MCAT 2015 preparation plan

[noneed2live]

I need some feedback on my MCAT 2015 plan.

I plan on studying verbal from now until December (probably 1 passage a day since school+EC's will eat up too much time).

Then, starting in January, I'm going to begin studying the rest of the sections all the way until early July.

Is this counter productive, or can you see this being an effective way to prepare for the new mcat? 

[BizMarkie]

Your plan sounds good, just make sure to take into account your background in the material and how much time in a week you actually have to devote to it when you consider other things like work, ECs, classes, etc. What materials are you planning on using to study? Kaplan and TPR have the 7 topic sets out, which look like they would cover everything. I've used Examkrackers to study for the current mcat, but they don't appear to have much out yet for the 2015.

[noneed2live]

Thanks. From what I've heard, Kaplan goes into the most detail with their materials, which is why I'll probably take that route. From January until May, I'll probably review bio, chem, and physics as I'm most comfortable with them - hopefully this 'comfort' can make studying a little less burdensome considering my schedule. 

 

How did you prepare for your MCAT? Would you recommend reading articles such as the new yorker and the economist to better familiarize myself with complicated language used in VR or should I strictly stick to the script and practice VR passages?

[FifthCycle]

How did you prepare for your MCAT? Would you recommend reading articles such as the new yorker and the economist to better familiarize myself with complicated language used in VR or should I strictly stick to the script and practice VR passages?

 

Definitely don't drop the verbal come January. Keep it up throughout the year and you're golden!

 

If you can, get your hands on EK101 or something like that sort - some sort of verbal resource. Being well read is great (in one way I've been practicing for verbal my whole life by simply being an active reader - eg. reading Harry Potter as a kid, LOTR, Game Of Thrones, Time Magazine etc. for personal enjoyment, it makes you a better reader, good and all, but you should take some additional resources on top to suffice).

 

This is coming from a 7 in Verbal. I've read over 30-40 books (some of them can't be considered real novels tbh) and wrote half of novel (plus tons of sh*t as a kid, probably around 2000 pages worth of nonsense with a story) just for pure enjoyment. Helps you read, but from my experience, didn't help me come verbal reasoning on the actual MCAT... neither did Princeton and their awful strategy. Cheers!

[BizMarkie]

 

 

I've been preparing for the present mcat with EK, and I also took a prep course. My science background is too weak to get a competitive PS or BS, so while I am writing in September, it's really a practice run. As for verbal, it's my thing. I've done very little preparation for it and I'm getting 10s on my practice tests. My plan to get my VR up (I need it much higher than 10 to haul up my operative score) is just to keep doing practice tests. I have a bunch of materials from EK and Kaplan plus my AAMCs. As for reading the economist, I have a degree in economics so I'm good in that area But really, I think that just doing passage after passage is the way to a good VR score.

 

But in the end, I'm going to be giving the mcat a break when I'm done in September and starting up again in February with the 2015. I think I'll get the Kaplan set, because I have also heard good things about that company and have liked the few materials from them that I have used. Even though most premeds seem to be worried about the 2105, I think it's going to benefit me as I have a strong arts and social sciences background.

[noneed2live]

interesting responses guys. 

VR is definitely challenging. Sadly, the 2015 VR will include no science passages, meaning that most passages will seem unfamiliar to students whose entire academic paradigms have revolved around science.  

[BizMarkie]

interesting responses guys. 

VR is definitely challenging. Sadly, the 2015 VR will include no science passages, meaning that most passages will seem unfamiliar to students whose entire academic paradigms have revolved around science.

 

This is why I'm looking forward to it! Physics, gen chem, and o chem only constitute 20% of this exam. The rest is bio, biochem, critical analysis, and social sciences, the stuff I actually have studied! Even VR is going to be moving in my direction. Am I the only one looking forward to the 2015?

[maybenow]

This is why I'm looking forward to it! Physics, gen chem, and o chem only constitute 20% of this exam. The rest is bio, biochem, critical analysis, and social sciences, the stuff I actually have studied! Even VR is going to be moving in my direction. Am I the only one looking forward to the 2015?

 

Oh, so all together, physics + gen chem + ochem will comprise 20% of the 2015 MCAT? As a comparison, how much did they, either individually or together take up on the current MCAT then? 

 

I'm wondering because I'm very weak in physics + ochem and need to learn the material first before even considering mastering the MCAT way of testing these 2 subjects. But if said subjects "only" comprise a small % of the exam, then I'm not sure how much effort I should devote to learning them... 

[BizMarkie]

Oh, so all together, physics + gen chem + ochem will comprise 20% of the 2015 MCAT? As a comparison, how much did they, either individually or together take up on the current MCAT then? 

 

I'm wondering because I'm very weak in physics + ochem and need to learn the material first before even considering mastering the MCAT way of testing these 2 subjects. But if said subjects "only" comprise a small % of the exam, then I'm not sure how much effort I should devote to learning them...

 

Right now, PS is physics and gen chem, so that's a third, and o chem is about a quarter of BS which is another third, so if my math is correct, physics, gen chem and o chem total about 40% of the present MCAT. So it's worth twice as much on the old one as it is on the new one. I'm still planning on devoting a lot of time to them because The Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems is composed of quite a bit of the aforementioned vile sciences, so I can't just ignore them or I will not make the cut off in that section.

[maybenow]

interesting responses guys. 

VR is definitely challenging. Sadly, the 2015 VR will include no science passages, meaning that most passages will seem unfamiliar to students whose entire academic paradigms have revolved around science.  

 

@noneed2live, what do you mean there will be no science passages in the 2015 MCAT?

[JohnGrisham]

Too much prep. Not a good use of time. You don't need more than 1 month of dedicated prep time to score well. Studying for 6+ months is overkill.

[Korra]

Too much prep. Not a good use of time. You don't need more than 1 month of dedicated prep time to score well. Studying for 6+ months is overkill.

Are you sure about this? 1 month? Sounds crazy!

[AIsForApple]

Are you sure about this? 1 month? Sounds crazy!

I did a 5 week study over Christmas break for the old MCAT and scored a 38. Anything over 3 months is ridiculous IMO. You don't need to "premed" that hard.

[JohnGrisham]

I did a 5 week study over Christmas break for the old MCAT and scored a 38. Anything over 3 months is ridiculous IMO. You don't need to "premed" that hard.

 

 

I did a 5 week study over Christmas break for the old MCAT and scored a 38. Anything over 3 months is ridiculous IMO. You don't need to "premed" that hard.

Agreed. I studied hardcore for 3 weeks after the end of the semester and took the exam mid may before going on vacation. Although I only scored a 30, it is good enough for my purposes and I had no intent of wasting months on just 1 test. You don't have that kind of time to waste in medical school, so the idea of studying 3-4 months for just the mcat is absurd.

 

I'm fairly sure if i studied for 2 more weeks and addressed content issues, i could have gotten 33+. 

[JohnGrisham]

Are you sure about this? 1 month? Sounds crazy!

The mcat is more about synthesizing and critical thinking these days. As long as you are a good test taker and do practice exams, that is half the battle. The other half is getting through some content review to know the commonly tested material and concepts.

 

There is nothing new on the mcat if you have taken your pre-reqs.

[maybenow]

I did a 5 week study over Christmas break for the old MCAT and scored a 38. Anything over 3 months is ridiculous IMO. You don't need to "premed" that hard.

 

 You must've taken all your pre reqs right?