Saigon's 20 Week MCAT Study Schedule

[Saigon]

here is the link to both my new 20-week schedule and my old 90-day schedule:
https://goo.gl/t9HwD0
Note: google sheets embedded into post for those who don't want to click the link

here is the thread about my old schedule: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/saigons-intensive-90-day-mcat-study-schedule.1203684/

Note: If I could go back I would use 7sage's the blind review method to review all of my study materials. Link here:


Decided to take MCAT in January instead of today (September 10th). This new schedule is less intensive, includes more practice exams, and strictly prioritizes AAMC material for the last 6 weeks.

Materials needed:
- newest edition TBR gen chem, orgo, physics, and bio.
- EK 9th edition
- newest edition EK101 CARS (old EK101 verbal works but you have to get rid of irrelevant passages)
- TPR psychology/sociology
- TPR Hyperlearning
- TPR SW
- Testing Solutions MCAT CARS bundle
- AAMC Old exams 3-11
- AAMC Official Guide to MCAT (for the 120 questions)
- AAMC Question Packs
- AAMC Section Banks
- AAMC Practice exam
- AAMC Scored exams x2
- my favorite quote: "Success is where preparation and opportunity meet."

note: a lot of these materials are readily available online

Notes:
- I am planning on following this schedule and working full time. I already went through the TBR books for content review this summer so the content review phase is not as intense as it might seem. All I really have to do is skim the chapters then do the passages and corresponding exam. During the content review and practice exam phases I will follow the MeVamp Protocol described here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...tional-framework-for-mcat-self-study.1192590/
- I hope this schedule doesn't seem too overwhelming. I made sure to include a break day every 7 days. It should really only be a few hours of studying a day. Personally, I know I would be playing videogames or browsing the web with free time anyways. Even if it does take more than a few hours I am hoping that this schedule makes me 100% prepared for this exam (as I don't have the best GPA...) I thought about it this way: 8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of miscellaneous (1 hour commute, 3 hours leisure, <4 hours of studying).
- Content review uses a combination of TBR (newest edition) and EK 9th edition. I did my best to correlate the chapters in the respective tests. Schedule is 50% content review and 50% practice exams. Obviously plenty of practice is incorporated into the content review phase.
- EK 30 min exams are also included in the content review. If an EK chapter splits two TBR chapters then the exam is assigned to the later chapter. Example: EK 30 min exam for physics chapter 4 (Electricity) is assigned to the day I cover TBR Chapter 7 (Electricity and Circuits) rather than TBR Chapter 6 (Electrostatics and magnetism).
- Corresponding TBR SW passages, EK 1001 sections (if applicable), and Khan Academy passages (for psychology) are listed in the "Extra" column. Extra truly means extra. I will only do them if I have extra time or have a glaring weakness.
- I did my best to correlate the Khan Academy psychology and sociology passages to the TPR Psychology and Sociology book. Credit goes to the following thread where mcatjelly paired passaged to vids: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ogy-and-sociology-vids-a-compilation.1145116/
- EK CARS refers to the new book shipping out the 15th.
- NS Exams 3 and 4, and the P/S section of Kaplan and TPR Exams 1-3 is split up for extra review. Hopefully after taking these P/S sections (along with the other FLs I have scheduled) will result in there being zero surprises come test day.
- Using my judgement I ordered cars from lowest quality to highest quality material and least difficult to most difficult: EK 101 < EK new CARS book < TPR < Testing Solutions < AAMC Old Verbal < AAMC CARS question pack. Lowest quality to me means the material that least resembles the actual exam.
- The TBR Diagnostics (ex: gen chem 1:2, ochem 3, etc...) located within days 65-95 refers to the new "phase 3" section of the TBR books. The gen chem, physics, and bio books have 1-6 cumulative diagnostics at the end of each book.
- Practice exams officially start 10 weeks out even though I have some full sections of the exam (P/S and verbal) incorporated earlier. Decided to use NS Exams #1-4 and EK Exams #1-4 since I have heard they are both superior to TPR and Kaplan.
- Last 6 weeks is strictly AAMC material. Divided the section banks and question packs into multiple sections. I thought this would allow me to really spend time on this invaluable material. Schedule incorporates the new scored exam they are planning on releasing.
- AAMC "bio" and "physics" under secondary tasks refers to the corresponding sections of the old exams. Although some topics were removed the same people make the test. I'm sure the old material will be invaluable for content review and understanding the exam. It may seem like overkill to include this with the question packs, but we all know the question packs does not include all the old material.
- Last exam is scheduled two weeks before my actual exam. This gives me a week of leeway incase something were to happen (god forbid). Ideally I will follow this schedule and finish studying a week before the exam so that I can taper off and decompress.
- Testing Solutions material will only be used if I am doing very well on the practice CARS passages. I've heard TS is on par/even harder than AAMC so analyzing my mistakes with this material and the wrong answer pathologies should be very helpful for preparing for the AAMC material
- first 1/3 of passages is done untimed to make sure I completely understand what I reviewed. second 1/3 is done timed.
- Nova refers to Nova Physics. Physics isn't my strongest subject so I added the corresponding Nova chapter as a supplement.

