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In my past posts I focused on strategies for each section of the MCAT as well as the best study materials/tactics. I noticed that a lot of Google search words that lead people to this blog are something along the line of:
- average mcat study time, how to study for mcat in a month
- studying for MCAT in a month
- did well on the MCAT with minimal study
- ...and a lot more. These are actual search words I get from Traffic Sources statistics.
So I thought I would elaborate a bit more on how to really destroy the MCAT with minimal study time (<1-2 month) based on my (and other's) experience, and why it works:
- Acquire a very large amount of practice tests, both full-length and sectional (as in my previous posts, I prefer Kaplan for science sections due to its difficulty and EK 101 for its awesomeness).
- As you solve through the questions, your mind begins to form a sort of database of patterns, questions & answer types/stems that's typical for each section of the MCAT.
- There are only a finite number of types of questions and answers that can be used in an exam like the MCAT- over time, your subconscious and/or conscious mind begins to recognize similar patterns, questions/answer types and solving them becomes easier.
- After a certain point of solving & registering a large number of said patterns & types, you begin to realize that all the other questions types will basically be derivations of previously seen patterns and types.
- If done over a short period of time, there is greater retention of the "data"- you remember more of the patterns and types.
- At the end, you will be able to intuitively solve & pick out answers.
This is how I improved my score- by solving through a very large number of practice questions, I improved my "MCAT intuition". I solved through the following:
- 5 online full-length tests
- 10 paper full-length tests
- 8 sectional tests on paper for each BS, PS, VR + 12 EK 101 Verbal tests
- ~13 topical tests for subjects I was weak on (electrochemistry, thermodynamics, etc)
- 2 AAMC tests
- Paper tests totalled ~1800 pages.
...in 10 days. I solved all my questions using the methods I wrote in previous posts, and always under timed conditions. For some of them I even solved 2, 3 times as I went through and reviewed wrong answers/particularly bad tests. Solving through so many questions in a short period of time really helped me see "through" the MCAT.
I always say (IRL and on premed101) that "studying" and memorizing the material helps very little for exams like the MCAT- but rather solving through as many questions as you can (or as many as you can get your hands on) is the best way to go, not just for short-term but for long-term studying as well. This holds true for undergraduate exams as well- I think most will agree that solving past exams and sample questions works best for midterms & finals in university.
I always say (IRL and on premed101) that "studying" and memorizing the material helps very little for exams like the MCAT- but rather solving through as many questions as you can (or as many as you can get your hands on) is the best way to go, not just for short-term but for long-term studying as well. This holds true for undergraduate exams as well- I think most will agree that solving past exams and sample questions works best for midterms & finals in university.
A method like this may not work for everyone, but probably will for most with a good grasp of English (VR would not work out well using my method for someone who struggles with English).
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| Figure 1. How I feel after answering inquiries regarding MCAT studying. |
A final caveat: if you think you will be unable to commit yourself entirely, don't go for short-term studying. If you're writing after < 1 month of studying, you seriously have to go all out crazy or you'll have a bad time.
Matt
21 comments:
Hey Matt thank for you posts. I'm studying right now. I got my test on September 6th. At this point I feel like reviewing the material isn't beneficial but doing the practice tests and what not would help me identify my weaknesses and also get used to the length of tests. What else would you recommend?
Hey there- you have some time until September 6th, so I would suggest spacing out your practice tests (for now) a bit to thoroughly assess and review your weaknesses. You may want to use this time to concentrate on your weaker section(s).
Make sure you do all your practice tests under timed conditions, and closer to the test date (2 weeks before) consider doing a lot more practice tests for mental prep- do a full-length test every 2-4 days, with review and additional practice in between full-lengths. It's best if you do your full-length tests at the same time as your actual MCAT, while actually taking breaks & other stuff for simulating the real thing.
Good luck!
Hi Matt, I just discovered this blog. I'm retaking because I had kind of a meltdown when I took it in January. (Oopsie. Not as productive as it sounds...) I have 3 weeks but your story gives me hope! I will definitely try just working through problems like a machine and hopefully something will stick. :)
Good luck with everything!
Hi Starr,
I find that a lot of people who retake due to anxiety issues on the first tend to do better on the second time- I'm sure you will do great. Lots of timed practice tests and simulated full-lengths (same time as your actual MCAT + similar conditions if possible) will definitely help with the anxiety.
Good luck!
