Very Lost. Really need guidance. Please help

[WanderingGuitarist]

sup guys, I have been studying for the MCAT the past month and I will be taking it in January.

I feel very lost in the way I am studying because I don't know if I am doing it properly and don't have a plan.
My current plan consists of reading the Kaplan books for 4 hrs a day.
My retention of this material is becoming an issue.
How do you guys retain the vast information you read??
Also, I dont know what to do regarding practice exams. Should I take one once a week?? Also, where do I get the practice exams and can I use the pre--2015 mcat practice exams?

Overall, I need guidance because I am very lost and I am simply reading the Kaplan books for 4 hrs a day.

I REALLY appreciate it a lot!!!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Cawolf]

Reading does little good without practice problems and passages.

There is no value in practice exams prior to learning most of the tested material.

Look at one of the study plans listed at the top of this page.

 

[WanderingGuitarist]

where do you suggest I get the practice problems and passages?

 

[Cawolf]

where do you suggest I get the practice problems and passages?

Look at one of the study plans listed at the top of this page.

 

[mcatjelly]

where do you suggest I get the practice problems and passages?

Also, check out the FAQ in my signature which has a section detailing what practice is available.

 

[nolookpass]

Read a chapter and take notes on the content as you read it if that helps you. Then do questions related to the topic you just read. I don't know if Kaplan has a book with just questions. If they don't look into the Khan academy passages, TBR (Berekley Review) passages. I personally read a chapter, get the content down, and then do questions from TBR to really know the content.

This thread has a excel spreadsheet that organizes all the Khan Academy passages based on topic

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...st-section-and-aamc-content-category.1157759/

 

[realba11]

Let your practice questions / passages dictate what you review. Trust that you retained most of your undergrad material and don't try to keep taking notes and wearing yourself out. You'll recognize the topics that need to be reviewed in your books, but only by doing questions. This makes you efficient, gives you the necessary experience of doing questions, and gives you time to develop your reasoning/test taking skills. Much more important than trying to just gain more knowledge.

 

[Dr. Trenb]

Can you answer the following:
1- What year are you? More importantly, how many of the MCAT subjects have you taken so far (Phy, Orgo, Bio, etc.)
2- Do you have a solid foundation? What I mean, of the subjects you've taken so far, do you have one in particular in which you did not do well in (say you 2.0 Gen Chem)?
The reason I ask is because studying for the MCAT is different from studying a subject due to the lack of knowledge.

 

[Doctor Dream]

sup guys, I have been studying for the MCAT the past month and I will be taking it in January.

I feel very lost in the way I am studying because I don't know if I am doing it properly and don't have a plan.
My current plan consists of reading the Kaplan books for 4 hrs a day.
My retention of this material is becoming an issue.
How do you guys retain the vast information you read??
Also, I dont know what to do regarding practice exams. Should I take one once a week?? Also, where do I get the practice exams and can I use the pre--2015 mcat practice exams?

Overall, I need guidance because I am very lost and I am simply reading the Kaplan books for 4 hrs a day.

I REALLY appreciate it a lot!!!!

I made a deck of flashcards via a program called Anki, a lot of people on here have used it for MCAT and their Step exams, and I found this to be extremely helpful. Without it I probably would have run into the same issues you're having. Anki is cool because it cycles cards in the deck to ensure maximum retention. The more often you get a card right, the less frequently you'll see that card. I went through the whole AAMC 2015 outline and made flashcards for every bullet point, and then kept adding cards throughout my studying. By the end I had like 1200 cards, and felt solid on all the content.

 

[StudyLater]

sup guys, I have been studying for the MCAT the past month and I will be taking it in January.

Righteous.

I feel very lost in the way I am studying because I don't know if I am doing it properly and don't have a plan.

I probably didn't do it properly and I know for sure I didn't have a plan.

My current plan consists of reading the Kaplan books for 4 hrs a day.

Oh so wait you do have a plan. This is a decent plan to start out. Make sure you're taking notes. Don't be surprised if you retain nearly nothing to start. That's what the notes are for.

My retention of this material is becoming an issue.

That's because you haven't been studying that long. You're on your first read-through. Rookie pants ants.

How do you guys retain the vast information you read??

Maintenance rehearsal. That's a term you'll need to know for psych/soc, btw. Seems to me like you haven't even gotten through the first read through of everything. Again, it's not surprising you aren't retaining everything yet.

Also, I dont know what to do regarding practice exams. Should I take one once a week?? Also, where do I get the practice exams and can I use the pre--2015 mcat practice exams?

Some people take a few. Some people take endless amounts. Do whatcha feel. But EK and AAMC are musts.

Overall, I need guidance because I am very lost and I am simply reading the Kaplan books for 4 hrs a day.

Like I said, you seem to be on track. It's totally normal to be bishy throughout this process. No problem. Wanna belly rub? There you go. K now go study.

I REALLY appreciate it a lot!!!!

No prob.

 

[Doctor Dream]

Righteous.



I probably didn't do it properly and I know for sure I didn't have a plan.



Oh so wait you do have a plan. This is a decent plan to start out. Make sure you're taking notes. Don't be surprised if you retain nearly nothing to start. That's what the notes are for.




That's because you haven't been studying that long. You're on your first read-through. Rookie pants ants.




Maintenance rehearsal. That's a term you'll need to know for psych/soc, btw. Seems to me like you haven't even gotten through the first read through of everything. Again, it's not surprising you aren't retaining everything yet.



Some people take a few. Some people take endless amounts. Do whatcha feel. But EK and AAMC are musts.



Like I said, you seem to be on track. It's totally normal to be bishy throughout this process. No problem. Wanna belly rub? There you go. K now go study.



No prob.

You need a hobby.