MCAT study schedules???

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

darzi

New Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone! I'm taking the MCAT in Aug for the first time without taking a prep course. I'm pretty dicipline so I think I can go without one. I'm having a hard time deciding how to set up a study schedule for myself in 2.5 months. I will be studying at least 4hrs a day.

I'm wondering if I should study in blocks? (recommended by a Kaplan instructor)
Ex. 2 months min...1st month is review and 2nd month is all practice exams

I would study like 2 week Physical Science then 2 weeks Verbal and 2 weeks Biological Sciences then move on to a month of nothing but practice exams/questions.

::: OR :::::

Should i adopt this kind of plan?

Examkrackers Home Study Schedule

This study regimen mimics the successful Examkrackers MCAT course by starting exactly ten weeks prior to the MCAT and taking a “soft week” break in the middle.

Preparation: Contact the AAMC (aamc.org) and purchase Practice Tests 5R, 6R & 7. Also, if you don’t already have them, get: Examkrackers Complete Study Package, EK tests 1, 2, 3 and Audio Osmosis. The 1001 question/101 passages books are optional.

Start your preparation by taking Practice Test 5R. Take the entire test (including the writing section) under strictly timed conditions. This will give you a baseline idea of where you stand and allow you to chart your progress. Expect to score between 6 and 8 on each section (most students do).

After taking the test, plan on studying (from the EK materials) four lectures a week. Your study structure should budget about 2- 3 hours a day, six days of the week. Attack the lessons thusly:

1.First, pre-read the lecture. Read the lecture as you would a novel, quickly, and without worrying about the details.
2.Next, read the lecture more thoroughly, with a pen in your hand so that you can take notes and highlight areas of weakness.
3.Listen to the corresponding lecture in Audio Osmosis.
4.Start with one lecture in Physics, Verbal, General Chemistry and Biology. When you run out of verbal lectures, begin Organic chemistry.
5.Take the in-class exam corresponding to that lecture. Allow yourself no more than 30 minutes. Review the exam with the explanations, and post any questions you have on our website.
6.Take the rest of the AAMC and EK tests as full-length exams on every other Saturday until the real test. For any questions you answer incorrectly, determine if it was a dumb mistake (work harder) or if you didn’t fully understand the science (go back to the appropriate lecture and re-read).
7.As test day approaches, stay current with your studying. If you miss one day, do twice as much the next day.
8.If you find you have extra time, purchase Examkracker’s book of mini-MCATs, and work through them as advised in the schedule below.


Week 1
Sunday (6—8 hours)Take a full length MCAT—Practice Test 5R from AAMC.
Monday (2 hours)Pre-read Lecture 1 Biology; Lecture 1 Physics; Lecture 1 Verbal and The Intro Lecture (in the EK verbal book).
Tuesday (1—2 hours)Read Intro Lecture (EK Verbal Book) and work through all the exercises.Listen to Audio Osmosis Intro Lecture.
Wednesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 1 Biology with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 1 Biology. Take In-class Test for Lecture 1 Biology. Review it.
Thursday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 1 Physics with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 1 Physics. Take In-class Test for Lecture 1 Physics. Review it.
Friday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 1 Verbal with highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 1 Verbal. Take In-class Test for Lecture 1 Verbal. Review it.
Saturday (2—3 hours)Do every third problem in the 1001 Physics Book for Lecture 1, and every third passage in the 101 Biology Book for Lecture 1. (optional)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)DO mini-MCATs corresponding to week 1 (from mini-MCAT book).


Week 2
Sunday (0 hours)Take a break—DO NOTHING MCAT related.
Monday (2 hours)Pre-read Lecture 2 Biology, Lecture 2 Physics, Lecture 2 Verbal and Lecture 1 Chemistry
Tuesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 2 Verbal and work through ALL the exercises.Take In-Class Test for Lecture 2 Verbal. Review it.Re-read all the question stems and answer choices from the 101 Verbal test you took on previous Saturday. DO NOT RE-READ PASSAGES. Answer all the questions.
Wednesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 2 Biology with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 2 Biology.Take In-class Test for Lecture 2 Biology. Review it.
Thursday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 2 Physics with highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 2 Physics. Take In-class Test for Lecture 2 Physics. Review it.
Friday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 1 Chemistry with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 1 Chemistry. Take In-Class Test for Lecture 1 Chemistry. Review it.
Saturday (3—4 hours)Do every third problem in the 1001 Physics and 1001 Chemistry Books, and every third passage in the 101 Biology Book for corresponding lectures. (optional)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)DO mini-MCATs corresponding to week 2 (from mini-MCAT book).


