Apologies if this has been discussed ad nauseam, but I just finished up pre-reqs, or most of them anyway, and I am going to study for a spring (April/May) MCAT while working full-time. I’m pretty overwhelmed with the course options out there and would love to hear feedback on what to invest in time and money-wise.
Courses I’ve taken:
Bio 1 and 2
Gen Chem 1 and 2
Physics 1 and 2
O Chem 1 and 2
Biochem 1 semester
Cell and Molec 1 semester
I would be interested in a live-online course or self-paced course, but my hesitation is the course alone will take 6-9 hours of study time out of my week, which is significant given my work and commute schedule. However, I don’t know where to start making my own study schedule. Thanks!
I did an online, self-paced commercial prep course that was a game changer for me. Most of my prereqs were pushing 10 years old, so to say I had all of that knowledge still in my head would be a joke. I was working full time and had about 1.5-2hrs commute time mon-fri. I also had a pregnant wife who was very understanding. I studied at night after dinner most days and really hit it hard on the weekends. I did the course for about 3-3.5mo before taking the test. It may have been more beneficial to spread it out a little more, but I scored high enough on my first try that I have no regrets.
For me, there were many reasons why I opted for that type of course.
Full “experience” of a live online course, but on my schedule.
Gave me the structure I needed to organize my studying. I tried text book studying to no avail. I tried ordering commercial prep books and setting up my schedule by myself to no avail. It was somewhat motivating to have pseudo-classmates during my lectures, which were recorded from live events.
Access to practice questions/qbank for continuous learning during free time
Access to practice exams
Focused exam review of “high(er) yield” topics. Some of the lower yield stuff was covered in the practice questions/qbank
Learned how test writers think, so I could then develop how to thoroughly read the questions
Great test taking strategies and the ability to practice them before the real thing
It’s pretty expensive, but medicine in general is a ridiculous hit to the piggy bank until you’re done with school, if not residency. I thought the price tag was worth it because I could afford it at the time. If money is tight, it may still be the right call if you think that there is no other way you could get the job done (like me).
I answered this in Session 106 of the OldPreMeds Podcast! Short answer - my favorite course right now, for many reasons stated in the podcast (as well as a full video review coming soon) is Next Steps MCAT Course. You can save $50 using the promo code - “MSHQ”! It’s a great combination of “self”-paced and live office hours. It also has a study planning tool that will create a custom schedule specific to your needs! Check it out https://medicalschoolhq.net/nextstep
I took the TPR online course and yes it takes a lot of time. I took their 3 month course and in addition to 3 hours lecture everyday, you get tons of homework and you need to do 1 practice test a week. Realistically, you would have to treat it as almost a part-time job.
For online scheduling, I personally would recommend purchasing a set of MCAT books and if you can study individually well, go through sections of the books and start to make a timeline of what you need to review and what you already know. I would suggest this method for your particular scenario of having taken all those courses already.
Hope that helps and let me know about followup questions!