Forum Members 100 DAY MCAT STUDY PLAN adapted from SN2ed & MCATjelly - EK, TBR, TPRH, Kaplan

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_Nymeria_

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Hey Everyone!

Using this plan (<--Click), I went from 30th Percentile to 90th Percentile!

HERE IS AN UPDATED ARTICLE How I Went from 30th to 90th Percentile (<--Click) I WROTE ABOUT THE SPECIFICS OF MY STUDY PLAN


***UPDATED 2021 100 DAY MCAT SCHEDULE*** CLICK HERE for an updated version incorporating more modern resources. Created by the SDN team based on all of YOUR advice on various pages. Looks awesome!

I created a 2015 adaptation from @SN2ed's and @mcatjelly's study plans. I tried to eliminate some of the physics not covered in the new MCAT and am open to suggestions! I'll also probably combine some of the days if I can get through the chapters quicker than expected.

Key points: Practice is important! Don't read too much about Verbal strategy, just practice and hone your skills. REVIEW EVERYTHING! Always question why you missed something and always question why you got it right. Review should take as long as the actual passage, test, etc.

**I keep getting questions about why I RECOMMEND the pre-2015 books, this is inaccurate. It is not that I recommend pre-2015 MCAT books. I used pre-2015 MCAT books because that was all that was available to me when I was studying for the 2015 MCAT, and it worked fine for me.

**PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS BECAUSE I KEEP GETTING REPEAT QUESTIONS: The Kaplan column was adapted from mcatjelly's schedule specifically for individuals that only have Kaplan books and do not want to buy the entire set of materials I used. I did not personally complete mcatjelly's study plan, nor did I study using that. I only used their plan to adapt mine to Kaplan materials. Though I do not recommend the Kaplan books. They are too detailed. The MCAT is more broad!! Don't focus on details.

- Materials I Incorporated:

-SN2ed Complete Set (<-- CLICK AND READ) (BR Verbal not necessary) YOU MUST READ THIS PLAN FOR MINE TO MAKE SENSE- I used Pre-2015 BR books

-2015 Kaplan Study Books & On-Demand Course (optional - only added for individuals that already have Kaplan books) - Not recommended. Too detailed.

-NextStep Psychology and Sociology Strategy and Practice book 2015

You can buy these off of Ebay, Amazon, or you can get them here: For Sale and Advertisements

Here are some updates that you can make to the plan:
- Add AAMC practice question packs the 2-3 weeks before your MCAT. This is a great way to become comfortable with the way the authors write.
- You do not necessarily need three different CARS/Verbal resources. You can use the AAMC question packs, EK101 (though these seem easier than the new CARS section), TPRH Verbal Book
- Think of this plan as a checklist. You can rearrange it however you want
- Realize I posted this plan before I even took the MCAT. I was still trying to make sense of the 2015 MCAT
- Taking forever to read through a chapter? I mostly watched Khan Academy MCAT section to learn a lot of the material then skimmed the chapters for anything Khan Academy did not cover. Then I went and did passages. REVIEW YOUR PASSAGES. Review your mistakes. Review the questions you got right. Spend a lot of time figuring out how you can eliminate answer choices. LEARN to beat the test.
- Don't focus on minute details. The MCAT is BIG PICTURE.
- YOU MUST KNOW YOUR AMINO ACIDS! Here are the two quiz sites I used to learn them (I literally did these every other morning for three months). Click here for structure and Click here for abbreviations
- I made an equation sheet as I was studying. Memorized the equation sheet. Then reproduced the equation sheet on the scratch paper given to me during the tutorial time allotted. I found this very useful.

**Please read all of my responses. It is important to learn the skill of self-learning and researching. I continue to get repeat and ill-researched questions. Remember to review SN2ed's stuff as well. I promise reading these things WILL help you!

You will do A LOT of reading, researching, and planning before you start taking the MCAT
. Remember, AAMC recommends a minimum of 300 hours of studying.

