Please tell me the best way to study for the MCAT!

[dreamtobeMD]

Hey guys so I am getting a lot of mixed answers from people as to what is the best way to study for the MCAT. My gpa is pretty average so I am going to try to get a 35+ on the MCAT (I will be taking it next year) so I need major advice!

Thanks!

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[AdemTD]

Hey guys so I am getting a lot of mixed answers from people as to what is the best way to study for the MCAT. My gpa is pretty average so I am going to try to get a 35+ on the MCAT (I will be taking it next year) so I need major advice!

Thanks!

Get Exam Krackers books, I started at a 20 on a diagnostic exam, and went up to 31 reading through their books once.

 

[Stratego]

You'll get a different opinion from everyone who replies. Check out the MCAT discussion forum for yet more ideas.

 

[atl27]

I can't speak about the other test prep companies, but I thought Exam Krackers was great.

 

[chemnerd89]

(Kaplan online stuff + AAMC practice tests + Examkrackers Ultimate Package + 1001 Question Books) x 6 weeks = great success

 

[cpants]

I'll tell you the worst, and simultaneously most expensive way: Kaplan live lecture course. What a waste of time.

 

[AdemTD]

I'll tell you the worst, and simultaneously most expensive way: Kaplan live lecture course. What a waste of time.

 

[dreamtobeMD]

Where did you buy all of this stuff? I was told by my advisor to do the Princeton Review live lectures, but I feel I do better at self studying, but I definitely want to be able to do the practice tests over and over again.

 

[BlueElmo]

Try a prep course, like TPR class. You might want to look at MCAT Discussion forum, tons of info there.

 

[bellakk]

dont take a prep course, big waste of money. you can buy books on amazon or half.com, you can also buy just the online portion of TPR and Kaplan, that might be worth it.....

 

[NoMoreAMCAS]

I'll tell you the worst, and simultaneously most expensive way: Kaplan live lecture course. What a waste of time.

I concur, or Princeton Review. The classes just consist of you sitting them and them reading you the chapter. Save the 1800 bucks and just get the books.

 

[lrkoehle]

I am going to try to get a 35+ on the MCAT

No offense to the OP, but everytime I read statements like this I get confused. I mean does anybody go in and say I want to score below 30? Everyone wants to score 35+, but wanting to do it and actually doing it are totally different things.

As for studying for the MCAT, it mostly depends on you. I think in the MCAT discussions section there is an entire thread dedicated to people who scored 30+. I scored 35, and contrary to others I felt the Kaplan live lecture course WAS helpful. Yes, the lecture poriton was just them reviewing what was in the chapters, but the structure and accountability the course provides was the most helpful thing. Maybe I could have scored just as high without the course, but I wasn't willing to risk trying to study on my own with no structre. Plus, I don't think I would have gotten verbal down as well as I did without the instructor's help.

 

[tncekm]

Please tell me the best way to study for the MCAT!

Study hard. Do lots of practice problems. No big secret, IMHO. Good luck.

Oh, and after seeing the Kaplan course materials, I think they're great. Wish I used them. Just an FYI.

 

[ksmi117]

Moving to the MCAT forum.

 

[n618ft]

Hey guys so I am getting a lot of mixed answers from people as to what is the best way to study for the MCAT. My gpa is pretty average so I am going to try to get a 35+ on the MCAT (I will be taking it next year) so I need major advice!

Thanks!

for the EK books but I also have Kaplan and TPR... TPR seemed to cover the little things EK didnt. Kaplan was just redundant with the other two and much harder to read.

I read through most of the EK stuff once over the course of a few months... so it wasn't very effective but I started the TPR book (only some sections) and am now referencing back to EK on a lot of things. I took 1 practice MCAT a week ago and got a 28 on it which I didn't think was too bad for not having done a bit of organic and only 1/2 the bio stuff... and this is from someone that has only the bare minimum prereqs for some med schools... I have since reviewed a lot of chem and orgo (bio the next 2 days) and will take AAMC #3 on Thursday... #4 on Saturday... hoping for low 30s. I absorb information pretty fast and feel comfortable doing a full bio review in just a weekend... I just slacked a bit until recently!

SOOO... in summary, get the EK 101 set of books, get a super cheap review book like TPR for extra material (The Princeton Review - Cracking the CBT... $25 new on half.com)... and get a crapload of passages to read through. For the passages, I bought the EK 101 verbal passages (best out there) and EK 1001 biology questions (very very good for bio)... physical science practice will come from TPR, Kaplan, and the AAMC tests...