Week 3
Sunday (0 hours)Take a break—DO NOTHING MCAT related.
Monday (2 hours)Pre-read Lecture 3 Biology; Lecture 3 Physics; Lecture 3 Verbal and Lecture 2 Chemistry.
Tuesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 3 Verbal.Take In-class Test for Lecture 3 Verbal. Review it.Re-read all the passages from the 101 Verbal test you took on previous Saturday. Write the main idea for each passage using the suggested questions/format in Verbal Book Lecture 3.
Wednesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 3 Biology with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 3 Biology. Take In-class Test for Lecture 3 Biology. Review it.
Thursday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 3 Physics with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 3 Physics. Take In-class Test for Lecture 3 Physics. Review it.
Friday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 2 Chemistry with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 2 Chemistry. Take In-class Test for Lecture 2 Chemistry. Review it.
Saturday (3—4 hours)Do every third problem in the 1001 Physics and 1001 Chemistry Books, and every third passage in the 101 Biology Book for corresponding lectures. (optional)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)DO mini-MCATs corresponding to week 3 (from mini-MCAT book).



Week 4
Sunday (6—8 hours)Take a full length MCAT—Practice Test 3R from AAMC or EK – 1.
Monday (2 hours)Pre-read Lecture 4 Biology; Lecture 4 Physics; Lecture 4 Verbal and Lecture 3 Chemistry.
Tuesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 4 Verbal.Review answers from Practice Test you took on Sunday.• For questions you got wrong, ask yourself if read it wrong or just didn’t know the science.• For the questions you got correct, ask yourself if there was a better way to get the answer.Re-read all the question stems and answer choices from the 101 Verbal test you took on previous Saturday. DO NOT RE-READ PASSAGES. Answer all the questions.
Wednesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 4 Biology with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 4 Biology. Take In-class Test for Lecture 4 Biology. Review it.
Thursday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 4 Physics with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 4 Physics. Take In-class Test for Lecture 4 Physics. Review it.
Friday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 3 Chemistry with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 3 Chemistry. Take In-class Test for Lecture 3 Chemistry. Review it.
Saturday (3—4 hours)Do every third problem in the 1001 Physics and 1001 Chemistry Books, and every third passage in the 101 Biology Book for corresponding lectures. (optional)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)DO mini-MCATs corresponding to week 4 (from mini-MCAT book).


Week 5 (the mid-point)
Sunday (0 hours)Take a break—DO NOTHING MCAT related.
Monday (0 hours)Take a break—DO NOTHING MCAT related.
Tuesday (1—2 hours)Pre-read Lecture 1 Organic.Re-read all the passages from the 101 Verbal test you took on previous Saturday. Write the main idea for each passage using the suggestions in Verbal Book Lecture 3.
Wednesday (0 hours)Take a break—DO NOTHING MCAT related.
Thursay (1—2 hours)Read Lecture 1 Organic with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 1 Organic. Take In-class Test for Lecture 1 Organic. Review it.
Friday (0 hours)Take a break—DO NOTHING MCAT related.
Saturday (1—2 hours)Do every third problem in the 1001 Organic Chemistry Books for Lecture 1. (optional)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)


Week 6
Sunday (0 hours)Take a break—DO NOTHING MCAT related.
Monday (2 hours)Pre-read Lecture 5 Biology; Lecture 5 Physics; Lecture 2 Organic and Lecture 4 Chemistry.
Tuesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 2 Organic.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 2 Organic. Take In-class Test for Lecture 2 Organic. Review it.
Wednesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 5 Biology with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 5 Biology. Take In-class Test for Lecture 5 Biology. Review it.
Thursday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 5 Physics with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 5 Physics. Take In-class Test for Lecture 5 Physics. Review it.
Friday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 4 Chemistry with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 4 Chemistry. Take In-class Test for Lecture 4 Chemistry. Review it.
Saturday (3—4 hours)Do every third problem in the 1001 Physics, 1001 Chemistry and 1001 Organic Chemistry Books, and every third passage in the 101 Biology Book for corresponding lectures. (optional)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)DO mini-MCATs corresponding to week 6 (from mini-MCAT book).


Week 7
Sunday (6—8 hours)Take a full length MCAT—Practice Test 4R from AAMC or EK – 2.
Monday (3—4 hours)Pre-read Lecture 6 Biology; Lecture 6 Physics; Lecture 3 Organic and Lecture 5 Chemistry.Review answers from Practice Test you took on Sunday.• For questions you got wrong, ask yourself if read it wrong or just didn’t know the science.• For questions you got correct, ask yourself if there was a better way to get the answer.
Tuesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 3 Organic.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 3 Organic.Take In-class Test for Lecture 3 Organic. Review it.
Wednesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 6 Biology with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 6 Biology.Take In-class Test for Lecture 6 Biology. Review it.
Thursday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 6 Physics with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 6 Physics. Take In-class Test for Lecture 6 Physics. Review it.
Friday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 5 Chemistry with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 5 Chemistry.Take In-class Test for Lecture 5 Chemistry. Review it.
Saturday (3—4 hours)Do every third problem in the 1001 Physics, 1001 Chemistry and 1001 Organic Chemistry Books, and every third passage in the 101 Biology Book for corresponding lectures. (optional)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)DO mini-MCATs corresponding to week 7 (from mini-MCAT book).


