Studying one year in advance for the MCAT -- Will it help?

[artvandelay786]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I'm thinking of studying for the MCAT right now and I will be taking it in a year. Is this a good idea? I was thinking of going through EK and BR several times to make sure I really have the material down cold. If you're wondering why I'm so interested it is because I want to make a 35+ for my dream school.

Is this feasible?

Thanks.

 

[shaboobly]

yes

 

[rjosh33]

I don't understand why you're leaving the importing/exporting industry...

 

[V5RED]

If I spent a year prepping for the MCAT I would lose my f**king mind.

You will probably be ready for the MCAT within a few months of beginning any serious prep, so why spend another 9 months studying stuff you already know over and over?

 

[artvandelay786]

I don't understand why you're leaving the importing/exporting industry...

Yeah, I really just want to be an architect.

 

[vashka]

Yeah, I really just want to be an architect.

LOL. In reply, studying for 1yr depends on where you are right now with your level of understanding. I think old nontrads like me should study for 1yr because it takes that long to catch up. But if you are in college or just finished, you should be good for 4mths. I started studying forever ago and I've made the most advancement in these past 2mths before my test. Diffuse studying is not always the most efficient way.

 

[deleted113029]

I'm thinking of studying for the MCAT right now and I will be taking it in a year. Is this a good idea? I was thinking of going through EK and BR several times to make sure I really have the material down cold. If you're wondering why I'm so interested it is because I want to make a 35+ for my dream school.

Is this feasible?

Thanks.

depends on what your starting point is. if your initial score (e.g. Kaplan practice exam) is around a 31/32 then a 35+ is realistic. otherwise, i don't think it'll happen.

you will most likely have to be masochistic and love learning in order to study for 1 year. if this does not describe you, then 3-4 months of part-time studying would be better for you. if you consider yourself a studying machine, here's something to chew on. the more you study, the more you will forget what you learned several weeks prior. this may become frustrating and negatively impact your confidence.

regardless, best of luck in your preparation and getting into your dream school.

 

[artvandelay786]

depends on what your starting point is. if your initial score (e.g. Kaplan practice exam) is around a 31/32 then a 35+ is realistic. otherwise, i don't think it'll happen.

you will most likely have to be masochistic and love learning in order to study for 1 year. if this does not describe you, then 3-4 months of part-time studying would be better for you. if you consider yourself a studying machine, here's something to chew on. the more you study, the more you will forget what you learned several weeks prior. this may become frustrating and negatively impact your confidence.

regardless, best of luck in your preparation and getting into your dream school.

Thanks. Do you believe that studying so early in advance will cement the material in my *long-term memory* and make me understand the material, perhaps more deeply? Just curious as I am considering taking less credit hours and studying the MCAT sciences for the next two semesters.

 

[osprey099]

Thanks. Do you believe that studying so early in advance will cement the material in my *long-term memory* and make me understand the material, perhaps more deeply? Just curious as I am considering taking less credit hours and studying the MCAT sciences for the next two semesters.

The only thing studying that long for the MCAT will do is hurt your GPA

 

[BABSstudent]

If I spent a year prepping for the MCAT I would lose my f**king mind.

You will probably be ready for the MCAT within a few months of beginning any serious prep, so why spend another 9 months studying stuff you already know over and over?

So true. I studied in 2011 for the MCAT and got a 28. That was with three months of studying. This year I retook and studied for two months and got a 32. I was so burned out after a month of studying the second time. I couldn't image studying a whole year for the stupid test.

 

[deleted113029]

Thanks. Do you believe that studying so early in advance will cement the material in my *long-term memory* and make me understand the material, perhaps more deeply? Just curious as I am considering taking less credit hours and studying the MCAT sciences for the next two semesters.

speaking from experience, you will NEVER forget your strengths so long as you brush up on them every now and then. as for your weaknesses, the only way to convert them into strengths is understanding how your strengths became your strengths. one of the ways this can be done is by genuinely understanding why the information is important in life, not just for an exam. although time is important, your studying approach is more so. if you focus on scores, you limit your potential. if you focus on learning, you will live up to your potential and scores will follow naturally.

one word of caution about taking less credit hours for MCAT studying. it should not be noticeable (>2 credits) to admission committees as they will question why you carried a lighter load. The answer to that question is not studying for the MCAT.