I think the biggest takeaway from all of this is ADAPT these materials to your learning style. PRACTICE. Be tenacious!

Good Luck Everyone!

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Hi! Thanks so much for posting your plan; this looks great. I was wondering what year TBR books you used? Mine say copyright 2010-2011. Not sure if I should get something more updated.
 
quick question from @_Nymeria_ so we read the chapter on Day 1 and do the questions...but wait for Day 2 to check the answers?

This is up to you. SN2ed recommended reviewing the next day. Personally, I'd quickly look over the answers as soon as I was done. I tried to reason why I got something right and why I got something wrong. If I was too "study brained" then I came back the next day to REALLY UNDERSTAND why I was missing questions or what I did to get them right.
 
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Nymeria, when you said you memorized your equations/formulas and wrote them down on the scratch paper the day of, did you write them all down immediately during the first section or did you write them before (physics)and before (chemistry)? I know that we have to "turn in" our scratch paper after each section and this is making me anxious. Thank you for your help.

When I took the test in 2015 and 2014, I did not have to turn in my scratch paper. You have the option of exchanging it for a clean sheet if you'd like, but the booklet has plenty of space (I write a lot so I promise, it's plenty). I would greatly discourage you from doing an equation sheet during the actual sections. Time is extremely important on the MCAT.
 
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Nymeria: Thanks for all the time you've put into helping all of us out! You've gone above and beyond with this thread...

I hope I'm not pushing my luck by asking...but do you have any recommendations as to which equations we should focus on? I've come across soooo many equations during the content review, it's been a bit overwhelming...did you just write all of them down and narrow your list as you did practice problems?

I created the equation sheet as I went. It slowly got longer and longer. Just jot down the equations you use frequently from practice questions and full lengths. I tried to recreate it every day. I attached old pictures of mine! They're hard to read, but the point is you want to make a sheet for YOU! If you're solid in chemistry, you probably won't have as much as I had on mine. **Also, this was one of my really quick practice sheets, so it might have errors on it**.

I rewrote this sheet the night before the MCAT and also the morning of. I found it helped boost my confidence quite a bit! Hope this helps.
 

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I would get so tired re-writing that:bear:

Now that I know you are ALIVE, @_Nymeria_ ,

I know you said the Kaplan column on the right side is all optional, but what about the Kaplan stuff in in purple and yellow (biochem, psyc/soc)?

The only Kaplan materials I used were the online full lengths. And haha.. yeah I'm barely alive.. med school is seriously no joke :smuggrin::bored: You just want to make sure you have a way to review material (I used BR and Khan Academy) and a way to test yourself on those topics consistently (I used BR and some other random resources like the NextStep Psych Practice book - but that was only because there were NO 2015 materials when I started studying for the 2015 MCAT). For review of material, Kaplan gets way too detailed. You'll see the more you study for the MCAT, the less you really need to know. It's all about test taking strategy. Of course, you do need foundational knowledge.

I think I had the Kaplan stuff in those columns specifically because I didn't know where else I could get that information (biochem and psych) because like I said, nothing was really available at the time. The BR Bio books actually had some good biochem passages in them. I did not like the NextStep Biochem book, I thought it was ridiculously difficult. They might have fixed it from 2015, but I did like the psych practice book by them.

For the equation sheet, I got really fast at writing it, and sometimes I didn't recreate the whole thing. Just by writing it over and over, you start to learn the equations.
 
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I created the equation sheet as I went. It slowly got longer and longer. Just jot down the equations you use frequently from practice questions and full lengths. I tried to recreate it every day. I attached old pictures of mine! They're hard to read, but the point is you want to make a sheet for YOU! If you're solid in chemistry, you probably won't have as much as I had on mine. **Also, this was one of my really quick practice sheets, so it might have errors on it**.

I rewrote this sheet the night before the MCAT and also the morning of. I found it helped boost my confidence quite a bit! Hope this helps.

