Why do people group study for the mcat?

[listener23]

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Why do people group study for the mcat? It seems like a horrible waste of time. A lot of people at my university are forming mcat study group or getting study partners. Unless your partner is a genius(I'm talking rain man smart) it seems like you would get more done by your self. Am i right?

 

[BlackBox]

No, you're wrong. lol

Actually depends on how you learn- teaching is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the topics.

You also get that cheery feeling when someone benefits from your stellar teaching skills.

 

[La Presse]

I agree with the OP. As someone who's had very bad experiences with academic group work, I'd rather study by myself. After all, everyone carries their own cross on test day.

 

[midnight0il]

Whatever floats your boat. I think group studying highly depends on the quality of its members. I wouldn't have made it through Orgo 1 and 2 without my little study group.

 

[Euxox]

Group study can be very helpful, but I think that many people forget that it's an "icing on the cake" sort of thing. In independent study you can learn, review, and reinforce. Group study is discussion based, so it is really only good for reviewing and reinforcing. Of course you can't review and reinforce unless you've already learned the basics, so you won't get anything out of a group session unless everyone has prepared by doing independent study ahead of time. A study group where people don't prepare ahead of time and try to read through the chapter together is a complete waste of time and just serves to gives the illusion of studying instead of any actual benefit.

 

[IncognitoGuy]

Much of doing well on the MCAT comes down to practice, which is heavily individual-dependent. I simply don't see the kind of habits that one will probably need to come through during test day being emphasized in group study.

 

[Euxox]

I just wanted to say that there are good things about group study (assuming that everyone studies ahead of time). Your friends can help you with the topics that you have trouble with, and more importantly, you get a chance to explain the topics that you know well to your friends. There is nothing that forces you to synthesize and distill what you have learned like being asked to teach it to someone else. It's one of the best ways of cementing something in the brain.

Yes, the MCAT is mostly about doing practice problems, and that is an individual activity. But going over your mistakes with someone else is great because it gives you a new perspective. Even in fairly mathematical subjects like Physics, there are a hundred and one different ways to attack a problem. The more of them you know, the better equipped you are for any curve balls you may run into on the actual exam.

IMO, a good ratio of independent study to group study is 10:1.

 

[rodmichael82]

It's a dating strategy

 

[BamaNicole]

Honestly, it helped to see how other people approached and solved problems.

 

[BlueLabel]

It's a dating strategy

This guy gets it

 

[rodmichael82]

This guy gets it

Just got to whip out the med student badge

 

[KindofBlue]

I feel I could have benefited from a study group.

If it's a group of really motivated people, you could encourage each other to stay focused when it's been 37 days since you started working like crazy and are completely exhausted.
Having another person to ask their opinion about a particularly tricky VR passage could be nice also.

 

[Beargryllz]

If you're antisocial and don't work well with others, I can't recommend studying in groups. Often, another person gives a new perspective or has something interesting to contribute.

 

[Jennyfishy]

Everyone learns differently. I learn better either alone or in more structured settings (lecture style, interactive between 1 person who is mostly teaching if it isn't me) and personally hate group studying and think I end up wasting a lot of time getting distracted and feel less productive, even if my groupmates are better students than me. However for some of my friends, when they try to learn alone, they tend to tank their midterms, because they learn best verbally and by bouncing ideas and hypothetical scenarios off others/correcting each others' errors.

This is a general blanket comment and only applies when I have enough time to study and actually study though 😀

 

[rodmichael82]

If you're antisocial and don't work well with others, I can't recommend studying in groups. Often, another person gives a new perspective or has something interesting to contribute.

Majority of the time the other person is distracting the hell out of you (texting, making phone calls, talking about what food to eat for lunch or dinner, wanting to take breaks, complaining about how the material is hard). Please don't act like most study groups comprise of productive "study partners".

 

[mehc012]

I just wanted to say that there are good things about group study (assuming that everyone studies ahead of time). Your friends can help you with the topics that you have trouble with, and more importantly, you get a chance to explain the topics that you know well to your friends. There is nothing that forces you to synthesize and distill what you have learned like being asked to teach it to someone else. It's one of the best ways of cementing something in the brain.

Yes, the MCAT is mostly about doing practice problems, and that is an individual activity. But going over your mistakes with someone else is great because it gives you a new perspective. Even in fairly mathematical subjects like Physics, there are a hundred and one different ways to attack a problem. The more of them you know, the better equipped you are for any curve balls you may run into on the actual exam.