 

[titleist975j]

the BEST thing you can do to improve your MCAT score 1 yr in advance is to really focus on your pre rec courses and do well in them

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

depends on what your starting point is. if your initial score (e.g. Kaplan practice exam) is around a 31/32 then a 35+ is realistic. otherwise, i don't think it'll happen.

you will most likely have to be masochistic and love learning in order to study for 1 year. if this does not describe you, then 3-4 months of part-time studying would be better for you. if you consider yourself a studying machine, here's something to chew on. the more you study, the more you will forget what you learned several weeks prior. this may become frustrating and negatively impact your confidence.

regardless, best of luck in your preparation and getting into your dream school.

When I started studying for the MCAT I barely remembered anything. I didn't bother taking a diagnostic so I don't know where I was at, but I'm sure it would have been much less than a 25. Six months later and my practice test average is around 34-35, and my most recent AAMCs have been 36 and 37 in that order. So it's definitely possible. And really, if you're making a 31/32 on your freaking diagnostic that's more of a sign you're destined for a 40+, not a 35 like the puny mortals taking the test with you.

Anyway, this test can either be a marathon or a sprint, your choice. Most SDNers seem to view it as a sprint, something you put a ton of energy into for a short period of time. You can, however, take the other approach: put in a small amount of energy over a long period of time. For a non-trad the latter is more realistic than the former since a non-trad likely has to work to eat and thus can't be spending 5-8 hours a day studying like a kid devoting their summer break to the MCAT.j

 

[ToldYouSo]

I'm 2 months into SN2's schedule and I'm already forgetting the nitty gritty details of the stuff I started 1 month ago. If you can't help yourself I'd probably just casually read for that year and 3 months before your test date start actually studying and doing problems.

With a year you'd probably be better off subscribing to the NYT and reading it everyday, as the verbal portion is much harder to improve on than the other sections, IMO.

 

[rkmauria]

Yeah, I really just want to be an architect.

I thought you wanted to be a latex salesman?!

 

[artvandelay786]

I thought you wanted to be a latex salesman?!

Vandelay Industries IPO soon!

 

[NeuroSpeare]

No. A year of study, even for the non-trad, is suicide. For the average student, a strong score (notice, I don't say a 35+) is very possible with 3-4 months of study.

Content review is essential; however, timing and answering strategies is the real secret to scoring well.

 

[dmf2682]

No. A year of study, even for the non-trad, is suicide. For the average student, a strong score (notice, I don't say a 35+) is very possible with 3-4 months of study.

Content review is essential; however, timing and answering strategies is the real secret to scoring well.

Maybe if you study 5-6 hours per day it's silly, but I've been listening to ek osmosis in the car on and off for six months, and starting content review 1-1 1/2 hours a day, in advance of a January exam. Haven't gone crazy or killed myself yet, so I'd say if you stick with low levels you're OK.

 

[Doctor246853]

I'm thinking of studying for the MCAT right now and I will be taking it in a year. Is this a good idea? I was thinking of going through EK and BR several times to make sure I really have the material down cold. If you're wondering why I'm so interested it is because I want to make a 35+ for my dream school.

Is this feasible?

Thanks.

Well...thats what I did.

 

[NeuroSpeare]

Maybe if you study 5-6 hours per day it's silly, but I've been listening to ek osmosis in the car on and off for six months, and starting content review 1-1 1/2 hours a day, in advance of a January exam. Haven't gone crazy or killed myself yet, so I'd say if you stick with low levels you're OK.

Kudos to you. If you have the willpower to consistently put in an hour a day for half a year, by all means, go for it. You'll be a content master.

However, content is only the foundation. Success on the MCAT is bred from many, many, many timed practice tests. Your timing, your comprehension/reasoning abilities, and simple test taking skills (POE!) are the real name of the game. Spreading out this prep over a year will exhaust your resources (there are only so many practice passages out there). Not to mention, you'll forget plenty of what you learned.

I strongly reccomend SN2ed's strategy for anyone prepping for the MCAT. It helped me score very well.

