Trying to help friends study...

[Ev1hmr]

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A little background before I get to my question: I did well on the MCAT, and have several friends who are preparing to take the test this spring. They've asked me to help them study, so I've decided it would probably be best if we all studied together (6 of us or so) at one of our places, with me leading the group. They've all bought various study materials, so my challenge is to pretty much come up with lecture material that they can all take home with them.

So my question is: if you have had an MCAT tutor, or dream about having an MCAT tutor, or have taken a review course, what did/would your instructor do right? What did/could they do wrong? I care about my friends and I want them to do well, and I don't want to waste anyone's time repeating the same stuff everyone has heard in college for the thousandth time. I have a good understanding of the material and the test, and I'm trying to come up with an efficient way to lead the group without just reading the books together.

Anyway, any input at all would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ridethecliche]

Best use of your time is to go over passages with them and explain the answers/theory.

They can learn the content themselves.

 

[rjosh33]

Content is certainly important, and depending on what review book they have, you may need to pare down the depth of material into what they're likely to see on the MCAT. For example, TBR's Bio chapter on metabolic pathways goes into insane detail that would never show up on an actual exam, but the overall concept might.

However, a more helpful matter (IMO) to discuss is the method(s) you used to excel on the exam. This includes not just study habits, but test-taking strategies as well. What did you do specifically on the actual Verbal Reasoning section that helped you? Did you read the questions before the passage to gain a schematic idea of what you were about to read? Did you focus more on the main idea of the passage than the details, or vice versa?

For PS and BS, did you perhaps use process of elimination on any questions? How did you analyze experimental data? Sometimes just identifying what the question is asking is half the battle. There's no doubt the MCAT tests concept mastery, but of equal importance are critical reasoning skills. It's likely a passage (or two, or three) will show up containing a scenario or material the student has never seen before. Still, the questions asked will deal with logical connections based on material the student is expected to know.

So, what I'm trying to say is that content review is definitely useful, but clearly conveying the plan of attack that you presumably had when you took the MCAT should also be of great benefit to your friends.

 

[Ev1hmr]

Thank you both for your responses.

Best use of your time is to go over passages with them and explain the answers/theory.

They can learn the content themselves.

The problem I have with trusting them to study content on their own is that I am worried they will spend most of their time doing it wrong. Studying wrong, I mean. The MCAT isn't a content test, and the content tested is introductory level. A pattern I have noticed with them already is they are relying heavily on flash cards and memorizarion, which in my opinion are are atrocious ways to study for this test. I want to review the material with a focus on the patterns and concepts that are tested, and avoid the details that are so tempting to memorize yet so unncessary.

 

[ridethecliche]

The problem I have with trusting them to study content on their own is that I am worried they will spend most of their time doing it wrong. Studying wrong, I mean. The MCAT isn't a content test, and the content tested is introductory level. A pattern I have noticed with them already is they are relying heavily on flash cards and memorizarion, which in my opinion are are atrocious ways to study for this test. I want to review the material with a focus on the patterns and concepts that are tested, and avoid the details that are so tempting to memorize yet so unncessary.

If you don't trust these kids to study, then why would you want to unleash them on the world as physicians?

Let them study the way they want to and work on their habits when they start doing passages. Tell them to go for the big picture understanding.