That is all I can think of now. I worked VERY HARD on this schedule and all questions, comments, and suggestions are greatly appreciated . Thanks for viewing

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[BerkReviewTeach]

This is a very thorough schedule. Anyone with the time to commit to this should be extremely prepared for the MCAT.

 

[Saigon]

Thank you for the kind reply . I really appreciate it.

Update: I slightly changed around the CARS section since the original post yesterday.

 

[nontradmom]

I'm going to do this. I've never heard of Testing Solutions. Can you buy it on Amazon? .


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[DexterMorganSK]

This is a great schedule @Saigon Thanks for sharing it with us.

I'm using TBR + EK + AAMC + KA materials, so I will try to follow your schedule.

 

[Saigon]

Thank you very much . I'd like to point out that this schedule would be for someone who hasn't done any content review. For those who did content review earlier you could easily skim 2 sections a day and do the corresponding questions. This might also be useful for someone who is studying for the mcat in place of one full class a semester.

 

[andelJ94]

seems a bit too intense for me. 5 months of full time study?

 

[Saigon]

seems a bit too intense for me. 5 months of full time study?View attachment 208998

Well for me it's not full time studying for me. Its a few hours of passages a day during the content review since I have already read through the chapters.

 

[Optimist Prime]

Thanks for all the work you did creating this! I'll definitely be using it for my 2017 May MCAT.

 

[Saigon]

Updated the spreadsheet with the personal schedule I've been using. Been doing content review way faster to fit in more practice.

 

[theonlytycrane]

nice schedule, but really crazy detailed. don't put anymore time into it- either study or relax to refresh instead. Stay flexible and just keep chugging.

 

[Sarah Jawadi]

Hi, thank you so much for this but quick question what do you mean by 1/3 or 1/2 passages? like where are they coming from

 

[Saigon]

So first 1/3 means the first phase of TBR book passes. For the orgo, physics, and gen chem books it is the first 25 review questions. The second phase would be the second 25 questions. The third phase would be one of the end of book tests for physics/gen chem, or the last 25 questions for the orgo sections (orgo has three 25 question phases at the end of the each chapter while physics and gen chem replaced the last phase with an end of book test).

For physics, 1/2 means do the first 1/2 of the corresponding KA passages. Sorry about the delayed response

 

[Orthopedics101]

Are the AAMC old exams (3-11) available online? If they are, where would I find them? Thanks.

 

[naivePremed]

I am trying to put together a 20-week study plan as well for my April 2017 MCAT. I haven't gotten the material as of yet, but I will definitely be using this schedule to some extent, I really appreciate it!

 

[naivePremed]

Also, how much in total ($) did you spend for all the studying material plus the practice tests, basically everything listed above? would like to know, thank you.

 

[GrayArea]

Would the 2010 edition of TBR be ok?

What about the newest edition of TPR?

I guess my questions is, if one substitutes another company's book (such as TPR), is the only thing really effected the secondary tasks? Because the concepts listed for TBR will also be covered in TPR.

 

[Saigon]

Replied in Pms to everyone who asked questions.

The content review you use really doesn't matter too much. Ultimately, you want to go through your books and ensure you have covered everything on aamc's content outline. Altius made a great, simple and organized list of what is on the exam.

The schedule probably seems more complicated than it actually is. Do your content review books and practice questions while doing a little psych each day. Then move to more practice to narrow down weaknesses. Lastly, practice exams for endurance and to see if you are on track for your target scores.

Would the 2010 edition of TBR be ok?

What about the newest edition of TPR?

I guess my questions is, if one substitutes another company's book (such as TPR), is the only thing really effected the secondary tasks? Because the concepts listed for TBR will also be covered in TPR.

