MCAT planning

[kiddynamite914]

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For MCATs, do you guys know how many hours or months most student use in preparation for the MCATs. I wanted to start this month, but I won't be able to due to other commitments. I was planning on studying July and August of this summer and winter break. And all of next summer as well and winter break of my 5th year at uni. And then I was planning on taking it at the end of winter break of my 5th year. This would give me about 6-7 months to prepare for the MCATs (in addition to the hours, if I can study during the semesters). Thanks!

 

[deleted647690]

I've heard from many people that splitting up your study over a long period of time is not a good idea, because you won't retain knowledge. However, I've recently been considering this as a possibility too. I'm not sure how successful people have been with a plan like this.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Concur with acetyl completely. It's not a bad idea to keep an ongoing file of notes to reference when it's time to study for the MCAT. Those notes can be made at any time. But when it comes to studying and working to the test, you need to have an actual test date breathing down your neck to be properly motivated.

 

[Doremonster]

3-4 months of full time studying is ideal. I have to agree with poster above. If you split it up longer, you must review every day and also it may end up costing more because you will have to buy more practice material if you start studying that far out. Ultimately, it is up to you because you know your study habits the best and how well you retain information. For me, I don't want to be focused and stressed about the MCAT 6-8 months before I plan on taking the exam.

 

[deleted647690]

Concur with acetyl completely. It's not a bad idea to keep an ongoing file of notes to reference when it's time to study for the MCAT. Those notes can be made at any time. But when it comes to studying and working to the test, you need to have an actual test date breathing down your neck to be properly motivated.

Hi Berk Tech,
Reading your comment made me think more about my current situation. My plan was to study for the mcat this summer for a September 10th test date, and that's what I'm currently doing. However, I am behind my schedule. I am following a version of Nymeria's/Sn2ed's schedule, and I am finding that it is sometimes taking me more than a day to review a chapter and understand the content. I am also planning on unofficially auditing a biochem course this summer because the biochem that I took never covered metabolism. Along with that, I am working a small part time job (9 hours a week) and doing lab research.
I have still not scheduled my MCAT date, and I have this thought in my mind that I won't be prepared, so why bother registering? If I don't take the exam in September, I'm not sure what I'll do to be ready by next summer. I will be taking a heavy courseload in the fall, and I'm not sure what it will be like in the spring, but I think I would have a hard time studying for the MCAT along with schoolwork.
Seeing your comment made me want to register for the exam now, because I believe that it would force me to study harder. Right now, I kind of have this thought in my mind that pushes me to study, but at the same time, I feel like I'm not going to take the exam in September anyway. I was going to register to push myself harder, but I saw that they only refund $150 if you cancel a month before. I don't want to waste the money if I'm not going to finish my studying.....I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Chromium Surfer]

@acetylmandarin
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-i-prepped-for-a-526.1146107/
That's a link to the thread of someone who studied for about 9 or 10 months and did well.
I think the key is to just study consistently everyday, and to constantly review as you're learning new content.

 

[aldol16]

Studying for too long yields diminishing returns. The new MCAT is not about content knowledge and reviewing notes, etc. is low yield in the long run. You need to understand the bigger picture and only take notes for high yield material like the amino acids and metabolic pathways. That way, when you go over your notes, you're only going over what's essential and not minute details because minute details aren't going to get you anywhere.

The key factor for MCAT preparation is doing a lot of practice. In my opinion, this should only take about 3-4 months or else you run the risk of burning out. Utilize your resources wisely. You should have all the AAMC material and Khan Academy at a minimum. Set a study schedule. If you have 3 months to do FLs, then do one a week and spend the rest of the time going over concepts that you missed, etc.

How I did it was I basically spent 2 weeks doing pure content review taking no notes and only seeking to understand the bigger picture. I knew that I would come back to review these concepts later if I missed them during FLs. Then, I took around 6 FLs plus Section Bank plus Khan Academy questions. I did this in the time frame of like 2 weeks and it was brutal so I would recommend spacing these FLs out over at least a month. And then I would go back and review concepts I missed and understand why I missed them.

 

[MetaGenomics1]

For MCATs, do you guys know how many hours or months most student use in preparation for the MCATs. I wanted to start this month, but I won't be able to due to other commitments. I was planning on studying July and August of this summer and winter break. And all of next summer as well and winter break of my 5th year at uni. And then I was planning on taking it at the end of winter break of my 5th year. This would give me about 6-7 months to prepare for the MCATs (in addition to the hours, if I can study during the semesters). Thanks!

One of the MCAT study guides I was using...I believe it was the EK text recommend 3-5 months for an average of 500hours. That included 6 days of studying each week with study times ranging from 2-8hrs. 2 hours for light reading days and 8 hours for the practice test days. Other forums and TPR recommend the same length (3-4months) but their study schedule was more intense. As a science teacher, I wouldn't recommend 8hrs daily unless it's for practice exams. From my own experience, if you are doing 8hours don't do them continuously...take an hour or two in between your study blocks.

 

[MetaGenomics1]

Hi Berk Tech,
Reading your comment made me think more about my current situation. My plan was to study for the mcat this summer for a September 10th test date, and that's what I'm currently doing. However, I am behind my schedule. I am following a version of Nymeria's/Sn2ed's schedule, and I am finding that it is sometimes taking me more than a day to review a chapter and understand the content. I am also planning on unofficially auditing a biochem course this summer because the biochem that I took never covered metabolism. Along with that, I am working a small part time job (9 hours a week) and doing lab research.
I have still not scheduled my MCAT date, and I have this thought in my mind that I won't be prepared, so why bother registering? If I don't take the exam in September, I'm not sure what I'll do to be ready by next summer. I will be taking a heavy courseload in the fall, and I'm not sure what it will be like in the spring, but I think I would have a hard time studying for the MCAT along with schoolwork.
Seeing your comment made me want to register for the exam now, because I believe that it would force me to study harder. Right now, I kind of have this thought in my mind that pushes me to study, but at the same time, I feel like I'm not going to take the exam in September anyway. I was going to register to push myself harder, but I saw that they only refund $150 if you cancel a month before. I don't want to waste the money if I'm not going to finish my studying.....I'm not sure what to do.

Hi,
I faced a similar dilemma and it really forced me to buckle down and start studying. Like many others, I was working a part-time job (24hrs) along with the research and internships so it was challenging to find the study time. If you have the money, give it a try but maybe consider voiding your exam if you're unsure about the outcome or if you know you didn't spend the sufficient amount of time studying. I was going to cancel my exam...but the $150 refund encouraged me to take it and void the score. Yeah, I did spend money but I have to say that actually taking the exam is good practice.