TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!

[Dr. Hopeamine]

Hey all,

I just registered for the MCAT!!!! I'm incredibly stoked for the moment to finally be here. However, I now don't really know where to start. My MCAT date is 8/18, and I have the advanced prep/7-subject review from Kaplan, but I am also not a student who can sit down and read books for 30-40 hours/week. I am taking a nasty load this semester (biochem, orgo II, phys II, cell bio) and I won't have a ton of time to burry my head in the books until the summer. But I feel like I should be getting ready. I am in a fortunate situation where money isn't an issue so tell me what worked for you guys!

Thanks!!

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[joe_1395]

Great classes. Get the most out of them. Study as if you were studying for the MCAT. Absorb everything from classes. When summer hits, you should spend 8hrs/day studying. Try anki, great for content review (takes a while because you have to do the flashcards). Also, do the practice passages from Khan Academy, great FREE practice, especially for bio/biochem section. Purchasing the stuff from the AAMC would be the way to go, and do them atleast twice.

 

[Jack Westin]

I'm with @joe_1395

Focus on your classes. If you learn all the concepts well this semester you will actually be killing two birds with one stone: MCAT and GPA. The classes you are taking can help you do well on the MCAT.

In addition, it would be wise to read denser articles such as those from the economist everyday starting this week. Reading is a critical tool on this exam since the entire test is based on reading passages - especially the CARS section which is purely based on reading passages. CARS and the reading component of the exam requires exposure over a longer period of time to improve on. Good luck to you!

 

[KPstudent]

I am an instructor for Kaplan, and I would recommend also what the others said and start looking at some of the resources Kaplan gives you outside of just books. You should have access to the Kaplan MCAT channel, which has live one hour lessons on particular high-yield subjects that are interactive. These are super helpful and a lot more fun than just reading a book. Also, if you have four hours go ahead and take your Kaplan Diagnostic exam, it's a half-MCAT and will at least give you a good idea of where you are now in terms of strengths and weaknesses (likely you will have weaknesses in orgo II, physics II, biochem, etc since you're taking them now obviously). But its a good idea to start thinking about format, what you're good at, all that. Good luck! Very exciting!

 

[KPstudent]

I am an instructor for Kaplan, and I would recommend also what the others said and start looking at some of the resources Kaplan gives you outside of just books. You should have access to the Kaplan MCAT channel, which has live one hour lessons on particular high-yield subjects that are interactive. These are super helpful and a lot more fun than just reading a book. Also, if you have four hours go ahead and take your Kaplan Diagnostic exam, it's a half-MCAT and will at least give you a good idea of where you are now in terms of strengths and weaknesses (likely you will have weaknesses in orgo II, physics II, biochem, etc since you're taking them now obviously). But its a good idea to start thinking about format, what you're good at, all that. Good luck! Very exciting!

Revision: If you just have the Kaplan books and not the course (sorry misread that) Khan Academy has great live videos teaching you certain subjects. I would recommend trying to take some sort of diagnostic exam if you can! The successful MCAT taker studies between 300-400 hours so even though it's early now it's good that you're thinking about it!