Study Strategy

[Cerberus]

For you guys not taking a class, how do you plan on studying? My plan has basically been to break it up into blocks
i.e.
Dec: Physical Science Review
Jan: BioScience review
Feb: Verbal studying
March: All around review
April: Practice tests out the wazoo

But I wanted to see how you guys are going to do this so maybe I can get some ideas to make my studying more effective

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[EarlyEditionDude]

I did this when I was preparing the MCATs:

Dec. Listen to all AO discs

Jan. Read the entire Kaplan Big Red Book

Feb. Listen to AO and re-read Kaplan; Practiced on AAMC/Kaplan exams

March More exams and ONLY listened to the AO discs.

April. NOTHING

I did the exact same thing when I re-took the MCAT in August. I was able to increase my score by 2 whole points.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I'm taking a prep course (Berkeley Review), but it doesn't start until January. I started studying today. I bought a Kaplan comprehensive review book and I'm going to work through it during winter break (probably 2-3 hours a day). I'm starting with the bio section.

 

[belljar]

i suggest againts working out each section a month. Let's say you do all of the bio in january. You don't want to be peaking then for that section of the test. Instead, you should read a chapter, for example of each section of the exam, rotating to cover things at a pace where you end up constantly reviewing each section.

 

[bigdan]

C-
I'm stating the obvious, but everyone's gonna have his/her own method that is "the best". I don't disagree with your plan; I'm doing something very close to that, but I'm trying to blend in SOME of the other two sections with each major block - for example, Dec has been for Bio; I've also gone through the first EK lecture on gen chem, and I'm listening to AO Physics in the car. I am deathly afraid of "peaking" early, so I'm gonna try to keep my hands in all three...it's gonna be all three on test day, so I hope this works...

dc

 

[ornis4]

I wouldn't break it up by month, but my approach is going to be like a repeating sequence. Maybe a week on each section and keep repeating that routine...and practice tests here and there.

 

[Boyu]

I am a second year Biomed engineering student. Because of that I have an extra year to prepare for MCAT. so here is my plan:

Daily Plan:
30min writing exercise
1 Hour reading news
1 Hour Reviewing (MCAT books, and old lecture)
30min practice problems
1 Hour building vocabulary
30min making plans for next day

Weekly Plan:
Review what was learned in that week.
Take a full practice exam every week.
Summarize your weakness.
Make plan for next week.

Big Picture:
Finish EK complete package this year.
Do nothing but practice problem next year.
Start Kaplan half year before MCAT
Finish two full practice exams one day before MCAT

Like said above I believe reviewing consistently with a lot practice is the key to success for all exams.

Also most important of all always follow your plan!!!

Here is my plan, please make any suggestions!

 

[toxin]

I dont thik you guys should worry about peaking that much....two weeks before the exam just go back and look through all the material (ex. EK set, Kaplan book) review it and you will be ok. Bottom line is MCAT is not really a test of recalling info so once you are presented with a problem in the exam they will give you sufficent info to be able to figure it out. So, if you have read the stuff before you WILL recall it therefore worrying about peaking shouldnt be a big problem, I am worried about finishing up all the material since I have not had those classes in a long time. My 2 cents

 

[Boyu]

Here is what I am ganna do:

I am going to summarize all review books and my old lecture notes and make a review book of my own...

Hopefully this method will work.

Any idea. Please keep coming

 

[DSM]

I was advised that when you take your practice mcat exams to review your answers and take the time to look up all wrong answers and figure out why the answers were wrong. Time consuming......yes, but hopefully it will pay off

 

[JohnHolmes]

for you it seems like the best bang for the buck is the 2004 Kaplan book. Get your hands on all of hte AAMC practice exams

www.e-mcat.com

They are worth the money and should be taken (all). It is the best resource!

 

[MeowMix]

Originally posted by Boyu
Here is what I am ganna do:

I am going to summarize all review books and my old lecture notes and make a review book of my own...

Hopefully this method will work.

Any idea. Please keep coming

This will take forever and I am not sure it will be productive. Much of your time over the next year or so could be put to better use through community service or other character-building activities (like being outdoors and having fun).

I used both Examkrackers and the Kaplan course materials (studied each topic in both books at the same time); worked through every practice problem in the books and a bunch of extra Kaplan practice tests (but not all; not enough time, and not very good tests); completed 10 full-length practice tests (4 AAMC, 1 EK, 5 K). I studied about 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 3 months. Yes, I did not have much of a life last summer. But I am glad I did not try to stretch it out over a year or more; by the end of 3 months, I was ready to be done. I did well on the test.

You can probably do very well simply by following a similar disciplined plan for a few months before the MCAT (how long depends on time since courses and understanding of basic concepts). If you want to start early, start working on verbal (esp if you are a non-native English speaker).

 

[Anka]

Hey,

What I found worked really well for me:

I felt like I didn't know anything when I started, so I began by quickly going through the Kaplan book (when I say quick, I mean I didn't read every page, even, just flipped through, looked at the pictures, etc. It took me about a week). Then I took Kaplan's full length practice exam to see where my weekest subject was. It was Physical sciences, so I carefully went over that in the Kaplan big book for 2 weeks, spent 1 week going through the other sections supperficially, then took another practice test. Then started the last iteration, except with my new week area (I think it was Bio). And so on. By limiting how long I spent reviewing, and forcing myself to go over everything at least once in any three week period, I kept things fresh and forced myself to always work on the hardest thing for me. In the end, I saw all the material at least three times, and some of it much more.

However you decide to go at it, best of luck! It'll all be worth it when you get your scores.

Anka.

 

[Boyu]

Thanks Anka! I like your stratagy a lot