MCAT @))#...oops I mean 2003

[BushBaby]

Who here is gearing for the april 2003 MCAT???

I am taking kaplan (cooper union center). I took princeton last year and I wanted to see if Kaplan is really where it's at.

Is it too early to start studying? I just want to know what you guy doing to prepare.

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[Zurich5]

BushBaby,

I'll be taking the 2003 April MCAT. I am planning on also taking Kaplan, and starting to study sometime around Christmas? Unfortunatley i have to miss a huge bike race to take the test . Hope this helps.

Later on

 

[efex101]

BushBaby I am also taking the MCAT in April '03. I dunno about when is the best time to start studying. I had planned to start in January but now I am wondering if earlier is better. Anyone?

 

[DW]

efex, january is fine, especially if you're taking a prep course. use your fall as a "calm before the storm", no need to get yourself worked up in the fall, especially if you're taking other classes/working. maybe do some more reading than you might normally to get ready for verbal. And, as my "had i know this before i started" nugget, it would be an idea to try to have your LORs secured before the MCAT, rather than chasing profs while
trying to get your "SCAMCAS" (courtesy of souljah1) finished.

good luck,
dw

 

[BushBaby]

I think that's a good idea DW. Spend the fall working "independently" on your problem areas. That would be verbal for me. Then start kaplan around dec/jan.
I think I would take that route....oh well I better go dust off all my old Mcat workbooks.....I am soo thankful that I didn't give them away.

 

[Jugador75]

I'm taking the april 2003. I put in a solid 200 hours of studying this summer, and plan on taking kaplan and studying more during the year. I'm shooting for a 37/38. We'll see if it happens. If not, I will have done everything humanly imaginable for the most important test that I will ever take in my entire life. No pressure, right?

 

[jot]

hiyo - just wanted to say while its great that you are starting so early, just don't burn yourselves out, or go through all the material before the couple months before the exam. a lot of this test is about being in practice, and you want to be at your peak then. so i would suggest gathering all your knowledge, filling holes etc... but not doing any materials until spring semester. i kinda started a little late for studying so it was hectic, so its good that you are thinking about it soon. though i studied for about 2 months, i didn't want to look at it in the last week at all and just kinda stared at the books and daydreamed.

also there is no harm in aiming real high. who cares if you fall short, if you think you are capabale of a 30, aim for a 35 (adjust accordingly attitude makes a huge diff. goodluck

-jot

 

[loomis]

I will be taking the MCATs next spring too. My Achilles heel is physical sciences so I have been looking over my old physics book from my post bac class. It's going ok so far but i really wish I had a study partner. Often times I still just glaze over the parts I really find hard, or just "cheat" and memorize a formula without truly understanding the concept. I know, I know.....that's bad news for doing well. But I am hoping that by at least getting cozy again with the material, it'll help me out when I begin studying hard core this coming winter.

Any recommended books for physics? I'm using cutnell and johnson and hewitt's conceptual physics but if there are any other books out there please let me know!!
thanks
loomis

 

[efex101]

Jot, can you explain what you mean by filling holes? Do you mean to start reviewing now and do practice exams starting in January? I am just so worried that if I do start in October to review then by the time April rolls around I will be either burned out or will have to start all over. My physics professor said that it is better to start now and review more than once. This way it will be better ingrained on my brain matter. She says that the more times you go over something the better understanding. I am so confused please help!

 

[nero]

if you have a pretty good back ground, then 3 months will be more than enough.........i started in may for the mcat and reviewed all the materials by reading kaplan's review...i referenced textbooks if i was a little weak in an area and i did practice problems for that weak area so i could strengthen it......as i reviewed, i would also do review questions given by kaplaln............i finsihed my review in 2 months.......so july and august was all full lengths.......the week of mcats i tried to review the materail to keep it fresh for the big day, but i coudn't.....i tried, but i ended up walking away after about 5 minutes.....its going to get to a point where you know this stuff second nature...review it, strength your weak spots and practice like crazy..........i'd say if you are especially weak in one of the big four, start around november and strengthen that for a couple of months and then jst practice like crazy........you'll learn that its not just konwledge, you have to learn to take the mcat........on myu real mcat, there was formula i dind' know, something about absorbance and concnetratoin...........i forgot it, but was able to figure it out using units............know the basics, but dont' go too detailed with the sciences....
best of luck

nero

 

