What study plan did you use for MCAT 2015? How did you do?

[jfar18]

Hi all,

I have been sifting through the heaps of MCAT study plan threads here, but I haven't been able to find this info.

If you have already taken the exam in 2015, can you tell me what study method you used (mcatjelly, SN2ed, your own plan, a prep course, ect.), how you did on the exam, and if/how you would have studied differently if you could do it again?

I am about to start studying for the January 2016 exam. Personally, I think I am going to use @mcatjelly 's schedule, and I would like to hear from people who have already used it.

My apologies if this question has already been asked and answered somewhere!

Thanks in advance!

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[Lannister]

I think it's best to make your own schedule. I tried to use someone else's schedule and I just got all stressed about not being able to follow the schedule and eventually gave up on it and studied at my own pace. I did okay, 514 (91st percentile). Totally bombed one section and I honestly think it was a fluke and not a result of poor studying.

 

[mcatjelly]

I think it's best to make your own schedule. I tried to use someone else's schedule and I just got all stressed about not being able to follow the schedule and eventually gave up on it and studied at my own pace. I did okay, 514 (91st percentile). Totally bombed one section and I honestly think it was a fluke and not a result of poor studying.

^ As the maker of an apparently now-famous study plan, I agree strongly.

 

[Afp0731]

Everyone has different strengths/weaknesses when it comes to the MCAT. Following someone else's plan will not exactly give you the most for your effort.
The few things everyone should do :
- Print the list of topics covered on AAMC and dedicate yourself to learning every single one very well. Start with your weakest links. Always reinforce learning with lots of practice problems-it makes things stick and you don't want to have to waste time re learning concepts.
- Practice verbal daily. Gather all the prep material you can and do as many per day as you can without running out way before the exam. Make sure you ALWAYS practice under timed conditions and spend more time evaluating your work than doing it.
- After you feel good about the material, start taking full length practice exams under real test conditions(same time, similar environment, etc). Post-exam, take a day to evaluate your work and work diligently to fix gaps in content or strategy. Take as many as possible.
-Do not take the real thing unless you are consistently scoring above your goal.

 

[studentdocftw]

Make a schedule, stick to it. Personally, I studied ~4-5 hours a day, 5 days (light review of material Sat, Sun) for around 2.5 months. I felt this schedule was intensive during the week, with light review during weekends which helped reinforce the material. I've always been inconsistent with verbal, which was my lowest score. Also, Kaplan wasn't the best IMO for the P/S section (some have advised Khan, TPR for this section). With that said, I did well on the core sciences with Kaplan. Breakdown 131/126/130/127.

 

[Hopeful___MD]

I looked at what I was weak/strong in after viewing what was on the AAMC list of what would be covered on the MCAT. I was weak in physics and gen chem so I focused on that first. Without neglecting the other subjects, I spent half of my effort on just those two subjects and MADE SURE I learned the material. Kaplan, TBR, and EK all have practice passages after each chapter so I made sure I did those after each subject (I found EK's 30 minute exams to be the most helpful.) After a month of studying, I started doing practice tests by Kaplan and EK. My first score was a 498, which is bad, but I wasn't discouraged (read: do not get discouraged by a bad score.) I saw what I needed to focus on more, so I went back and kept going at it. It's really a back-and-forth game of trying to keep up with everything and getting content review down WITH practice every 2-3 days. After doing all the FL's that I had from Kaplan and EK, I went ahead and bought all of the Q packs from AAMC, the only FL they have released, and did all of the practice tests released by Khan.

What I learned on test day is bring food and something to keep you awake. I knew a friend who scored 22nd %ile on CARS because he hit a wall, stamina-wise. He could barely focus and he paid for it (said friend scored 87th %ile in Bio/Biochem and 84th %ile in Phys/Chem.) He regathered himself, studied again, worked on his weak points, and scored a 519 the 2nd time. He made sure to bring some Double Shot cans from starbucks, just in case he hit the wall again.

 

[chocoholicsoxfan]

Followed Kaplan study schedule, started Jan 28th for April test, got a 523. Also started Khan passages a month out.

Probably would've integrated passages earlier.

 

[Hospitalized]

Followed Kaplan study schedule, started Jan 28th for April test, got a 523. Also started Khan passages a month out.

Probably would've integrated passages earlier.

Why? 523 is top notch.

 

[chocoholicsoxfan]

Why? 523 is top notch.

Because I got INCREDIBLY lucky with which concepts were covered, in that they happened to be what I knew best. I was also mildly concussed while taking the exam, so I was SO lucky there was no complicated O Chem/Physics.

The test was all Bio, Biochem, Psych, and Soc, which played perfectly into my strengths.

