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Registration for the September MCAT opens up soon, so I thought I would make the thread.
Who else will be taking the test in September?
Who else will be taking the test in September?
What kind of study schedule are you guys following?
And also what keeps you guys going (motivated/driven to keep studying) during long hours?
yeah take 2 or 3 days off and don't do anything mcat related. lol rest is so so so so important.September 12th here! Full time medical Technologist. I study on my commute, to and from work, during my breaks and after I get home. So around 4-6 hours a day. And I have been studying for two months now! I went through all my content(multiple times) and I recently started doing practice tests every time I have a day off.
EK 9th edition is my main source and I am supplementing with TPR and NS materials. I try to get through three chapters per day and do about 3 verbal passages a day. But I feel myself starting to get super tired. Just chugging along though. Any tips on how to fight burnout? Thanks!
I heard mprep qbank was good for the old MCAT but I'm not sure if they have adjusted their questions to the new style of the MCAT. Has anyone heard anything?I just started going hard for the MCAT. Working 50+ hours a week while fitting in studying is provng difficult, but so far so good. Luckily I can usually read my prep books a few hours each night at work
Has anyone tried mprep qbank? I need a relatively cheap practice question source
I heard mprep qbank was good for the old MCAT but I'm not sure if they have adjusted their questions to the new style of the MCAT. Has anyone heard anything?
I think also exercise is really important though I'm having trouble fitting it in to my crazy schedule. It's so easy to spend all day sitting reading prep books, doing practice materials, watching videos etc and it's all too easy to not get enough movement going on
I guess this will be training b/c when we're in med school and residency it will only be more work, so this can be a good time to practice taking care of mental and physical health while studying for this beast.
Oddly enough I'm still in the stage of being kinda excited for the test. I'm sure it'll wear off but I get invigorated by the challenge.
Well obviously the CARS is mostly the same. But comparing the way the physical science passages are presented in application to biological systems takes some getting used to if you are used to the old mcat style.The style of the new MCAT truly isn't that different from the old style. Our advanced analytical tools provided us with hard data suggesting that the big bad "new MCAT" is the same as the old one with new material. Don't believe me? There are multiple CAR passages (in the official guide and AAMC practice test) that were copied and pasted word for word from old CBT exams. So much for new and improved...
One example is the VR/CAR passage of doctor patient confidentiality.
Well obviously the CARS is mostly the same. But comparing the way the physical science passages are presented in application to biological systems takes some getting used to if you are used to the old mcat style.
rraidermd is exactly correct; the VR --> CAR transition is almost inconsequential. Also, the NATURE of the AAMC style, in terms of how they ask questions, the kinds of questions they ask, the types of reasoning they require, that hasn't changed. What has changed, more than anything else is this: MAJOR uptick in average passage difficulty, primarily the result of the switch to primary research-based passage adaptations almost exclusively. You will notice this in such things as acronyms, and the complexity of the figures. MCAT-2015 passages are using a ton obscure vocabulary (usually followed by an acronym which they use to refer back to it for the rest of the passage/questions) with respect to many genes, promoters, regulatory proteins, diseases, etc., that will be well beyond most students' familiarity level. The old BS section had been trending in this direction already. Now, research-based passages should be expected on 90-100% of the BB and PsS section and 60-75% of the CP section. I predict the CP section will also grow over time in this direction. Right now they have a mix of journal-based and what we call the "lab manual/textbook excerpt" style (which is less dense and much easier). Of course, the range of topics has also changed noticeably. One change many have failed to recognize is that the timing structure is actually more lenient. You have more time per question and more time per passage...but you will have harder passages to digest.
