MCAT2015 Study Methods?

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mysturi0us

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I am currently waiting on my MCAT score, but just to prepare for the worse. Does anyone have any idea how to study for the MCAT2015? I know many people don't. I can understand sticking with the old materials for now for physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, bio, and verbal. But what about psychology, sociology, and biochemistry? Anyone with recommendations to methods or materials for the new subjects of MCAT2015 would be greatly appreciated!

And if there is a thread about this, I apologize in advance.

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Until the Kaplan/TPR/TBR/EK professional test takers actually sit for a few real-world 2015 MCATs, they're guessing what the test will be like based on material the AAMC has released to the public. The people who are taking the first few tests are basically flying blind. At best, it's a level playing field where the curve will probably be more generous than usual because nobody knows how to prepare.
 
You nailed it Doug. I'd even add that AAMC is flying a little blind as well, given that they can't really take the experimental scores from the last two years seriously given that some people may have just guessed their way to an Amazon gift card. When the exam changed way back in 1991, it took three years for AAMC to zero in on what they wanted. The major complaint back then was that the real test was not much like the practice exams they released (AAMC 1 and 2). I'd venture to guess that it will be the same thing for the next three years, where the actual exam is not like the one sample exam they released, simply because of the girth of topics tested is way too large for it to be possible to cover with just a single exam.

TBR has taken the attitude that the books and exams will be revised twice per year for the next three years until they settle in on what they want. The new TBR CBTs (coming out in February) will cover what we believe will be emphasized, but we know we need to add an exam or two per year to the collection each of the first three years (there will be four to start).

The new section has some exciting topics, but it's anyone's guess what they'll emphasize. Will it be a bunch of psychology experiments and theories from entry level classes? Will it be hypothetical studies in sociology that deal with the 'isms' of the world? Will it be biology passages on the functioning of the eye or ear or nose? All three of those things fit in the AAMC list, so that section is intriguing. If you are lucky, your version will be more biology than anything else.

It doesn't look like the physics, general chemistry, or organic chemistry will change much other than a few topics being omitted here and there. Whether the passage is about a tidal volume of the lung or a piston expanding, it would seem that questions on PV=nRT will still be what gets you points. The amount of organic chemistry, physics, and general chemistry isn't changing; it's simply being relocated. For biology, I have to hand it to the guy in charge of the TBR book for weathering some of the comments of the last four years. He was building to this change and with the amount of biochemistry in the TBR book, it's spot on for the new exam.

The next year should be very interesting.
 
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OP I'm in similar situation and waiting for my 10/21 scores. My backup for studying for MCAT 2015 is this: 1) receive scores, 2) review the TBR science chapters (TBR bio book 2 has solid amount of biochem) up to winter break, 3) study almost exclusively the psych/soc. sections (using TPR; ideally want to use the TBR one that is supposed to come out in winter break according to their website) and know them cold, 4) over next semester just do practice problems up to test. While the TBR people haven't had the opportunity to take the test for themselves, you can still get a solid review of the subjects from the books.
 
Is TBR releasing new books for the 2015 test?

Yes! The timetable is going to vary for each book. The biology book is already done. The updating process has been ongoing for a little over a year. I'm not sure when it was (will be) released (I think it's already in circulation), but I believe it is what is being sold now. The physics and general chemistry were also updated and the current version is good for 2015, but there is a change coming in the Spring where organic chemistry, physics, and general chemistry are all being combined into a single book set for the Physical and Chemical Foundations section. The content changes will be minimal, but the intertwining of the subjects will present a different feel. The organic chemistry book currently is good for 2015, but its contents are for both the Physical and Chemical Foundations section and the Biological and Biochemical Foundations section. The Critical and Analytical Reasoning book should be out in January, although the current book will work. The new book has been revised and includes new passages and the removal of other passages. The Behavior book is the tricky one. The committee voted that it would be used in the classroom course before formal release as a home-study aid, but I know they have plans to release something in January or February. Stay tuned for an update.

The CBTs are currently being beta tested and after the results (test-taker answers) are analyzed, they will finalize the passages they plan to use and release three or four exams. There will be at least three, and if there are enough passages that get good feedback, a fourth will be released. I believe those are tentatively set for forty-five days prior to the April 17 MCAT, but students enrolled in the actual class will get access to them when they are ready in early February.
 
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