And thinking along your lines, democrat - to start content review in August. I know it takes me a long time to get comfortable for a standardized test and I work full time (non-trad, can't afford to take time off) so doesn't make sense to rush it!
Only thing I'm having trouble with, is I have TOO many study materials. A friend gave me a free set of Kaplan review books he got and didn't need, I already had TPR and then my parents gave me a lot of EK & BR books as a gift! I'm not sure the best way to break it down and what to use for what when... Seems a bit overwhelming to figure out a plan!
I totally remember having this feeling before I started. When you buy used books in sets you get more than you actually want. I luckily had time on my hands, so before starting to study I read a little from each book to see which one worked for me. Once I knew what I was going to use I set my schedule.
Start by printing the MCAT Essentials for PS and BS. I used this as a checklist. When I reviewed a topic, I marked an R next to it. When I did a passage on it I put a P next to it.
For Biology I started by reading EK. I checked off all of the topics on the MCAT list. They covered about 75% of the material. I then skimmed TBR chapters to filter out the ones that were too detailed. I read molecular biology and all of the physio except part of repro. By the time I was done, I had checked off most of the MCAT list. Maybe two things were unchecked. From there I did 5 TBR passages and graded them thoroughly, doing a postgame analysis. If I did well, I'd do 5 more. If I didn't do well, I'd read TPR on that topic. TPR passages in their workbook aren't organized by topic, so I decided to save them for the very end when I wanted random topics. I finished all of the TBR passages a few months before my MCAT.
For organic chemistry I started by reading TBR. I found it hard to get through chapter 1 because of the detail, so I switched to EK. I didn't find EK to be helpful, so I went back to TBR. This is what I would change. I would read only certain sections of each book and skim others. Their lab techniques are da bomb. Their carbonyl chapter is all you need. Their stereochemistry chapter is really strong. I'd skip reading chapter 1, skim spectroscopy (it comes down to practice with that material anyway), and skip the sugar tests section. I did TBR passages the same way I did them for biology and I saved TPR passages for the last two months.
For physics I read through certain chapters concurrently as I was taking the actual class. This really helped, but most people are not taking physics while they study for the MCAT. I read TBR chapters and did every example question twice. Once while reading and then I'd go back and try each one again like an exam. BTW, get the newest TBR physics. I made the mistake of starting with the older one and regret it. I would do the TBR tests at the end of the chapters and sets of 25 EK questions for homework. I gave up on EK because their explanations weren't helping. I came back to them later, once I had reviewed everything for rapid fire practice. It took making mistakes to discover that EK 1001 is best done after you've reviewed. That way I knew which questions were ridiculous. I started TPR workbook but only did half of their passages.
For general chemistry its TBR and nothing else. Just like physics I did the practice questions in the reading twice. Once while reading and a second time after I finished reading and before I started passages. This really helps.
For verbal I started with EK because it was the easiest reading. For homework I'd do two EK passages, two TPR passages, and two TBR passages. I found EK strategies worked well on EK passages but not as well on TPR or TBR passages. So I read TPR verbal and did the same thing. Again, I found a bias. I then made a list of all of the tips from both books that worked for me. This really helped me. I started doing better on passages from all soruces. One piece of advice I have to give is that some of the TBR passages are trash. I got this idea from someone at SDN and it really worked. I went to the answer keys first and crossed out any passages where the answer explanations were longer than two paragraphs. This left me with about two thirds of the TBR book. Those were the passages worth doing. TPR has the best passages but EK are worth doing too.
For practice I did two to three tests per week and took TPR workbook passages on the days I had off. I mixed TBR exams and AAMC exams. I'd take an easier TBR exam after taking a harder AAMC exam and vice versa. Here is the order I wish I would have followed.
AAMC 3
TBR 3
AAMC 4
TBR 5
AAMC 5
TBR 2
AAMC 7
TBR 1
AAMC 8
TBR 7
AAMC 9
TBR 4
AAMC 10
TBR 6
AAMC 11
Fifteen exams is plenty. I hated dropping the money, but and AAMC exams are a must and the TBR exams really made me think. The science sections were excellent. The verbal was hit or miss.
I didn't mean to write so much when I started. You struck a chord.
Good luck. Try not to panic too much. Once you get started the pile doesn't seem so overwhelming.
