Guest MM Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Hi, I was just wondering how long does it generally take to prepare for the MCAT. I'm entering my second year this september, and would really prefer to write the MCAT this August. Friends have told me to try and review as much material as I can from grade 12 - 2nd yr. Considering that's like covering 4 yr of knowledge within a 12 month period..is that really possible? Or is it best to be selective and only re-study some of the major ideas? According to Ian's suggestion , one can prepare for the MCAT without taking one of those prep courses like Kaplan by using other MCAT prep books. What are your opinions?. If you agree with Ian, would you mind telling me what were some of the books you used? I've tried checking Indiglo and Chapters in Toronto for some of the book Ian suggested but have had no luck finding them. Is there an online site where these books can be purchased? I know these are a lot of questions, but any help you can give will really be appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Hi MM, Generally the university level courses on which the broad MCAT topics are based, e.g., organic chemistry, first year general chemistry, physics and various biology-related courses cover a wealth of detail that is uncommon on the MCAT. Various MCAT books will give you a better idea of the level and depth of material that is covered. There are a host of them out there that tackle one specific MCAT topic, e.g., MCAT Physics, or MCAT Biology. These may be a good place for you to start in order to get a handle on what you're up against. There are oods of these types of books offered on amazon.com or even better (in Canadian $$s) amazon.ca. (The selection at amazon.com far surpasses that available in any Indigo store that I've visited and they generally ship quickly.) Amazon also has a feature, which may be available for some of these books, where you may be able to check out their tables of contents, indexes, etc. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hmsdread Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Hi MM, If I understood your post correctly, you want to write the MCAT this August, before entering 2nd year? If that is right, I would suggest waiting until you are done second year. From what I remember, the courses you take in second year are a major help with almost everything the MCAT will ask you. I wrote the MCAT after second year, and prepped for about two months. I was lucky enough to have a friend give me all her Kaplan prep books, so I got the materials without shelling out an insane amount of money. The course itself is not necessary, unless you need the schedule to keep you disciplined. Otherwise, I agree with Kirsteen.. check out some online stores, you are bound to find some good resources somewhere. BTW, one last thing... don't rely too much on high school material, except for perhaps a review of some basic concepts. The detail just isn't there. hmsdread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MM Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Hi, Sorry for the confusion. I'm actually intending on writing my MCAT in August 2003 (i.e. after my second year). Thank you for your ideas, I'll definitely be checking out the sites soon. Just another little question for hmsdread. Those Kaplan books you were refering to for the MCAT...would I be able to purchase them without taking the course? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hmsdread Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Hi MM, I really don't know. I got lucky knowing a friend who had taken the course. Maybe some people in your area are looking to sell their stuff. Check university bulletin boards, etc. Maybe the Kaplan website has more details about their books. Good luck. hmsdread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Hi MM, Another resource for buying used MCAT prep course books and other materials (Kaplan flashcards are a popular addition to some folks' study materials) is eBay. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 I agree with Ian. I did not take an MCAT prep course and did just fine. The books that I used were: Gold Standard MCAT - available in most university book stores but not usually found in Chapters/Indigo The AAMC practice tests I-V, AAMC practice items, AAMC understanding the writing sample booklet - all available directly from AAMC, you can order them online through their website. Silver Buller MCAT - available in most university book stores. One thing I will say about the MCAT: It is not so much a test of your science knowledge as a test of your ability to read, think and reason to a logical answer. You do NOT need to know ANY of the science topics in the depth that you did for your undergrad or even high school courses. 90% of the time, they give you ALL of the information that you need directly in the passage associated with the questions. You just need to read it, comprehend it and reason your way to the right answer. So, concentrate your studying on doing practice tests NOT studying basic science topics. If you find that you have a particular area of weakness after doing some practice tests, study that area in more depth. Otherwise, you are wasting your time studying the content in detail. My 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted July 16, 2002 Report Share Posted July 16, 2002 Moved out of the General Premed forums into the MCAT forum. Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cheese Posted July 18, 2002 Report Share Posted July 18, 2002 Hi... I've done a little research over the web, and most of the "help" sites strongly recommend the prep books by Betz Publishing Co. Has anyone heard of these? and if so, are they available in Canada (at i.e. Chapters)? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest monkey Posted July 18, 2002 Report Share Posted July 18, 2002 hmmm...i never used that and i havent heard of 'em. i've also used the Gold Standard and Flowers and Silver, and found that Gold Standard was much better. When i say that i mean the practise material they made. For some reason i thought material Flowers and silver had was a bit too easy. Same with any book made by Atco. they're way to easy and will not give you a proper impression of what you are getting yourself into. The main deal with Kaplan is that they have a lot of practise stuff....they have all AAMC stuff plus the material they make mimicking styles of AAMC. once you know your material, its practise and practise. so that's the only reason i'd recommend kaplan. princeton review is just too expensive for the same type of material kaplan provides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.