If you have any remaining AAMC FLs that you haven't attempted, set those aside. You're going to need them closer to your test date.
If you feel like you need a prep course for the structure and the reasons you outlined above, go for it! Prep courses can be extremely useful. I would recommend an in person class instead of a video on demand classes simply because video on demand classes are way too passive to be useful for many students. If you can't find an in person MCAT class, look into hiring a private tutor who can give you guidance.
As someone who helps folks prepare for the MCAT, there are a couple things that you've posted above that give me pause:
I spend hours reviewing 10 questions, sometimes because I don't know the material, so I do a google search, which leads to multiple google searches for better understanding.
Taking time to review questions you missed is good. Taking significant amounts of time because you aren't understanding the content well enough to really make the passages/questions useful practice, isn't. Your goal should be to do practice questions and passages when you've reviewed the material. Review does not mean listening to KA or reading a book but really engaging with the material by: making concept maps, practicing flash cards (useful for some things), orally explaining concepts, teaching others concepts, writing a story of a certain concept, etc). All of these are ways to more actively engage with the material. TBR C/P does a great job by forcing you to answer questions as you go. Their BB books, do not do this.
I didnt like the amount of material covered in TBR. I used TBR for C/P but not B/B. I will stick with Uworld. I will do it again. I felt TBR content was beyond what was needed for MCAT and too much
UWorld is not designed to teach you content but rather to give you practice with passages and answering questions. While they have excellent explanations and *can* explain concepts really well, it is really designed to help you identify and fill in content/reasoning gaps. If UWorld is how you're learning content, then you really aren't using it as the most effective tool.
TBR is incredibly dense for BB and goes into content that is too detailed for the MCAT *except when it isn't*. The outline for what can be on the MCAT is incredibly broad. TBR wants to give you exposure to as much material as possible because 1. some people learn concepts better when they have a more detailed picture and 2. the MCAT can ask you those detailed questions on the test (completely fair game). While the MCAT more heavily emphasizes reading comprehension and reasoning, details are important. Does that mean you should memorize every intermediary in the Krebs cycle or make a flashcard for every bolded term? No, that would be pretty low yield. But, understanding the broad picture and having exposure to the details can be very valuable for calming nerves come test day.
When I did the UWorld questions, I felt like I was passively doing it. I would sit on my couch and just do a question and check if it was right or not. If it wasn't right, then I learned why it wasn't right. That was it. I did the same with AAMC practice problems
From experience, this tends to be what happens when folks don't use UWorld effectively. To use UWorld effectively, you should be doing questions under simulated MCAT conditions (59 question sections for CP/BB/PS in 95 minutes) and only review answers at the end. By doing this you will 1. identify content gaps and types of questions you repeatedly get wrong 2. become more familiar with timing and test taking strategies 3. build stamina by practicing under timed conditions.
Do you have any advice for B/B prep? Should I use TBR for B/B prep? I feel like TBR got me up to a 127-129 for C/P..... I just thought the B/B was too content dense and not worth it to do.
TBR passages are useful. If you think TBR is too dense, use another resource for the review phase (Kaplan is pretty condensed) and then attempt the passages. While nothing is as good as the AAMC material, getting as many "reps" or "at bats" is useful for identifying content gaps. But, you also don't have to use TBR. Using KA passages would be perfectly fine as well for getting practice with the material. Regardless of the resources that you use, you really want to put in the time and the effort and be "on."
In terms of taking a more active approach, try to get in a routine that helps you take a more active role in studying. For me, I was working full-time as a teaching while preparing for the MCAT. I found that when I waited till I got home to start studying for the MCAT, I would end up watching a couple hours of KA videos or trying a TBR phase exam, score it, and call it good. After a few weeks of this, I figured out the material wasn't sticking with me and I needed to make some significant changes. For some folks, that means getting into a routine or finding a place to study without distractions. For me, it meant waking up at 3:00 in the morning and studying from 3:30-7:30. I started writing concept stories about biochemical pathways, doing through TBR more thoroughly and really analyzing/retrying my errors. There were days when I didn't have the energy to study in an active way, those were the days when I would switch to KA videos or practice Anki cards for an hour. Those days happen. Long story short, try to figure out what you need to do to make the most of the time you have when studying for the MCAT.
