I'm in a sort of similar boat. I graduated in 2012 with a BS Microbio and took the MCAT back then. 27Q (503 today accd to Efle's post here:
Efle's MCAT 2015 to Old MCAT Percentile Comparison/Conversion Tables). Truthfully I had a lot of motivation problems and personal issues.
Fast forward 5 years and I've decided I needed to put myself first for once. I'm about to start prep for the MCAT for a Jan 2018 test date. With the long time period between my prereqs and now, I've decided I need to do a lot of content review.
SN2ed and
KoalaT (I think his name is rather clever) have posted two great threads that I've gone through pretty thoroughly. The
MeVamp Protocol was really interesting as well. Searching for all 3 threads and reading through them, along with the other threads that they link to, would be where I would start.
Here's my plan/summary: (incoming wall of text)
Materials
-If prereqs aren't fresh, you absolutely need
TBR. Buy the
complete set, even the verbal and psych. You have the time for the added materials. Add EK1001 (not the bio, just everything else) or whatever extra discrete/QBanks you like.
-Psych/Soc: Augment with
Khan Academy videos + materials (I read something about a 100page doc) and
TPR.
-Verbal/CARS: EK Verbal 101, TBR, TPR. If you need more, consider LSAT materials.
-Buy the
AAMC bundle pack (reserve for last month of dedicated study).
-AAMC now only offers 2 FLs. I will be adding
NextStep and Altius to offset. Maybe TBR's CBTs if there's time. Don't even look in the general direction of TPR/Kaplan FLs.
-Absolutely look up the
Golden Rule (wrong is wrong, least wrong is best answer; it applies to ALL questions, not just verbal) and
S2Ned's Hat trick. Too many good things written to ignore them.
Timing considerations
-A January test-date means we're 5+ months out. I wouldn't go rigorous right off the bat, you need to get the rust off and build up stamina, especially going into the material cold
-We have time, but we also need to understand there's no way to maintain retention of all this material for longer than 3-4 months. After that, things start to overflow and disappear
-I'll be doing cold-reads every day from now until Sept 16. Today I familiarized myself with the book layouts, making notes of where EK/TPRH/TBR align. Then tomorrow til Sept 16, I'll just be reading through the material. Get used to the terms and wording. I won't even be looking at the practice questions or looking at retention. Just stress-free exposure. Will probably do this in the S2Ned order (subject rotation by chapter).
-I'm going to adapt
SN2ed's 120-day protocol starting Sept 18. Sept 18 to Jan 15 is 17 weeks, 119 days and I'll use Sundays as my break days. The test date will probably be a little later, so it's 120+ days overall. Do 1-3 verbal every day, toss in a Psych/Soc day every rotation. He posted an excel spreadsheet back for the old MCAT, I'd make my own to fit my life.
-Christmas Eve/Day is a Sun/Mon so it won't mess with the schedule too much. If Thanksgiving is a big day in your family, the one day off won't kill you. I think just some CARS practice in the morning will do nicely, so you don't lose your rhythm but you can still be with family later in the day.
Personal Considerations
-Make a list of the people who make demands on your time. S/O, work colleagues, friends, roommates, family. Let them know what you're about to do, and explain ahead of time the demands and importance of the MCAT. Some will get it, some won't, but it will be clear and you don't have to worry later about missing minor commitments (birthday parties, movie nights, random gatherings, etc). The 120-day schedule allows you to attend anything major (weddings, funerals, court dates) without killing your timing.
-I KNOW it is going to be stressful because there's the mentality that "I covered this, I should know this, why don't I remember any of this, this is so frustrating." That's why I'm not looking for understanding or retention, just looking to ease into it at first. The first month will also help set the routine. Wake up at 7, start material at 8, take 10 min meditation breaks every 2 hours, lunch break, exercise break, and dinner break, finish at 8, personal time til 9:30, in bed with eyes closed by 10.
-Make a list of all your distractors and
turn them off. Lock your phone in a drawer, deactivate your FB/SC/IG/Twitter/social media, turn off the internet router. No more SDN once you start your dedicated study period.
-DO make time every day for exercise or physical activity. Now isn't the time to go for PR's in the gym or on your runs though. Think
maintenance. Healthy body, healthy mind. Cut out all alcohol and caffeine. If you're a coffee fiend, the first month will help you detox. Take it a step further with meal prep on your break days.
-Study with earplugs in and headphones without sound/music. Get used to them. You'll use them on the test, so use them now.
-I started to listen to 1-2 podcasts from NPR's Hidden Brain every day. Lots of sociology concepts presented, and the stories help make them memorable.
Test Considerations
-You WILL feel like crap in the 2-3 weeks leading up to the test. That's
normal. You're going to want to cancel. That's
normal.
Don't do it. Take your FLs, and if the AAMC FLs are scoring in your preferred range (505-510+ for most, 515+ for me since I have a gap-half-decade),
push through. If they're abnormally low (<500), try to figure out why. You can always do another 90-day study cycle and test in April, but unless you really didn't follow your sched the first time around, the second cycle won't do you any good.
-1 week before the exam, locate the test center. Go physically into the building. Drive there in the mornings as if you're going to the actual exam so you know the traffic and area and where to park.
-
Do NOTHING test related the day before the exam. You did your work. Several months of it. You need to decompress before the exam. Go watch a movie, relax, get a good night's sleep. No caffeine the day before.
-After your test, absolutely do NOT void unless you significantly screwed up. No matter how horrible you feel, do NOT VOID.
Sorry for the wall of text, but I hope at least some of it will be of use to you or anyone else lurking, too afraid to post. I'm open to questions or PMs if needed, at least until September 18.