MCAT Prep

[durationxec]

Hey everyone,

I'm about to get started on studying for the MCAT and I have some questions about how I should go at it.
1. Should I take a prep course?
-I've done some research, but still can't come to a conclusion on whether or not a course is worth the money..would really appreciate advice on this
2. Should I devote these next few months solely to studying?
-My undergrad GPA was a 2.4-2.5 so I'm also currently in the process of repairing my transcript. Should I continue to take classes (I'm thinking of taking 1 class + the prep course) while studying?
I will also be working part-time (at least) in order to live, so there's that too. And I need to get started on ECs. Mainly, I'm trying to gauge what the consensus is out there for how much time should be put into studying over the next few months, and whether or not other non-trads usually devote a couple months solely to the MCAT. I understand that because of my GPA, my path is to try and get into an SMP, so that's my goal right now.

**Random question: can anyone tell me what NS FL#1 stands for?

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[toedrag]

Next Step Full Length Numero Uno

 

[toedrag]

IMO, if you have good time management skills, you can self-study. There are plenty of resources out there to get you started (Khan Academy, for example). Obviously you want to supplement with third party exams etc, but you can still score well on the MCAT without taking a prep course. Sitting in a lecture for 2 hours, 3 times per week is kind of a passive way to learn. I liked being able to study on my own time and actively do practice problems etc.

I worked 30 hours per week while in an SMP and self studied for the MCAT. It's definitely possible. You just need to stick to your schedule. Try to take a practice exam every Saturday perhaps? Review half of it on Saturday afternoon and the second half on Sunday morning.

You'll likely need a minimum 3.0 in order to apply to most SMPs, btw.

 

[durationxec]

IMO, if you have good time management skills, you can self-study. There are plenty of resources out there to get you started (Khan Academy, for example). Obviously you want to supplement with third party exams etc, but you can still score well on the MCAT without taking a prep course. Sitting in a lecture for 2 hours, 3 times per week is kind of a passive way to learn. I liked being able to study on my own time and actively do practice problems etc.

I worked 30 hours per week while in an SMP and self studied for the MCAT. It's definitely possible. You just need to stick to your schedule. Try to take a practice exam every Saturday perhaps? Review half of it on Saturday afternoon and the second half on Sunday morning.

You'll likely need a minimum 3.0 in order to apply to most SMPs, btw.

Thanks for the straightforward answer Do you have any suggestions for which prep books to get? Kaplan and AAMC materials are the ones that I've seen sound the most promising. But it seems like there's also a consensus out there for EK, TBR, TPR, etc. for specific subjects.

 

[toedrag]

Only use AAMC materials when you're 1-2 months out from your test date. I really liked Khan Academy. I watched almost all of their videos at 1.5x speed, and completed most of their practice passages (there are hundreds and they're great).

I'm not a huge fan of TBR. They had a bunch of spelling errors in their books and practices exams, which kind of turned me off to them. TBR also focuses too much on the nitty gritty and less so the big picture.

TPR is detail oriented and good for content review but it's not the strongest for critical reasoning practice.

I thought EK and NS were the best prep sources. NS FL's 1-4 were the best, after that, the other tests were not very representative. Before you attempt any AAMC FL, you should complete the question packs, section banks, official guide, and then AAMC unscored exam (in this order) before moving on to the official AAMCs (1-3).

 

[durationxec]

Gotcha. So would you say I should get the Complete MCAT Prep Bundle from the AAMC site (with the understanding that I should use this 1-2 months out from test date), Kaplan/TPR for subject review (supplemented with Khan), and EK/NS practice test books? I also heard that EK was best for CARS, so maybe get that individual book too?

 

[toedrag]

I think it's wise to get the complete bundle. I think that option is cheaper than getting everything individually? It's an absolute must to complete all AAMC material. I'd also recommend (if you can) not working 4-6 weeks out before your test date, so you can devote your entire day to MCAT prep.

That's a good idea to use Kaplan and TPR. Khan is great because if you're struggling with a certain concept, you can watch concept specific videos that can help you address your weaknesses.

CARS was my pet section. I tanked it so I can't really speak to which materials were most helpful. Across SDN, it seems like the AAMC question packs is most representative. Personally, I felt like EK was the least helpful (especially their practice exam CARS sections).

 

[Forever Geebs]

Wait. You have a ~2.5 GPA, yes? If that's the case, you shouldn't be focusing on MCAT right now, and instead, should work to increase your GPA across the 3.0 mark at a bare minimum. Was your major in the sciences or a non-science field?

 

[RocuROMANium]

Before you get started on the MCAT, what kind of timeline are we talking about? To me it looks like you have a few years before you will be applying to medical school. At most schools your MCAT score expires after 3 years and you definitely don’t want to retake it.

 

[hamiltonnyc]

You just need to stick to your schedule. Try to take a practice exam every Saturday perhaps?

Where do you find enough practice exams? My understanding is each book will have 1 full practice exam, but even those are limited because of the new MCAT format?

 

[toedrag]

Where do you find enough practice exams? My understanding is each book will have 1 full practice exam, but even those are limited because of the new MCAT format?