IMO, a good ratio of independent study to group study is 10:1.

Huh. When I've studied with a partner it was usually just an accountability thing - aka 2 or 3 people meeting to study (not even the same thing necessarily). You work on your own stuff quietly...having it be an 'event' makes sure you actually, you know, go, and 'not wanting to be a douche'' makes sure you don't spend the whole time laughing at YouTube videos. When you get stuck or have a question, there's a quick second perspective sitting across the table from you. Plus you can find some cool study jams if your partner works to music.

 

[missdr10]

I think some people just like the validation of studying in general as a group. Discuss every answer you don't really get. Discuss answers you do get. Just discuss everything and make sure your reasoning is on the right track.
Doesn't really make sense to me because it's an inefficient way of studying and the MCAT isn't a group test, so you should be playing to your own strengths and weaknesses and not to the collective group's.

 

[rodmichael82]

Doesn't really make sense to me because it's an inefficient way of studying and the MCAT isn't a group test, so you should be playing to your own strengths and weaknesses and not to the collective group's.

I agree.

 

[mehc012]

I think some people just like the validation of studying in general as a group. Discuss every answer you don't really get. Discuss answers you do get. Just discuss everything and make sure your reasoning is on the right track.
Doesn't really make sense to me because it's an inefficient way of studying and the MCAT isn't a group test, so you should be playing to your own strengths and weaknesses and not to the collective group's.

Teaching other people solidifies your strengths an incredible amount.
Having people around with different strengths than your own can boost your weaknesses if they're willing to explain them to you (if not, get a different study partner).
Having a second perspective on those verbals or interpretation questions that you just don't get (yet) is definitely useful...if you get stuck on a question have your partner solve it (w/o telling them the answer ahead of time). If they end up at the correct answer, they can help you see the angle you missed. Do that enough times and you can start 'clicking' on those alternate perspectives yourself. Or not. Verbal's always a crapshoot (hey, at least you'll have commiseration)

If you're discussing every question or studying the same material, you're doing group studying wrong. However, pointing out the flaws in poorly-handled group studying does not make group studying itself a poor choice.

 

[Fedxup]

Personally, I do not do group studying for the MCAT for various reasons. I do agree that one of the best ways to learn is to teach other. Group studying for the MCAT, IMO, can only work if everyone in the group is willing to accommodate each others studying pace. Some people are fast and some are slow. I was always the slow one, so I always felt rushed to be on the same level as my partners. This really hindered my learning ability and by being slow I did not want to hinder their ability to study at their pace either. In general I love group work but it just really depends.

 

[missdr10]

Teaching other people solidifies your strengths an incredible amount.
Having people around with different strengths than your own can boost your weaknesses if they're willing to explain them to you (if not, get a different study partner).
Having a second perspective on those verbals or interpretation questions that you just don't get (yet) is definitely useful...if you get stuck on a question have your partner solve it (w/o telling them the answer ahead of time). If they end up at the correct answer, they can help you see the angle you missed. Do that enough times and you can start 'clicking' on those alternate perspectives yourself. Or not. Verbal's always a crapshoot (hey, at least you'll have commiseration)

If you're discussing every question or studying the same material, you're doing group studying wrong. However, pointing out the flaws in poorly-handled group studying does not make group studying itself a poor choice.

I agree with you - there's an inherent benefit to group studying and that's the benefit of discussion. Explaining a complicated concept or organic reaction mechanism is great because you're testing yourself while teaching someone else. Unfortunately, in a group of 6 people studying for a difficult test, questions come up very often and they interrupt your own studying. Also, groups studying for the MCAT tend to assign pseudo-homework assignments (i.e., study chapters 4-6 in Berkeley Bio and 2-3 in Kaplan Chem), but a student's study schedule should be personalized for his or her strengths and weaknesses, as I mentioned in my last post.

 

[rodmichael82]

Man you guys need to come up with more interesting threads

 

[KindofBlue]

Teaching other people solidifies your strengths an incredible amount.
Having people around with different strengths than your own can boost your weaknesses if they're willing to explain them to you (if not, get a different study partner).
.....
If you're discussing every question or studying the same material, you're doing group studying wrong. However, pointing out the flaws in poorly-handled group studying does not make group studying itself a poor choice.

My point as well.
Group studying does not mean you're doing lectures on a topic or discussing problems with each other for 3-4 hours.
You just meet up at a place at a set time, do your own studying at your own pace, ask each other questions once in a while if you're desperately stuck, maybe share some food, rant a few minutes here and there, and go back to your own studying.