 

[hopefuldoctor93]

@Saigon Do you ever do the second phase questions in TBR? I'm having trouble finding those in the schedule.

 

[Saigon]

@Saigon Do you ever do the second phase questions in TBR? I'm having trouble finding those in the schedule.

Yes. Second 1/3 of passages once a week where it says "second 1/3 passages."

 

[hopefuldoctor93]

Yes. Second 1/3 of passages once a week where it says "second 1/3 passages."

I'm dumb... sorry!

 

[Hasniii]

I have a question.
For the date Sep 22nd,
It says TPR psych 4. Is this 4, refers to chapter right?
Then on the same line it says +1/3. Where does these 1/3 passages came from?

 

[Saigon]

Yes chapter 4 in TPR psychology/sociology. Didn't notice that mistake before. After you read each chapter in TPR do half the corresponding Khan academy passages. The next week you do the second 1/2. It should be TPR psych + 1/2 passages.

 

[Hasniii]

Yes chapter 4 in TPR psychology/sociology. Didn't notice that mistake before. After you read each chapter in TPR do half the corresponding Khan academy passages. The next week you do the second 1/2. It should be TPR psych + 1/2 passages.

So where do I get information regarding which KA passages are related to the TPR chapter?

Edit: Saw the link you mentioned above, thanks

 

[Allaji Oakland]

Thanks Saigon for your time and effort. Im surely keeping this schedule as I prepare for my Exam.

 

[dboyhaaan]

Would it be okay to use EK as my daily driver and supplement content review with TBR as needed? I would still do the end of chapter passages in the order in your schedule. I'm a slow reader and for time's sake I find reading EK much easier than TBR - if I spend all day reading one TBR chapter then I'll be mentally exhausted to follow through with the rest of the day's assignments.

Thanks for this by the way - it's a very thorough schedule and should help a lot of people do well on the exam!

 

[Optimist Prime]

Hey man I'm using your schedule right now to study and its going great! I saw you planned on taking your mcat in January. Care to answer how you did and what if anything on your schedule you would do a little differently?

 

[Swagster]

Geez, this plan is still getting hits two years later? I looked at this before I studied but realized that the OP never updated it like he said he would. It's like most other plans out there, except he changed books. He made this plan and posted it before he took the MCAT, which made me leery. Look at what he said after the MCAT and you realize that even he didn't follow it.

It is best to go with the SN2ed plan, Koala's plan, or Mcatjelly's plan.

 

[Saigon]

Geez, this plan is still getting hits two years later? I looked at this before I studied but realized that the OP never updated it like he said he would. It's like most other plans out there, except he changed books. He made this plan and posted it before he took the MCAT, which made me leery. Look at what he said after the MCAT and you realize that even he didn't follow it.

It is best to go with the SN2ed plan, Koala's plan, or Mcatjelly's plan.

Can't tell if you are a troll or an idiot.

 

[Saigon]

Hey man I'm using your schedule right now to study and its going great! I saw you planned on taking your mcat in January. Care to answer how you did and what if anything on your schedule you would do a little differently?

Hi, I actually postponed the MCAT until later on, but I really enjoyed my study plan. I want to get some extra CARS practice in and I am currently taking 1 practice exam a week while THOROUGHLY reviewing using 7sage's the blind review method. If I could go back I would have used 7sage's method from day 1 of practice passages because I think uses it is guaranteed a 510+... Link to method below



Keep in mind that everyone should really try and formulate their own study plan. The key is to get content review done as quickly and thoroughly as possible then move onto practice exams. Also, as I'm sure you've heard, something even more important than content review is getting good at the test. Timing and endurance are crucial, and you can only get those by doing TIMED practice. 7sage incorporates timed practice and it is my review method of choice.

Who knows, I could get a terrible score on the test despite putting hundreds and hundreds of hours into studying. Oh well , we shall see. We are blessed to be healthy and even apply to medical school, so there are worse things that could happen.

 

[Saigon]

Would it be okay to use EK as my daily driver and supplement content review with TBR as needed? I would still do the end of chapter passages in the order in your schedule. I'm a slow reader and for time's sake I find reading EK much easier than TBR - if I spend all day reading one TBR chapter then I'll be mentally exhausted to follow through with the rest of the day's assignments.

Thanks for this by the way - it's a very thorough schedule and should help a lot of people do well on the exam!

Think I may have responded to you on reddit. But yes, that is fine. Content review source doesn't matter. The key is to use TBR for the passage practice.

