Non-trad DO MCAT prep

[chem44]

Hey All

Are there any NON trad DO people out there who took the pre req classes a few years ago
and had to study for the MCATS having forgot lots of the pre req material and manage a full-time job as well. If so how did you go about doing it? Where did you start ? How did you study?

If any one can give me a few pointers i would appreciate it

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[msmitra]

You should devote at least 4 hours a day to studying. Maybe you can wake up 2 hours early and study for 2 hours then 2 hours after work.

The key to studying for the MCAT is discipline. You will have to study for it longer since you forgot most the information. I would say about 6 months. There are many SDN threads about study schedules for the MCAT. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=623898 Here is one but it is for 3 months. You can follow it but take 6 months to finish it or even 9 if you need it. You should take a practice MCAT to see where you stand first. When you get closer to the MCAT test day (2 months away) if you can take some time off work, even work part time, that would be very helpful.

You don't have to remember everything about the undergrad Bio, Orgo, chem, physics to do well on the MCAT so even if you forgot this its fine.

Good luck!!

 

[msmitra]

When you get closer to the MCAT you should start studying more than 4 hours a day. Study 8 hours a day after that if you can.

 

[gumbyj]

Hey All

Are there any NON trad DO people out there who took the pre req classes a few years ago
and had to study for the MCATS having forgot lots of the pre req material and manage a full-time job as well. If so how did you go about doing it? Where did you start ? How did you study?

If any one can give me a few pointers i would appreciate it

It is hard and it sucks, but you just need to push through and re-learn the concepts you are rusty on. It has been around 4 years since I took my pre-reqs and I am finding ~50% of the material I remember and 50% looks completely foreign so I am just going through the BR books along with TPRH for concepts I have forgotten.

 

[COMedic2Doc]

It is hard and it sucks, but you just need to push through and re-learn the concepts you are rusty on. It has been around 4 years since I took my pre-reqs and I am finding ~50% of the material I remember and 50% looks completely foreign so I am just going through the BR books along with TPRH for concepts I have forgotten.

+1. I decided to go with Kaplan Advantage (needed the course structure to help me hone in on this particular test), but am using a mix of Exam Krackers, Kaplan, Princeton Review, and my notes and books for review. Plan on studying for the MCAT as you would a fairly heavy class (4 credits) taken over the summer.

 

[411309]

You should devote at least 4 hours a day to studying. Maybe you can wake up 2 hours early and study for 2 hours then 2 hours after work.

The key to studying for the MCAT is discipline. You will have to study for it longer since you forgot most the information. I would say about 6 months. There are many SDN threads about study schedules for the MCAT. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=623898 Here is one but it is for 3 months. You can follow it but take 6 months to finish it or even 9 if you need it. You should take a practice MCAT to see where you stand first. When you get closer to the MCAT test day (2 months away) if you can take some time off work, even work part time, that would be very helpful.

You don't have to remember everything about the undergrad Bio, Orgo, chem, physics to do well on the MCAT so even if you forgot this its fine.

Good luck!!

I would argue that you just need 4 months at 4 hours a day of good studying.

 

[AgDoc84]

I went with exam crackers bio and verbal. I knew physical would come up a point .... Maybe. So I spent time where I knew I could actually do better. Bio increased and verbal went up a lot. I found Kaplan to be a little useless.

 

[ChaiMeow]

I did this. I graduated from college in 2006 so it's been a while. I recommend a regular study schedule before/after work depending on you peak performance time. For those of us who may have forgotten things I highly recommend the Berkeley Review series for all subjects except Bio and Verbal...for those I think examkrakers are wonderful. Best of luck!

 

[ChaiMeow]

Also, be careful of burnout. I would not work full time and try to study 8 hours a day...even 4 is pushing it. Make sure you take days off and rest...burn out is bad news.

 

[chem44]

Cool, Yeah I'm hearing a lot about the BR books, i had never herd of them before. Can anyone tell me more about them?

I do have the EK bio book which i am going over now. Im thinking i will give myself a month on each subject and then take a test ( i may need longer on physics and orgo since i graduated college in 2004

 

[gumbyj]

Also, be careful of burnout. I would not work full time and try to study 8 hours a day...even 4 is pushing it. Make sure you take days off and rest...burn out is bad news.

This is super important

I started studying a few weeks ago and I have found it just isn't possible to study 5-6 hours/day and work 9 hours. I wasn't accomplishing anything and my brain my shot.

Now I study efficiently for only 2 - 3 hours and i seems to be working quite well. Closer to the test though I will probably need to do 1.5 - 2 hours in the morning and then 2 - 4 hours at night. Good luck!