Doing a Rewrite

[PopShoppe]

Hey everyone,

I know there's probably a million posts like mine on this forum so I apologize in advance if any of this sounds redundant or repetitive. 

So I've recently decided that for my one last kick at the can for medical schools I'll need to rewrite the MCAT. I've done literally everything else I can think of save taking on another Undergrad degree. My scores have expired for the States and I'll need to raise my CARS to meet cutoffs to apply to as many Canadian schools as I can. 

Unfortunately unlike when I first wrote the test, I have bills to pay and a job to keep. Luckily I've been able to shift to a part-time schedule. I'm planning to write in early August, giving me 4 months to prepare, working around work, a weekend trip for my dad's birthday in early June, and a bachelor party in late May. I'm expecting to work 2.5-3 days a week, and study full time 3 days a week. I plan on self-studying using TPR and other resources (Khan and other free resources).

I just wanted some advice/input from you lovely people about resources or strategies/timetables I can draw upon to help schedule my time effectively. Of course there's a number of suggestions out there on the internet of hours/day, number of days or months needed etc. etc., but I was just curious to hear from other test takers what worked/didn't work for them. Basically I'm interested in learning a bit about how others scheduled their time and how you strategized to make the most out of the time you had to give me some ideas. When I wrote the first time (3 years ago) I basically went into it alone. My scores were pretty good, save for my CARS score, and I feel like that was because I focused mostly on content review and practice and not enough on exam/question strategy. This time I'm thinking of changing my approach slightly to help improve my score (but hopefully not at the expense of my scores for the other sections).

I'd love to hear any tips/pointers/suggestions/comments people are willing to share

Thanks!

[Anaik]

Hey dude, 

First things first, I think it's good to begin cars practice as soon as possible. Checkout testing solutions 30 days guide to cars, and try to get your hands on some good practice material! I would begin as soon as you can, and try to find what works for you. 

As far as scheduling goes, when I wrote it last summer I was working full time. I began studying the first week of may, and wrote on August the 2nd. I dedicated the first 1/3rd of my studying period to content review (I used Kaplan), and the rest to practicing from KA, EK, UWORLD and AAMC. I also made flashcards using ANKI during content review.

One important thing to do is to do practice tests frequently and honestly. Once I was 3/4 of the way through content review, I began doing a practice test timed every Saturday. This definitely was crucial in helping me prepare for the real deal.

My final piece of advice is to use the Khan Academy 86 page document for your Psych/Soc content review. It's well known for being one of the better resources for P/S.

 

Let me know if you have any questions!

[PopShoppe]

@Anaik  you're awesome, thanks for the suggestions and the reassurance! I started studying this week and already balancing everything is a bit of a challenge lol. I'm hoping it will get easier as I get more into a rhythm. 

These are all super helpful. CARS is definitely my priority since that's where I fell short last time. Do you have any suggestions for places I could find some practice material for it?

Thanks again!

[Anaik]

12 hours ago, PopShoppe said:

@Anaik  you're awesome, thanks for the suggestions and the reassurance! I started studying this week and already balancing everything is a bit of a challenge lol. I'm hoping it will get easier as I get more into a rhythm. 

These are all super helpful. CARS is definitely my priority since that's where I fell short last time. Do you have any suggestions for places I could find some practice material for it?

Thanks again!

PM me your email and I can send some matierals I have that might help!

[bruh]

Are you me? It’s insane how similar of a situation we are in right now.

 

I am also rewriting the MCAT this August. For the same reason that it has expired for the States and my CARS is too low for Canada. My dad’s birthday is also in June LOL. I am also working part time, on weekends only. 

This will be my third retake. As others have said, PRACTICE TRUMPS CONTENT REVIEW. From reading many success stories, it came down to using as many representative practice resources. UWorld is getting a huge amount of praise right now. As well as taking as many FL’s as possible. 

I think that will work mostly for the sciences, but we are both more interested in CARS tips. I can tell you that on my second take I did 3 months of intense CARS practice. I exhausted every CARS material out there (TestingSolution, NextStep, EK, TPR, AAMC). I tried to follow TestingSolution’s 30 Day Guide. I still scored very low on CARS. 

This made me understand that CARS is a lot more than just practice. I was doing a lot of passages but I wasn’t utilizing an effective strategy. I can’t tell you what worked for me yet, as I’m still trying to figure that out, but my best guess is that we need a viable strategy. In pursuit of that, I am seeking resources that will make me a better reader overall. I came across **DELETED**’s CARS podcast (they are free) and they have been really helpful. He reads an entire passage and dissects every single sentence for you. He shows how to grasp the main idea, the aurhor’s biases, questions that could be asked, etc...

I am also doing some philosophy reading to strengthen my comprehension, as well as my vocabulary by looking up words I don’t understand.

Most people say to jus practice as many passages for CARS and that just didn’t work me last time. It could work for you, as everyone learns differently, but I am trying to build a strategy BEFORE I start hardcore CARS practice.

Maybe we can keep in touch this summer and help each other out in anyway we can! You can PM me whenever  

[PopShoppe]

It always helps hearing that more people are out there with situations like mine than what it seems based on my own circle of friends/network! How are you managing to balance your study time with other commitments?

Unfortunately since I've been out of school for a couple of years now, I definitely have needed to brush up on my sciences content. I've spent my first month doing that with TPR and doing all the relevant practice questions, with CARS practice at least 2ish times a week (I'm working about 3 days a week right now). I'm aiming to be done my content review by the end of May, at which time I will be switching into nothing but practice and brushing up on areas of weakness. 

I recall the first time I wrote, I studied CARS last. I had no experience with the test and no idea what was involved with CARS. I (foolishly) thought that since I considered myself to be a fairly strong reader/writer that I'd be able to learn it quickly. I was wrong. Now I've been practicing from the get go. I've been using TPR's guide towards ranking/ordering, mapping and working passages and questions and have seemed to have begun improving my accuracy. I did my first timed passages today and, while I didn't get everything 100% right, I did pretty well. That being said, I'm nearly done the book and will need to move on to other resources. I'd love to hear some places I could turn to for challenging CARS material to practice with. I've heard some good things about UWorld as well. That price tag is kind of making me hesitate though - I've already blown a lot of money on study material. 

Thanks for your offer to keep in touch! If you have any suggestions for me I'd love to hear them. I'd likewise like to extend the invitation to PM me if you have any questions yourself. 

[teachdoc]

On 4/19/2019 at 10:43 AM, RiderSx said:

 I came across **DELETED**’s CARS podcast (they are free) and they have been really helpful. He reads an entire passage and dissects every single sentence for you. He shows how to grasp the main idea, the aurhor’s biases, questions that could be asked, etc...

Hey, what's this podcast?