When do premeds study for the MCAT?

[MidwestLovin]

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Also, what makes the test so hard? I've seen passages and they don't look particularly difficult, but I know this is not indicative of the test.

 

[goft20]

We don't study. We are all just trolling.


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[listener23]

Pre-meds tend to study after completion of all pre-req. Even the AAMC pratice exam cant completely replicate the difficulty you will experience on test day but they come close. Try one of them if you want to get a better gage on difficulty. Don't forget the MCAT is an endurance test as well, you wont simply be able to do a couple problem at your leisure, you will be timed and you have to get through all the section.

 

[MidwestLovin]

So at my school you finish the last prereq junior year which is physics. Should I wait until junior year summer to study?

 

[Being]

So at my school you finish the last prereq junior year which is physics. Should I wait until junior year summer to study?

You should do whatever you need to do in order to achieve the score you want on the test. What works or doesn't work for other people may or may not work for you.

 

[MidwestLovin]

You should do whatever you need to do in order to achieve the score you want on the test. What works or doesn't work for other people may or may not work for you.

I'm freaking a little bit because I'd love to study during junior year, but GPA is my main focus.

 

[Ace-Co-A]

I'm freaking a little bit because I'd love to study during junior year, but GPA is my main focus.

I was incapable of studying during the semester without compromising my study schedule for my coursework. I pushed it back and studied over Winter break. Honestly, I regret this a bit -- giving myself more time (i.e., studying over the summer and taking a gap year) may have made sense in hindsight. Whatever.

Good luck!

 

[jared_the_great]

PROTIP - Studying for your prereqs is studying for the MCAT, and vice versa.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

I knew I needed a gap year, so I devoted the summer after my junior year to studying for the MCAT, then took it in August. Honestly, I didn't need the full summer. As the date got closer I studied more intensely. I couldn't imagine devoting enough time to study for the MCAT with a full course load during the school year.

 

[allantois]

I am thinking about taking basically some attendance-based classes during the semester when I will be studying for MCAT.

 

[Aerus]

Yeah I looked at a gen chem passage in high school and didn't think it was hard either. The hard part is being able to do it with 90%+ accuracy consistently in 6-7 minutes (per passage) across a couple hours.

You can even take the prereqs in your first two years and take the MCAT the summer after. If you have to take Physics junior year, take the MCAT the summer after and take a gap year. If you don't want a gap year but still must take Physics your junior year, take it early Spring, like April.

 

[phunky]

A.) It varies

B.) It's not a very hard test

 

[theseeker4]

I'm freaking a little bit because I'd love to study during junior year, but GPA is my main focus.

Definitely don't let your grades slide because you think you need to study for the MCAT. If you learn the primary material from all the pre reqs well, MCAT studying is just review, not learning new material. Wait until you are done with your pre-reqs before starting any serious MCAT studying. When you do study, take as many practice tests as you can.

 

[Blizzard18]

Everyone I know, including myself, didn't study until the beginning of summer between junior and senior year and took in sometime in August (or late July like I did if you study consistently enough) and that is plenty of time. Taking focus off your classes during the semester is probably not the best idea unless you are in a bunch of joke classes anyways.

 

[LChristmas]

Advice from personal experience:

I tried to study during the winter semester and write in early May (summer job made it tough to study June-August). I got 29 & 28 in two attempts writing in May while studying during and after the semester. I graduated Dec 2013 and focused on studying for the MCAT for 4 months to write this May, the result was a 33. Needless to say, the moral of the story is that you cannot rush studying for the MCAT. It requires a lot of time and practice to achieve a good score.

As for what makes it a difficult test, it is the breadth of material that is covered and your ability to recall this information within a strict time limit. All while you feel like the rest of your professional career is hanging in the balance as you're trying to choose between two answers. You need to have a strong base of knowledge in the content areas and take multiple practice tests that will allow you to improve upon your areas of weakness.

There is an excellent study schedule that was posted somewhere on SDN, but I'm not sure where it is now. Perhaps someone else knows exactly where it is.

Of course, this advice is based on the "old" MCAT, so all of what I just said might not be worth a thing when the new MCAT starts being administered.

 

[MagicSkittles]

My advice would be to take the MCAT early on. Make sure you've taken your pre-reqs and are familar with the material. As everyone else has said, take the MCAT when you're scoring well. The practice tests are your best indication of how you'll perform (average your practice tests without the highest/lowest if they seem like outliers).

The test is difficult because of 1) breadth (covers a wide variety of subjects, which is especially difficult if you haven't seen the material in a while) and 2) the recent MCAT is more research based and integrates a lot of concepts (you'll really start to see what I mean if you do AAMC 11). There's also a lot of reading on the test too.

 

[frosted_flake]

I am studying for it this fall along with organic I, molecular bio, and organic I lab.
Along with working. I hope all works out for the best 🙂

 

[Premixis]

The content isn't particularly hard, but it's the fact that the passages introduce new material that isn't necessarily familiar to what you have seen in the classroom/test prep settings. Also, from what I've seen, the MCAT likes to present data in tabular/graphical form without explicitly explaining how to interpret the data.

As for studying, try to give yourself at least two months to study without any other responsibilities to worry about, especially coursework. It's really tough to do it with less than two months without getting burnt out. Also, simply taking the pre-reqs (biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics) won't necessarily give you a comprehensive overview of what the MCAT actually tests depending on what material your professor chooses to cover in class.

My best advice would be to check out the AAMC list of topics covered to try and see how familiar you are with the content and try to identify your weak areas:
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/preparing/

 

[Flashfan]

With the addition of biochem, I can't see how most people will be able to take the test and apply between junior and senior year. I am going to try to study during the school year but am really doubtful. Gap year here I come!

 

[claduva94]

I studied and took it in the middle of a 21 credit semester. But I'm a little crazy. 😉

 

[DocConk]

With the addition of biochem, I can't see how most people will be able to take the test and apply between junior and senior year. I am going to try to study during the school year but am really doubtful. Gap year here I come!

No kidding... I keep pondering the best strategy. I'd rather not take a gap year because of opportunity cost but no one wants to take the monster if they aren't 110% prepared.. Hmm..

 

[Flashfan]

If I had to do it all over again, I would have gone to a state school with plenty o summer classes, taken O-Chem in the summer, then finished up all the prereqs by summer of sophomore year so I could have taken the old MCAT. As is stands, I am a school that I love, but I won't even have Biochem until spring of junior year because it is only offered in the spring and the new MCAT is my only option. Maybe if I study all spring semester and lock myself away until a June test date I will be prepared, but then I won't really be an early applicant after all.

 

[DocConk]

I feel like this next application cycle will be really weird... MCAT scores that don't fit a bell curve and less early applicants than ever before..

 

[Premixis]

Maybe if I study all spring semester and lock myself away until a June test date I will be prepared, but then I won't really be an early applicant after all.

To be quite honest, an early June test date is not late at all. Yes, the application opens in early June, but if you submit your application as soon as they begin accepting them, you will be verified by the time you get your MCAT score back. In the case of an early June test, you would receive your score in early August and simply update your application with the test results and bam, you're set. AMCAS does not release the applications until late June anyway, so again, your application would still be considerably early.

 

[Premixis]

I feel like this next application cycle will be really weird... MCAT scores that don't fit a bell curve and less early applicants than ever before..

Yeah, who knows what's in store for this next cycle. Nobody will really know how to adequately prepare for it or what to expect...

 

[mrh125]

after i graduated and during the last quarter. do yourself a favor and dont balance it on top of classes, it's a lot of stress and too easy to burnout.

 

[G_Marker]

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