MedSchoolAhoy Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 So, in evaluating how I want to tackle MCAT studying, I've grappled with the common question of do I take a course or not. Seeing as how I have no background in science whatsoever, and am very easily distracted with little motivation or discipline (I should be writing a paper right now), I figured I would do the course. Yet I'm also poor. So...my family has this cabin on this island with a few other cabins. No internet, telephone, or young attractive people to distract me. Just ocean and senior citizens. I thought about spending the whole summer there with MCAT books. Are they sufficient to learn all the material I've missed? Is this a good idea? ________ Toyota V transmission history Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supafield Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 haha depends.... personally.... I was very motivated for the thing... and would lock myself in the library day after day.... but if I didn't get out at least every now and then or.... at least I need the option to do something else or I would have went stir-crazy and burnt out. So while isolation can be helpful, in my instance it would have been quite detrimental after a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Yet I'm also poor. So...my family has this cabin on this island with a few other cabins. OK, is it just me, or is that completely contradictory? LOL. I feel like I really benefited from the fact that I had a super-boring job where I rarely had anything to do while I studied for the MCAT. That pretty much led to me having to study for 6-8 hours a day. Then when I came home, I could relax and not worry about studying. So I think isolation in some form or other could be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHAFTED Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 So, in evaluating how I want to tackle MCAT studying, I've grappled with the common question of do I take a course or not. Seeing as how I have no background in science whatsoever, and am very easily distracted with little motivation or discipline (I should be writing a paper right now), I figured I would do the course. Yet I'm also poor. So...my family has this cabin on this island with a few other cabins. No internet, telephone, or young attractive people to distract me. Just ocean and senior citizens. I thought about spending the whole summer there with MCAT books. Are they sufficient to learn all the material I've missed? Is this a good idea? It sounds like a good idea, taking the course is a waste of time. I took the course and scored 9 points lower than what I scored without the course. However, if your motivation isn't strong enough, then I suggest you take the course, because studying for this thing is like running a marathon. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 So, in evaluating how I want to tackle MCAT studying, I've grappled with the common question of do I take a course or not. Seeing as how I have no background in science whatsoever, and am very easily distracted with little motivation or discipline (I should be writing a paper right now), I figured I would do the course. Yet I'm also poor. So...my family has this cabin on this island with a few other cabins. No internet, telephone, or young attractive people to distract me. Just ocean and senior citizens. I thought about spending the whole summer there with MCAT books. Are they sufficient to learn all the material I've missed? Is this a good idea? Probably will work for you! Do you think you can get a handle on the material without any science background by yourself? That is my onwnly real concern - you realize in month 1 you just don't get XXXXX and you cannot look it up. If possible I would skim some of the material first to ensure you bring with you any supporting materials you might need. Also bring the practise tests you will need - I think you can still get hard copies of some from AAMC. You will need those Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 MCAT books are NOT enough on their own. You'd be crazy to go in there without textbooks as well. I found many of the MCAT questions to hinge on an intricacy that you may more easily recognize with a better understanding of the material. At the very least, they're an awesome reference material, and a much better starting point if you're learning something for the first time. In my opinion, only a madman would rely solely on MCAT books if he didn't have a sound understanding of the material already. As far as your isolation idea goes, that sounds fine to me, so long as you can keep your motivation up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedSchoolAhoy Posted February 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Hmm okay should i just buy some first year bio/chem/physics textbooks too? this is getting to cost almost as mch as a course. As for practice tests and so on...I'll have the oppotunity to get off the island at least once a month...so i was thinking of just doing a couple practice tests every time i get off...maybe bringing a couple hard copies...and spending august on the mainland practicing before i write in september. thanks for your replies! ________ Suzuki Satria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rpuff Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Internet might be something you'd want. Or, if you don't have internet make sure you have a computer to do your writing samples on...email them to someone who's done the MCAT before for review. Depending on which books you bought, i'd say they are usually fairly comprehensive (especially Kaplan). Textbooks would be a waste of time and you'd start to learn stuff that's completely out of scope. One thing about being out on the island that I'd be hesitant about is how quiet it is. Come test day, you need to be able to handle distractions. I wrote the majority of my tests with a partner to get used to the pressure of writing beside someone, and hearing lots of typing sounds. This ended up being super helpful since during test day in my BS section the Stampede breakfast on the floor below got really rowdy and really loud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 This ended up being super helpful since during test day in my BS section the Stampede breakfast on the floor below got really rowdy and really loud! The BS is the last section on the test. That is one late breakfast You are right though, handling some distractions on the test is very important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedSchoolAhoy Posted February 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Well I guess I could do all my practice tests in the university library or something...that way I'd be around people at other computers. I'm kind of scared also that I'll go to the island and become this big hermit and forget how to communicate with people (we never spend more than