where do i start? how do i organize study materials?

[shan1997]

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I am planning on taking the August 2006 mcat, if i start studying in may, will 4 months be enough? I also have a lot of study materials: kaplan review book, TPR review book, columbia review book, old practice tests, audio osmosis, mcat cd-roms, mcat flashcards and much more. I find that i am overwhelmed with study materials and don't know where to start. can anyone who has taken the mcat and done well, tell me how they were able to organize all their study materials in order to get the most out of the materials??? does anyone have any study schedules i could follow?lease help

 

[DrBowtie]

I made a weekly calendar in Excel, inventoried my study materials and practice tests and planned it all out equally.

 

[Zymogen]

Brett, you crack me up. By the way, why aren't you taking the April?

 

[DrBowtie]

Brett, you crack me up. By the way, why aren't you taking the April?

Too much school. Keeping a 4.0 is tough work.

 

[silkworm]

Hey OP, here is what I did over the three months of my summer of MCAT (sounds like the title of a musical):

I was out of undergra school for a while, so I first used those slim EK subject review books. I averaged about one chapter per day, jotting down extensive notes.

I also attended Kaplan, the lessons weren't useful at all. But the extra practice material and the simulated full-lengths were good. I did pretty much all their practice material.

The last three weeks before the big day I focused on taking full-length practices. All in all, I took all the AAMC practice tests, majority of Kaplan full-lengths, Princeton Test A,B,C and two EK tests.

On the real thing I ended up with a score 11 point higher than the Kaplan Diagnostic in the beginning of the summer. So I think three months of dedicated studying should be enough to see real improvement.

Material I usd: Kaplan program material, EK review books, EK verbal 101, EK tests, AAMC practice tests, TPR tests ABCD.

 

[KAM]

Good advic above. This is what i would recommend if u don't want to spend $1500 on a course.

1. Find a library close to home where u can study/take timed practice tests.
2. Find a buddy/buddies to take practice tests with.
3. Find a buddy who is enrolled in kaplan or tpr and who won't mind giving you his or her access code. possibly a friend from school ? the only down side to studying withouth kaplan or tpr is that u don't get a computerized feedback to areas where u need to focus on.
4. As for your materials. I would recommed taking a TOPIC BY TOPIC. i.e if u cover enzyme kinematics in kaplan, cover enzyme kinematics in tpr and columbia as well. Alot of it should be repeated information but that's how u will learn.
5. As for a schedule. This is what i did. Not only did i use my friends online account i downloaded KAPLAN's tentative schedule and followed it well. i.e when kaplan students took tests, i took test, when they studied bio, i studied bio. accept you would have to work harder and stay even more motivated by not being part of an official class.

Find a buddy to take tests and go over answers with. This single thing i feel helped me tremendously. you don't have to study with them, just test and go over material.

Good luck !