Need advice over MCAT prep strategy

[Moyam7794]

Hey guys,

I am planning to take the mcat in august. I am planning to dedicate june and july to study for it. I just don't know if I should study on my own or I should enroll in a prep course (with Kaplan or Princeton). Most people that I know that had scored Avg. or above Avg. on the new mcat (>505) had taken a prep course. I have read in forums that some people scored really well and did not need to take a prep course. I just need an advice whether I should take a prep course, or just study on my own.

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[Gunner McBrownnose]

Only you know that answer man.

Did you do well in the pre-reqs? If you did the MCAT is just a review of those classes. If you went to classes, did you attend lectures or skip a lot? It's kind of the same thing etc. If you've had success self studying throughout undergrad you'd be okay self studying. Prep courses just have someone holding your hand and forcing you to get through a minimum of 2-3 hours of materials a day, the "tricks" they teach you could be summed up in a few hours.

Looking back now, it's pretty easy to just review 1-2 chapter & associated questions a day. If you're treating it like a job, it'd be like 5 maybe 6 hours. If you're studying more than that for 2 months and don't break a 509 then something is wrong with the way you're studying. Save the 2k or whatever it is and spend 1k of it to make yourself feel comfortable during your 2 months of dedicated (eat well, sleep well etc) / study books more geared towards your topic of weakness.

If you have difficulty keeping yourself motivated/focused then I would take a prep course.