 

[dmf2682]

Kudos to you. If you have the willpower to consistently put in an hour a day for half a year, by all means, go for it. You'll be a content master.

However, content is only the foundation. Success on the MCAT is bred from many, many, many timed practice tests. Your timing, your comprehension/reasoning abilities, and simple test taking skills (POE!) are the real name of the game. Spreading out this prep over a year will exhaust your resources (there are only so many practice passages out there). Not to mention, you'll forget plenty of what you learned.

I strongly reccomend SN2ed's strategy for anyone prepping for the MCAT. It helped me score very well.

All well and good for a traditional premed, but if you've a job, mortgage, family to take care of on top of classes and volunteering, it's not unreasonable. I agree content is only half the battle, but it's not like I'm going through an aamc every two days either. Without looking at my excel sheet I believe I'm at a q7 schedule for about 4 months with lots of postgame and review in between. The plan is to use all the aamcs plus gs, with LSAT rc to supplement vr if necessary.

 

[Charles Darwin]

Well...thats what I did.

And how'd that turn out for you?

 

[Doctor246853]

and how'd that turn out for you?

38q

 

[artvandelay786]

38q

How exactly did you study? Did you go through prep books several times then do practice tests?

 

[Doctor246853]

How exactly did you study? Did you go through prep books several times then do practice tests?

Took practice test to see where I stood
Took prep class
Took multiple test with real time simulation
Focused on weak areas
Took prep class again
I also learned how to take the "mcat" and not just a "test".
This may not be a good way to go about preparing though. It was expensive and maybe was overkill. My research lab member took a two month prep class (princeton) and made a 37M.

 

[ur2l8]

Make sure to commit your topics to long term memory, understand the concepts, and study your material. I started 9 mos out, ended up with a 39 and pretty much only did practice tests and questions the last 2 months since content wise I was golden. Actually the last 3 months were hell, I just wanted to take the stupid thing. Id say 6 months would have been optimum looking back, maybe 5.5 really if my uncle hadnt passed away

 

[miringains]

Do not! Focus on your classes, with lots of focus. In first year I slacked, crammed the day before the tests but still ended up with decent grades. However I understood absolutely nothing. Second year I payed a lot of attention in class.


When I started studying for my MCAT I found that

first year bio, chem, physics was all a blur

Organic chem, Microbi, and Biochem required next to 0 effort to study/review


If you want, do some verbal practice but I would really suggest against studying that long... I've been studying for 2.5 months and I want to kill myself

 

[Doctor246853]

Make sure to commit your topics to long term memory, understand the concepts, and study your material. I started 9 mos out, ended up with a 39 and pretty much only did practice tests and questions the last 2 months since content wise I was golden. Actually the last 3 months were hell, I just wanted to take the stupid thing. Id say 6 months would have been optimum looking back, maybe 5.5 really if my uncle hadnt passed away

This.

 

[artvandelay786]

Make sure to commit your topics to long term memory, understand the concepts, and study your material. I started 9 mos out, ended up with a 39 and pretty much only did practice tests and questions the last 2 months since content wise I was golden. Actually the last 3 months were hell, I just wanted to take the stupid thing. Id say 6 months would have been optimum looking back, maybe 5.5 really if my uncle hadnt passed away

Very interesting. Did you essentially just review the prep books or were you taking classes at all for the content? Great scores, anyhow!

 

[artvandelay786]

Do not! Focus on your classes, with lots of focus. In first year I slacked, crammed the day before the tests but still ended up with decent grades. However I understood absolutely nothing. Second year I payed a lot of attention in class.


When I started studying for my MCAT I found that

first year bio, chem, physics was all a blur

Organic chem, Microbi, and Biochem required next to 0 effort to study/review


If you want, do some verbal practice but I would really suggest against studying that long... I've been studying for 2.5 months and I want to kill myself

I know what you mean -- I'm hoping to take less classes so that I can study for the MCAT so let's hope I can concentrate on both decently!

 

[artvandelay786]

Very interesting. Did you essentially just review the prep books or were you taking classes at all for the content? Great scores, anyhow!

By the way, Lebron, nice scores!