MCAT Schedule

[prevet04]

Hey everyone!

I am writing my MCAT on August 21st, 2014. So I am wondering if anyone has any advice or study tips. I have my schedule set up so that every week I cover a section of the MCAT, as outlined below:

Basically, my plan is to study the material in the EK textbooks each week (one lecture each day), while making flash cards on the concepts as I go through the lecture. My initial goal was to work on practice questions as well during the day but that hasn't played out so far, I have found that I haven't been fully committed to it so now I'm going to try harder to get practice questions done.

May 12-16: Study EK Physics
May 19-20: Study EK Chemistry
May 26-30: Study EK Organic Chem
June 2-6: Study EK Verbal / do Verbal Tests
June 9-13: Study EK Bio

This process is then repeated until the first/second week of August. I am going over Physics, Chem, and Orgo 3 times, and Bio and Verbal 2 times as I feel like Physics, Chem and Orgo will be more difficult.

For the two weeks before the MCAT, I plan to review and address any other difficulties I have, as well as go over practice tests. (I know I should be fitting in practice tests in earlier, so I'm going to put them in on weekends).

My materials I am using at the EK textbooks, EK 1001 practice questions for each subject, EK 16 Mini-Mcat, and all AAMC Practice Tests. I also have a Kaplan MCAT practice Tests book.

I realize my plan is flawed, and with only 2 months left now I would love some advice on how to improve my study plan. Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

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[kuroichigo]

It seems like you have a game plan and that is great, it is the first major step to getting into the study grind. It is tough to give tips, but I think once you start studying you will begin to learn how to be flexible and expand on areas you need help on and not spend as much time on things you are comfortable with.

What you will notice is that you tend to learn a lot from doing practice problems. I suggest getting the Princeton Hyperlearning Science Workbook since it has roughly 60+ passages in each topic. As you read through the topics in EK, make sure you do the questions in each lecture and the ones at the end of each lecture too. The MCAT is all about going over the topics and getting familiar with them, but then attacking the questions and trying your best to learn from your mistakes and understand how to approach MCAT problems. 2 months is plenty of time, but just make sure you stay on the grind and stay focused!

You definitely want to spend at least 2 weeks before the exam doing practice exams, with the day after the exam being an in-depth analysis of what you got wrong AND right, not just what you got wrong.

Best of luck!

 

[SN2ed]

You should delay your test. Two months isn't enough time and it sounds like you're not focusing much on studying. In regards to your schedule, you should have been taking practice passages everyday. That is the most important aspect of any schedule because it's through utilization of the concepts you've read that cements the concept. On the topic of practice passages, it doesn't appear that you have that many. The EK passages in their book are mediocre and low in number. The mini MCAT book doesn't help much in this regard. You should ideally be taking hundreds upon hundreds of passages. Some good resources for passages are the TPRH Workbooks and the BR series (except for verbal).

Next, I wouldn't suggest splitting up the topics week by week. I go into an in-depth answer in the FAQ of my schedule.

Lastly, it's vital that you take verbal passages every single day. You need to keep up your verbal skills and improving them takes by far the longest amount of time. As it stands, the only situation where I wouldn't recommend delaying your test is if you've taken an AAMC practice FL and are already in your target score range.

 

[SCUXC2014]

Hi @SN2ed

I am studying for the MCAT on September 10, 2014. I already took a Kaplan Prep Course but did not feel prepared in April when I was planning to first take the test. I am creating a study schedule for the next 10 weeks, and I was wondering if you could offer advice on the best way to utilize Kaplan and EK materials. I have the EK 101 Verbal passages, and I will be doing 3-5 verbal passages (timed) each day except for FL days. I saw the schedule you posted using BR books and practice passages. Can a similar schedule be done with Kaplan and EK books?

 

[Dielswithit]

You should delay your test. Two months isn't enough time and it sounds like you're not focusing much on studying. In regards to your schedule, you should have been taking practice passages everyday. That is the most important aspect of any schedule because it's through utilization of the concepts you've read that cements the concept. On the topic of practice passages, it doesn't appear that you have that many. The EK passages in their book are mediocre and low in number. The mini MCAT book doesn't help much in this regard. You should ideally be taking hundreds upon hundreds of passages. Some good resources for passages are the TPRH Workbooks and the BR series (except for verbal).

Next, I wouldn't suggest splitting up the topics week by week. I go into an in-depth answer in the FAQ of my schedule.

Lastly, it's vital that you take verbal passages every single day. You need to keep up your verbal skills and improving them takes by far the longest amount of time. As it stands, the only situation where I wouldn't recommend delaying your test is if you've taken an AAMC practice FL and are already in your target score range.

@SN2ed In regards to your 3 month study schedule and comment about doing hundreds of passages for practice in total, do you believe that only doing 3-4 passages a day (depending on the subject) but spending more time reviewing the passages is a better use of time? From what I've been reading, some boast doing 10+ passages a day, but I agree with your philosophy of reviewing every question and understanding the concepts in depth. Furthermore, I feel like I retain the information better, but I still have my doubts about how many passages per day is sufficient. By the way, thank you for creating that schedule, it's a lifesaver!