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<p>[Breaking</a> Down the MCAT: A 3 Month MCAT Study Schedule | MCAT Discussions | Student Doctor Network](<a href=“Breaking Down the MCAT: A 3 Month MCAT Study Schedule | Student Doctor Network”>Breaking Down the MCAT: A 3 Month MCAT Study Schedule | Student Doctor Network)</p>
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<p>I realize this is a bit more than 3 books though…ha</p>
<p>I wondered if it would help to take it Freshman/Sophomore year to get more aquainted with it under real conditions. She did the ACT early, and kind of had it out of the way…didn’t take them senior yr (had strong score). Had to do the SATII’s senior yedar since we didn’t realize she may need those until senior year (it all worked out fine in the ended and got into many great school).</p>
<p>I’ll read up on the site that you mentioned… Do they start the studying part for MCAT sophomore year… I guess maybe when you take each course based on that subject. Just starting to read up on the subject.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on the books and site; more reading. Just when I thought she got into a great college; now the process starts for grad school. She’ll do alot of the leg work,but I want to be an informed parent.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about taking the MCAT that early, definitely NO…and as stated earlier, you don’t want to take it twice…it’s not like the SAT or ACT. It is actually a BIG negative in admissions. </p>
<p>If you are talking about taking the prep course that early, again, no…there is no reason to do it. The prep class should be taken within six months of when she plans to take the MCAT (preferably at the end of junior year) and any earlier is just not advised. Studying for the MCAT should begin at that time…there is no reason to begin earlier…it’s a standardized test.</p>
<p>Hey there,</p>
<p>I’m currently a college junior and I am signed up to take the MCAT this spring. I started taking a Kaplan class a couple weeks ago and so far it is helping me understand what I am weak in and need to work on. With the Kaplan course, I believe you get 12 Kaplan-made practice tests AND you get access to all of the AAMC practice tests (they cost $30 each otherwise). I have heard from people who took Kaplan that this program over-prepares you for the MCAT, which is good, although frustrating at times.</p>
<p>Absolutely DO NOT take the real MCAT just for practice. Medical schools average all the scores you get. Take the AAMC practice tests, they are made by the same company that makes the MCAT and they are the same in difficulty. The first practice test I took I got a 25 and now I’m up to a 30, with a goal score by May being a 37. Registering for an MCAT costs $240, money that shouldn’t be spent for just practice.</p>
<p>Also, while you should be reviewing what you learned in class, don’t start actively studying for the MCAT until you are done with all the pre-requisites. If you are a sophomore and still in ochem, wait until you’re done. I took physics and gen chem freshman year, bio and ochem sophomore year, so by the time I started the class I was finished with the pre-reqs and just reviewing what I had learned.</p>
<p>The MCAT is nothing like the SAT. The SAT tests you on your knowledge. The MCAT tests your critical thinking skills and problem solving skills by presenting you with completely new situations and leaving you to figure it out.</p>
<p>Great…I can see why some of the advisors may say to wait until senior year. With studying abroad part of sophomore/junior yr (a few quarters), it may be tough to get up to speed/done all the classes by the time of the test.</p>
<p>Here is estimation that seemed to work for my D. The assumption is that you study very hard for MCAT. This number will not work at all if you did not preapare. MCAT is estimated to be within 2 points of your ACT and real MCAT score on average is 2 points below your best practice MCAT score. D’s MCAT was exactly 2 point above her ACT and 2 points below her best practice MCAT score. However, it is just an estimate that works on “average”, so it might not work for some, while working well for others.</p>
<p>*D’s MCAT was exactly 2 point above her ACT and 2 points below her best practice MCAT score. However, it is just an estimate that works on “average”, so it might not work for some, while working well for others. *</p>
<p>This is good to know. My son is reluctant about taking a MCAT prep class, but if I show him this post, maybe he’ll realize that a practice score is not that realiable. and, since it’s strongly advised to ONLY take the MCAT one time, it just makes sense to do whatever you can to help your score.</p>
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Beat him. No. Really. Beat him. </p>
<p>Take the course. DIY, even with good materials, did not work for my excellent test-taking D. I don’t know how to say this any more strongly or I would. It’s just fool-hardy to take this test without availing yourself of the “study aids”. There are certainly better test-takers out there , but I wouldn’t count on being one of them. Do the work.</p>
<p>I think a significant majority of those of us who are currently medical students at allopathic schools (like BDM, norcalguy, and myself) or recently graduated from an allopathic school (like BRM) took prep courses. I agree with you, curm, that this test is so disproportionally important to an application that this is not an area where you want to experiment or try to DIY. I advise people to go with proven successful techniques like Kaplan or Princeton Review’s courses.</p>
<p>Interesting about the ACT/MCAT correlation. D did pretty well, she only took ACT score junior year and relied on it for getting into great/top 20 schools. (I had wanted her to take in Senior Yr., but she had to play catch up and do some SATII’s). Of course, she is a good student and excellent memory. She was very bored taking a higher end SAT prep class (and then never took the SAT/ACT again). </p>
<p>Biggest challenge now is trying to schedule in all these classes, study abroad and maybe double major—with time to take MCAT junior year. Still thinking about some some school this year. The college seems to talk alot about some taking the test senior yr., etc. I hate to pay for another year of school…if not needed.</p>