Online, of course. NS has 10 exams on their website. I recommend buying the Exam 1-4 bundle first. EK you can buy exams individually. They used to be $50 a pop but I think they went down recently. For Kaplan, I believe you need to be enrolled in their course to access exams (same with TPR).

 

[hamiltonnyc]

Online, of course. NS has 10 exams on their website. I recommend buying the Exam 1-4 bundle first. EK you can buy exams individually. They used to be $50 a pop but I think they went down recently. For Kaplan, I believe you need to be enrolled in their course to access exams (same with TPR).

Oh thank! Didn't know there were so many out there, 10 full exams should last for a while haha.

 

[toedrag]

Oh thank! Didn't know there were so many out there, 10 full exams should last for a while haha.

Of course. NS exams 5-10 are less popular because they're not as representative. Personally, I thought NS 1-4 were good. Def recommend branching out and trying as many third party exams as possible before diving into AAMC material.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

I'd recommend boosting your GPA first so that you can get into an SMP program. Then take the MCAT after that because your score will expire by the time you repair your application.

 

[jwaffle]

what's NS?

 

[precisiongraphic]

what's NS?

NS is Next Step. EK is Exam Krackers.

 

[foreverlearner02]

IMO, if you have good time management skills, you can self-study. There are plenty of resources out there to get you started (Khan Academy, for example). Obviously you want to supplement with third party exams etc, but you can still score well on the MCAT without taking a prep course. Sitting in a lecture for 2 hours, 3 times per week is kind of a passive way to learn. I liked being able to study on my own time and actively do practice problems etc.

I worked 30 hours per week while in an SMP and self studied for the MCAT. It's definitely possible. You just need to stick to your schedule. Try to take a practice exam every Saturday perhaps? Review half of it on Saturday afternoon and the second half on Sunday morning.

You'll likely need a minimum 3.0 in order to apply to most SMPs, btw.

I am working about 30 hrs/week and taking biochem & physio (post bac DIY) and am beginning to study for the MCAT next month. Any tips on studying for it? How long did it take you to study, hrs/week, focusing when tired, retaining class info + MCAT info, etc lol
Thanks in advance.

 

[GenSurgONLY]

I'd recommend boosting your GPA first so that you can get into an SMP program. Then take the MCAT after that because your score will expire by the time you repair your application.

Honest question because I see this point made a lot on SDN: How can one realistically raise their GPA to a 3.0(when GPA is low...I have seen people with <2.5 get into MD school. Some horror stories have posted after taking ALL the pre-reqs and a few upper divisions, they still didn’t get a 3.0 in some cases, just barely surpass a 3.0.

Isn’t getting a decent foundation in the material(with the mandatory pre reqs) and scoring high on the MCAT most important? I knew someone who had to take the MCAT 3x(which is a red flag to some schools), had to cycle through twice before now becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

I guess my question is, when is enough, enough?

 

[toedrag]

I am working about 30 hrs/week and taking biochem & physio (post bac DIY) and am beginning to study for the MCAT next month. Any tips on studying for it? How long did it take you to study, hrs/week, focusing when tired, retaining class info + MCAT info, etc lol
Thanks in advance.

So the good thing is that you're taking biochem & physio. Both of those classes will be great for the MCAT. There is a ton of biochem in C/P and B/B (on my real deal, there was actually a biochem question in P/S, but it was probably experimental). You're in a good spot where you can learn content while you're in biochem class and then practice it by doing your homework for your class AND by doing MCAT style biochem passages to reinforce that knowledge. Take the same approach with physio.

I tried to get in a habit of waking up at an early time each day. You want to ideally have a consistent schedule where you're waking up at say 6am, bed around 10/11pm. I'm personally not a fan of sleeping in until 11am/noon and missing out on 5 hours of productivity in the morning. Plus, this will train you to be mentally sharp in the morning weeks leading up to your test date. My hrs/ week studying definitely varied. If I was at work during a 7-7 shift, I would try to hit my amino acids and c/p equations during downtime. There are some nice quiz options on sporicle online to practice your amino acids (3 letter, 1 letter, structure, etc). Practice for timing and accuracy and try to shave off a few seconds each week. You want to know everything about the aa's and be able to knock out those questions on the real deal.

During your practice exams, bring the same snacks you would eat during the real exam (ex/ apple, banana, pbj, chocolate bar) and simulate by taking it in an environment where there are distractions. After you finish a practice exam, go workout/ clear your head for 2-3 hours, and then come back and review for a few hours. For me, I would try to review CARS first since it was the easiest section to forget about 24 hours later (it would make it harder to review and understand your logic when you were choosing an answer- this is not the case for the other sections). Try to finish reviewing the other sections on the following day and diagnose your weaknesses. I don't recommend trying to learn new content when you're exhausted. Instead, you could peruse your amino acids, go over some psych/soc definitions, etc. Consider that your "down time" because it doesn't require too much brain power per say.

 

[I'mJustCurious]

Honest question because I see this point made a lot on SDN: How can one realistically raise their GPA to a 3.0(when GPA is low...I have seen people with <2.5 get into MD school. Some horror stories have posted after taking ALL the pre-reqs and a few upper divisions, they still didn’t get a 3.0 in some cases, just barely surpass a 3.0.

