How crazy does it sound to review for the MCAT mainly doing questions/practice exams versus "reviewing" material in MCAT prep books? I know from my own learning experience how easy it is for me to review topics out of a book and think I understand it, only to have questions put in front of me and I realize I have no true understanding. I know there are benefits of reviewing the material before jumping into questions, because how can I answer questions if I have no idea what they're talking about, but I also fear wasting a lot of time passively reading information that won't stick anyway when I could be doing questions.
I feel like I would benefit from 85% practice questions/exams and 15% content review but I want to hear what people who have studied for and have taken the test think. What was your experience and what would you change in how you studied? Are there any resources you can recommend? Thanks!
It's an
AWESOME idea. Studying based on passages is exactly what everyone studying for the MCAT should be doing. Most people feel the need to 'review' beforehand, because reading text is what they did for college classes and it gives them a sense of knowing the material. However, it is often a false sense of security that results from excessive reading. Reading is a passive way to absorb information and any cognitive psychologist will tell you that it doesn't result in optimal learning. What you are proposing to do is a perfect way to prepare.
Be aware that along the way you will hit some frustration points and will have to go back and fill in some blanks. But that information will stick much better than it would have if you read it without having done questions on it.
To get the most from your approach, you'll need to split your passages into three phases. (Your MCAT books may already have 15-20 passages per chapter broken into three phases for you.) The first phase is for exposure to the material (don't worry about timing), the second phase is for timing and practicing test-taking skills, and the third phase is for perfecting your approach using the most realistic passages you have in your arsenal.
Once you do three passes through practice passages (the three different phases of practice), and have thoroughly reviewed the answers for each analyzing what makes the best answer best as well as what makes thew wrong answers wrong, then you attack the AAMC materials and any FLs you choose to do.
What you describe is what we try to get every one of our classroom students to do. We encourage them to omit reading unless they absolutely need it for a section. You can always go back to read what you need.
Good luck with your method and if you have any questions at all, PM me. For over twenty years we have been advocating exactly what you are suggesting, so please reach out if you have any questions, because I have worked with literally thousands of students who took your suggested approach. It works!!!