 

[DaAlienist]

here is the link to both my new 20-week schedule and my old 90-day schedule:
https://goo.gl/t9HwD0
Note: google sheets embedded into post for those who don't want to click the link

here is the thread about my old schedule: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/saigons-intensive-90-day-mcat-study-schedule.1203684/

Note: If I could go back I would use 7sage's the blind review method to review all of my study materials. Link here:


Decided to take MCAT in January instead of today (September 10th). This new schedule is less intensive, includes more practice exams, and strictly prioritizes AAMC material for the last 6 weeks.

Materials needed:
- newest edition TBR gen chem, orgo, physics, and bio.
- EK 9th edition
- newest edition EK101 CARS (old EK101 verbal works but you have to get rid of irrelevant passages)
- TPR psychology/sociology
- TPR Hyperlearning
- TPR SW
- Testing Solutions MCAT CARS bundle
- AAMC Old exams 3-11
- AAMC Official Guide to MCAT (for the 120 questions)
- AAMC Question Packs
- AAMC Section Banks
- AAMC Practice exam
- AAMC Scored exams x2
- my favorite quote: "Success is where preparation and opportunity meet."

note: a lot of these materials are readily available online

Notes:
- I am planning on following this schedule and working full time. I already went through the TBR books for content review this summer so the content review phase is not as intense as it might seem. All I really have to do is skim the chapters then do the passages and corresponding exam. During the content review and practice exam phases I will follow the MeVamp Protocol described here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...tional-framework-for-mcat-self-study.1192590/
- I hope this schedule doesn't seem too overwhelming. I made sure to include a break day every 7 days. It should really only be a few hours of studying a day. Personally, I know I would be playing videogames or browsing the web with free time anyways. Even if it does take more than a few hours I am hoping that this schedule makes me 100% prepared for this exam (as I don't have the best GPA...) I thought about it this way: 8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of miscellaneous (1 hour commute, 3 hours leisure, <4 hours of studying).
- Content review uses a combination of TBR (newest edition) and EK 9th edition. I did my best to correlate the chapters in the respective tests. Schedule is 50% content review and 50% practice exams. Obviously plenty of practice is incorporated into the content review phase.
- EK 30 min exams are also included in the content review. If an EK chapter splits two TBR chapters then the exam is assigned to the later chapter. Example: EK 30 min exam for physics chapter 4 (Electricity) is assigned to the day I cover TBR Chapter 7 (Electricity and Circuits) rather than TBR Chapter 6 (Electrostatics and magnetism).
- Corresponding TBR SW passages, EK 1001 sections (if applicable), and Khan Academy passages (for psychology) are listed in the "Extra" column. Extra truly means extra. I will only do them if I have extra time or have a glaring weakness.
- I did my best to correlate the Khan Academy psychology and sociology passages to the TPR Psychology and Sociology book. Credit goes to the following thread where mcatjelly paired passaged to vids: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ogy-and-sociology-vids-a-compilation.1145116/
- EK CARS refers to the new book shipping out the 15th.
- NS Exams 3 and 4, and the P/S section of Kaplan and TPR Exams 1-3 is split up for extra review. Hopefully after taking these P/S sections (along with the other FLs I have scheduled) will result in there being zero surprises come test day.
- Using my judgement I ordered cars from lowest quality to highest quality material and least difficult to most difficult: EK 101 < EK new CARS book < TPR < Testing Solutions < AAMC Old Verbal < AAMC CARS question pack. Lowest quality to me means the material that least resembles the actual exam.
- The TBR Diagnostics (ex: gen chem 1:2, ochem 3, etc...) located within days 65-95 refers to the new "phase 3" section of the TBR books. The gen chem, physics, and bio books have 1-6 cumulative diagnostics at the end of each book.
- Practice exams officially start 10 weeks out even though I have some full sections of the exam (P/S and verbal) incorporated earlier. Decided to use NS Exams #1-4 and EK Exams #1-4 since I have heard they are both superior to TPR and Kaplan.
- Last 6 weeks is strictly AAMC material. Divided the section banks and question packs into multiple sections. I thought this would allow me to really spend time on this invaluable material. Schedule incorporates the new scored exam they are planning on releasing.
- AAMC "bio" and "physics" under secondary tasks refers to the corresponding sections of the old exams. Although some topics were removed the same people make the test. I'm sure the old material will be invaluable for content review and understanding the exam. It may seem like overkill to include this with the question packs, but we all know the question packs does not include all the old material.
- Last exam is scheduled two weeks before my actual exam. This gives me a week of leeway incase something were to happen (god forbid). Ideally I will follow this schedule and finish studying a week before the exam so that I can taper off and decompress.
- Testing Solutions material will only be used if I am doing very well on the practice CARS passages. I've heard TS is on par/even harder than AAMC so analyzing my mistakes with this material and the wrong answer pathologies should be very helpful for preparing for the AAMC material
- first 1/3 of passages is done untimed to make sure I completely understand what I reviewed. second 1/3 is done timed.
- Nova refers to Nova Physics. Physics isn't my strongest subject so I added the corresponding Nova chapter as a supplement.

