Studying anki cards for a year

[Premed202489]

Hi everyone, one friend of mine made me a question and I really didn't knew what to answer him so since he doesn't use SDN im trying to find an answer to his question. Basically he has an immunocompromised immune system so he cant volunteer anywhere due to covid. He doesn't want to lose this summer sitting at home doing nothing so he told me if it would be a good idea for him to study the kaplan mcat biology/ psychology books in this summer and make anki cards from them. He will then continue to study the cards until next summer in which he will take the mcat. He hasn't taken organic chemistry or physics yet thats why he will only study for bio and psy. I dont know if this is a good idea since he will dominate the content if keep reviewing the cards through the semesters or will it be a waste of time? Thanks.

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[Blueprint Med School]

While I don't think it will be a waste of time, I don't know if it would be the most efficient use of his time during the school year. Almost nobody studies for the MCAT a whole year in advance just because it's hard to remain consistent or find the motivation to study for an exam that's a year out. If he really wants to, I would suggest making the Anki cards now while he has more time, but I don't think he needs to start reviewing them until no earlier than 6 months before, and even that's reaaally early.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[GreenDuck12]

Going through Khan Academy could be a useful endeavor. Your friend could go through the videos and review classes they have already completed or better yet, preview what they will be expected to learn in physics and organic chemistry. There are several hundred hours of review videos for the MCAT that your friend could use to review and make flashcards, and free passages they can use to practice their applying knowledge.

 

[hungrydoc710]

The longer period of time you use anki - AND KEEP UP WITH DAILY REVIEWS - the better.

That being said, is there is entirely comprehensive deck for the MCAT?
I use a good bit of zanki now for boards, if there's something like that for MCAT, then yes do that for 1 year and then start doing questions/exams with 4 months to go until test date.

 

[Premed202489]

Thank you all for your advices. In regard to this,

is there is entirely comprehensive deck for the MCAT?

He found a anki deck for all the mcat kaplan books chapters so he will be studying that.

 

[hungrydoc710]

Thank you all for your advices. In regard to this,

He found a anki deck for all the mcat kaplan books chapters so he will be studying that.

How big is the deck? How long will it take to mature?
Anki every day for a year may cause burn out, not sure it needs to be started so far in advance.

 

[Premed202489]

The deck has approximately 2,500 cards (this include the bio and psy sections of the test).

 

[hungrydoc710]

The deck has approximately 2,500 cards (this include the bio and psy sections of the test).

Lol that's nothing - the boards zanki deck is 33K.
I would def do it although I can't imagine that being entirely comprehensive.

 

[Premed202489]

33k damn!! how do you guys keep up with your daily reviews with so many cards. Do you study a lot of cards a day or are there some light days and some rough ones?

 

[hungrydoc710]

33k damn!! how do you guys keep up with your daily reviews with so many cards. Do you study a lot of cards a day or are there some light days and some rough ones?

I may be an outlier but I don't think Zanki is the best for pathology. So I use a different deck for that and anatomy, but I use parts of zanki that work well for me (micro, bchem, pharm, msk). My card count is closer to 18K.

If you're serious about getting a surgical or academic IM residency you just grind out every damn day of year 2.
500 card reviews, content review, 2-3 blocks of questions + review, etc.

But that;s med school. Done in a month... until Step 2 that is.