[jot]

hey efex,

what i mean by holes are specific topis in subjects that give you problems. lets say you aren't good with circuits, so i would go back to your text books (not the mcat review books) and do reading and problems till you are comfortable. since you have so much time, do this for each thing you have even the slight discomfort thinking about. when it comes down to looking at the review books you will have all the topics at your fingertips. with such an ideal amount of time, i would solidify your knowledge from the source (textbooks) first, then move onto the condensed reviews max 3 months before the test. and don't forget to do some verbal work longitudinally, that is one subject that can be increased over such a long period. goodluck.
-jot

 

[efex101]

Jot thanks! I am starting to do VR passages at my once pace for now and seeing how well I can answer the questions. I have no problem reading fast and understanding the concept, but some of the questions can throw me off.
I plan to start reviewing physics/gen chem in October because they are the two courses that are the least fresh and then Organic and Bio I will review with TPR. My plan is to take as many practice exams as I can (20-30). I know that this may be too much but hey the more the better (I hope). What do you all think?

 

[limit]

Originally posted by efex101
My plan is to take as many practice exams as I can (20-30). I know that this may be too much but hey the more the better (I hope). What do you all think?

I took 8 in the last two weeks prior to the august test, so 20-30 should hardly be a problem if spread over months. Reviewing topics is useless and boring, unless there are seriously large gaps in knowledge in which case it is necessary. Taking tests and solving problems is the only sure fire way to see easy problems dressed up with various difficult layers like they appear on the mcat. For every full length you take, you have hundreds of quality questions and informative passages which you can review post-exam. If I had to do my prep over again, I'd do more full lengths.

Also, as far as your brain and memory is concerned, its much easier to recall details of past questions rather than a paragraph in a textbook or review book, because having taken a full length some time back (and having reviewed extensively the solutions), you now possess in your arsenal the problem solving logic and reasoning necessary to solve similar problems.

 

[BushBaby]

Well april is still a while away. For now though I will be reviewing basic things (the last time I studied for the mcat was for the april 2001 exam). I need to refresh my memory in the sciences before starting any practice exams. I think it I spent the next three months going over physics, orgo, g.chem and bio(I will also be reading NYT weekly for verbal)...then by Dec....I can start doing practice tests to see where I am.

I am cleaning up my room now and re-stacking my mcat stuff together. I just got a physics book from the library..I'll read thru that for now.

The exam date is still far but I don't want to be caught in feb or march trying to relearn anything. Some people can study two months and ace the test, but I am not a test taker so I need to get a head start.

I plan on doing 20+ practice exams also. That was my problem the last time, I thought I didn't need to do practice exams...instead I just studied the material.
This is my 3rd time taking this exam and I based on my previous experiences I hope to have a better study plan this time around.

 

[ocean11]

BushBaby just wanted to let you know that that is my cat's name:
Bush Baby, the most adorable cat in the world (he's black, slim and very athletic)

Just a side note lol

Peace out

 

[BushBaby]

Originally posted by ocean11
BushBaby just wanted to let you know that that is my cat's name:
Bush Baby, the most adorable cat in the world (he's black, slim and very athletic)

Just a side note lol

Peace out

OMG Ocean...I'm black, I'm slim and I am also athletic....what a coincidence.... But I am a "she" sorry.

 

[BushBaby]

I just bought some examkracker stuff at a discounted price, brand new.

I got the audio osmosis CDs for $135 (compared to $199)
The verbal book was like $10
The physics was like $24

I mean it's no big ol' sale but it cost me $170 total- that's not even up to the price of the CD's alone (from amazon, or examkrackers website).
Shipping was $3.99...can't beat that.

Even the used CD's I saw (on half.com) was like $140.



Then I ordered the peterson's verbal reasoning review for $11 (@ a diff. website).

 

[Mike59]

To the people taking in April, here are some words of wisdom from an Aug. MCATer:

- the MCAT tests knowledge only to a point. The amount of time spent studying cannot boost someone from the high 20's to a 35 or 40.
- Once people are scoring in upper 20's (27+), its all about technique and learning to interpret new information on test day. A good test taker will score a 35, a mediocre test taker who is very well prepared will score in the high 20's.
- I studied my ass off for the MCAT and there wasn't one knowledge based question I think I missed. Only problem is that's about 15% of the exam.
- Therefore, do all the AAMC exams, but not until 6 weeks before the real deal.

Just my $.02