forum will probably have a good pulse of which ones are best for the new MCAT exam. Things are a bit different from when I took it, so I can't give you very good advice on which books are currently optimal. However, making the MCAT your entire life may not be a good idea. It works great for some people, like HowTragic, but that would have driven me insane personally. Find what works best for you, then use that technique as efficiently as possible, referencing the published practice exams as a key metric to gauge your areas of weakness. For some people, the structure of a review course is best, but there are also very good reasons to work independently from preparation materials if you are self-motivated and relatively disciplined.

 

[jamcat]

Yep, totally possible! I'd recommend using comprehensive MCAT books (The Princeton Review or The Berkeley Review) rather than "review" MCAT books (ExamKrackers) to study. I hadn't taken some pre-req courses before taking the MCAT, and I found it eminently possible to learn from these books.

I second the vote not to study from textbooks.

 

[Muvis]

Jamcat is exactly right that you should have some comprehensive books, I personally used The Berkeley Review and felt that they were very thorough, however ExamKrackers and books like it do have their place as well. I would inquire more with what the most dominant study plans are among current test takers and work from there, as current applicant advice will likely be a bit behind the times since we took our MCAT prior to the 2015 revision.

 

[Naf]

Yep, totally possible! I'd recommend using comprehensive MCAT books (The Princeton Review or The Berkeley Review) rather than "review" MCAT books (ExamKrackers) to study. I hadn't taken some pre-req courses before taking the MCAT, and I found it eminently possible to learn from these books.

I second the vote not to study from textbooks.

thank you!

 

[Naf]

Jamcat is exactly right that you should have some comprehensive books, I personally used The Berkeley Review and felt that they were very thorough, however ExamKrackers and books like it do have their place as well. I would inquire more with what the most dominant study plans are among current test takers and work from there, as current applicant advice will likely be a bit behind the times since we took our MCAT prior to the 2015 revision.

Thank you!Good answer! Any recommendation about free or prepaid practice for chem and physic? I mean something like in school students have worksheets or practicing online homework?

 

[Muvis]

Your content books should generally have enough practice problems for you to get your fill, based on my experience. The issue with using non-MCAT resources is that they often focus on elements that are not relevant to your exam, which is not a good use of your limited study time.

 

[jamcat]

Any good MCAT book will have practice questions. Most books also have a code for extra online practice through their website.

You don't typically take an MCAT class at school, so problem sets of university students will not be geared towards the MCAT. Don't worry about not having access to those!

 

[Naf]

Should I purchase a new edition of MCAT books or is it ok to buy previous years edition?
I think if I buy used books I won't be able to use a code for extra online practice?

 

[jamcat]

I'm unclear whether your goal is to actually take the MCAT or just study the material.

If it's to actually take the MCAT, you should get new books because the MCAT is changing a bit. Used books will be for the old MCAT, and it would be worth investing in the new books.

If it's just to learn the material, old books should suffice.