So i'll just post what I've already said to other's in PM.
"I started studying in June and I used ExamKrackers book set. I finished the entire set but I don't remember much from it. I would study like 4 hours a day over the summer till August. Then I took my TPR ultimate class and would study around 2-3 hours a day. Like I said, my coursework helped a lot too so maybe it was a bit more studying than that. I would just read the chapter for TPR before the class, do the test questions for the class throughout the week and so on. However, this only gave me 10-15% of my final score. The main thing is the critical reading and the best way to study for that is literally just tackling hard articles. Everyone says economist and stuff like that and I recommend it... but I never did it. Basically, by doing section banks and things like that, I found myself getting better at critical reading, see if you can google tips on how to get good at that!"
"Haha well I did take a TPR course and studied about 2-3 hours a day and like around 5-6 on the weekends. I know this doesn't sound like much but also the 3 classes I was taking (Biochem I, Sensory Neuro, Sociology) were all pertinent to the MCAT. So even while studying for those classes, I was studying for the MCAT.
Let me say off the bat that BIOCHEM IS VITAL. Memorize the textbook if you have to
. Obviously, I didn't do that but you need to have a firm grasp of it without a doubt. Also, CARS i'd try to do around 2 passages a day although I'd forget/not do it here and there. The main thing I can emphasize is that despite what all these prep books say, critical thinking is your best friend. Literally 10-15% of my TPR class notes were relevant. There wasn't a single anatomy question or hormones or anything on my mcat. Start reading research papers, start learning how to critically read. I can't emphasize that enough. I didn't know that many psych terms, I didn't know that much anatomy and physiology, etc. I am very well versed in math so physics and chem were my strong suits and bio was meh. But critical thinking powered me through, I could think my way through it.
All I can say is practice, practice, practice, and good luck "
"So I did almost exclusively content review until 3 weeks before the mcat and that's not a good thing. If I could redo it, I'd definitely do more practice but the key is WHAT you're using to practice. DO THE AAMC MATERIAL. Literally, nothing compares to this material. I haven't seen any prep company hit it on the mark regardless of what they say. The AAMC section banks were harder than the real mcat and are good to do. Also do the question packs and all the AAMC practice tests. I understood how the test worked much better when I did their material.
Learn how the test operates, how they want you to think. I quickly realized that most content was irrelevant. There was no anatomy, no hormones, etc. High yield topics are BIOCHEM AND GENETICS. Don't just memorize definitions, truly understand processes like cellular respiration and things like that. Understand the process of genetics. Similarly, understand on a critical level all of these things. Be able to parse through rough passages. Remember harder practice makes for an easier test!"
Practice Tests:
Full Length TPR Course 1: 511 à Chem-Phys:129/CARS: 127/Bio:128/Psych-Soc:127
Full Length TPR Course 2: 510 à Chem-Phys:128/CARS:126/Bio:128/Psych-Soc:128
Full Length TPR Course 3: 508 à Chem-Phys:127/CARS:128/Bio:126/Psych-Soc:127
Full Length TPR Course 4:515 à Chem-Phys:130/CARS:127/Bio:130/Psych-Soc:128
AAMC Sample Test % breakdown à Chem-Phys:86%/CARS:94%/Bio:88%/Psych/Soc:90%
AAMC Official Test à Chem-Phys:132/CARS:131/Bio:131/Psych-Soc:129
MCAT Bio Section Bank: Bio:67%/Chemistry:100%/Biochemistry:88%
MCAT Chem-Phys Section Bank: Bio:100%/Chemistry:90%/Biochemistry:83%/Physics:77%
MCAT Psych-Soc Section Bank: Biology:83%/Psychology:68%/Sociology:72%
Hope that helps!!
