Mcat

[calibaby1212]

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Hey I was just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for studying in one month? Like what should i study?

 

[pod101]

First suggestion -> Don't cram the exam in one month. Try for a later test date.

I scored poorly because I did virtually no studying.

Second suggestion -> There are instances where life does not afford you the time to study for the mcat. (I was in this situation with 2 jobs) If your back is against the wall my suggestion is to 1) get a practice book skim over the review quizzes and main points. If your getting the questions wrong go back and re-read the material. This will not get a "good" score on the exam (unless your lucky). However, it won't hurt either.

2) Focus on the following chapters/material Biology (inc. molecular / genetics), organic chemistry (if you don't know the names you can't even attack the problem) SN1/SN2 reactions E1/E2 reactions, general periodic trends, redox reactions (know what is a reducer/oxidizer, recognize reagents and overall trends). Physics -> Newtonian will wind up on your exam somehow someway. g = 10 m/s^2 rounding is good. Should eliminate 2 out of 4 answers. Mcat loves to trick you up on units m vs. M. Sometimes you can get the right answer simply by looking at the units in the multiple choice.

Sorry to say...the exam is large and it is long. (I hear the boards are longer, oh joy ) The largest problem about the MCAT is it covers such a broad range of material. Some times you just have to get lucky and hope that the test covers material you are familiar with on test day.

 

[calibaby1212]

Which practice book do u recommend? Im looking for 1 really really good book that covers everything and has problems.

 

[redhorse]

Examkrackers.

 

[josebiwasabi]

I used to the EK book series and studied for perhaps the equivalent of 1 month of dedicated studying. I actually studied for about 8 weeks but I was working full-time and was only able to study 4-5 hours per day.

If your undergrad institute did a good job adequately preparing you, I don't think you even need to study at all to get the pod average. Any bio major should be able to walk into the exam and pull off a 20-22 without studying. That is my honest opinion.

Best of luck on the exam!

 

[calibaby1212]

Ive heard examcrackers is really good but is there just 1 book that has all the subjects in it thats good rather than getting each book separate?

 

[rushrhees]

If your undergrad institute did a good job adequately preparing you, I don't think you even need to study at all to get the pod average. Any bio major should be able to walk into the exam and pull off a 20-22 without studying. That is my honest opinion.

Agreed I pulled a 25 and that was graduating 6 years ago on my first practice. What are your aamc practice results. If they are not where you want them I would advise holding off on the test, dont give $250 or what ever to the AAMC needlessly.
As for Books all of them can be found on bit torrent easily, I found EK to have the best books as they have the hardest problems and the books are seperate for each subject. All can be found on bit torrent sites.
Other suggestion have flash cards on you at all times so even if waiting for an elevator you can look up topic. Also the MCAT audio osmosis was helpful again it can torrented easily.

 

[PrePodPolice]

Agreed I pulled a 25 and that was graduating 6 years ago on my first practice. What are your aamc practice results. If they are not where you want them I would advise holding off on the test, dont give $250 or what ever to the AAMC needlessly.
As for Books all of them can be found on bit torrent easily, I found EK to have the best books as they have the hardest problems and the books are seperate for each subject. All can be found on bit torrent sites.
Other suggestion have flash cards on you at all times so even if waiting for an elevator you can look up topic. Also the MCAT audio osmosis was helpful again it can torrented easily.

The opinions expressed in this comment are those of the author, and do not reflect in any way those of the student doctor network, of which he is a member. We do not endorse, support, or represent the piracy of intellectual materials.

 

[pacpod]

I strongly discourage the use of torrents and other illegal methods of obtaining copyrighted material. Yes, the materials may be pricey but someone took the time to develop and author them. These materials are their property to sell at whatever price point they desire whether you believe it is fair or not.

 

[redhorse]

If you go on amazon they sell the EK books in a package together...at least they have in the past.

 

[billBOB213]

If you go on amazon they sell the EK books in a package together...at least they have in the past.

Yep, that's where I got mine (the 'EK 1001 questions' books for each subject). Great tools in my opinion and also I bought 2 extra tests on the aamc.org site, besides the free one they give out.

 

[ilovefeet]

1 AAMC test a day too ambitious?
or should I do every other day?

thoughts?

 

[footfan34]

1 AAMC test a day too ambitious?
or should I do every other day?

thoughts?

I think it's rather excessive. The practice tests in my mind serve two purposes.

1) To help you get used to the format and time issue of the test.

2) To help you see where you are lacking in your understanding of subjects. If you are getting a low score on physical sciences, spend the next few days/week studying physics and gen chem stuff.

Taking a practice test a day will really get you prepared for time management on the test but I think it limits your time and ability to improve on your weak points. I would suggest using ExamKrackers. I bought the little five book bundle on Amazon and it was WELL worth it. The thing I liked about ExamKrackers is that each subject is in a separate book, each section in each chapter has a mini practice test over the material that you just covered and then each chapter has a practice test covering the material you went over in the entire chapter.

Just my suggestion from personal experience though. Good luck!

 

[ilovefeet]

I think it's rather excessive. The practice tests in my mind serve two purposes.

1) To help you get used to the format and time issue of the test.

2) To help you see where you are lacking in your understanding of subjects. If you are getting a low score on physical sciences, spend the next few days/week studying physics and gen chem stuff.

Taking a practice test a day will really get you prepared for time management on the test but I think it limits your time and ability to improve on your weak points. I would suggest using ExamKrackers. I bought the little five book bundle on Amazon and it was WELL worth it. The thing I liked about ExamKrackers is that each subject is in a separate book, each section in each chapter has a mini practice test over the material that you just covered and then each chapter has a practice test covering the material you went over in the entire chapter.

Just my suggestion from personal experience though. Good luck!

that's a good idea. thanks! 👍

Few questions for you though...
are those practice tests in the form of passages as they are on the exam?
or are they MC questions?
how many questions are in each practice tests (on average) do you recall?

 

[billBOB213]

I took a practice AAMC test every week to two weeks. It depended on how u felt about the material. I spend about a day just going over the whole test again (this was very effective), and then I spent the next week or two studying my weak areas. Then I would take a practice test but act like it was the real deal, this helped my time management and made the actual test a lot less daunting the day of the exam.
I chose a date to lock myself in, and made a plan and stuck to it (with the test date approaching I was afraid not to!) and that worked good for me.