Study one Topic or Cycle Topics?

[SwagDaddyMooney]

Hi guys,

 

Currently beginning my MCAT journey. I was wondering what is better and WHY , studying one whole subject and then switching to the next, or switching subjects each chapter you finish? It seem that most people do the second option, but I am having trouble comprehending the benefits of doing so. If I study a whole subject early, and then switch to the next, wouldn't that give me more time to do practice questions for that subject as a whole as I would have all the info I would need to answer them? 

 

I just wanted to see what you guys thoughts. I figured I would ask while I was creating my study schedule. Thanks!

[yybonn]

Often times on the MCAT you have to be able to put different concepts together to answer the question, and the second approach prepares you well for that since you're drawing from different disciplines and will probably get a bit of practice integrating them in your head.

That being said, I don't think that taking one approach over the other makes a big difference. I took your approach of completing it subject by subject, and I did fine on the MCAT. Switching up the subjects does give you a bit of variety in your study schedule though so you won't be bored of the same material for a week! 

[Eudaimonia]

I also prefer studying everything at once because there's just so much info to retain it's better to keep refreshing on all the topics frequently. If you study all of Bio comprehensively before moving on, by the time you finish your MCAT studying you will not have seen any Bio for quite some time and it's important to practice strategic "mindsets" for each topic and be able to switch between them as that is what you will be doing on test day. A lot of later chapters in Bio relies on knowledge from previous chapters, and so if you study a bit of Bio every other day, you're still utilizing that older content that you might've forgotten if you used strategy 1.

Also, it's unlikely you will ever have "all the info" you need to answer practice questions. It's just as useful to learn from the problems themselves, so don't be afraid if you can't answer them as you study

[Taras]

I agree, Im currently studying for the MCAT, and I feel I get a deeper understanding of all the topics and how they intertwine when doing all subjects concurrently rather than one all at once. It makes you think of the big picture, on how all the psychological, sociological and scientific concepts relate to the human form.

[PFT22135]

Definitely all at once. As mentioned, if you did them in a sequential order, by the time you finished you would have forgotten what you did at the beginning. This is also not helpful for any practice tests or questions. Though you will inevitably get many wrong in the beginning, it's easier to improve when you're working on everything at once. It helps ensure you're continually thinking in the bigger and analyzing multiple things at once (something both the MCAT and medical school love!). 

It may feel harder to tackle all at once, but I did a rotating chapter schedule that I found really helpful. It also kept me on track nicely.