When to Incorporate Qbanks in my Study Plan

[MissRibeye]

I am a *very*-nontrad of 37 looking to apply next cycle but take my MCAT mid to late July of 2020 (a little late) but giving myself 6 weeks of focused time. I want to set myself up for success, so I am working on studying for my MCAT during my prereqs by kicking butt in my pre-reqs and finding a way to retain as much of that knowledge up to the test so my ~6wks of studying can be enough to do well.

I would appreciate people's opinion on my plan and a suggestion of when to strategically incorporate qbanks.

For a context on my goals, I'd like to get a 510+, but I am mostly aiming for my state MD school, maybe a few other MDs, and DO schools (will be ~3.45 cgpa, ~3.6 sgpa)).

(1) ALREADY DOING: Do what it takes to get them As.
(2) ALREADY DOING: Anki the heck out of the knowledge I get, including some practice problems that utilize the concepts (I've been doing this for my Chem final this term and it really helps). Lots of med students are doing this, so why don't I get this process/habit down ahead of time?
(3) Every Saturday reading one journal article and doing a breakdown of it utilizing a bunch of questions you typically get from CARS-improvement suggestions.
(4) Every Saturday spending something like 1 hour or so (I think 60-90 mins is easily achievable) reviewing anki cards from previous classes.
(5) At some point - I would like to know y'all's opinion on this - I think I should take a FL to see where I'm at as well as start doing some question banks but I'm not sure when I should start that considering I will be in the middle of taking pre-reqs. My instinct is to start at the beginning of my spring term where I'll only have Biochem and cell bio left.​

The main question: WHEN WOULD YOU SUGGEST I START DOING QUESTION BANKS IF THIS IS MY CLASS SCHEDULE?

Also, what if I started on UWORLD this fall? Would it be a total waste of time/$ because of lack of finishing prereqs? Do the questions renew and refresh after a certain amount of time (as in, will I only see the bank they have and see all the same questions again if I go through them all and still have a few months of prep left?).

SPRING (Apr-June):

• Biology 3 (last term of first year bio)
• Chem 2 (class 2 of 3)
• Stats

SUMMER (June-Sept):

• Chem 3 (class 3 of 3)
• Physics 1 (class 1 of 3)
• Create Psych/Soc Anki decks from 300 page doc
• Prep Application (personal statement, experiences, etc)

FALL (Sept-Dec):

• Ochem 1/3
• Molecular Bio
• Physics 2

WINTER (Jan-Apr):

• Ochem 2/3
• Genetics
• Physics 3

SPRING (Apr-June):

• Biochem
• Cell Bio + Lab
• Extra time to put towards MCAT prep
• Fill out AMCAS in May

SUMMER (Starts mid-June):

• Study ~6 weeks, take MCAT end of July

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[Lawpy]

Your plan seems ok but combining the MCAT studying with AMCAS/secondaries can be disastrous because you want to do well for each. If you take the exam in end of July, you'll get your score in late Aug/early Sep so your application won't be complete and sent to schools until then.

I think you should schedule the MCAT earlier (so in May or earlier) and knock it out of the way before working on AMCAS. Or take the MCAT and apply the following cycle.

It's possible to combine MCAT study with a busy work/school schedule. Here is a study plan that I think could be helpful: How I prepped for a 526

 

[MissRibeye]

I appreciate your advice @Lawper. I'm not sure that a May test date would be wise because I will still be in the middle of biochemistry until mid-June, and biochemistry is pretty important on the MCAT. I am already working on my AMCAS this summer and throughout this next school year precisely so I don't have to spend as much time on it during MCAT studying. If my application isn't complete until the score is sent then I won't get secondaries until then, right?

 

[Lawpy]

I appreciate your advice @Lawper. I'm not sure that a May test date would be wise because I will still be in the middle of biochemistry until mid-June, and biochemistry is pretty important on the MCAT. I am already working on my AMCAS this summer and throughout this next school year precisely so I don't have to spend as much time on it during MCAT studying. If my application isn't complete until the score is sent then I won't get secondaries until then, right?

Application complete includes sending in AMCAS primary, MCAT scores, letters and secondaries to the school. You can get secondaries from schools even when you just send your AMCAS to them.

If you're working on your AMCAS primary this summer, you might as well also prewrite secondary essays by looking into past years' prompts (they usually don't change much). This prevents you from getting flooded last minute.

 

[MissRibeye]

Application complete includes sending in AMCAS primary, MCAT scores, letters and secondaries to the school. You can get secondaries from schools even when you just send your AMCAS to them.

If you're working on your AMCAS primary this summer, you might as well also prewrite secondary essays by looking into past years' prompts (they usually don't change much). This prevents you from getting flooded last minute.

Very good idea! I'm gonna have my hands full this summer, but I keep realizing that the more I can do right and right now, the more Im helping myself be less overwhelmed when the stakes are even higher next year.