It's a good way to keep each other accountable and not goof off at the nth hour of studying.
If it's not working that way, obviously you need to change your partner or do it on your own.

 

[mehc012]

Personally, I do not do group studying for the MCAT for various reasons. I do agree that one of the best ways to learn is to teach other. Group studying for the MCAT, IMO, can only work if everyone in the group is willing to accommodate each others studying pace. Some people are fast and some are slow. I was always the slow one, so I always felt rushed to be on the same level as my partners. This really hindered my learning ability and by being slow I did not want to hinder their ability to study at their pace either. In general I love group work but it just really depends.

That's not group studying that's...I don't even know. I've never heard of people working like that. I can see how that would be inefficient. To me, group studying = people studying their own things in the same place at the same times, occasionally with music or snacks depending on the people, usually followed by a few beers when it gets late and no one's brain is working anymore. It's an accountability tool and a free resource for when your brain gets stuck on a question; you don't need to be going at the same pace or even studying the same things; if someone's focusing on Bio they can still take 5min to look over a physics question and show you why it's easier to use CoE instead of Newtonian calculations in that instance, as long as everyone has some background in similar areas. If you're all studying for the MCAT, chances are you've all taken the prereqs...that's as close as you need to be to being 'on the same pace'.

 

[Fedxup]

That's not group studying that's...I don't even know. I've never heard of people working like that. I can see how that would be inefficient. To me, group studying = people studying their own things in the same place at the same times, occasionally with music or snacks depending on the people, usually followed by a few beers when it gets late and no one's brain is working anymore. It's an accountability tool and a free resource for when your brain gets stuck on a question; you don't need to be going at the same pace or even studying the same things; if someone's focusing on Bio they can still take 5min to look over a physics question and show you why it's easier to use CoE instead of Newtonian calculations in that instance, as long as everyone has some background in similar areas. If you're all studying for the MCAT, chances are you've all taken the prereqs...that's as close as you need to be to being 'on the same pace'.

Clearly my group was doing it wrong hah.

 

[Redpancreas]

Why do people group study for the mcat? It seems like a horrible waste of time. A lot of people at my university are forming mcat study group or getting study partners. Unless your partner is a genius(I'm talking rain man smart) it seems like you would get more done by your self. Am i right?

It always depends. If you did well in all your prerequisites and understand all the concepts there are to understand from buffers and electrostatics, I would think that reviewing on your own is the best just because you understand all the material and now it's a matter of applying it. While teaching is a really good argument for group work because it is a good way to reinforce concepts, speaking as a university tutor/TA/decent team player, there's a fine line between collaborative teaching and charity work and you gotta be honest with yourself as to what you're doing is.

Are all the group members working collaboratively while complementing each other's weaknesses or are you just trying to impress the cute but ditzy girl/guy even if it means repeating yourself 50+ times?

I'm definitely best as a self studier and I believe most of us are strictly for the purposes of the MCAT. Even my friend who often studies in groups and is a really good people person took like a couple months to study and just isolated himself. There may be some out there who may benefit from studying in a group but that's often for the purposes of aiding in the motivation dept. as some people like to have others with them while studying or because they need help with a lot of different concept.


For the average pre-2015 MCATter though, I'd recommend investing in the Berkeley series and whatever SN2ed has up on his schedule, doing it, and then when you get stuck on some concept, go ask a friend, school professor (office hours are for whatever you need), or post your question on SDN (lots of us are willing to help!).

You're always going to get the super smarties who can study in groups and pull off a 36+ but hey, I'd be willing to bet even those students would have done a bit better had they studied by themselves as much as they'd probably want to deny it.

 

[Mavs88]

It works for some I guess, but I hate group work/studying. It's a giant waste of time anytime I've done it. I learn a lot more and a lot faster on my own. I certainly like teaching others but not when I have to learn it too and have a time crunch to do so.

 

[phunky]

I've always felt like group studying is just an excuse to socialize, unless you're near the end of studying and reviewing material/quizzing eachother.

 

[rolliespring]

I thought group studying is like we do work/study together without talking unless someone has a question or wants a food break.
That's how I group study with my friends.

 

[mehc012]

I thought group studying is like we do work/study together without talking unless someone has a question or wants a food break.
That's how I group study with my friends.

Exactly.
Only you forgot the end-of- the-night beer if the test is still a ways out