Super SCARED

[700003]

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[brood910]

Dont worry about PS and BS for now. They will come back to you once you start studying.

Are you good with understanding convoluted journals? If not, start reading some for VR.

 

[700003]

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[Cmdr_Shepard]

I'm not sure you can choose the wrong ones.

The big thing with practicing for VR if you're reading journals is to keep the articles fairly short (no long New Yorker articles), and try to practice determining the theme of the article, the tone of the author and even what you think the author's personality is.

 

[brood910]

For VR, I was planning to do five passages once a week starting now. Of course, my full preparation for VR would take place during the summer. I just feel like there are too many journals and stuff to read for VR. What if I choose the wrong ones? Hence, I figured the best way would be to start doing passages and get used to the mcat style. What do u think?

You are gonna waste verbal passages if you do that.
If you really wanna do that, read Kaplan VR passages. Kaplan VR questions suck cow balls, but their passages are good enough to practice finding main idea, etc.

 

[Cmdr_Shepard]

Gangnam Style is right.

 

[Goro]

Khan Academy?

I am planning to take the MCAT in September of this year and will start studying right after spring semester Ideally, I should have three full months to study hard-core (June, July, August) and a couple of weeks in May.

Now, I know that most people will say that this is good enough time to devote to studying but I have a major concern!

I feel like I have absolutely forgotten my Gen. Chem. and Gen. Bio. and Physics I content!!!!

I should be good with Organic and Physics 2 content since I will be taking them this spring, but I am VERY scared about the rest. Even though I did them a year ago (I am a sophomore now), I didn't fully understand it back then and didn't get A's in those classes (I got all B+ and one B-).

What do you all suggest? Can I forget about them for now and practically kinda of "re-learn" them over the summer? In order to do this, would you suggest re-reading all my textbook chapters in those areas OR only reading the MCAT material in those areas and answering questions? OR would getting a private tutor over the summer help me learn and be prepared in time for the MCAT?

Obviously, I can't simultaneously learn them over the spring semester because that would srsly jeopardize my GPA (I am taking 20 credits this semester...I have to, in order to graduate on time).

Help please? Suggestions from adcoms would be highly appreciated as well @Goro @LizzyM @gyngyn!

 

[Reckoner]

You are gonna waste verbal passages if you do that.
If you really wanna do that, read Kaplan VR passages. Kaplan VR questions suck cow balls, but their passages are good enough to practice finding main idea, etc.

Agree with this. I would recommend waiting until the summer to start your verbal review, and then doing multiple passages every day. Five passages once a week is going to have negligible impact on your score in my experience. If you feel like you absolutely must do verbal now, do something like two passages on Tuesdays, two on Thursdays, and one on Saturdays to keep yourself engaged throughout the week. Spend at least as much time reviewing in the "off" days as you spent doing the passages.


But really you should just wait until summer.

 

[MTme]

I had similar concerns prior to studying for my MCAT last summer. I think you will have plenty of time to study everything you need for the exam. Most of the content came back to me very quickly. I also used Kaplan which organizes the info well.

 

[jeghaber]

I'll put a plug in for ExamKrackers (EK) and The Princeton Review (TPR) for the sciences. I thought they had just the right amount of content review. I did however supplement with select chapters from The Berkeley Review (TBR) for topics with which I was less familiar. For verbal, I used EK 101 and TPR passages, which I got from a friend who took the course (not available for sale, as far a I know).

But it comes down to personal preference and how many sets of books you're willing to spring for. In all reality any of the three main review series (Kaplan, TPR, EK+EK Verbal 101) along with TBR for weaker subjects will likely be more than enough.

OP, you have plenty of time until your exam. Focus on your classes this semester and keep to a schedule over be summer and you'll be fine. One last tip: don't be afraid to take practice exams -- getting used to the format is half the game and delaying it out of fear of a low score doesn't help much.

 

[700003]

You are gonna waste verbal passages if you do that.
If you really wanna do that, read Kaplan VR passages. Kaplan VR questions suck cow balls, but their passages are good enough to practice finding main idea, etc.

