Prep Books for 12 month Studying Schedule?

[11n6tardis]

I'm a sophomore right now and I'm planning on studying for the MCAT for about 11-12 months. I have already taken all the prerequisites and am taking biochem junior year.

My plan is to use EK complete set to review since I heard that they are brief. Then later on in the year use BR. However, because I haven't taken biochem yet, should I use BR biochem (since it's very detailed from what I've heard) along with the rest of the EK books for the first few months of review? This would be for the spring semester, before I take biochem in the fall.

Or should I use BR set first, and then EK set? I might also add in PR if I finished the materials in the other books.

Also, I'm planing to study 2 hours a day so with my academic workload this shouldn't be too much.

Sorry if this seems confusing or vague, but please give me any suggestions.

Thank you so much!

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[BerkReviewTeach]

I would actually recommend doing that in reverse order from what you proposed. The strength of the BR books is the many passages and examples that integrate multiple topics. The answer explanations are second to none, which will help you grow and learn as you review what you miss. Once you have the strategies and shortcuts mastered, then it's a great idea to apply them on other materials such EK. Some of the trickiest questions in other materials are made super easy using the BR method. A perfect example is the acids and bases. Using the BR approach, the hardest pH question from any source can be done in 15 seconds or less. You should build those skills first before branching out to a variety of questions from other sources. I'd also like to suggest that you mix in the AAMC packs too.

 

[Ohio513]

@BerkReviewTeach do many students use your books over such a prolonged study period? I am in a very similar situation to the OP, but generally see TBR being used for content review over a period of 3-4 months full-time, whereas the OP's approach is to study in shorter intervals over a long stretch of time.


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[BerkReviewTeach]

It all comes down to total hours of doing passages, whether it is a concentrated three-month block or a longer stint of small packets of time. I actually think the stretched out approach could be extremely beneficial, because some of the shortcuts are best learned long term by doing a few and then coming back a month or two later and reinforcing them.

 

[deleted446889]

It all comes down to total hours of doing passages, whether it is a concentrated three-month block or a longer stint of small packets of time. I actually think the stretched out approach could be extremely beneficial, because some of the shortcuts are best learned long term by doing a few and then coming back a month or two later and reinforcing them.

How do you recommend using the TBR materials over the long term? The book is designed for the chapter to be read, followed by doing the Phase I HW shortly after, Phase II a few days later, and Phase III a few weeks later. I'm kind of stumped as to what the best way to split that up over the long term would be.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

How do you recommend using the TBR materials over the long term? The book is designed for the chapter to be read, followed by doing the Phase I HW shortly after, Phase II a few days later, and Phase III a few weeks later. I'm kind of stumped as to what the best way to split that up over the long term would be.

One option is to modify the time frame to be Phase I immediately afterwards, Phase II within 10 days, and Phase III between one to three months later. The time delay between Phases II and III aims to put you into a more realistic MCAT frame of mind, where there will be things on your exam that you have not looked at within the last few weeks before your exam. As long as you spend quality time going over Phase III, then you'll be fine.

The other option (the one I'd suggest) is doing all of the chapters, Phase Is, and then Phases IIs over a three month period (or so) and then doing the Phase IIIs over a three month period (or so). After that, it's best to take exams (one a week for three months) and spend time going over them thoroughly before attacking the next exam. Maybe start with an AAMC exam and then finish with the two AAMC scored exams before taking your actual test.