<p>Did any of you feel that self-studying harmed you in any way? </p>
<p>I don't think I have enough money for a Kaplan or similar course. Any tips?</p>
<p>I self-studied. I don't know if it hurt me. In the end, I got the score I was aiming for, and even though I was hoping for a little higher, it didn't seem to hurt me (got into my first choice in November). I self-studied by using ExamKracker's books (except the physics one, which really isn't all that good) and took all of the AAMC-released old MCATs.</p>
<p>Yes, I've been hearing that ExamKrackers are good. But they still seem to be text-only.</p>
<p>Should I be looking for a CD/computer version, like Kaplan's?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I think that I got all the computer prep I needed by taking the AAMC practice tests. But then, I can learn from text-only. If you feel like you need lectures to learn, you might benefit more from either a class or an online MCAT prep course.</p>
<p>Ookla , I thought cost was your consideration. The computer based version of Kaplan is very expensive. D is using ExamKrackers, the Audiotapes from ExamKrackers, all of the Amcas tests, and a good number of Kaplan prep books from a student in a recent class. Based on what I can tell, that is a lot of material, and she will struggle getting through it by 8/8. Amcas tests results will tell her where she is. She'll take another this weekend.</p>
<p>thanks curmudgeon. Courses cost an order of magnitude more than prep books, so even though one book may cost more than another book, they're all still a lot cheaper than the courses.</p>
<p>So, I'll buy the Kaplan MCAT book and the AAMC practice tests.</p>
<p>Is there anything else I should get to self-study that's helped?</p>
<p>For those thinking that MCAT prep is expensive, <a href="http://www.******bay.org%5B/url%5D">www.******bay.org</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
For those thinking that MCAT prep is expensive, <a href="http://www.******bay.org%5B/url%5D%5B/quote%5D">www.******bay.org
[/quote]
</a>
Torrenting, eh? Well I prefer to physically have books and courses!</p>
<p>Oh that's what that was. I was trying to figure out why an MCAT prep company would use a profanity in its name...</p>
<p>epic fail of course it's piratebay you idiot</p>
<p>how many hours of study is generally normal for this test?</p>
<p>I've heard 18 hours/day... but that doesn't sound healthy. But I've also heard of 5 hours/day, which is intense but more acceptable.</p>
<p>18 hours/day MINIMUM if you want to get anything above a 24. 5 hours sounds fine, but only if you'd be satisfied with a dismal 10J.</p>
<p>^ you mean 18 hours/week? I have read many posts where people said they studied 400-800 hours for this beast so I guess that is kind of the norm if you want a really good score.</p>
<p>18hrs a day is simply insane, you'll either burn out or have a psychotic break; there is absolutely no rational for this. i did about 5/hrs a day on weekdays, 8hrs/day weekends in the month before the test, and I think I went a bit overboard.</p>
<p>4-5 hours/day for 10 weeks (take weekends off). That's how I did it.</p>
<p>A few hours a day for a few months. If you've got the time (not in school at the time), more is better.</p>
<p>thanks everybody. i appreciate it.</p>
<p>2 questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I'm planning to register for the September exam, so I will have essentially two months to prepare for this. According to what others have posted, this seems to be enough time if I spend several hours/day on it. Yes or no?</p></li>
<li><p>If I'm not going to take a course, where would I get good practice exams, besides the AAMC ones? Kaplan's practice exams are only available through their courses and there are only two full-length ones included on the book I bought. How are Examkrackers for practice?</p></li>
</ol>