Matt - I was wondering where you get your material from. I'm taking them a second time (and have about 5 weeks to study) and have gone through pretty much all the AAMC full lengths and a few princeton review ones as well. I'm trying to figure out where I might be able to find additional resources and full length tests.
Hi Matt, I have the same question as Krina does! Where do you get extra material?
Best,
Alice
Hi Matt,
I have nine days until the MCAT! Eek! I'm planning on doing one FL Kaplan test every day until the day before the test and some practice problems on areas I'm weak in.....what else do you recommend?
Hi,
Why not AAMCs? I wouldn't do one every day- too much burnout before the exam... maybe alternating between full test - practice tests - full tests, etc every day, preferably with AAMCs, especially considering Kaplan verbal is not that good. Good luck!
Matt,
I was thinking about doing AAMCs as well..but since I don't have a lot of time, and I noticed you only took two, do you think it's worth it? What do you mean by practice tests also? Thanks.
Also, I don't know if you've mentioned it before, but how were you doing on the Kaplan FLs/AAMC FLs? I'm doing pretty horribly and I was wondering if there's hope! I figured out my weaknesses today, though, and hopefully will improve on them in the coming days.
AAMCs are definitely worth it- I wish I did more back then, but I was cheap.
Practice tests as in after you do a full-length, identify your weakest area and solve practice tests for that area the next day. For example:
Day 1: Full length & review
Day 2: Practice tests for weak areas & review
Day 3: Full length & review
Day 4: Practice tests for weak areas & review...
Day 5: Full length & review
...and so on.
Regarding how I was doing on my Kaplan and AAMCs- http://krnpremed.blogspot.ca/2012/04/how-i-prepared-for-mcat-with-minimal.html
I think the last two full-lengths (AAMCs) I scored pretty well... usually an upward trend.
did your mcat score match what you got on the aamc FLs? would you say the aamc FL scores correspond to the actual mcat score?
(i thought i posted this earlier but my computer messed up so sorry if it posts twice!)
My last (only) two AAMCs had similar scores for PS and BS- but not VR. I was inconsistent with verbal (fluctuating between 9-12?)... but somehow managed to get my head around in time for the actual thing.
I think AAMC scores is the closest thing to a predictor you would have- although people have been know to do significantly better or worse (to the magnitude of 3-4 up or down)... all up to your condition on test day.
Hi Matt,
Could you post your actual 18 day schedule breakdown? Like what a full day of studying included (ie which review book chapters and practice tests ect)?
I'm not sure how to break down all that material in so few days to maximize results. I think using your schedule as a guide could really help me plan.
Thanks!
Marie
I agree with above. Can you post your schedule? Also did u alternate between kaplan and aamc full lengths? Which aamc full lengths do you recommend? ( example aamc #3.4,5?)
August 20, 2013 at 10:58 PM
http://krnpremed.blogspot.ca/2013/06/how-to-destroy-mcat-with-minimal-study.html
AAMC 7-11- the consensus is that the rest (1-6) are not exactly up to par in terms of difficulty.
Hey Matt, please help me
I have my mcat on Aug15th.
I started studying on May15th but really easy studying and not hardcore. I work full time 40hours per week and I live far from work so about 2hours goes in commuting back and forth. After I come home from work I try to study but about last 2 weeks I think I got burnt out and stopped studying. I have just solved one practice exam so far PS/V/BS (8/6/7) and since last two weeks I have not even touched my books. I was getting depressed and scared and I was feeling like vomiting while studying due to all the fear.
Anywyas, I have decided to start studying again from today onwards. I have exactly 34 days before mcat and I am thinking of taking 2 weeks off from work before mcat.
So far as of today, I have previously completed reading and understanding all of TPR Gchem. out the 11 chapters in bio I have completed 7. Out of the 10 chapters in physics completed 6. and have not even touched Ochem.
About myself: I have undergrad in science in major bio and engineering. Its been a while since I have taken any science courses. I just graduated from engineering recently. Yes lots of years in uni undergrad.
Can you please help and guide me as to how I should proceed? Should I keep doing content review since I haven't completed all my studying yet? or just jump to practice exams?
I tried to couple practice exams under timed conditions but with failure. Its making me more upset looking at the score I get rather than motivate me. Also, I spend hours more like days after to go thru and review the practice exams.
Exactly how much time did you spend in reviewing the answers of the practice exam? Also, did you do timed practice tests from start? And about how many practice tests a day? When did you do content review? DO you recommend me to do content review or skip that? And after reviewing did you just practice more questions rather than content review? do you recommend that I read the unending pages of bio and physics and ochem the remaining chapters? or learn those concepts via practice tests?
