Overwhelmed: help figuring out where to start

[sweats2scrubs]

I've started and stopped multiple attempts at a MCAT study schedule and am having a hard time figuring out what will be best for me. I'm a non-trad who has been out of school for quite some time to take care of a disabled family member. I tried Kaplan's online course and had trouble keeping up whenever care-giving needed to take priority.
I've also collected a lot of information from SDN for self study, but have gotten overwhelmed with the amount of information/tips etc. that I think I've gone overboard with trying to do all the things because I worry "what if I miss something."
I think I've lost confidence in myself since unexpectedly putting my life on hold to take care of my family and need guidance finding structure in a study plan to build that back up again. Would appreciate any advice to help point me in the right direction.

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[Lawpy]

The following resource could help you get started: The 100 Day MCAT Study Schedule • Student Doctor Network

 

[notthrowingawaymyshot]

Hey there, figuring out where to start studying was definitely one of the most difficult things for me as well. It took me weeks just to figure out where to begin and what resources I wanted to use. But more resources doesn't necessarily always mean better. I would suggest you choose a set of books (read some reviews and figure out which set is best for your needs), sit down and finish content without dragging it out too long and get started on doing practice passages/problems as soon as possible. I just retook my MCAT a few weeks ago and the biggest thing I learned was to maximize your time doing practice and minimize your time doing content. Once you start doing practice then you can really figure out your weaker content areas and do more focused review on those. And if you review your practice thoroughly you should steadily see an increase your scores. I would also suggest purchasing all the AAMC materials and saving all those practice questions and FL's for the very end of your studying, but make sure you allow enough time to get through ALL the section banks, question packs, and full lengths because they will prepare you the best. I haven't gotten my 2nd MCAT score back quite yet but I hope this was helpful anyways coming from someone who has gone through the process twice already. Good luck!

 

[kbRD2MD84]

Sort of in the same boat as you over here. Also a non-trad, not sure how much of this content I need to re-learn. Haven't taken physics since senior year of HS, which was 17 years ago (yikes). Have 2 BS - 1 non-science in 2006, 1 science in 2016 - so a lot of the chem/bio is still pretty fresh in my head even though I have a bunch of prereqs left to take. I think that 100-day study sched is a great place to start. Somehow, having someone else create the schedule makes me feel like it's going to be more useful than something I come up with myself. Good luck!

 

[sweats2scrubs]

Hey there, figuring out where to start studying was definitely one of the most difficult things for me as well. It took me weeks just to figure out where to begin and what resources I wanted to use. But more resources doesn't necessarily always mean better. I would suggest you choose a set of books (read some reviews and figure out which set is best for your needs), sit down and finish content without dragging it out too long and get started on doing practice passages/problems as soon as possible. I just retook my MCAT a few weeks ago and the biggest thing I learned was to maximize your time doing practice and minimize your time doing content. Once you start doing practice then you can really figure out your weaker content areas and do more focused review on those. And if you review your practice thoroughly you should steadily see an increase your scores. I would also suggest purchasing all the AAMC materials and saving all those practice questions and FL's for the very end of your studying, but make sure you allow enough time to get through ALL the section banks, question packs, and full lengths because they will prepare you the best. I haven't gotten my 2nd MCAT score back quite yet but I hope this was helpful anyways coming from someone who has gone through the process twice already. Good luck!

What set of books did you end up liking? I mostly have books for the MCAT prior to the changes and then some books that were written during the first round of test changes. I'm not sure if I need to re-purchase now that companies have a better idea of what the newer MCAT entails

 

[notthrowingawaymyshot]

What set of books did you end up liking? I mostly have books for the MCAT prior to the changes and then some books that were written during the first round of test changes. I'm not sure if I need to re-purchase now that companies have a better idea of what the newer MCAT entails

I ended up using Kaplan! I liked it because it was well summarized and I just liked how it was organized. I also had purchased TBR but I ended up selling them because they were just too detailed for me (although they had a LOT of practice that might have been helpful)

 

[Ad2b]

Contrary to popular opinion on here, I AM doing content review and while painstaking, I am learning things I don't think I was ever taught in my classes.

Using the EK books for content and supplementing those with Kaplan's 1st 2015 books in case there is a question (Pitot tubes were not good in either book so went to KA). Currently, I've not set a certain schedule to adhere to, just tracking what I do every day and how much time spent on that area. Also, not including time I spend in classes which, while not strictly MCAT prep, are reinforcing things I've somewhat forgotten. Today, for instance, was all about immuno though not in an immuno class...

Every day, I read a CARS passage from EK and then something from Kaplan. Starting this weekend when I'm no longer working (tomorrow is last day in NYC - buh bye midtown; though, truth be told, I never went back after last week ), I'm going to do every other 3rd passage in EK's 101 books. And by mid-end of Feb, I'll start doing the AAMC FL's (again - only the 3rd is new for me).

The other thing I did for myself this time, is I did not register for a certain date. Between working in another state, 1100 miles away, and flying home every weekend and then "life" - I wanted to make sure, for my final time, I registered for the test when I thought I could be ready to nail it as best I can. Right now, I'm hoping for March 29th but it may be mid-April ...

TL;DR: I do something from physics/bio/chem everyday from the content books (1 chapter complete in each); read CARS every day; starting mid/late Feb, FL's (probably buy a few from NS, TBR and possibly, EK); and for the 1 hour before bed, I review my notecards then read something utterly non-science related (Daniel Silva right now); will be building my Anki decks as well