That is all I can think of now. I worked VERY HARD on this schedule and all questions, comments, and suggestions are greatly appreciated . Thanks for viewing

Thank you for this! How would you rate the practice tests and books you used? Would you do anything different in hindsight?

 

[nillie101]

Hello, I'm just reading this in Oct 2017! You attention to detail in the study plan is amazing! I would love to use/adopt your plan for my Jan 2018 MCAT. I would like to condense my content review through to a max 60 days to really work on my endurance and test taking skills! Thanks for posting!

 

[thatchemguy]

Hey, thanks for all of your hard work on this schedule. I have a question - for TBR biology books, a chapter such as Structure and Function in Cells and Viruses is followed by 100 questions (15 passages). So, on day 2 of your schedule, you read the chapter, and then do 33 of the 100 questions? Then another 33 on the 2/3 passage day? When are the last 34 questions done? Or is your format different for the bio books?

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Hey, thanks for all of your hard work on this schedule. I have a question - for TBR biology books, a chapter such as Structure and Function in Cells and Viruses is followed by 100 questions (15 passages). So, on day 2 of your schedule, you read the chapter, and then do 33 of the 100 questions? Then another 33 on the 2/3 passage day? When are the last 34 questions done? Or is your format different for the bio books?

This is a generic answer to any schedule that is built around our science materials. For general chemistry, physics, and organic chemistry there are three distinct phases, each designed for a specific purpose (review first, timing second, and integration of other topics third). The authors of the biology books have passages that address all three purposes, but chose to combine them into one massive set at the end. It is a good idea to do the first five passages as Phase 1, the second five passages as Phase 2, and the past five passages as Phase 3.

I sincerely hope I did not step on your toes Saigon, as this is your thread. I figured I could address it in general.

 

[gallons]

i am assuming thought was put into the order of topics presented to be studied?

Also, in the xls file and "TPR SW" tab, what do the corresponding numbers under "TPR SW 2015" actually represent? For example, for TBR Gen Chem: "5 - gases and gas laws", under
"TPR SW 2015" it says 29, 31, 33, 36...

Are these page numbers or question numbers? neither seems to correspond as written in the guide.

 

[Saigon]

Hello, I'm just reading this in Oct 2017! You attention to detail in the study plan is amazing! I would love to use/adopt your plan for my Jan 2018 MCAT. I would like to condense my content review through to a max 60 days to really work on my endurance and test taking skills! Thanks for posting!

Best of luck in your preparation! I have no doubt that you'll kill it!

Thank you for this! How would you rate the practice tests and books you used? Would you do anything different in hindsight?

I ended up doing extremely well on the exam 521 (130, 127, 132, 132). I don't think I would have changed anything regarding my study plan, but I would have made sure to relax a lot more. I had plenty of nights of 4 hours or sleep because I felt compelled to finish what I had planned for the day. If I could go back I would have made sure I had a solid 6+ hours of sleep each night and just caught up on what I missed during the weekends. I've been working full time as a research technician and I've had to read many primary research articles that have made the MCAT experimental passages look like a joke in hindsight... If anyone is interested in research I highly recommend you read as much of the literature as possible because that will only help you on this exam.

i am assuming thought was put into the order of topics presented to be studied?

Also, in the xls file and "TPR SW" tab, what do the corresponding numbers under "TPR SW 2015" actually represent? For example, for TBR Gen Chem: "5 - gases and gas laws", under
"TPR SW 2015" it says 29, 31, 33, 36...

Are these page numbers or question numbers? neither seems to correspond as written in the guide.

These are passage numbers.

@BerkReviewTeach Happy you answered that poster I haven't been on these forums since I applied. Now that I am in school and relaxing a lot more I may visit them more frequently. Out of curiosity, did you guys ever come out with a sociology book?

 

[tnguyen27]

TPR SW

Can you clarify what is TPR SW?