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[CJhooper123]

Strategies for preparing for January 2017 MCAT? Best prep companies for each section?

Wasn't sure if there were any layouts for a 3-4 month period in preparation for the test. Will also be working 40 hours per week.

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[premedkid1994]

I feel like since you have most of the content down, I would hit practice exams hard.
Like 15+ from Next step, altius, ek and review weaknesses in between the week. So lets say you take a fl on a weekend, I would review weaknesses that whole weak and assess them by doing tons of practice problems from whatever prep you have.
I recommend Princeton review hyperlearning science workbook, ek 30 min exams, or BR passages. KA for bis and psych will be good as well. I have also heard good things about nextstep strategy workbooks
Also you should practice CARS for 2 hours everyday by reading and understanding dense articles. Try sites like the economist.

Good luck!! I am in the same position as you

 

[CJhooper123]

I feel like since you have most of the content down, I would hit practice exams hard.
Like 15+ from Next step, altius, ek and review weaknesses in between the week. So lets say you take a fl on a weekend, I would review weaknesses that whole weak and assess them by doing tons of practice problems from whatever prep you have.
I recommend Princeton review hyperlearning science workbook, ek 30 min exams, or BR passages. KA for bis and psych will be good as well. I have also heard good things about nextstep strategy workbooks
Also you should practice CARS for 2 hours everyday by reading and understanding dense articles. Try sites like the economist.

Good luck!! I am in the same position as you

For sure... Going to get after the practice exams for sure. I need to take a break from them though... I've been taking 1 a week since June.

Do you do daily passages? Like 1 passage from CP, CARS, BS, and PS per day?

Also... we got this.

 

[premedkid1994]

For sure... Going to get after the practice exams for sure. I need to take a break from them though... I've been taking 1 a week since June.

Do you do daily passages? Like 1 passage from CP, CARS, BS, and PS per day?

Also... we got this.

I am going to do CARS everyday and switch up between c/p, Bis, and psych
so I will probably do something like this:

Monday: fl
Tuesday: review fl
Wednesday: Chem/ochem weaknesses + Practice + CARS
Thursday: Physics weaknesses + Practice + CARS
Friday: Biochem weaknesses + Practice + CARS
Saturday: Biology weaknesses + Practice + CARS
Sunday: Psychology weaknesses + Practice + CARS

REPEAT

And I will take breaks from this schedule whenever I need to and I feel burnt out. But I want to do ~7-10 passages daily at least.

My mistake when studying was too much content review and not enough practice problems.

 

[CJhooper123]

I am going to do CARS everyday and switch up between c/p, Bis, and psych
so I will probably do something like this:

Monday: fl
Tuesday: review fl
Wednesday: Chem/ochem weaknesses + Practice + CARS
Thursday: Physics weaknesses + Practice + CARS
Friday: Biochem weaknesses + Practice + CARS
Saturday: Biology weaknesses + Practice + CARS
Sunday: Psychology weaknesses + Practice + CARS

REPEAT

And I will take breaks from this schedule whenever I need to and I feel burnt out. But I want to do ~7-10 passages daily at least.

My mistake when studying was too much content review and not enough practice problems.

That actually seems like a pretty ideal schedule. Where do plan on getting the majority of your practice passages?

Also.... One issue that I encountered was identifying my weaknesses. Clearly I am weak in some areas.... what is the best way to find out my weak spots?

 

[premedkid1994]

Do practice passages from Khan academy or buy any test prep books/workbooks that have decent passages in them. I suggest Princeton Review Hyperlearning Science workbook, NS strategy books, or BR bookset. EK 30 min exams are good too.

As for identifying weaknesses, you need to go over your fl thoroughly every week and jot down the topics you missed.
Tackle them hard throughout the week.

Good luck

 

[BYUCougar2011]

I would recommend studying on your own. Using a variety of resources will be the biggest help to you! I scored a 522 and mainly used the following resources:


1) AAMC Practice Materials. $200 for their MCAT package. Practice questions produced by the same people who wrote the test!

(2) Khan Academy. Free and very useful for reviewing all the material very quickly. I watched every video at 2x the speed within a month of my exam.

(3) Kaplan 7-book series. Great for getting the overall content down.


Don't rely on just one method for your prep. It is important to use a variety of resources. If you need structure, then I would suggest hiring a private tutor rather than using a prep company. You can find freelance tutors for a quarter of what test prep companies charge for private tutoring. I am sure there are many other tutors out there as well! Best of luck!