Do a comprehensive content review and take the questions at the back of every section. Don't worry about what you're getting on them, just keep track... the EK stuff also has questions at the back of the book that are lecture-specific... when you're done with review, tally up what you screwed up on most and go through those sections in the next book and GET THEM RIGHT this time... in the meantime, you could also have been doing passages so that you can SEE your improvement... huge confidence builder when you get positive feedback and you can see the fruits of your labor. This will start prepping you for a practice test. Take a few Kaplan, TPR, GS practice tests, and save the AAMC ones for later once you've mastered your time use and MCAT test taking skills.

Depending on how much you have going on in the rest of your life and how efficiently you can study, this can be done in anywhere from 4 months to 6 weeks... maybe even 4 weeks if you want to be a complete hermit and pull your hair out. Starting out too early is a waste of time - details required for the MCAT will get lost if you take the studying too seriously too far ahead of the test.

 

[Malayna]

Hey guys so I am getting a lot of mixed answers from people as to what is the best way to study for the MCAT. My gpa is pretty average so I am going to try to get a 35+ on the MCAT (I will be taking it next year) so I need major advice!

Thanks!

As you've read in this thread, taking a course is different for everyone. For me personally, I couldn't have done well without my course. My course had great teaching, gave a bunch of mnemonics and tricks that I have never seen anywhere else. I think because they only do MCAT, they do it differently (better) than the big companies. But everyone is different. If you can study on your own and have good test taking skills, then maybe you can study on your own.

I would strongly recommend the following books and exams:

Gen Chem: BR and nothing else--it's absolute gold.

Physics: BR for text and passages. PR had some good passages too

Biology: EK for text and a combination of EK for 1001 questions and BR for passages

Organic: NO text because it's not tested enough to make the time worthwhile and BR passages

VR: EK text and passages from anywhere you can get them (EK, BR, TPR, and K)

Exams: AAMC 5, 7, 8, and 9, BR 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9, K 6 and 8 (I think) and all of the BR review exams. I hear K has very good review exams too.

If you choose to take a course, I'd strongly suggest BR. Their teaching is great and the handouts that come with the class (probably about a thousand pages of review, tricks, and passages) are the very best materials of everything I used (BR books, EK books, and PR books).

 

[dreamtobeMD]

sorry to sound stupid but what is BR?

 

[Protactinium]

As you've read in this thread, taking a course is different for everyone. For me personally, I couldn't have done well without my course. My course had great teaching, gave a bunch of mnemonics and tricks that I have never seen anywhere else. I think because they only do MCAT, they do it differently (better) than the big companies. But everyone is different. If you can study on your own and have good test taking skills, then maybe you can study on your own.

I would strongly recommend the following books and exams:

Gen Chem: BR and nothing else--it's absolute gold.

Physics: BR for text and passages. PR had some good passages too

Biology: EK for text and a combination of EK for 1001 questions and BR for passages

Organic: NO text because it's not tested enough to make the time worthwhile and BR passages

VR: EK text and passages from anywhere you can get them (EK, BR, TPR, and K)

Exams: AAMC 5, 7, 8, and 9, BR 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9, K 6 and 8 (I think) and all of the BR review exams. I hear K has very good review exams too.

If you choose to take a course, I'd strongly suggest BR. Their teaching is great and the handouts that come with the class (probably about a thousand pages of review, tricks, and passages) are the very best materials of everything I used (BR books, EK books, and PR books).

It's tested enough I'd think, it is at least 20% of the bio section and 20% is enough to alter your mark drastically considering the scale is typically sensitive near the top. You take your chances if you don't study this section. Some people have gotten as many as 3 orgo passages...I think it was the aptly named SN2. On my AAMC practice tests, it's the orgo that is holding me from that 12-15 range. But I guess it is dependent on how much time you have. If scarce then orgo must be first on the chopping block for reduced focus but you do so at your own peril.

And BR (Berkeley Review) is legend. If you can learn out of a book, their 250 book set should be sufficient with a tag on all AAMCs. You might want EK for biology and verbal (101 book).

 

[ILikeFood]

Do lots and lots of practice problems, read lots and lots on strategy, and fit in a couple of practice tests. But before you do all that,

WORK HARD IN YOUR PREREQ CLASSES.


<---30R

 

[n618ft]

Do lots and lots of practice problems, read lots and lots on strategy, and fit in a couple of practice tests. But before you do all that,

WORK HARD IN YOUR PREREQ CLASSES.


<---30R

Lots and lots of strategy? That's like saying... in order to learn to play baseball, read the rules till you can hit the ball. Read some basic strategy once... your time's better spent knowing material and answering questions and figuring out the little tricks and exceptions they can pull on you for each subject. Once you take practice passages under strict timed conditions, you'll mold yourself to the required strategy. If you haven't had good test taking skills before now, practice MCATs and passages will get those juices flowing.