<p>Interesting about the ACT/MCAT correlation. D did pretty well, she only took ACT score junior year and relied on it for getting into great/top 20 schools. (I had wanted her to take in Senior Yr., but she had to play catch up and do some SATII’s). Of course, she is a good student and excellent memory. She was very bored taking a higher end SAT prep class (and then never took the SAT/ACT again). </p>
<p>Biggest challenge now is trying to schedule in all these classes, study abroad and maybe double major—with time to take MCAT junior year. Still thinking about some some school this year. The college seems to talk alot about some taking the test senior yr., etc. I hate to pay for another year of school…if not needed.</p>
<p>MIAMADAP: interesting correlation between ACT and MCAT…she did pretty well on ACT, scored enough junior year and didn’t take it senior year (good to get into top 20 colleges). One section wasn’t that great though. Is it focused more on the READING SECTION vs. English (MCAT)? She got 36 reading/34or so math, but English was a bit low. (Notably, senior yr of HS she didn’t take it since she had to do SATII’s.</p>
<p>^ If your D. is a strong reader vs being strong writer she is at great advantage for MCAT. I do not know if Med. Schools are paying attentin to writing letter score, while Reading (Verbal) is part of the total score. My D. is opposite, her Reading scores were always her lowerest while she always had very easy time writing. So, her English on ACT was her highest score, while Reading was lowest (difference of 7 points).<br>
Also she practically did not improve her Verbal score , while both BS and PS have improved greatly during preparation for MCAT. In regard to ACT, she prepared herself only in math. She took both ACT and MCAT once. Keep in mind that preparing for MCAT is a hard work, several hours daily for many weeks. At least that is what my D. did. She was spending about 1 hour / day for one week preparing for ACT math section, making sure that she has enough in her strongest subject to compensate for predictable low reading score. It all happened as it was planned. My point is that there is no comparison between amount of effort needed to get a decent score in MCAT vs ACT. It will be no ACT/MCAT correlation if kid does not work very hard preparing for MCAT.</p>
<p>Hello everyone! I’ve been lurking this thread for a while now, & decided to finally make an account so that I could thank everyone for all their contributions to this thread (esp. NCG, BRM, and BDM). Although I won’t be taking the MCATS for another 2 or so years, I just wanted some insight into the exam and contribute something, too.</p>
<p>I stumbled upon the official AAMC practice exams 3-10 on some torrents; I know they’re expensive, and if you’d like them, just PM me. (Or if this isn’t something I should post, also let me know, lol) 
(oh, and they do have solutions included)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t post that. AAMC (and related companies) are very strict about the rights of their material. Over at SDN, these companies have brought up law suits against SDN users for stuff like that. However, #3 is free for anyone.</p>
<p>This might interest some: [New</a> MCAT on the Horizon: Association of American Medical Colleges Makes Preliminary Recommendations for Exam with Big Implications for Medical Education | Business Wire](<a href=“http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110331006466/en/MCAT-Horizon-Association-American-Medical-Colleges-Preliminary]New”>http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110331006466/en/MCAT-Horizon-Association-American-Medical-Colleges-Preliminary)</p>
<p>D will have all of cores completed at the conclusion of her sophomore year (gen chem, orgo, physics, bio, calc 3). She’s home for the summer after just finishing her freshman year at UVa. She has volunteering lined up and will do some shadowing. She wanted to try to get a job for extra spending $, but is having some difficulty finding one. So, she thought she might take a MCAT prep this summer and then another perhaps next summer before taking the test next August. Your thoughts? I realize some may think taking two review courses might be overkill; however, she feels it can only help. Although she made fives on 10/11 AP exams, she “only” scored a 2250 on her SAT and that was after three attempts. (Yes I realize this is a great score, but my point is that standardized tests are more of a challenge for her than subject-related tests like the APs or SAT IIs.)</p>
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<p>I completely disagree. The SAT is pure critical thinking (very little knowledge required). The MCAT is knowledge + critical thinking. </p>
<p>Something that I wanted to point out, and what other posters have told me, is to watch out for burn-out while preparing. I have been studying non-stop for 3 weeks (no break days) and I started burning out over the past couple of days. Today I had to take the entire day off to relax. This is probably because I haven’t gone to a party in the past 6 weeks (finals for the end of the semester, came home and started mcat prep. I should have taken 2 weeks off after the end of the semester)…</p>
<p>I thought I could handle it because the amount of work I do during the regular semester is nothing compared to the amount of work that I have been putting in for the MCATs. That is probably because I am a lot more (productive/motivated to work) on a college campus than I am when I am back home…</p>
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<p>Yeah, a neighbor is one. 43 on the mcat, no prep. (2400 on SAT as a Frosh; 6*800, 10-5’s, most brilliant person I have ever met.)</p>
<p>Already had a top med guarantee in the bag via 8 year program, so no interest in practicing. I tried to bribe his mom to bribe him so I could say I knew someone who scored a 45, but to no avail. :)</p>
<p>^Why did he take MCAT if he had guaranteed spot?</p>
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<li>in general, I would say that fast readers are better test takers. However, some of those are missing lot of detailed info in “regular” life reading material. By my estimate slower readers are more efficient studying for classes. But it might not be applicable to everyone. Some are simply giniuses, period. </li>
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<p>“watch out for burn-out while preparing.”
-Yes, please, valid warning. My D. wished she scheduled MCAT a bit earlier, she was really tired of looking at the same. She scheduled 2 weeks after spring finals and wished that she took it right after finals. She was misearable for 2 weeks.</p>