[IN NEED OF OPINION] When should I take the MCAT? (Study Schedule/Plan)

[Arrhenius10]

Hey everyone!

I'm planning on applying in the 2018 cycle. I've made a study plan for this summer, the Fall 2017 semester, and the winter break following that (Attached in this post). I plan on taking the MCAT on January.

Summer 2017 Schedule: Physics 2.
Fall 2017 Schedule: Advanced Biochemistry I (two semesters long sequence) & Lab, Cell Biology Lab, Sustainability Energy, and a TPR MCAT Review Course offered at the university I'm attending.

Goals:
Summer -- Review all content and gain mastery.
Fall -- Get an excellent GPA (duh), question banks.
Winter Break -- FL practice.

SO, recently I've been thinking about taking the MCAT in the Fall instead because it would give me more time to prepare for it again IF I don't manage to destroy it the first time (hopefully I won't have to). If this were the case, I could take a General Biochemistry (one semester) course in the summer, which should be sufficient to prep for the MCAT.

At the same time, there's really no rush even if I took it in the Spring (January). I've heard many people retaking it, and still succeeding in med school applications. So I'd like to collect some of your expert opinions.

I don't know if these info will help, but:
I've taken all the pre-reqs except for Physics 2 and Biochem.
GPA 3.9, MCAT goal: 515+ (520 ideally lol we'll see).

Many thanks!

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[Dr.Qball]

I do like the determination I see in this post! However, IMO I think anything over 4 months of prep actually hinders your progress. Also Biochem is vastly important before you even start practicing the Section Banks so I wouldnt waste those without taking biochem first

 

[Saigon]

I love the ambition, but if you are very serious about spending this much time studying then I would do the following:

first thing's first, review all practice passages using the blind review method. this ensures you are actually using your limited materials the right way. link ->

Summer - Content review of all MCAT subjects that you have already taken (ex: Gen Chem, Orgo, etc). While you are going through your review books cross things off the things that you cover on the AAMC topic list. Altius made a condensed list that can help you keep track of what you did/didn't go over. Since you have plenty of time, I highly suggest you make Anki notecards during this phase, which will allow you to have a quick way to ensure you're not forgetting content review during the semester. For each Physics 2 chapter you have, supplement it with the corresponding MCAT chapter in whatever review book you are using. Do the first and second phases of TBR passages.

Fall Semester - Continue going over Anki notecards that you made in the Summer. Kill Biochem. As I'm sure you have heard, biochem is a huge part of this exam. If you understand what you are learning then MCAT biochem will be a breeze. This will be the same deal with Physics. Once you've taken an actual university physics class then MCAT physics will feel like a joke. I self-studied physics using a physics textbook (Giancoli), and the problems/conceptual questions in there prepared me for EVERYTHING I've seen in practice passages/exams. Do the third phase of TBR (practice exams at end of each book). Half way through the semester I would start doing one practice exam a week, reviewing it THOROUGHLY with the blind review method. Since you have so much on your plate, I highly recommend that you spend the whole week reviewing the exams you take. This will help ensure that you won't burn out, and that you have flexibility in your schedule.

I honestly think a TPR review course will be a waste of time. It will essentially be a glorified content review, which you don't even need since you'll have reviewed the majority of the content during the summer. Judging by your GPA, you are disciplined enough to study on your own. Save your time and money and don't do the course. I'm sure many others will agree with me on this.

It's ok if you start doing the question banks towards the tail end of the semester.

Winter Break - Section banks, AAMC practice exams, etc. These last 4-6 weeks should only have AAMC materials. Don't do anything else. Review everything using 7sage's the blind review method.

regarding CARS and P/S, the earliest you start these the better. Over the summer it would be great if you went through the TPR P/S book and watched all the Khan Academy videos. At the reddit mcat page, someone has already typed up notes on all the videos and there are also anki decks on the videos, so you would really only have to watch the vids at 1.5x speed. Do 3 CARS passages every day, and thoroughly review them with the blind review method. I recommend you do the new EK 101 CARS book, the new TPR CARS book, Testing Solutions (split up the practice exams into sets of 3 passages), Old AAMC Verbal sections, and then AAMC CARS question packs. Plenty of other material to throw in there if you run through all of that.

don't underestimate how draining studying will be, especially while you are taking a full course load. you want to finish the bulk of your review this summer, so you only spend the semester reviewing weaknesses and doing passages. if you get most of the leg work done early, then you have way more flexibility for your studying. sorry of none of this made sense, I am typing it in a hurry. good luck

Hey everyone!

I'm planning on applying in the 2018 cycle. I've made a study plan for this summer, the Fall 2017 semester, and the winter break following that (Attached in this post). I plan on taking the MCAT on January.

Summer 2017 Schedule: Physics 2.
Fall 2017 Schedule: Advanced Biochemistry I (two semesters long sequence) & Lab, Cell Biology Lab, Sustainability Energy, and a TPR MCAT Review Course offered at the university I'm attending.

Goals:
Summer -- Review all content and gain mastery.
Fall -- Get an excellent GPA (duh), question banks.
Winter Break -- FL practice.