What do you mean "I will waste passages?" Do you mean I shouldn't repeat VR passages? Like if I did it once now and then again over the summer? i don't get it...i thought more VR = more practice

 

[700003]

Agree with this. I would recommend waiting until the summer to start your verbal review, and then doing multiple passages every day. Five passages once a week is going to have negligible impact on your score in my experience. If you feel like you absolutely must do verbal now, do something like two passages on Tuesdays, two on Thursdays, and one on Saturdays to keep yourself engaged throughout the week. Spend at least as much time reviewing in the "off" days as you spent doing the passages.


But really you should just wait until summer.

I think I should start VR now =( anything that will make me less scared...because I feel like I am doing nothing to overcome it! Could you please elaborate on what I should do to review in the "off" days?

 

[700003]

Huh, I didn't think Khan Academy would have explanations for all the topics in gen. chem, bio etc. but thanks! I will look into it. Also, would you suggest re-reading my old gen. chem, gen. bio textbooks over this semester to "understand content" or should I go straight for the MCAT science review books (I was thinking of buying all the TPR books and starting to read them one by one) and supplement the things I don't understand with Khan Academy? Of course, I would do the practice questions over the summer...right now, I just want to make sure my understanding of science is clear.

The reason I ask this is because I'm wondering if my textbook would have more info. than necessary for the MCAT...I don't want to waste my energy re-learning things I don't need to know.[/quote]

 

[700003]

Khan Academy?

Huh, I didn't think Khan Academy would have explanations for all the topics in gen. chem, bio etc. but thanks! I will look into it. Also, would you suggest re-reading my old gen. chem, gen. bio textbooks over this semester to "understand content" or should I go straight for the MCAT science review books (I was thinking of buying all the TPR books and starting to read them one by one) and supplement the things I don't understand with Khan Academy? Of course, I would do the practice questions over the summer...right now, I just want to make sure my understanding of science is clear.

The reason I ask this is because I'm wondering if my textbook would have more info. than necessary for the MCAT...I don't want to waste my energy re-learning things I don't need to know.[/quote]

 

[Goro]

I can't help much more, other than stating my firm belief that the more practice questions you take, the better. That way, you find deficits in your knowledge base.

Huh, I didn't think Khan Academy would have explanations for all the topics in gen. chem, bio etc. but thanks! I will look into it. Also, would you suggest re-reading my old gen. chem, gen. bio textbooks over this semester to "understand content" or should I go straight for the MCAT science review books (I was thinking of buying all the TPR books and starting to read them one by one) and supplement the things I don't understand with Khan Academy? Of course, I would do the practice questions over the summer...right now, I just want to make sure my understanding of science is clear.

The reason I ask this is because I'm wondering if my textbook would have more info. than necessary for the MCAT...I don't want to waste my energy re-learning things I don't need to know.

[/quote]

 

[Bluepanda87]

I think many of us have felt that way, in the premedical years as well as in medical school ("I feel so dumb, I've forgotten so much more than all of my classmates, etc.") I know I worried about it so much I had basically convinced myself I was brain dead in comparison to my peers, and doomed. But the thing is, most of those "smarter genius people" felt the same way! In hindsight, I was in as good a place as anyone, and though it worked out, I honestly think I would have done better if I hadn't spent so much time stressing about not being up to par. It's a very scary time (I'm just now getting into Step 1 studying, so I feel you!) but try telling yourself everyday that you can do this, don't allow yourself to worry about others or how much you've forgotten, and try to channel that into working your ass off. The people above me have added some awesome study tips, so I don't have much to add. You can do it, and if you need someone to vent to, feel free to pm me! Good luck! 🙂

 

[DrCharlemagne]

What do you mean "I will waste passages?" Do you mean I shouldn't repeat VR passages? Like if I did it once now and then again over the summer? i don't get it...i thought more VR = more practice

Yes, more practice is recommended, but bear in mind what you're practicing. If you re-read passages, you're practicing re-hashing material you've seen before. Even if it's months prior, you will have still read and thought about that material. You will not have such experience with the VR passages on the MCAT. Follow the good advice of others in this thread to find medium-to-short articles in quality publications (I also think the NEJM perspectives and editorials are good practice) and practice gleaning information from content you've never seen before.