Week 8
Sunday (0 hours)Take a break—DO NOTHING MCAT related.
Monday (2 hours)Pre-read Lecture 7 Biology; Lecture 7 Physics; Lecture 4 Organic and Lecture 6 Chemistry.
Tuesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 4 Organic.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 4 Organic.Take In-class Test for Lecture 4 Organic. Review it.
Wednesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 7 Biology with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 7 Biology. Take In-class Test for Lecture 7 Biology. Review it.
Thursday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 7 Physics with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 7 Physics. Take In-class Test for Lecture 7 Physics. Review it.
Friday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 6 Chemistry with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 6 Chemistry.Take In-class Test for Lecture 6 Chemistry. Review it.
Saturday (3—4 hours)Do every third problem in the 1001 Physics, 1001 Chemistry and 1001 Organic Chemistry Books, and every third passage in the 101 Biology Book for corresponding lectures. (optional)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)DO mini-MCATs corresponding to week 8 (from mini-MCAT book).


Week 9
Sunday (6—8 hours)Take a full length MCAT—Practice Test 6R from AAMC.
Monday (3—4 hours)Pre-read Lecture 8 Biology; Lecture 9 Biology; Lecture 8 Physics; and Lecture 7 Chemistry.Review answers from Practice Test you took on Sunday.• For questions you got wrong, ask yourself if read it wrong or just didn’t know the science.• For the questions you got correct, ask yourself if there was a better way to get the answer.
Tuesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 8 Biology.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 8 Biology. Take In-class Test for Lecture 8 Biology. Review it.
Wednesday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 9 Biology with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 9 Biology. Take In-class Test for Lecture 9 Biology. Review it.
Thursday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 8 Physics with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 8 Physics. Take In-class Test for Lecture 8 Physics. Review it.
Friday (2—3 hours)Read Lecture 7 Chemistry with a highlighter and pen. Take notes.Listen to Audio Osmosis Lecture 7 Chemistry. Take in-class Test for Lecture 7 Chemistry. Review it.
Saturday ( 3—4 hours)Do every third problem in the 1001 Physics and 1001 Chemistry Books, and every third passage in the 101 Biology Book for corresponding lectures. (optional)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)DO mini-MCATs corresponding to week 9 (from mini-MCAT book).


Week 10—MCAT Week
Sunday (6—8 hours)Take a full length MCAT—Practice Test 7 from AAMC.
Monday (2 hours)Begin setting good sleep patterns for the week.Review answers from Practice Test you took on Sunday.• For questions you got wrong, ask yourself if read it wrong or just didn’t know the science.• For the questions you got correct, ask yourself if there was a better way to get the answer.
Tuesday (2—3 hours)Take a full length Test from 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning. (optional)Review any areas of weakness by listening to corresponding lecture in Audio Osmosis, or do problems in the 1001 Physics, 1001 Chemistry, 101 Biology, and 1001 Organic Chemistry Books for corresponding lectures. (optional)
Wednesday (2—3 hours)Continue to review.
Thursday (0 hours)NO MORE STUDYING.
Friday (0 hours)Take a break—DO NOTHING MCAT related.
Saturday (6—8 hours)Do good. Do really, really good.


I would greatly appreciate any advice you guys can offer me!! Are there any other plans you would recommend? I plan on starting on the 20th of this month (giving myself time to purchase material). I'm pretty sure i'll be using examkrackers. should I also get kaplan???

thats a million everyone!!!

Members don't see this ad.
 
I think EK is good...BUT if you have super weaknesses in any particular section, I would certainly say put a little more time into those as you would into a strength. Otherwise EK is a good method.

However, I would say more important than learning 100% of all the material is doing 100% of all the practice you can get your hands on. Buy BUY BUY DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD ACE ACE ACE
 
Hahahahahah ^ i love your last line. Even though I have yet to take my MCATS, friends of mine who have taken it and done well have said practice is key. Even if you don't know a little bit of the material, eventually you will by doing enough practice questions and tests. Besides, that's the case for most science/math classes IMO.. practice, practice, practice..
 
so...don't study in blocks?? btw does anyone know what exam is a good one to take for diagnostic purposes???? ...i know kaplan comes with one...i'm not sure EK does....
 
Top