Sept. 12Hey guys. I'm either taking it Sept 12 or Sept 23. The later the better, but the 23rd is the second day of school and I have to move in during those extra 11 days. Which one should I do??
rraidermd is exactly correct; the VR --> CAR transition is almost inconsequential. Also, the NATURE of the AAMC style, in terms of how they ask questions, the kinds of questions they ask, the types of reasoning they require, that hasn't changed. What has changed, more than anything else is this: MAJOR uptick in average passage difficulty, primarily the result of the switch to primary research-based passage adaptations almost exclusively. You will notice this in such things as acronyms, and the complexity of the figures. MCAT-2015 passages are using a ton obscure vocabulary (usually followed by an acronym which they use to refer back to it for the rest of the passage/questions) with respect to many genes, promoters, regulatory proteins, diseases, etc., that will be well beyond most students' familiarity level. The old BS section had been trending in this direction already. Now, research-based passages should be expected on 90-100% of the BB and PsS section and 60-75% of the CP section. I predict the CP section will also grow over time in this direction. Right now they have a mix of journal-based and what we call the "lab manual/textbook excerpt" style (which is less dense and much easier). Of course, the range of topics has also changed noticeably. One change many have failed to recognize is that the timing structure is actually more lenient. You have more time per question and more time per passage...but you will have harder passages to digest.
This is exactly what I'm going through haha. I'm kinda enjoying the studying tbh. In fact, it's when I'm not studying that I feel maybe a bit more stressed. Probably because I feel like I'd be behind if I'm not studying. As for exercise, it's so much more effective when I come back from the gym and feel like I'm ready to study for however long I want.
How do you recommend studying for this new style of MCAT passages, if most of the practice material out there is still written in the format of the old MCAT style?
Thank you so much for all of your input. Very helpful!!The materials in the Official Guide (OG) are a very accurate predictor of what to expect. Honestly, AAMC-MCAT-2015 #1 full-length was way easier than the OG content and used several repurposed passages from old, out-of-print AAMC materials. OG is closer, AAMC#1 easier than what you should expect. With that in mind, view all of your practice through the OG content. Do your research and compare whatever test prep materials available to you against the AAMC OG-2015 materials, including anything you look at from Altius. Finally, reading primary original research articles will definitely help. That is a skill that suddenly became PREREQUISITE to getting even a decent MCAT score.
This might be a dumb question.. But what is the @mcatjelly plan?Just putting my schedule together. Integrating the @mcatjelly study plan and Khan Academy Passages and some Videos (Psych Soc). Let's do this fam! Doing it September 23rd!
for some reason I'm bothered that this thread doesn't have the "The official" in the title. Makes me feel like us Sept MCAT takers didn't even deserve a proper thread LOL.
I don't think you're late at all. I haven't even started yet and won't be for another week. There is plenty of schedules people have posted so took a look at those. @mcatjelly has a link in her sig with a lot of helpful MCAT information.Starting my study today. I only have EK. How late in the game am I? How should I plan my studying?
Same here. @mcatjelly, just would like your opinion: do you believe that ~3 months is enough time to properly study for this exam, putting in roughly 25 hours per week? Looking for a score in the 65th-70th percentile or higher.I don't think you're late at all. I haven't even started yet and won't be for another week. There is plenty of schedules people have posted so took a look at those. @mcatjelly has a link in her sig with a lot of helpful MCAT information.
I'm personally using all the AAMC material, Kaplan as my main review with TBR/Khan as supplement. Then I'm just doing as many practice passages/exams as I can and reviewing information I miss.
Same here. @mcatjelly, just would like your opinion: do you believe that ~3 months is enough time to properly study for this exam, putting in roughly 25 hours per week? Looking for a score in the 65th-70th percentile or higher.
Does anyone know of the best set of books to use for someone who is rusty on their prereqs? Reviews for EK seem to be great but I'm not sure if they'll be in-depth enough for me as I'll need some MAJOR reviewing especially for Chem & Physics.
Does anyone know of the best set of books to use for someone who is rusty on their prereqs? Reviews for EK seem to be great but I'm not sure if they'll be in-depth enough for me as I'll need some MAJOR reviewing especially for Chem & Physics.
Does anyone know of the best set of books to use for someone who is rusty on their prereqs? Reviews for EK seem to be great but I'm not sure if they'll be in-depth enough for me as I'll need some MAJOR reviewing especially for Chem & Physics.