What can I do now to get ready?

[once]

I will be entering a university in the fall as a freshman. I am definitely not going to go out and buy a ton of MCAT books now, but I was wondering if there are any tiny things that I can start to develop now to get ready for the MCAT. I remember for the SAT it was recommended that students are avid readers in the years before the test to perform really good. Is there anything like that that I can do for the MCAT? Please do not flame, this is a serious thread. Thanks

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[snipermonkey]

serisouly.
dont even talk about the mcat
after you are done with all your science requirement.

 

[SN2ed]

Yeah, reading is the only outside prep you should do for the MCAT as well. Read science journals, Wall Street Journal, Economist, New Yorker, and philosophy books/articles. Besides reading you should also aim for content mastery in all of your pre-reqs; don't go simply for the A.

 

[OPPforlife]

don't go simply for the A.

That's it right there. Don't worry about A's, concentrate on learning the material and developing an interest for it. If you do this, you will rock the MCAT.

 

[ShoeFactory]

read the wall street journal

it'll make you a more intelligent person overall.

learn the stuff conceptually in your classes

 

[LostInStudy]

Agreed with everyone above. There is no substitute for learning the material well the first time around. Work on burning each of the concepts from G.Chem, O.Chem, Physics and Bio into your head.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

 

[BennieBlanco]

I will be entering a university in the fall as a freshman. I am definitely not going to go out and buy a ton of MCAT books now, but I was wondering if there are any tiny things that I can start to develop now to get ready for the MCAT. I remember for the SAT it was recommended that students are avid readers in the years before the test to perform really good. Is there anything like that that I can do for the MCAT? Please do not flame, this is a serious thread. Thanks

I humbly believe you can prepare from day 1.

Go to the AAMC website:

http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/psprep.htm

that is the physical sciences topic list. There is also a biological science list. Go over these before your courses. Take excellent notes on all the topics that come up and you could even make note cards. Your goal is to be conceptually brilliant in each of these topics. Meaning that you understand the WHYs and what is going on, more than memorization. That is it. Also try to read hard material an hour or so a day, think economist and new yorker. While you do that, focus on FOCUSing and getting the main idea of the passage. Read active.

That is it. As for actual MCAT prep, that comes anywhere from 4-12 weeks before the exam.

 

[BennieBlanco]

That's it right there. Don't worry about A's, concentrate on learning the material and developing an interest for it. If you do this, you will rock the MCAT.

exactly. but still get the A because you likely can.

conceptual learning.

 

[bipolarbear]

Agreed with everyone above. There is no substitute for learning the material well the first time around. Work on burning each of the concepts from G.Chem, O.Chem, Physics and Bio into your head.

Hope this helps,

-LIS

seriously. or you'll end up like me... feeling eternally screwed for bio b/c i sat through an entire years worth of intro biology playing sudoku and chess on my phone... and spent 3 days before every exam cramming.... i got that A everyone talks about, but b/c i didn't really learn the material, im essentially having to learn it in just a couple of weeks for the mcat. NOT a good feeling. so my word of advice is, don't screw around in class!!