 

[Reckoner]

I think I should start VR now =( anything that will make me less scared...because I feel like I am doing nothing to overcome it! Could you please elaborate on what I should do to review in the "off" days?

You should review every passage and every question. Start by rereading the passage and asking yourself what the author's overall point was. Next check each answer. Regardless of whether you got the question right or wrong, focus on what information you used to answer the question. Try to review your thought process while answering questions. As you review, look for patterns. Is there a particular question type you miss consistently? What about a type you always get right? Try to figure out why. If you're always getting questions about the author's attitude wrong, for example, you might be trying too hard to memorize every detail of the passage and not focusing enough on the overall tone.

 

[Mad Jack]

I'm not sure you can choose the wrong ones.

The big thing with practicing for VR if you're reading journals is to keep the articles fairly short (no long New Yorker articles), and try to practice determining the theme of the article, the tone of the author and even what you think the author's personality is.

I think any reading will help. If you can focus through a meandering Atlantic or New Yorker article, a 5 paragraph easy is child's play.


I would very much avoid entirely studying for VR using scientific journals. Only one of my passages was science based, the rest were arts or humanities that were written as critical or opinion pieces.

The most critical thing in VR is being able think objectively about the author's point of view from their perspective. A lot of passages will have trap answers that correspond closely with what a person in the general public might think about a given topic, but are completely out of line with what the author is thinking. These answers are designed to make the biases of test takers work against them. Try reading material you disagree with, then writing out a paragraph describing what the author was thinking and what they used to back up that train of thought.

 

[mehc012]

What do you mean "I will waste passages?" Do you mean I shouldn't repeat VR passages? Like if I did it once now and then again over the summer? i don't get it...i thought more VR = more practice

You should NOT reuse VR passages. You will get an inflated score because, whether you think you remember them or not, you are already familiar with them. Thus, it won't really count as practice and may simply make you overconfident. Spend time reviewing them instead.

 

[700003]

You should NOT reuse VR passages. You will get an inflated score because, whether you think you remember them or not, you are already familiar with them. Thus, it won't really count as practice and may simply make you overconfident. Spend time reviewing them instead.

Okay, I understand what you are saying. But I can re-read them right? Is this how I should review? I just won't take them srsly when it comes to practice tests...

However, I was talking more about the practice VR Q's in books like EK 101 Verbal...can I review those by re-doing them? Since it's not a full-length practice test?

 

[700003]

Yes, more practice is recommended, but bear in mind what you're practicing. If you re-read passages, you're practicing re-hashing material you've seen before. Even if it's months prior, you will have still read and thought about that material. You will not have such experience with the VR passages on the MCAT. Follow the good advice of others in this thread to find medium-to-short articles in quality publications (I also think the NEJM perspectives and editorials are good practice) and practice gleaning information from content you've never seen before.

Yeah I see what you are saying. I am thinking that maybe it is better to focus on my courses this semester and study full-fledged for VR in the summer. Meanwhile, I'll definitely try reading articles!

 

[SN12357]

Okay, I understand what you are saying. But I can re-read them right? Is this how I should review? I just won't take them srsly when it comes to practice tests...

However, I was talking more about the practice VR Q's in books like EK 101 Verbal...can I review those by re-doing them? Since it's not a full-length practice test?

Doing well in verbal is about having a good process, not specific content. For this reason reviewing or reusing verbal passages and questions in almost any context is just not useful. When you get verbal questions wrong you should dissect them and figure out why you got them wrong. Then you should move on; it's not like biology where the correct answer is something useful you can remember later. So you should ration your verbal material across your MCAT prep time and not plan on reusing it.