First time MCAT (UofM)

[mano]

Hey guys, so firstly I'm currently doing my undergrad in Winnipeg (UofM) and during this summer I am planning on preparing to write the MCAT in time for September. This will be my first go at it and I have some questions I would answered.

 

1.) Is 4 months enough to prepare for the MCAT fully? (keeping in Mind that i have not done Biochem yet)

 

2.) Which books are the best for each section PS.BS etc.

 

3.) Are the prep courses helpful, pros and cons if you have had experience with them

 

4.) Study Techniques

 

Thanks in advance for the help and if anyone has some experiences they want to share that could be helpful please do.

[PastaInhaler]

Hey guys, so firstly I'm currently doing my undergrad in Winnipeg (UofM) and during this summer I am planning on preparing to write the MCAT in time for September. This will be my first go at it and I have some questions I would answered.

 

1.) Is 4 months enough to prepare for the MCAT fully? (keeping in Mind that i have not done Biochem yet)

 

2.) Which books are the best for each section PS.BS etc.

 

3.) Are the prep courses helpful, pros and cons if you have had experience with them

 

4.) Study Techniques

 

Thanks in advance for the help and if anyone has some experiences they want to share that could be helpful please do.

 

4 months is plenty, regardless of biochem. TPR is good for PS and BS. Kaplan is generally regarded as bad. TPR has good coverage. For studying, do a little each day and don't burn out.

[futureGP]

Hey guys, so firstly I'm currently doing my undergrad in Winnipeg (UofM) and during this summer I am planning on preparing to write the MCAT in time for September. This will be my first go at it and I have some questions I would answered.

 

1.) Is 4 months enough to prepare for the MCAT fully? (keeping in Mind that i have not done Biochem yet)

 

2.) Which books are the best for each section PS.BS etc.

 

3.) Are the prep courses helpful, pros and cons if you have had experience with them

 

4.) Study Techniques

 

Thanks in advance for the help and if anyone has some experiences they want to share that could be helpful please do.

 

if you have science background, no need to go for full TPR imo,

 

examkrackers gives a pretty concise overview of all you need to know without going into unnecessary detail they'll never test you on

 

it's also a lot quicker than going through the whole TPR

 

for verbal i think it's good if you have different resources, but for practice tests AAMC exams are gold standard since they're just like the actual exams

 

prep courses are good if you can't study on your own and if you don't have science background, all they do is go through each topic and teach you about each topic + have you work on some practice exam questions and go over the answers with you (which imo is not worth $1500...) but some find it helpful because they may not have had a deep exposure to every area of sciences

 

i think you should create a schedule and set deadlines for yourself (E.g. finish review of materials by 3 months and spend the last month doing practice exams on saturdays, doing a single verbal test every 2 days or 3 days etc)

 

this allows you to always be alert and in exam mode so that when the actual exam comes around it's just become a habit for you and nerves/other physiological effects will have a minimum effect on your ability to succeed

[penguin92]

1) 4 months is more than enough, there's more of a stress on cell bio rather than biochemistry

 

2) I used TPR and I thought they covered material a lot better than kaplan. For verbal though, I used any source I could get my hands on (Kaplan, TPR, etc.)

 

3) I never took the course but from feedback I've had about it, it's hit and miss. It's good for keeping you on track and it provides you with some good practice tests and other resources but you can always stay on track on your own and get your own practice tests for a fraction of the cost

 

4) Set out several hours a day for studying. If you miss a day than make up for it the next and when you do practice tests, time yourself to give you that exam environment feeling

[summergirl]

1. I think 4 months is enough. Although I would suggest you to do some light volunteering/working on the side just so the mcat won't drive you crazy!

2. I personally used TPR for PS and thought it was great. But I didn't really try anything else for PS so... As for BS, I started using TPR (I was trying to keep using TPR for all my reviews), but it was just waaaay too detailed and wastes my time. So I went for EK and Kaplan. I liked them a lot more. I'm also a bio major so I don't need a super detailed review of everything.

3. I never took a prep course. I just know they are really expensive...

4. Try not to go crazy.

[future_doc]

I wasted big money on Kaplan prep course, money down the drain.