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

I scored a 519 with 131 on all science sections. For me the key was doing as many practice problems as I could, I did all of khan, a few practice exams, and the AAMC question packs. As others have said I would use your own study plan and not someone else's, everyone is different in the strength/weaknesses.


I never even made a plan, everyday when I went to the library I just studied in the order the exam would be...physical sciences-->CARS passages---> biological sciences---> behavioral sciences

 

[Hospitalized]

Because I got INCREDIBLY lucky with which concepts were covered, in that they happened to be what I knew best. I was also mildly concussed while taking the exam, so I was SO lucky there was no complicated O Chem/Physics.

The test was all Bio, Biochem, Psych, and Soc, which played perfectly into my strengths.

I think that is pretty consistent with the changes made to the MCAT, but good to hear on my end as someone who hasn't taken it yet. Although I love Ochem, I loathe physics.

 

[moisne]

unless you are aiming for a top 20.... I don't think the MCAT is that big of a deal anyways.

Btw - when you say top 20, are you guys referring to primary care or research? lol

 

[VegasPreMed]

Used this:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...e-mcat-2015-100-days-to-mcat-success.1101251/

Followed it exactly. Scored a 518 (130 C/P, 131 CARS, 128 Bio, 129 Psych). I thought it worked well. Hit one or two roadblocks during the Bio section that I should have remembered, but just had mental block for some reason.

 

[Cotterpin]

I made my own schedule. I bought that Kaplan book set, counted out how many days I had until the MCAT, and then assigned myself a couple of chapters a day to review. And I wrote it all down by hand in a little calendar and then checked things off as I did them. I left a couple of weeks unscheduled before the actual exam because I knew that life would get in the way and I would get tired and not keep exactly to my schedule. What I actually did when I studied, instead of taking notes or anything, was make Anki flashcards of everything. (Note: I didn't do any studying for CARS at all.) Then at the end of every study day, I ran through my flashcards so that the stuff I studied earlier stayed fresh. Every couple of days, I did a few practice problems from the AAMC question packs. Then, like two weeks before my test date, I started taking full-length practice tests every other day. I took the AAMC full-length last, on the Monday before my test (which was a Friday). Then I took the rest of the week off and only did some flashcards. Got a 517 on the test. The whole thing took maybe 7 weeks. If I could do it again, I think I would have actually bothered to review my full-length practices afterwards.

 

[twinBqt]

I scored a 519 with 131 on all science sections. For me the key was doing as many practice problems as I could, I did all of khan, a few practice exams, and the AAMC question packs. As others have said I would use your own study plan and not someone else's, everyone is different in the strength/weaknesses.


I never even made a plan, everyday when I went to the library I just studied in the order the exam would be...physical sciences-->CARS passages---> biological sciences---> behavioral sciences

How many practice problems did you do every day, in general, and from each subject??

How did you approach doing the practice problems and reviewing them?

How long did it take you to do the problems and review them?

Please explain in detail and give advice on what you would do to be more effective in the aforementioned.

Thanks SO much!

 

[PU WEE-U]

I used Kaplan classroom anywhere. I think it was a three month course once per week. Honestly I didn't stick to a schedule or utilize all the material given. Really the last month is when I buckled down. I scored a 512 (87th percentile). Psych was my low score.

The funny thing is that I was happy with my score, until I signed up for SDN. Lol. Maybe you shouldn't take my advice. But I was accepted this year (although no where near my top choice I'm excited).

 

[BeachBaby]

Kaplan was a waste of money. I had much better success with NextStep.

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

How many practice problems did you do every day, in general, and from each subject??

How did you approach doing the practice problems and reviewing them?

How long did it take you to do the problems and review them?

Please explain in detail and give advice on what you would do to be more effective in the aforementioned.

Thanks SO much!

My whole study time was about 35 days...this is an estimate but I probably averaged 25 questions per section a day. Maybe slightly less on cars l, though.

Not sure what you mean for how I approached practice problems...if you mean time I took as long as I needed on all sections except for cars which I timed. I also timed my practice exams.

For reviewing questions, if It was a gap in knowledge I just went back and reread or read some more about the topic. If it was a random fact I didn't know I wrote it down. If I missed the logic I simply thought about why (or why not) the correct answer made more sense than my answer.


I think for me this was pretty effective, I was happy with how I did on the science sections. I don't think I would have broke my 126 on CARS no matter how hard I tried, I've always been pretty dumb in English/reading. I feel that is an important to realize how robust CARS is to change. Don't neglect it entirely, do passages, find a strategy that works for you, and get your timing down. After that I think your time will be better allocated on your weakest science section.

Goodluck

 

[bcemslayer]

I used Kaplan for content review, and PR for questions and tests. I was scoring about 505s with PR, and 131/125/131/127/514 on the actual test. I studied for about 3 months, 4 hours a day.
But this is just my experience, definitely take into consideration what everyone has said!