You are AMAZING! Thank you so much for getting back to me and for helping us all out. Best of luck in med school!!
 
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Four questions for ya @_Nymeria_:
1. the Kaplan Psychology book is this one?:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1618654853/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A26J6JNN8TGTL9&psc=1

2. the AAMC Full Length (FL) #3-5 and 7-11 (SN2ed wrote this out) are where exactly? I looked at their website and I'm not seeing them numbered like this^

3. for this, "- You might want to consider making a log for all of your post test results where you work through the questions below. Doing so, you'll be able to easily notice trends.”, can you explain a bit about the bit that says "where you work through the questions below." Should I just paste my actual number scores from the test, or does this review log require one to actually take notes on each question?

4. While reading each book for content review, how detailed do you get when it comes to taking notes? Like, I would guess that if I scrutinize every sentence I would end up studying for 10 years...on the other hand, I don't want to breeze over important things...where's the sweet spot here?

PS. if any of these things have been answered before, feel free to just point out that you've answered it already ^.^
 
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Four questions for ya @_Nymeria_:
1. the Kaplan Psychology book is this one?:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1618654853/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A26J6JNN8TGTL9&psc=1

2. the AAMC Full Length (FL) #3-5 and 7-11 (SN2ed wrote this out) are where exactly? I looked at their website and I'm not seeing them numbered like this^

3. for this, "- You might want to consider making a log for all of your post test results where you work through the questions below. Doing so, you'll be able to easily notice trends.”, can you explain a bit about the bit that says "where you work through the questions below." Should I just paste my actual number scores from the test, or does this review log require one to actually take notes on each question?

4. While reading each book for content review, how detailed do you get when it comes to taking notes? Like, I would guess that if I scrutinize every sentence I would end up studying for 10 years...on the other hand, I don't want to breeze over important things...where's the sweet spot here?

PS. if any of these things have been answered before, feel free to just point out that you've answered it already ^.^

1. No, like I've said quite a few times I did not read the Kaplan books. I used this one for psychology:
Amazon product

2. These were their old ones. They probably got rid of them. Remember that SN2ed took this like 6+ years ago and I took it in 2015.

3. I made an actual log and jotted down the mistakes I made and topics I needed to go over again.

4. I mostly leaned on Khan Academy and used the chapters to fill in the blanks. Do not go too much into detail.
 
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Hi @_Nymeria_
Are there specific versions of these study materials that I should get? Also, is the EK 1001 Series referring to the 1001 questions books?
 
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Hello! Thank you so much for your brilliant schedule!
I purchased the newer editions of the books and I was wondering if anyone has the chapter conversion of your schedule for the new TBR books and 2018 Kaplan?
 
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I was thinking about reproducing the AA's during my test. How useful would this be? Thanks!
 
Would you recommend just throwing out TBR Verbal? Or replacing it with AAMC on the relevant days? I know you said it wasn't necessary, but it was also mentioned that we could use AAMC as a third source for CARS practice.
 
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Is the MCAT based on a bank of questions? By that I Mean is there a large bank of questions and the test randomly generates from those questions?
 
The only Kaplan materials I used were the online full lengths. And haha.. yeah I'm barely alive.. med school is seriously no joke :smuggrin::bored: You just want to make sure you have a way to review material (I used BR and Khan Academy) and a way to test yourself on those topics consistently (I used BR and some other random resources like the NextStep Psych Practice book - but that was only because there were NO 2015 materials when I started studying for the 2015 MCAT). For review of material, Kaplan gets way too detailed. You'll see the more you study for the MCAT, the less you really need to know. It's all about test taking strategy. Of course, you do need foundational knowledge.

I think I had the Kaplan stuff in those columns specifically because I didn't know where else I could get that information (biochem and psych) because like I said, nothing was really available at the time. The BR Bio books actually had some good biochem passages in them. I did not like the NextStep Biochem book, I thought it was ridiculously difficult. They might have fixed it from 2015, but I did like the psych practice book by them.

