If i can give my two cents about the MCAT and how I studied. First of all, I only started studying for 3 weeks prior to the test dates and managed to get a 33. I didnt take the Kaplan course or anything but I did purchase the Kaplan book. The first thing I did was go through every page of that book and make notes about things I was unclear on or equations I did not know. This took about 4-5 days. I then took those sheets (closed the kaplan book forever ) that I made and went over and over them until the information had just been melted into my brain, which took another 4-5 days. Then I went online and purchased every single one of the practice tests that were available (I think theres something like 7 of them) It also might be helpful to take one of them before any studying so you get an idea of what to look for. Then spend the rest of your days taking all of those practice tests, trying to keep yourself within the correct times.
The main thing you'll find about the MCAT is that a large large majority of the answers are hidden directly in the passages if you are able to read them and completely understand the question. Although there is definately a need for memorization of the basic principles and formulas of physics and chemistry, as long as you know these you should be able to deduce the answer. Remember that the test is multiple choice so you dont always have to spend all of your time calculating the exact answer, just enough time to eliminate the other possibilities. If theres a none of the above then you'll have to do the whole problem. After each test, grade and record your score, then go back to the test and see each question you missed and restudy that area. You will find spots where you answered a question wrong but you know you knew the answer, dont worry about that, its just something that is bound to happen in a test as long and intensive as the MCAT. When you take the real MCAT you can go back and check your work (as long as you leave yourself enough time)
To be honest, while taking the MCAT I probably had to use some sort of formula about once per section, the rest of it can be done if you can properly extract the information from the passage. However, this is not an easy task and I've always been lucky that I have always tested this way well. If you cant test the same way, just make sure you take EVERY practice test available...you truly will start to see a pattern develop and you'll do much better at identifying and extracting the information. This same strategy is going to be used for the verbal reasoning section also.
I have seen many people study while making notecards. For me these are great for strict memorization but I truly beleive that the MCAT has very little to do with memorization. Btw, I also took my first practice test while I was a sophmore even though I didnt have most of my pre-reqs. I think its a great thing to do because as you learn the information in your classes you'll recognize that it was on the MCAT and you should make sure you understand that concept. Also taking the test that early and scoring it gives you an idea of just how early you need to start studying for the actual MCAT. I got a 26 as a sophmore so I figured 3 weeks would be enough study time to get a solid grade. If you take it and get a 12 then you better start studying for it months and months ahead of time.
I'm definately not an expert on this subject but this is what worked for me, if you give it a try I think it will be able to help you too. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THE kAPLAN COURSE!!!
I was the same way about sailing through classes...actually I probably only went to about 20 percent of them. Missing class is fine if you cna keep your grades up too. My 3.47 gpa even with a 33MCAT has made it difficult for me to get into medical school. Hope this helps you a bit and is not to confusingly written. G'luck with it!, you've got plenty of time
