Some advice needed/ Study plan

[wendiehime]

Hi everyone!

I just started to study today to prepare for Jan.29 MCAT.....
(and I just got my TBR materials!)
I'm using EK bio, 1001 series(Verbal 101 as well), and TBR.

Wasn't intending to study for this grueling test ever again, but I had a real bad day, so this is my take 2.

I'm basically following SN2ed's schedule with some of my twist(adding more practice questions and stuffs, blah blah blah. lol). But apparently, not studying for 2 months has made my brain a lil' bit slow, and it took me forever to read for EK bio ch 1 (its my 3rd time reading/reviewing after taking the in-class exam) and doing some of EK 1001 bio. I did take some breaks, went out running, and had meals, but it took me something like 5 hours to finish that much of work.

Question 1: Am I really slow or is it just about average? It did took a while doing EK 1001 bio (I did approximately 80 questions today)- it was challenging, and as I went through the questions, I sort of felt like I'm getting a feeling for it.

Question 2: Is EK 1001 bio easy or difficult compared to real MCAT? I did take one, but I really had a bad day so I really can't tell if that was just me or the MCAT itself. But I thought it was somewhat more difficult than Kaplan that I used for last MCAT I took.

Question 3: Just assume that I got a "Yes" answer for question 1, and I have very high possibility of getting a full-time job pretty much any time. Would it be a better idea to postpone it to March instead of taking it in January? (so I can have 4 months to nail it down)

Question 4: I posted this at "advices for retakes" thread (can't remember the name of the thread), but once more- I seriously had some problems that day, and my score was a lot below than my FLs. Like, a lot. I scored 35~37 range in most of my FLs, but it went down..... real bad.
Is there any suggestion to prevent that kind of test day sickness(anxiety issue)? I felt great the day before, but on the test day I was extremely tired waking up, ended up throwing up...... I mean, it was just bad. lol rant rant.

That's about it. I would appreciate your input!!!
Also, is there anyone who wants to make a study group in Delaware(Newark-Bear area)?

Thank you guys in advance!

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[NickNaylor]

1) This is going to vary from individual to individual. It took me about 1.5-2 hours to go through one EK lecture.

2) I thought EK bio did a good job of representing the real test well. The questions are little more detailed than what the MCAT asks IMO (i.e., the MCAT is focused more on general concepts - although you DO need to memorize all the minutia - while the EK questions emphasize the minutia).

3) If you are disciplined and have enough time to study, then I wouldn't put it off. Again, this is dependent upon you as a person. I did MCAT studying while taking 15 hours and doing all of my ECs, but it seems most people take time off and dedicate their efforts solely to studying. This is very person-dependent.

4) I know it sounds lame, but the only recommendation I have is talking to a counselor about your anxiety. I didn't have that problem so I can't really relate - maybe another user can offer some better advice.

Best of luck!

 

[wendiehime]

Thank you for your advice. Yes, that's about the time I took to read through an EK lecture. Problem solving and checking answers took me a big chunk of time, so if that's the case, I'm not particularly too slow.

I don't know if I'm disciplined or not. well not that I'm not, but Christmas/Thanksgiving type of things are coming up... lol But like you said, if a person puts the will toward it... why not? Thanks for your input.

I might delay it if my score doesn't improve to the point I want or somewhere close until December/January borderline.

Also, kudos on your great work(I checked your MDapplicant profile)- that's so cool!!!! I hope to be successful like that in next cycle.

... so more study for me. lol

Thanks again!