As my mcat date is coming closer I am fearing it more and more. PLEASE HELP ME.
I dont know when I am doing practice exams I am too scared. And After I get my score I am too depressed. And once I start reviewing I think I review very very slowly and just end up not reviewing cuz its so boring. And you mentioned you kept reviewing previous exams-- did you make notes or just keep looking at answers? For me making notes take INFINITEEE timeee and I dont really retain much either.
Please pLease please reply and help me.
I know its such a long post and you are probably so busy, but your one comment may make my lifelong dream come true. PLEASE HELP.
Hey- it's best if you email me for something like this.
First- chill. You still have 34 days, which is more than enough & you already have a lot of the studying done. I'm thinking it's the stress and anxiety that's negatively affecting your performance, and your scores won't be reflective of your actual ability.
1. Once again, I would first chill...and look through the rest of bio, physics, and ochem, but don't spend too much time on this. I would go intensely for 4-5 days MAX, making sure I understand everything, rather than trying to memorize everything. You have the background to do well here.
2. Don't worry if your first practice exams are bad, don't get upset- it's supposed to be that way. It will start getting better... if you look at my posts, you'll see that when I first started practice exams I started at 7/10/7 (and at one point went down to 6's...).
3. For reviewing answers- not too long, at most ~30 minutes per exam (depending on how many I got wrong). For everything I got wrong, I identified the source of the error (without bullshitting myself), then went back to the literature to clear up what I didn't know. This really shouldn't take long.
4. I did timed practice tests from the start. Regarding my study schedule, please see Part 5 (http://krnpremed.blogspot.ca/2013/06/how-to-destroy-mcat-with-minimal-study.html).
5. "And once I start reviewing I think I review very very slowly and just end up not reviewing cuz its so boring"- which is why, go INTENSE for a short time (4-5 days). Then practice exams for the rest, while going back to quickly review concepts you didn't understand fully.
6. For reviewing previous exams- I didn't make notes, and simply tried to remember why I got the question wrong in the next round(s) of review. Over time, I gradually identified & fixed my weaknesses through the ridiculous amount of practice tests I did & cumulative reviewing of all practice tests I did.
Best of luck, and feel free to email.
Hey Matt,
Could you please help me out? I'm starting to get extremely frustrated and depressed. My MCAT is in about 1 month (August 21st) and I plan to stop studying and light review from around August 17th-20th going over things like hormones, chemistry trends, etc. I started my MCAT studying in May but since I was working I would be tired often and only really read through the chapters. I use TPR and I managed to get through bio, chemistry and most of physics bar the fluids chapter which I'm covering today. I've also practiced passages for gen chem, physics, bio. While I read through the organic chemistry chapters I have 1 left, which is the most important one. I've noticed that when I go through gen chem and bio I manage to finish the chapters quickly and focus on the practice problems, but when reviewing organic chemistry and a few topics in physics (electrostatics and magnetics, particularly...though I enjoy electrostatics so I have no idea why I'm not doing as well on the practice passages), I make such slow progress that it's killing my confidence. I've spent a lot of time on organic chemistry and because of this I have yet to do a practice test. Part of me feels like I should devote my time to bio, gen chem, and 80% of physics and then return to this later on in August since the organic portion of the BS is only 20-30% but I need at least a 12 in BS. I'm retaining nothing in Organic Chemistry aside from very general things. I've even tried watching Kahn academy videos to help out but it seems like I instantly forget a lot. I'm not sure why this is the case because I don't remember having this much difficulty understanding it in undergrad, I think a lot of anxiety is interfering and as the test draws closer it becomes even more difficult to sit down and really work through the material that I don't have much confidence in my ability to handle. Do you have any suggestions on how I improve in organic chemistry? Were there any strategies that you used to help you study the material quickly as well as gain a good understanding of it? Thank you so much!
Hi LRDJV,
For concepts that I wasn’t entirely sure of from reviewing the text, I simply skipped over them and went straight to practice exams- much better way to learn, IMO. I used the same approach for my undergrad organic chemistry courses, problem solving instead of reading the text (which worked out well, >90% for organic chem courses). I did the same for MCAT studying, minimal text review (5 days) + brute force through tons of practice questions, with continuous review of questions & going back to text for concept review.
Good luck,
Matt
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