MCAT planning advice needed

[radioactive15]

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Have some questions about planning my MCAT exam. To preface, I will be applying next cycle.

I am unsure of when to take the MCAT exam. I am currently doing full-time studying/preparing during the summer (2.5 months) and don't know whether to register for a late September date or wait until January.

Benefits of September:
Will be fresh off summer preparation
Get it out of the way fast
Option to take it in January again if my score isn't good

Benefits of January:
Will have summer studying + winter break studying to prepare + 5 hours weekend studying during semester
Possibility of having more AAMC practice tests out
Will get more practice tests in

Cons of January:
Will be part of the 2016 testing cycle. This could be potentially bad because it may be scaled more harshly than the 2015 one due to more familiarity.
New study material (EK, etc) will probably be out for this one later on towards the year. Don't want to invest $250 in more study materials for updated material when I currently have okay material, but I may have to in order to maximize my chances
Could possibly forget much of the summer studying material

With all things considered, which option would you suggest I take and why? I will continue with my plan of intensive summer studying either way, and will put myself in position to take either one. What is recommended for me to register?.

 

[efle]

September.

It's what I did and I firmly believe that doing tons of hardcore MCAT prep (like 3 practice exams per week plus daily review stuff) up to test day >>> many weeks of sporadic review during a busy semester. You forget a lot over a few months.

 

[Azete]

September.

It's what I did and I firmly believe that doing tons of hardcore MCAT prep (like 3 practice exams per week plus daily review stuff) up to test day >>> many weeks of sporadic review during a busy semester. You forget a lot over a few months.

This.

I would never, ever recommend splitting your studying up. I did a January MCAT, but I didn't take any classes during Fall semester and used all the time to study -- consider if that's an option for you, maybe you can make the courses up the following summer. I scored much higher than I probably should have and I credit this schedule for my success.

I think the new MCAT requires ~4 months of consecutive studying to achieve peak performance if you're starting with a weak base (I.E. you don't remember anything from your pre-reqs).

 

[hoihaie]

september. Full time summer is enough. If you take it in jan, you'll forget majority of whatever it is you achieved during the summer

 

[Glazedonutlove]

Have some questions about planning my MCAT exam. To preface, I will be applying next cycle.

I am unsure of when to take the MCAT exam. I am currently doing full-time studying/preparing during the summer (2.5 months) and don't know whether to register for a late September date or wait until January.

Benefits of September:
Will be fresh off summer preparation
Get it out of the way fast
Option to take it in January again if my score isn't good

Benefits of January:
Will have summer studying + winter break studying to prepare + 5 hours weekend studying during semester
Possibility of having more AAMC practice tests out
Will get more practice tests in

Cons of January:
Will be part of the 2016 testing cycle. This could be potentially bad because it may be scaled more harshly than the 2015 one due to more familiarity.
New study material (EK, etc) will probably be out for this one later on towards the year. Don't want to invest $250 in more study materials for updated material when I currently have okay material, but I may have to in order to maximize my chances
Could possibly forget much of the summer studying material

With all things considered, which option would you suggest I take and why? I will continue with my plan of intensive summer studying either way, and will put myself in position to take either one. What is recommended for me to register?.

As long as you can maintain motivation to study in the summer and you feel ready when test date is close, get it done in September. I did the whole sporadic learning thing over the semester and had to cram in a lot the week before mcat because I forgot the stuff I studied way earlier.

 

[GrapesofRath]

Have some questions about planning my MCAT exam. To preface, I will be applying next cycle.

I am unsure of when to take the MCAT exam. I am currently doing full-time studying/preparing during the summer (2.5 months) and don't know whether to register for a late September date or wait until January.

Benefits of September:
Will be fresh off summer preparation
Get it out of the way fast
Option to take it in January again if my score isn't good

Benefits of January:
Will have summer studying + winter break studying to prepare + 5 hours weekend studying during semester
Possibility of having more AAMC practice tests out
Will get more practice tests in

Cons of January:
Will be part of the 2016 testing cycle. This could be potentially bad because it may be scaled more harshly than the 2015 one due to more familiarity.
New study material (EK, etc) will probably be out for this one later on towards the year. Don't want to invest $250 in more study materials for updated material when I currently have okay material, but I may have to in order to maximize my chances
Could possibly forget much of the summer studying material

With all things considered, which option would you suggest I take and why? I will continue with my plan of intensive summer studying either way, and will put myself in position to take either one. What is recommended for me to register?.

