Hi! After seeing advice from some of you and reviewing posts here, I decided to take Kaplan for my May MCAT. It is intense. Since some of my gen chem and physics courses are old, I could be studying all day. Plus their homework and quiz are hard, which give me more anxiety every day. (Kaplan rep said 3 hours /day study…but I feel I need much more! ).
Does anyone have an advice on how to survive this uniquely tough (both mentally and physically) 3 months–? How did you balance your study and life/well-being? I went to college in Tokyo, so I never took SAT etc so this is a whole new experience to me.
Also, if anyone have advice on helpful courses while studying for MCAT, please let me know. I took biochem and physiology last semester.
Thank you!
little lily
- Breathe! Seriously, I’d suggest doing relaxation deep breathing hourly.
- Break it up a little. If possible, set a timer for 50 minutes, study that length of time, then set it for 10 minutes and take a short break. This was suggested to me when I was prepping for step exams and I was able to be more productive with less stress when I interrupted myself, walked around, got some (herbal) tea (I suggest Tension Tamer tea from Traditional Medicinals!), and did some deep breathing.
- After three hours, assess if there is a need for more studying that night. You might try to find less time-intensive ways of studying. Sometimes I found myself taking time making study sheets or flash cards —time making a study aid is generally LESS valuable than time actually studying. If you have a page in the Kaplan workbooks to study, try covering part of it with large index cards and then uncovering to quiz yourself. If you find flashcards very helpful, you can set up Word to type two columns on a piece of paper. Print it, cover up the right hand side, and read down the L side, trying to come up with the associated info on the right. Then move your cover paper down to the next “pair”. This is MUCH quicker than making 3-5 cards by hand.
- If tech savvy, you can use a flashcard “ap” which is even quicker.
- Give yourself some time off for your mental health. In med school, I generally took Friday evening off (tests permitting), and was able to study many more hours on Saturday and Sunday after a break.
That’s all that springs to mind right now. Also, if you don’t get through all the assignments before your next Kaplan class, it’s not a disaster. Try to do SOME pages in each section so you will be more familiar with it. There is a lot of review built in towards the end so you may be able to revisit that. If you’ve got the concept down cold, move on! If you don’t, schedule when you are going to study that some more, and then move on
Best of luck in your prep!!
Kate
I did the Kaplan self-paced course online and basically became a hermit for 3 months. My wife was less than pleased, but I too hadn’t had many of the sciences in over 10 years. I think I studied on average about 3 hours after work and then spaced out the studying over the weekend (usually about 8hrs/day). When I felt burned out, I took a day off to rejuvenate. For me, the lifestyle honestly sucked but ended up being worth it.
Other than testing on a computer, I thought that the MCAT experience was WAY different than the GRE (2003). It was also much more into critical thinking than the SAT/ACT (pre-2000), so I don’t think you’re missing out on much by not having had the fun of US college based standardized testing. If anything, you benefit by not having the expectation of the MCAT being similar to anything you’ve done. Good luck!
Thank you, Kate and Kennymac! I will relax. I am going to make a study schedule and incorporate break time in my study time. Right now, the only significant ‘break’ time I have is when I go to a class or volunteer…Also thank you Kennymac for reassuring that I did not ‘miss’ anything by not having SAT etc here…
I think my study hours get longer and longer and I do not get much done, because when there are some materials I do not remember/understand, I re-read Kaplan review books over and over again and get stuck…I feel like reviewing my old textbooks first is helpful for some materials that I learned 3 years ago…( forgotten). I took a course per semester as I had a full time job until very recently, and it took me 3 years to complete my pre reqs.
But as Kate suggested, I can just move on for now and come back later? That sounds like a great idea…finishing up what I can now, and I know where I am weak and need to study more later… it will lower my anxiety level. Did you have problems with ‘old/forgotten materials’ when you studied for MCAT?
I took some of the prereqs back in 2000, so I was rusty. I primarily used Kaplan’s stuff for all of my review. When things didn’t make sense (i.e. Orgo again), I just did online searches for remediation tools. Kaplan’s online resources includes some basic review information that helped. I did have some recency in Bio 2 and biochem, but it didn’t help me too much (ironically I scored lowest in BS section).
Included in the Kaplan program should be their online content that lets you use their flashcard app as well as access the publications digitally. I used their QBank intensely for content review. The class itself was good for critical thinking, but I thought the “extra” material was pretty much only good for content…
Keep in mind starting the program that you actually aren’t supposed to know everything and won’t really blow the first couple of practice tests out of the water. Try to view the frustration as learning how the test works versus trying to get a 45 on a test that, in the end, doesn’t count for anything.
Thank you- I will explore their online materials! I’m now understanding preparing for MCAT is very different from studying for final exams for pre req courses…you are right, we don’t need to (and can’t) get 45. I’m glad to learn that now not later.