Mcat Study Plan Tips

[snowflakesinwinter15]

Hey!

 

First off good luck to everyone writing their MCATS this upcoming season

 

Have a question. I am definitely a non-trad applicant. I have minimal to no background on ochem, bchem, physics, etc. Lots of anatomy/physiology, patho, pharmocology, psych etc.

 

I plan to start studying around February, and plan on writing early August. Wondering the best way to study for someone in my situation? I plan on using Khan Academy videos. I also do have the Kaplan books (2015) my friend was kind enough to lend me, etc.

 

Any tips would be helpful!

 

Thanks so much!!

[FutureAmazingDoc]

Also a non-trad here....with engg. background. Good with Phys, Maths and such but hardly any solid background in Bio, Chem and Psyc. Have been using TPR books. They are generally very good; review the content nicely and a few passage based practice questions at the end of each chapter. Also using Khan Academy videos in conjunction. Only plan to do some full-length practice tests once all the content is reviewed.

[lulu95]

Might I ask what you studied while in school? I did pharmacology, and for the courses I took at least, I think they required a decent amount of biochem (although maybe not so much the plant side of things). If you're good with math and logic, you should be fine, but if not, I would recommend taking a course for physics and ochem, or at least make sure you have someone to answer your questions. That, and do practice questions. It's easy to feel like you understand the material in those areas, only to realize you don't know how to solve a problem when faced with one. When that happens, it'd be good to have someone who can help you out.

[snowflakesinwinter15]

Also a non-trad here....with engg. background. Good with Phys, Maths and such but hardly any solid background in Bio, Chem and Psyc. Have been using TPR books. They are generally very good; review the content nicely and a few passage based practice questions at the end of each chapter. Also using Khan Academy videos in conjunction. Only plan to do some full-length practice tests once all the content is reviewed.

 

 

Thank you for the tips!! I am the opposite haha. Terrible with physics but solid with bio, chem, and psych!! thanks for the tips! 

[snowflakesinwinter15]

Might I ask what you studied while in school? I did pharmacology, and for the courses I took at least, I think they required a decent amount of biochem (although maybe not so much the plant side of things). If you're good with math and logic, you should be fine, but if not, I would recommend taking a course for physics and ochem, or at least make sure you have someone to answer your questions. That, and do practice questions. It's easy to feel like you understand the material in those areas, only to realize you don't know how to solve a problem when faced with one. When that happens, it'd be good to have someone who can help you out.

I am an allied health care professional of a few years! i dont have biochem per se but lots of biology, chemistry, psychology, patho, etc. thanks for the tips!! will definitely keep in mind!

[End Poverty]

I thought that the Kaplan books were amazing. I used Kaplan and exam crackers1001 questions.  I watched all the Khan academy videos twice -- and made notes on all the chapters. I probably had 100 pages of notes for each subject. I ended up doing really well on the sciences- b/c I practiced tons. I studied for 8 hours everyday for a period of 2 months. 

 

For Verbal reasoning or CARS, I did exam crackers 1001 questions as well as TPR Hyperlearning. Here are some tips for CARS:

 

 At the beginning, do CARS  or reading comprehension SLOWLY , take as much time as you need, but make sure to write down the main point and tone of each paragraph. Also,make sure you highlight transitional words (ex., however, but, except, additionally, furthermore, moreover). Try to understand the main idea of passage, highlight new concepts/ key terms, try to understand contrasting/contradictory themes, and try to sense the author's tone ( Is the author appreciative of ideas, approving them criticizing them, against the idea, or is the author proponent of a particular idea or is the author neutral). TRY to IMAGINE the author, as if the author is personally talking to you. Try to appreciate the literature piece, and try to anticipate what the author will tell you as you read the passage ( i.e. Be an ACTIVE reader). Additionally, I would also try to understand the author claims/ assertions, what does the author try to argue?, how do they support their claims? What evidence do they provide? Does the evidence substantiate their arguments? Does it corroborate it or does it weaken it? . I also take a note of the type of passage is a descriptive passage ( a passage where the author is just trying to describe something or tell a story) OR is it an argumentative passage ( where the author is trying to convince the readers about a particular subject). When answering the questions, I also try to go back to the passage to make sure I have selected the right choice. Also, I try to use the POE actively, because quite often you will be selecting the less wrong answer, not the right answer. One last tip, is to try to think of the answer before looking at the choices so you would not be distracted by the choice. Lastly, whenever the author adds an example or another critic's idea try to understand why the author is doing that, and always try to connect it to the author's purpose ( the author's point of writing the article). If you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer them   Best of Luck!!

 

 You can do really well on the MCAT if you put in the time and the effort.

[snowflakesinwinter15]

I thought that the Kaplan books were amazing. I used Kaplan and exam crackers1001 questions.  I watched all the Khan academy videos twice -- and made notes on all the chapters. I probably had 100 pages of notes for each subject. I ended up doing really well on the sciences- b/c I practiced tons. I studied for 8 hours everyday for a period of 2 months. 

 

For Verbal reasoning or CARS, I did exam crackers 1001 questions as well as TPR Hyperlearning. Here are some tips for CARS:

 

 At the beginning, do CARS  or reading comprehension SLOWLY , take as much time as you need, but make sure to write down the main point and tone of each paragraph. Also,make sure you highlight transitional words (ex., however, but, except, additionally, furthermore, moreover). Try to understand the main idea of passage, highlight new concepts/ key terms, try to understand contrasting/contradictory themes, and try to sense the author's tone ( Is the author appreciative of ideas, approving them criticizing them, against the idea, or is the author proponent of a particular idea or is the author neutral). TRY to IMAGINE the author, as if the author is personally talking to you. Try to appreciate the literature piece, and try to anticipate what the author will tell you as you read the passage ( i.e. Be an ACTIVE reader). Additionally, I would also try to understand the author claims/ assertions, what does the author try to argue?, how do they support their claims? What evidence do they provide? Does the evidence substantiate their arguments? Does it corroborate it or does it weaken it? . I also take a note of the type of passage is a descriptive passage ( a passage where the author is just trying to describe something or tell a story) OR is it an argumentative passage ( where the author is trying to convince the readers about a particular subject). When answering the questions, I also try to go back to the passage to make sure I have selected the right choice. Also, I try to use the POE actively, because quite often you will be selecting the less wrong answer, not the right answer. One last tip, is to try to think of the answer before looking at the choices so you would not be distracted by the choice. Lastly, whenever the author adds an example or another critic's idea try to understand why the author is doing that, and always try to connect it to the author's purpose ( the author's point of writing the article). If you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer them   Best of Luck!!

 

 You can do really well on the MCAT if you put in the time and the effort.

Wow! Thank you sooo much for your detailed answer! I really really appreciate it Thanks for also wishing me luck, I will need it haha! This is so kind of you I am glad to hear you did so well and it is evident you put so much effort into studying!