The correct answer is take it when you are ready to take it. If you take the AAMC practice test next month and don't score close to where you want you're just asking for trouble forcing it next month and just "hoping for the best" and just "getting it out of the way". Concerns such as "oh the scale will be tougher in 2016" so don't take it then are the last things that should be affecting your decision.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

I agree ^, but also if you go with the "if I am ready" mentality, you won't try as hard to get ready by then, since you will be comforted by the idea of a backup plan. Set a date and get it done

 

[tunicaexterna]

September

 

[radioactive15]

Thanks for the replies. September will probably be the best date.

For full-time studying now through September, how many hours are recommended per day? I was leaning towards 6 hours/day for 6 days per week and 1 full length test the 7th day of each week. Is 6 too little?

 

[efle]

Thanks for the replies. September will probably be the best date.

For full-time studying now through September, how many hours are recommended per day? I was leaning towards 6 hours/day for 6 days per week and 1 full length test the 7th day of each week. Is 6 too little?

That should be more than enough. Even 30 hours per week should be plenty if you are productive with the time! Most people do 20-30 hours a week on top of a part-time job or a class when summer prepping

 

[radioactive15]

That should be more than enough. Even 30 hours per week should be plenty if you are productive with the time! Most people do 20-30 hours a week on top of a part-time job or a class when summer prepping

Thanks.

Would you also comment on whether 1.5 months of content review + 1 weekly FL followed by .5 month of daily FL/analysis is a good strategy? If not, what should I modify for a 2 month plan?

 

[efle]

Thanks.

Would you also comment on whether 1.5 months of content review + 1 weekly FL followed by .5 month of daily FL/analysis is a good strategy? If not, what should I modify for a 2 month plan?

That sounds about right. how many FLs are you working with here?

 

[radioactive15]

That sounds about right. how many FLs are you working with here?

I got the EK ones to go along with AAMC's question packs and sample test. I plan to use older editions FLs during the content review period and save AAMC and EK's 2015 ones until the end of the period and towards the final weeks. There's also a TPR diagnostic 2015 one I have

 

[Doug Underhill]

Don't look at it in terms of hours. The exam isn't graded by hours: nowhere on AMCAS is the number of hours you spent studying listed.

First, make sure you reserve your seat months in advance. I took mine in October and reserved the seat in June. Get a testing center close to your place of residence: driving is tiring and you need to be at 100% for this test.


Once you've completed your initial concept review, focus on questions, full-length exam scores, and pacing. A user on SDN showed that 66% of SDN posters scored within two (using the old scale) points of their AAMC full-length practice exam average on the real 2014 MCAT. Take the practice tests and take them under identical conditions to the real MCAT: same day of the week and time of day, same type of environment, etc. For the real test, you'll be taking it in a room with lots of computers with five or six sheets of scrap paper and a cheap pencil. Obey the time limits closely- do not give yourself extra time. Do one of these practice tests a week for the last few weeks up until the actual test. On the day after the exam, look up every question you missed and figure out why you missed it- are you weak on the concepts that question tests, or did you just misread it? Record your scores and trends, including the number of questions missed and why you missed them (conceptual weaknesses, calculation errors, reading comprehension, bubbling errors where you were thinking A but hit B, etc).

For the rest of the week, focus on the concepts where you are weakest and challenge yourself brutally. Personally, I knew I didn't have a solid grasp on rotational motion and did all the question banks I could find on it until I was confident I understood it. It was tough to do a practice passage and then find out that I got four out of the five questions wrong, but eventually I could get the overwhelming majority of them right.

Finally, there will be questions that you will get wrong. Often, you can miss a question and still get a perfect score. Some questions are so hard that attempting to solve them will steal time needed to answer easy questions. There is no penalty for guessing on the MCAT, so leaving a question blank is always a bad play. Try to eliminate two obviously wrong answers and guess between the other two if you're really stuck: a 50-50 shot is better than leaving the question blank every time. Don't let these questions rattle your nerves. MCAT day is frightening: the wait for your scores afterwards is even moreso.

Good luck!