some studying questions

[jwalker12]

Hey everyone just had a few questions before I begin studying for my Mcats. I will be taking them in January so my first question is what is a good amount of time to dedicate for this exam every week. My second question is do you think it is wise to do one subject at a time. For example finish chem then move onto physics. Or should I do a little bit of each subject every week so that it all stays fresh in my head. Thanks sorry if this question has been answered.

Thanks in advance

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[AWhitehair]

Everyone is different, but I would definitely suggest reviewing the subjects at the same time.

I will be studying about 2-3 hours a day for the first month or so, and then maybe 3-4 through mid Dec. After that I will drop it back down again, with the time consuming days being on test days.

 

[futuredoctor10]

Yeah I think doing all subjects at the same time is much more efficient and makes studying more random (as far as content) and less boring in my opinion.

 

[silverlion]

I just took the MCAT on the 3rd of september and am hoping that I get something above 31. having said that we all know that the score is not easy to predict and the expectation of 32 could easily spiral down into a real score of 28...

I'll probably take it again in January or April if the score isnt good...Now I'm thinking if that happens to be the case then how should i start studying....The thing that keeps coming to mind is the lack of practice of the PS and verbal sections...I have the theory for most of the sciences down and will only revisit chapters now and then to brush up on stuff that fell out of memory but for the most part I'm going to focus on questions ...

I think the best way for you to study at the moment with almost 5 months in hand is to spend the next two months reading the theory/concepts behind the sciences and practice some verbal now and then...After two months start practicing as much as you can...I think this is something that people keep stressing but it has never been overrated....Practice does make prefect...concepts that seem to be simple while reading get true meaning when they have been applied in a problem...and once you do that ten times for a concept its hard to forget it...I think I did ok on the 3rd and hope and pray that I would get a decent score so that I wouldnt have to repeat it...But if it does come down to retaking the test then i will go ballistic on question...

For someone who has 5 months to prepare I'd say 1-2 hours a day will be great...Just make those hours really meaningful...and sometimes if you feel like you are really enjoying the fact that youre learning something or getting the hang of a concept then dont hang your boots but go on for an extra hour or two so that you can really nail it...Do not segregate topics ...instead make sure that you touch everything once a week...also try to relate certain concepts from one subject to the other....like electrostatics, electricity and redox reactions and electrochemistry and then neural systems in biology....Some people might think that its a bit lame to go about doing it this way but I think it would work for most as there are always a few things that make more sense when the big picture comes through...

 

[silverlion]

As AWhitehair said "everyone is diferent" and its been suggested in his post that you spend 2-3 hours at first and then 3-4 hours every day later....as opposed to the 1-2 hours I've suggested....

I think fixing the amount of time you study becomes a real limiting factor in your performance....study as much as you can...and by that I mean study within a schedule that doesnt depress you....You will always have to make occasional sacrifices and skip some parties etc to study but it doesnt mean that you stop having fun....5 months in my opinion is a LOT of time to prepare for ANYONE....so make the best use of the time by deciding what works for you the best...I know someone who has scored a 35 and has declared that his key to success was that he read all of the subjects/topics 4 times...ad gave a couple of practice exams...that worked for him and maybe it would for you if you decide to do that in 5 months.

 

[Michael845]

Definitely check out the 30+ thread. I used it before planning my self-study and am really happy with all the advice and support I got, and my end result was even better than I'd been hoping for.

I found Vihsada's MCAT post in that thread extremely helpful.

In terms of time, I budgeted out ~350 hours and felt that was a good amount--for me. I had just finished orgo that semester, but definitely needed serious work on the other 3 science subjects. I did study one at a time, partly because for me it kept me motivated to be able to "check things off" rather than be part-way through a bunch of different subjects. GOOD LUCK