MCAT studying

[sunshine02]

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If I'm planning to take the MCAT after summer break, is it best to study for the MCAT now during winter break or is it better to study during the summer? If I study now, I will definitely become forget stuff or become rusty on skills since I will not have time to look over things and study for the MCAT during the semester. I'm also worried that studying during winter break will mean that I have less resources and tests to work on during the summer. What do you guys recommend? Thanks for any advice or suggestions!

 

[nobshiebot]

The only resources worth saving are the AAMC practice tests. Other than that, you have TONS of practice problems available (from various prep companies) that you can utilize. One good example is the TPR Science Workbook.

 

[Aerus]

You haven't named any cons to studying during the summer and any pros to studying in the winter. Why is this a difficult decision for you? Also, you need to learn to do a bit of your own research. The amount of threads you have made in the past 24 hours is ridiculous.

 

[Redpancreas]

It's definitely a good question and can go either way. If you plan to apply in 2014 I would highly suggest you prepone your MCAT to May at the latest. If you wait until the end of summer your app will be very late...If you plan to apply in 2015, I suggest you just wait until summer and hit it with full force then. If you have TBR, it wouldnt hurt starting on a few chapters but you;ll likely forget most of the stuff. In my case, I was forced to take the MCAT in March due to a lesser score the previous fall. I started studying in late December-early January (during break) and had a score ready to go for that app cycle.

 

[sunshine02]

You haven't named any cons to studying during the summer and any pros to studying in the winter. Why is this a difficult decision for you? Also, you need to learn to do a bit of your own research. The amount of threads you have made in the past 24 hours is ridiculous.

Maybe you need to refrain from posting if you only have ridiculous things to say. You can't know whether or not I have searched previous threads. The truth is, I have done extensive research and combed through threads on this topic. I just want some new insight on my particular situation, and there is nothing wrong with asking for some suggestions.

 

[487806]

You haven't named any cons to studying during the summer and any pros to studying in the winter. Why is this a difficult decision for you? Also, you need to learn to do a bit of your own research. The amount of threads you have made in the past 24 hours is ridiculous.

This.

Maybe you need to refrain from posting if you only have ridiculous things to say. I have done extensive research in this topic but would just like some new insight on my particular situation.

No Aerus is correct. Your situation is no different from essentially anyone else taking the MCAT in the summer. It doesn't matter. You can study all the content over the span of 6 months and take the practice tests in the summer, or follow an Sn2ed type plan in the summer. It's up to you.

 

[Aerus]

Maybe you need to refrain from posting if you only have ridiculous things to say. I have done extensive research in this topic but would just like some new insight on my particular situation.

Your question doesn't make sense, though. As I said, you ONLY listed pros for summer studying and ONLY cons for winter studying. What is the difficulty in the decision? You basically answered your own question: study in the summer.

All your threads are similar in nature. There are a few legitimately new concerns, but many of your threads can be answered with a simple search.

 

[sunshine02]

Your question doesn't make sense, though. As I said, you ONLY listed pros for summer studying and ONLY cons for winter studying. What is the difficulty in the decision? You basically answered your own question: study in the summer.

All your threads are similar in nature. There are a few legitimately new concerns, but many of your threads can be answered with a simple search.

The main con to summer studying is I'm worried that I won't have enough time to prepare well since I'm not exactly sure what my summer plans are at this time. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with similar threads--I'm worried about the same problem. But while the threads may be similar, they all seek answers to different questions I have. I didn't do just a simple search--I've read all the threads I could find about the topic but I did not feel that they were super helpful and was not really what I was looking for. Just because I've created similar threads does not mean that I did not do a search beforehand. My question is definitely legitimate, and it doesn't hurt to see if there are new/different people who could provide suggestions.

Thanks to everyone who replied with helpful advice though!

 

[Aerus]

The main con to summer studying is I'm worried that I won't have enough time to prepare well since I'm not exactly sure what my summer plans are at this time. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with similar threads--I'm worried about the same problem. But while the threads may be similar, they all seek answers to different questions I have. I didn't do just a simple search--I've read all the threads I could find about the topic but I did not feel that they were super helpful and was not really what I was looking for. Just because I've created similar threads does not mean that I did not do a search beforehand. My question is definitely legitimate, and it doesn't hurt to see if there are new/different people who could provide suggestions.

Thanks to everyone who replied with helpful advice though!

There you go! We need THAT level of detail and information. Your original post sounds as generic and same old same old as the other million of "When to study for the MCAT" threads. Granted, there are still a million threads out there with your exact case.

As I've said a few times on past threads exactly like yours, there are pros and cons with the summer that I, myself, can identify. The summer is still, in my opinion, the best time to study. You only need three months or so of solid studying (4-6 hours per day is good. 6-12 hours per day is incredibly solid).

Several people study for the MCAT while taking classes, doing research, volunteering, etc. You have 24 hours in a day. Make use of it. Adcoms prefer seeing a productive summer instead of just studying. Of course a good MCAT score and no summer EC's is better than a bad MCAT score and some summer EC's, so only YOU can truly decide if it's worth it or not to study for it during the summer. As a premed, you'll have to make sacrifices, and that might be sacrificing your summer plans.

 

[sunshine02]

There you go! We need THAT level of detail and information. Your original post sounds as generic and same old same old as the other million of "When to study for the MCAT" threads. Granted, there are still a million threads out there with your exact case.

As I've said a few times on past threads exactly like yours, there are pros and cons with the summer that I, myself, can identify. The summer is still, in my opinion, the best time to study. You only need three months or so of solid studying (4-6 hours per day is good. 6-12 hours per day is incredibly solid).

Several people study for the MCAT while taking classes, doing research, volunteering, etc. You have 24 hours in a day. Make use of it. Adcoms prefer seeing a productive summer instead of just studying. Of course a good MCAT score and no summer EC's is better than a bad MCAT score and some summer EC's, so only YOU can truly decide if it's worth it or not to study for it during the summer. As a premed, you'll have to make sacrifices, and that might be sacrificing your summer plans.

Finally, constructive suggestions! I also realize that it depends on the person, and because of this elusive nature, it can be frustrating for people to answer threads like this, but it's also difficult for a newbie to the MCAT to gauge how many hours he/she should put into studying.
Thanks for your insight though!

 

[aesculapian]

Finally, constructive suggestions! I also realize that it depends on the person, and because of this elusive nature, it can be frustrating for people to answer threads like this, but it's also difficult for a newbie to the MCAT to gauge how many hours he/she should put into studying.
Thanks for your insight though!

Go into it thinking you should put as many hours as you possibly can into studying. Then you can adjust accordingly-- it's easier to tone down your studying if necessary than to try to squeeze in more hours because you feel like you're not doing enough.

 

[turayza]

@sunshine02 I'm taking the MCAT in May, and studying over winter break. The best way to learn / put things into long-term memory is repetition, and it'd be nice to hold on to some of this knowledge beyond the exam, so I'm completing content review with TPR's prep book over break, taking about a practice exam every two weeks and doing content review with the Kaplan prep book Jan-Mar, a practice exam every week in April and then the actual exam. It's a very leisurely way to prepare (3 hours/day over break, about 10 hours/wk for the next 4 months) with plenty of flexibility if school becomes very busy or if anything unexpected happens.
If you have x many months ahead of you, it doesn't hurt to start looking at material and practice problems since you have time now. It's not like the material disappears--you can look at it again closer to the exam (and it'll be much faster reviewing the second time around). There are a ton of practice problems from all different sources, and many full-length exams available (I can think of 16) so it's not as if you'll run out of practice material.