Preparation for First MCAT test

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ERHARH22

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Hi! I’m a 29 year old female with high hopes of entering medical school sometime in the near future, with that being said, I am taking the mcat January 2023 and I need help with preferred material. I am so overwhelmed with all the resources that I’ve become so discouraged. Please please share with me the best approach to study for the mcat. Thank you in advance!

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I am taking the mcat January 2023 and I need help with preferred material. I am so overwhelmed with all the resources that I’ve become so discouraged. Please please share with me the best approach to study for the mcat. Thank you in advance!

I would suggest you start by looking at the 509+ thread here. Scroll to page 11 or page 12 to find out what people feel about the current materials. Pages 1-10 are outdated by now. Look at what people have used to do well over the past two or three years and rank accordingly. The problem is that the market is saturated with way too many materials, some of which are very helpful, some of which are functional, and some of which are bad.

I would suggest you evaluate one section at a time what matches your study style and gets great results. You may find that what is best for one section, such as CP for instance, will completely suck for CARS and PS. So it is worth your time to read through the last two pages of that thread and see what people used and what they liked and disliked. It will likely be a little overwhelming too, but it will at the very least help you cross out various materials for a given section.

Good Luck!!!!
 
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youtube, anki, uworld, TBR (for physical sciences). It's really that simple!
 
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Hi! I’m a 29 year old female with high hopes of entering medical school sometime in the near future, with that being said, I am taking the mcat January 2023 and I need help with preferred material. I am so overwhelmed with all the resources that I’ve become so discouraged. Please please share with me the best approach to study for the mcat. Thank you in advance!

Don't listen to super simplified answers that'll tell you "YouTube, Anki, etc". You seriously have to fill in the gaps of content that was years ago. Youtube will send you down a rabbit hole (most videos are trash, some are good), and there are so many Anki decks, you have to see what works for you. It can literally takes months. The most important advice I can give you is to figure out how you learn and to basically give yourself time to really memorize all the content. Memorizing is only PART of the battle. The MCAT is comprehension, it's not memory (maybe some discreet questions are memory but that's only 15 Q's out of 59). You have to be able to take what they ask you and think steps ahead (or backwards) and read between the lines, which is different from undergrad and which is also why people don't get good enough scores. Also, do not reserve the last month before your test for AAMC. Have everything done at least a month before you take the test so that all you're doing is review, review, review. I see that advice being given out and that's horrible. You may have habits to undo and logic to understand. I hate UWORLD Cars, it's so different from AAMC (you may disagree, but you have to give yourself time to know this). A month out before your test, you want to be scoring at least 5-10 points above your goal score. This will set you up for success. If you have any questions, send me a DM. I can tell you so much more, and really im in a rush before work.
 
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Don't listen to super simplified answers that'll tell you "YouTube, Anki, etc". You seriously have to fill in the gaps of content that was years ago. Youtube will send you down a rabbit hole (most videos are trash, some are good), and there are so many Anki decks, you have to see what works for you. It can literally takes months. The most important advice I can give you is to figure out how you learn and to basically give yourself time to really memorize all the content. Memorizing is only PART of the battle. The MCAT is comprehension, it's not memory (maybe some discreet questions are memory but that's only 15 Q's out of 59). You have to be able to take what they ask you and think steps ahead (or backwards) and read between the lines, which is different from undergrad and which is also why people don't get good enough scores. Also, do not reserve the last month before your test for AAMC. Have everything done at least a month before you take the test so that all you're doing is review, review, review. I see that advice being given out and that's horrible. You may have habits to undo and logic to understand. I hate UWORLD Cars, it's so different from AAMC (you may disagree, but you have to give yourself time to know this). A month out before your test, you want to be scoring at least 5-10 points above your goal score. This will set you up for success. If you have any questions, send me a DM. I can tell you so much more, and really im in a rush before work.
thank you so much! I truly appreciate your feedback.
 
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Focus on making this the only MCAT you take (not the first).
All graded MCAT's are visible and remain visible...forever.
A string of scores is entirely open to the interpretation of the beholder.
I suppose you misunderstood me. Thanks for your input though. :)
 
"Measure twice, cut once." It is better to postpone a test date and make sure you are ready to take it rather than rush into a test not 100% confident. Also, if you are considering taking a course, I can personally vouch for Altius. They helped me out a lot. I crushed the MCAT, and I hadn't even taken biochem! They are thorough, and will make sure there are no gaps in your game. If you want to be totally ready for the MCAT, I would consider taking your time and looking into taking a course!
thank you!
 
"Measure twice, cut once." It is better to postpone a test date and make sure you are ready to take it rather than rush into a test not 100% confident. Also, if you are considering taking a course, I can personally vouch for Altius. They helped me out a lot. I crushed the MCAT, and I hadn't even taken biochem! They are thorough, and will make sure there are no gaps in your game. If you want to be totally ready for the MCAT, I would consider taking your time and looking into taking a course!
Self study or the $10k course?
 
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