For the equation sheet, I got really fast at writing it, and sometimes I didn't recreate the whole thing. Just by writing it over and over, you start to learn the equations.

Very helpful information. Thank you for posting ALL of your insights.
 
My mcat study schedule.
I have access to TPR online lectures and content until end of January. I also have access to aamc full length test and TPR test until then. I have official mcat cue cards. Lastly I have McGraw Hill 500 question review for each section.
I am aiming for March 2019 test date and will have to get some access for FL AAMC for the last month and a half. I plan to do exams at the library with earphones to mock exam days on my fridays because I am off from work and it's a completely free day.
We can do this.
any suggestions hit me up.
View attachment StudySchedule_Timeline_7051.pdf

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I am planning on taking the MCAT on July 20th. So far I have completed the prerequisites except for Biochem, physics 2, and organic chem 2. This coming semester I will be taking organic 2 along with some other classes, 2 medium level, and 1 easy level class. The time I have is January- May 9 (during semester) and till july 20th- exam day. Below I have provided my level of understanding in each topic. My main issue is figuring out a study plan to use through out the semester, where I only want to focus on content review for the most part, and cars. If anyone has any ideas please do share. thank you.

Biology- med/ high
Chemistry- medium
Physics- low
BioChem- medium
Psych/soc- high
 
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Hi everyone,

I just began to study for the MCAT this February using the 100 day technique and I have all of the prep books but was wondering if the verbal books (ExamKrackers 101 Verbal Reasoning and TPRH) are still viable to use for the new MCAT CARS section?

Thanks
 
One major question about the SN2ed schedule: shouldn't I wait until I'm done doing the final 1/3 of BR passages for all 10 chapters of each book, before I start doing the AAMC FLs? I don't see why I would take the first practice AAMC FL exam before I'm done with all of the passages, since my content review is essentially incomplete (even though all the reading is done). What did you guys do?
 
I am planning on taking the MCAT on July 20th. So far I have completed the prerequisites except for Biochem, physics 2, and organic chem 2. This coming semester I will be taking organic 2 along with some other classes, 2 medium level, and 1 easy level class. The time I have is January- May 9 (during semester) and till july 20th- exam day. Below I have provided my level of understanding in each topic. My main issue is figuring out a study plan to use through out the semester, where I only want to focus on content review for the most part, and cars. If anyone has any ideas please do share. thank you.

Biology- med/ high
Chemistry- medium
Physics- low
BioChem- medium
Psych/soc- high
 
I am hoping to just stick to one resource, and I am debating between Kaplan and TPR. I already have all the AAMC materials, and have started on Khan. I was wondering if anyone would be able to offer any insight to more specific differences between the Kaplan and TPR, and what type of learners they tend to work for. (I have 12 weeks until the MCAT, so I need to make a decision soon!) I just finished taking all the prerequisites, but I am not confident in the scientific knowledge I already have. I also have a tendency to get caught up on little details. Thanks! :)
 
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Thank you so much Nymeria for taking the time to write your schedule. I used a slight variation of your schedule after reading post after post here and at reddit. It worked perfectly for me (132s in C/P and B/B) except for CARS :(

You are correct that there are new materials out there, but I also think that TBR has more passages now than when you used them. I personally didn't like UWorld, so I stopped using them early on. Others like them, but I felt the biology questions were unrealistic and beyond the MCAT and the other areas were not well written. I hear they are awesome for the boards, but I think they may have overshot the MCAT biology and be too far removed from the other subjects.

I really don't think you need to add anything to your schedule. Grind through TBR at the start and learn how to think, then grind through AAMC materials and learn the writer's tendencies, and finish with 10 FLs. That formula still works well today.
 
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I have a question concerning the scheduled UWorld question blocks in the new 2019 study schedule. The first UWorld block is scheduled for Day 7. As someone who hasn't studied physics or chemistry in years and needs significant content review to brush off the rust, wouldn't the questions be way too difficult after just reviewing the first chapter? Is there a way on UWorld to select for specific problem types (e.g. Physics --> Translational motion)?
 