SO, recently I've been thinking about taking the MCAT in the Fall instead because it would give me more time to prepare for it again IF I don't manage to destroy it the first time (hopefully I won't have to). If this were the case, I could take a General Biochemistry (one semester) course in the summer, which should be sufficient to prep for the MCAT.

At the same time, there's really no rush even if I took it in the Spring (January). I've heard many people retaking it, and still succeeding in med school applications. So I'd like to collect some of your expert opinions.

I don't know if these info will help, but:
I've taken all the pre-reqs except for Physics 2 and Biochem.
GPA 3.9, MCAT goal: 515+ (520 ideally lol we'll see).

Many thanks!

 

[Arrhenius10]

I love the ambition, but if you are very serious about spending this much time studying then I would do the following:

first thing's first, review all practice passages using the blind review method. this ensures you are actually using your limited materials the right way. link ->

Summer - Content review of all MCAT subjects that you have already taken (ex: Gen Chem, Orgo, etc). While you are going through your review books cross things off the things that you cover on the AAMC topic list. Altius made a condensed list that can help you keep track of what you did/didn't go over. Since you have plenty of time, I highly suggest you make Anki notecards during this phase, which will allow you to have a quick way to ensure you're not forgetting content review during the semester. For each Physics 2 chapter you have, supplement it with the corresponding MCAT chapter in whatever review book you are using. Do the first and second phases of TBR passages.

Fall Semester - Continue going over Anki notecards that you made in the Summer. Kill Biochem. As I'm sure you have heard, biochem is a huge part of this exam. If you understand what you are learning then MCAT biochem will be a breeze. This will be the same deal with Physics. Once you've taken an actual university physics class then MCAT physics will feel like a joke. I self-studied physics using a physics textbook (Giancoli), and the problems/conceptual questions in there prepared me for EVERYTHING I've seen in practice passages/exams. Do the third phase of TBR (practice exams at end of each book). Half way through the semester I would start doing one practice exam a week, reviewing it THOROUGHLY with the blind review method. Since you have so much on your plate, I highly recommend that you spend the whole week reviewing the exams you take. This will help ensure that you won't burn out, and that you have flexibility in your schedule.

I honestly think a TPR review course will be a waste of time. It will essentially be a glorified content review, which you don't even need since you'll have reviewed the majority of the content during the summer. Judging by your GPA, you are disciplined enough to study on your own. Save your time and money and don't do the course. I'm sure many others will agree with me on this.

It's ok if you start doing the question banks towards the tail end of the semester.

Winter Break - Section banks, AAMC practice exams, etc. These last 4-6 weeks should only have AAMC materials. Don't do anything else. Review everything using 7sage's the blind review method.

regarding CARS and P/S, the earliest you start these the better. Over the summer it would be great if you went through the TPR P/S book and watched all the Khan Academy videos. At the reddit mcat page, someone has already typed up notes on all the videos and there are also anki decks on the videos, so you would really only have to watch the vids at 1.5x speed. Do 3 CARS passages every day, and thoroughly review them with the blind review method. I recommend you do the new EK 101 CARS book, the new TPR CARS book, Testing Solutions (split up the practice exams into sets of 3 passages), Old AAMC Verbal sections, and then AAMC CARS question packs. Plenty of other material to throw in there if you run through all of that.

don't underestimate how draining studying will be, especially while you are taking a full course load. you want to finish the bulk of your review this summer, so you only spend the semester reviewing weaknesses and doing passages. if you get most of the leg work done early, then you have way more flexibility for your studying. sorry of none of this made sense, I am typing it in a hurry. good luck

NOT AT ALL! This is absolutely helpful! Thank you so much for sharing your advice and a list of resources. I agree with you on the CARS and P/S -- the earlier the better. I will definitely follow your advice on making anki decks and going over them in the Fall semester as well as trying out the blind review method. As for the TBR materials, do you think I should buy all 10 books of theirs? I've always been on the fence about TBR, but I just found out that they have practice passages in their review books! Enticing, but $$$! Thank you

 

[Saigon]

I am not familiar with the tbr cars or psych books. I have the newest bio, orgo, gen Chem, and physics books and they are great. I think I got them from around $300. The nice thing about tbr is you can sell them on to someone else preparing for the exam. I think you should really drop that tpr class. Save that $2000 and dedicate the time you would have spent in that class self-studying.

NOT AT ALL! This is absolutely helpful! Thank you so much for sharing your advice and a list of resources. I agree with you on the CARS and P/S -- the earlier the better. I will definitely follow your advice on making anki decks and going over them in the Fall semester as well as trying out the blind review method. As for the TBR materials, do you think I should buy all 10 books of theirs? I've always been on the fence about TBR, but I just found out that they have practice passages in their review books! Enticing, but $$$! Thank you

am

 

[Arrhenius10]

I am not familiar with the tbr cars or psych books. I have the newest bio, orgo, gen Chem, and physics books and they are great. I think I got them from around $300. The nice thing about tbr is you can sell them on to someone else preparing for the exam. I think you should really drop that tpr class. Save that $2000 and dedicate the time you would have spent in that class self-studying.

am

That sounds good! I appreciate your help enormously!