a week there usually). I'll be bringing a computer and a generator so I can get used to typing (and so I can do ballet workout dvd's!). ________ buy silversurfer vaporizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleym Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Take a princeton review course. That's my advice. It's expensive, but it might be worth the better likelihood of not having to write the test again. Also, if you're not happy with your score the first time, you get all their resources for free to write it again. The best thing about the course is access to practice exams, which in my opinion are EXTREMELY important to becoming comfortable with the test, timing etc. Also, it's good to be able to talk and ask questions in class. You end up learning a lot more, and it won't be so mind-numbing. I think you might be able to register for one session with a private tutor which is like 100 bucks or something but you get access to all the resources just for taking one session. I don't know if you can do that for the MCAT but my friend did it for the GMAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itimebomb2 Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 one of the most important ways to practice for the mcat is doing computerized tests online. If you dont have the internet, you cant do these!! Having communication with friends and stuff is important for keeping you sane and happy. You learn better under these conditions. Also, it is helpful to have people you can contact with questions. I had a good experience shutting myself in for a month. 4 weeks --> 34 S. But i made a point of seeing friends once a week on sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truffle Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 i'm sure if you go on pubmed, you'd find articles that show happiness/good music/etc. is associated with better memory and congnition, stress is associated with worse memory and cognition. do whatever that works for you and doesn't drive you insane. ---- i know i can't survive a week without my friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedSchoolAhoy Posted February 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I think I would do really well on the island. I would have a cabin to myself, and my grandparents in a cabin not too far away. I would get off at least once a month and go take vacations and have lots of fun with friends. I love it out there and feel more happy/at peace than I ever do anywhere else. thanks for your input though! ________ Honda GY6 Engine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webshy Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 In my opinion, only a madman would rely solely on MCAT books if he didn't have a sound understanding of the material already. Using just the MCAT prep books (Examkrackers) worked really well for me, with extremely limited background knowlege. I had never taken physics, my chemistry was 12 years earlier, I got 50% in organic chemistry 11 years earlier (which was a complete gift - there is NO way I passed that final!), and I had no biochem/micro background. For me, the trick was to learn the material before doing practice exams. I really liked the EK materials, as they allow you to do practice passages on material you've already covered, rather than all the material, which if you've never taken science courses, can be extremely frustrating. Best wishes to you. Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedSchoolAhoy Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Elaine, Thank you so much! I've heard great things about ExamKrackers and your post just completely validated and cemented that. I'm going to get the ExamKrackers material really soon and start studying. How long did you study for before writing, and did you do well? ________ Shuhei Nakamoto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webshy Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Elaine,Thank you so much! I've heard great things about ExamKrackers and your post just completely validated and cemented that. I'm going to get the ExamKrackers material really soon and start studying. How long did you study for before writing, and did you do well? I used the complete review set (one book for each subject), 101 VR Passages and 16 Mini MCATs. I highly recommend that latter! It was a book of 16 one-hour tests on subject you've already covered. It was a good way to learn the format and timing of the test, without having to do full-length practice exams on material that you haven't learned yet (which can be very frustrating if you don't have a science background). I used the EK 10 week schedule, which I found on the internet. However, because I was working full time at the time, I spread the schedule over 15 weeks, completing one day's tasks each day I had off. I found that after 12-14 hours at work, I just didn't have the energy to work on MCAT materials. If I remember correctly, each day's tasks took about 1/2 a day to complete, which was quite reasonable. I got 32R on the MCAT (PS12/VR10/BS10). I found it ironic that I got a 12 in PS, since that was the subject I had essentially no prior knowledge. However, after going through the EK books, it was also the subject that I was the most confident in, probably because of the thoroughness of the books. Best wishes to you! Elaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedSchoolAhoy Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 You have no idea how much anxiety you have relieved me of. Knowing that someone with little prior knowledge has the possibility to do that well without spending thousands on a course and just by these magical, beautiful, my-future-depends-on-them books! Weee! I'm going to study all summer...maybe I'll try the 10 week course and then I'll still have 2 months left to keep learning anything that I'm weak in. Also, 10 weeks? I just looked it up on the internet and it's only a few hours a day. That seems like pretty rapid learning, but I love love love the plan they've outlined. It seems really effective and also is much better for my self discipline to be working according to a set schedule with constant check ins like that. So...did you get an interview? ________ Dodge 330 history Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truffle Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 So...did you get an interview? Elaine goes to Queen's Medical School. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedSchoolAhoy Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Elaine's my hero. ________ Lincoln MKR specifications Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetballKing Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Isolation is always a good way to tackle the MCAT. If you run into trouble, just post your question on SDN MCAT forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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