I have a question concerning the scheduled UWorld question blocks in the new 2019 study schedule. The first UWorld block is scheduled for Day 7. As someone who hasn't studied physics or chemistry in years and needs significant content review to brush off the rust, wouldn't the questions be way too difficult after just reviewing the first chapter? Is there a way on UWorld to select for specific problem types (e.g. Physics --> Translational motion)?

I would postpone doing UWorld until you have reviewed more. In all honesty, I didn't find them that helpful for the C/P section (unrealistic questions that are pretty far off the AAMC mark). Their P/S is gold. Their CARS is very good and B/B can be helpful, but if you do the TBR in this plan for C/P, then you should skip UWorld for that section. Here is a slight variation of this plan.
 
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Is it still necessary to use the Kaplan Biochem book, a opposed to just sticking with the TBR Bio books? If the Kaplan Biochem book is still necessary, per the updated 2019 study schedule, why is it that passages are only done on the first day of reading a Kaplan Biochem chapter? Every other day that a Kaplan Biochem chapter is read, there are no passages assigned for that day.

Overall, I am wondering if the need for Kaplan Biochem was originally due to the TBR books not having bee updated to reflect the heavy biochem content. Is it possible that the newer editions of the TBR Bio books are solid in the biochem department, so that Kaplan Biochem is not necessary? Thank you to any who can help me understand this aspect of the plan.
 
Is it still necessary to use the Kaplan Biochem book, a opposed to just sticking with the TBR Bio books? If the Kaplan Biochem book is still necessary, per the updated 2019 study schedule, why is it that passages are only done on the first day of reading a Kaplan Biochem chapter? Every other day that a Kaplan Biochem chapter is read, there are no passages assigned for that day.

Overall, I am wondering if the need for Kaplan Biochem was originally due to the TBR books not having bee updated to reflect the heavy biochem content. Is it possible that the newer editions of the TBR Bio books are solid in the biochem department, so that Kaplan Biochem is not necessary? Thank you to any who can help me understand this aspect of the plan.

Hey so I can't comment on the status of these books/relevance anymore, but Dr. Sholders class REALLY prepared me for the MCAT.

Like, I didn't have to study biochemistry really, and I scored eighty-something percentile in that section.
 
Is it still necessary to use the Kaplan Biochem book, a opposed to just sticking with the TBR Bio books? If the Kaplan Biochem book is still necessary, per the updated 2019 study schedule, why is it that passages are only done on the first day of reading a Kaplan Biochem chapter? Every other day that a Kaplan Biochem chapter is read, there are no passages assigned for that day.

Overall, I am wondering if the need for Kaplan Biochem was originally due to the TBR books not having bee updated to reflect the heavy biochem content. Is it possible that the newer editions of the TBR Bio books are solid in the biochem department, so that Kaplan Biochem is not necessary? Thank you to any who can help me understand this aspect of the plan.

I found TBR had everything I needed for biochemistry. Some of it is found in the Organic 2 book though.
 
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Based on user feedback, this plan has been completely rebuilt for 2023:

Because some of the materials had grown outdated, we revamped it based on the materials that successful test takers used for their studying. Please let us know your feedback on this new version!
 
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Awesome. This was soooooooooooooooooooooooo needed. It was getting outdated when I studied four years ago, so great job getting it current.
 
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Awesome. This was soooooooooooooooooooooooo needed. It was getting outdated when I studied four years ago, so great job getting it current.
Agreed. I did okay in the end, but truly feel that the TBR series did more to confuse me than aid me. I never finished the series, and found I had many gaps in my knowledge when I started the AAMC materials. I think the format of the TBR books was just too much for me, and I'd have benefited from a more typical content review approach. I could be wrong, though. I think this updated plan will be a little more straightforward.
 
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