Isn’t getting a decent foundation in the material(with the mandatory pre reqs) and scoring high on the MCAT most important? I knew someone who had to take the MCAT 3x(which is a red flag to some schools), had to cycle through twice before now becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

I guess my question is, when is enough, enough?

That's a good question. From what I've been told by other adcoms they want to see that the new you isn't the old you. Therefore, you have to show through recent work that you've changed. There are various ways to show it, such as acing a DIY post-bacc/formal post-bacc program, doing well in an SMP program, or scoring high on the MCAT. I personally believe that a combination of these accomplishments should be good enough to prove to medical schools that you have what it takes to succeed.

 

[foreverlearner02]

So the good thing is that you're taking biochem & physio. Both of those classes will be great for the MCAT. There is a ton of biochem in C/P and B/B (on my real deal, there was actually a biochem question in P/S, but it was probably experimental). You're in a good spot where you can learn content while you're in biochem class and then practice it by doing your homework for your class AND by doing MCAT style biochem passages to reinforce that knowledge. Take the same approach with physio.

I tried to get in a habit of waking up at an early time each day. You want to ideally have a consistent schedule where you're waking up at say 6am, bed around 10/11pm. I'm personally not a fan of sleeping in until 11am/noon and missing out on 5 hours of productivity in the morning. Plus, this will train you to be mentally sharp in the morning weeks leading up to your test date. My hrs/ week studying definitely varied. If I was at work during a 7-7 shift, I would try to hit my amino acids and c/p equations during downtime. There are some nice quiz options on sporicle online to practice your amino acids (3 letter, 1 letter, structure, etc). Practice for timing and accuracy and try to shave off a few seconds each week. You want to know everything about the aa's and be able to knock out those questions on the real deal.

During your practice exams, bring the same snacks you would eat during the real exam (ex/ apple, banana, pbj, chocolate bar) and simulate by taking it in an environment where there are distractions. After you finish a practice exam, go workout/ clear your head for 2-3 hours, and then come back and review for a few hours. For me, I would try to review CARS first since it was the easiest section to forget about 24 hours later (it would make it harder to review and understand your logic when you were choosing an answer- this is not the case for the other sections). Try to finish reviewing the other sections on the following day and diagnose your weaknesses. I don't recommend trying to learn new content when you're exhausted. Instead, you could peruse your amino acids, go over some psych/soc definitions, etc. Consider that your "down time" because it doesn't require too much brain power per say.

Awesome. I will definitely test this out. I appreciate it!!

 

[GenSurgONLY]

That's a good question. From what I've been told by other adcoms they want to see that the new you isn't the old you. Therefore, you have to show through recent work that you've changed. There are various ways to show it, such as acing a DIY post-bacc/formal post-bacc program, doing well in an SMP program, or scoring high on the MCAT. I personally believe that a combination of these accomplishments should be good enough to prove to medical schools that you have what it takes to succeed.

Ah okay! Thank you! I ask because I don’t want to wait a year for one class(it’s an upper division course I want to take but it’s only given in Spring depends on demand). My husband thinks I need to take every single upper science course. I was like hun: Immunology, Biochemistry and Genetics should be good. If I can’t squeeze in “BioStats”, oh well. Lol

 

[I'mJustCurious]

Ah okay! Thank you! I ask because I don’t want to wait a year for one class(it’s an upper division course I want to take but it’s only given in Spring depends on demand). My husband thinks I need to take every single upper science course. I was like hun: Immunology, Biochemistry and Genetics should be good. If I can’t squeeze in “BioStats”, oh well. Lol

As long as you can ace them, that's all that matters. Good luck!

 

[libertyyne]

Honest question because I see this point made a lot on SDN: How can one realistically raise their GPA to a 3.0(when GPA is low...I have seen people with <2.5 get into MD school. Some horror stories have posted after taking ALL the pre-reqs and a few upper divisions, they still didn’t get a 3.0 in some cases, just barely surpass a 3.0.

Isn’t getting a decent foundation in the material(with the mandatory pre reqs) and scoring high on the MCAT most important? I knew someone who had to take the MCAT 3x(which is a red flag to some schools), had to cycle through twice before now becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

I guess my question is, when is enough, enough?

Different schools handle this differently.
Some schools will do straight cutoffs and wont give out an interview with gpa in 2 range.

some schools will look at the last 60 credits and give extra weight to that gpa.

If one has a gpa in the low 2's range they should be aiming for postbacs with direct admission to medical school as their best shot.

Lastly some schools will make exceptions for life circumstance like URM or one bad semester due to some extraneous circumstances.

DO schools are more forgiving on all gpa mcat metrics compared to MD schools.

 

[Doc 1 Day]

I would look into Altius for MCAT prep. I took the course and I was very happy with my score. It is a pretty intense program, but it is definitely worth it. They give you a ton of exposure to practice questions, which I felt were very helpful, along with 1-on-1 tutoring. They are doing a $15 buck promo for a full length exam and an hour tutoring session just so you can test it all out. You'll usually pay way more just for a practice test.