Need Advice 4 MCAT

[deleted765381]

Hey everyone!

I wanted to get your input on what materials I should get and how to study while being a full time student. I was planning on getting the Kaplan full set with the flash cards + AMCAS materials and go through that with khan academy. Is that okay? Also, does anyone have any advice on studying for the mcat during school. I was planning on taking it in march and start studying in December after 1st semester so I can use the winter break and first two months of 2nd semester. The only difficult class I would say I would be taking 2nd Semester is 2nd Semester OChem. I would love your input on this. Thanks!

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[workaholic181]

Hey everyone!

I wanted to get your input on what materials I should get and how to study while being a full time student. I was planning on getting the Kaplan full set with the flash cards + AMCAS materials and go through that with khan academy. Is that okay? Also, does anyone have any advice on studying for the mcat during school. I was planning on taking it in march and start studying in December after 1st semester so I can use the winter break and first two months of 2nd semester. The only difficult class I would say I would be taking 2nd Semester is 2nd Semester OChem. I would love your input on this. Thanks!

I had a kaplan bio book and I really did not like it.. I used TPR for everything else and loved their stuff. To each their own but I feel as though Kaplan just force feeds you material while TPR teaches you strategies.

The AAMC materials are crucial definitely get those!

If I were you, I would start studying in late October an hour or so a day of content review in whatever your favorite content area is. I did this with bio while a part time student/part time working and it kind of got the ball rolling for me. Then you can hit Christmas break hard and hopefully finish all other content areas during that time.

good luck OP! Embrace the process.

 

[Zenabi90]

workaholic181 has some great advice on some of his other posts as well.
However, I saw this in one of your other posts a year ago

Hello,

Im particularly interested in MD schools over DO but I'm open to anything at this moment. Please Chance me and tell me anything I need to work on. Thanks
Here is my resume:

University: Small Private Liberal Arts University
Major: Biology
Minor: Business Admin
CGPA: 3.68 SGPA:3.67
MCAT: 509
Extracurriculars:
1) Medical Scribe (4 years)
2) EMT (3 years)
4) Volunteer at Hospital (100 hours)
5) Clinical Program in various departments (500+ hours)
6) University Student Government Position (3 years)
7) NCAA Soccer Div III (2 years)
8) Shadow (300+ hours)
9) Volunteer at free clinic (200+ hours)
10) Research in Marine Bio (published)
11) Went to Vietnam to shadow doctors and help treat patients
12) Biology Honor Society

Please be honest with me so i may improve my self. Thanks!

What exactly happened here? I'm not trying to call you out, but this is a pretty complete EC, GPA is decent, MCAT is decent. Easy DO, and with the right LORs/PSs you should have no problem with MD schools.

And if you're retaking MCAT, why take it during the spring semester instead of during the summer when you can dedicate real time?

 

[deleted765381]

workaholic181 has some great advice on some of his other posts as well.
However, I saw this in one of your other posts a year ago



What exactly happened here? I'm not trying to call you out, but this is a pretty complete EC, GPA is decent, MCAT is decent. Easy DO, and with the right LORs/PSs you should have no problem with MD schools.

And if you're retaking MCAT, why take it during the spring semester instead of during the summer when you can dedicate real time?

Hey thanks for asking! Anyways, I basically made that just more as a "what if" scenario to see where I am at. Currently, my GPA and EC's are the same. I never took the MCAT. It was more of "what if" I had these scores etc etc! So basically my last step is to actually take the MCAT with a goal of getting a 510<. I want to apply this upcoming cycle (2018) and I would've studied this summer (2017) but I had a Medical Internship at a children's hospital that went M-F 12 hours a day, so I didn't have the time. So Im trying to figure out a way in order to take it while not taking a gap year if that makes sense. I hope this answers your question!

 

[Zenabi90]

So Im trying to figure out a way in order to take it while not taking a gap year if that makes sense.

So if you want to apply in the 2018 cycle, next year's cycle, without a gap year, I'm assuming you'll be a Junior this fall.

The biggest problem I have is that for many colleges, upper-division organic chemistry classes are the "weeder" classes. They're intentionally deadly difficult and used to weed out the weak from the strong in the science field. I would worry that you might end up sacrificing your science GPA to not take a gap year.

Gap years are no longer the big red flag they used to be, provided the gap year is used constructively with an aim to strengthening your application or proving your dedication to the healthcare field. Gap year(s) are slowly becoming more common.

Or worse, you burn out from trying to balance core classes with MCAT prep and end up tanking both your GPA and your first take of the MCAT. The path you're taking is high risk for what I perceive as only a "medium" reward.

SN2ed and many others strongly advise against studying for the MCAT while trying to complete prereqs. Others have succeeded, many have failed.

Here's my advice: ace your prereq classes (aka 4.0) to really help boost your sGPA, don't worry about the gap year. You have plenty of ECs, take the summer to nail your MCAT. You should have no problem getting to ~515 with a proper dedicated study period. Then senior year take things like ana/phys or advanced biochem and nail those too with strong LORs, then send out your complete app on the first day of the 2019 cycle. By that time your sGPA should be a solid 3.75+, with a great 515+ on MCAT, strong ECs, and a highly competitive application.

 

[Seikuken]

Hey everyone!

I wanted to get your input on what materials I should get and how to study while being a full time student. I was planning on getting the Kaplan full set with the flash cards + AMCAS materials and go through that with khan academy. Is that okay? Also, does anyone have any advice on studying for the mcat during school. I was planning on taking it in march and start studying in December after 1st semester so I can use the winter break and first two months of 2nd semester. The only difficult class I would say I would be taking 2nd Semester is 2nd Semester OChem. I would love your input on this. Thanks!

I studied for the MCAT this past spring semester while finishing a pre-req (Physics II) and can offer my two cents on this. Treat MCAT prep as a full 4-credit course and devote around 3-4 hours a day on it over the course of the semester. How you divide content review is really up to you, but make sure you spend one month sharpening those reasoning/research parts by doing plenty of practice. For CARS, check out KoalaT's guide and practice early on. Good luck!