MCAT prep & general guidelines
Hi guys!
Ok, so here’s everything I know about the MCAT and all their resources, obviously just pick whatever works for you, but just so you know that these are available out there :)
I have the following sets if you need to borrow them: Kaplan 2016 version, ExamKrackers 10th edition, and The Berkeley Review full set (current edition). The general consensus is if you need full content review and practice passage based questions, TBR is good for that. If you have a strong science foundation, EK will do it for you.
1) Register: if you haven’t yet, register for your test about 1-2 months out. However, you should be studying for it for at least 3 months. I believe it’s about $300, and if you are qualified for the fee assistance program, it will automatically apply at checkout. Register here. Remember to check dates on when you can reschedule or cancel for a refund (gold, silver and bronze zone). Check all the requirements you need on test day (government ID, etc). For those unfamiliar, C/P is chem/phys section, B/B is bio/biochem section, CARS is the reading comprehension and the P/S is psych and sociology.
2) Create a schedule: There are a ton of guides on how to study for this exam, but the general rule of thumb is 1-2 months of core content review, start doing full lengths once a week, and set aside 1 full day to review every single question on the full length exam the following day. The last month, you should be doing all AAMC official content (3 FL’s, section banks and all other practice material).
3) Create an Excel document: Here is my mock example that I personally use. You can make your own, but the purpose of this is to keep track of what you’re studying, if you’re on schedule, and all the review notes that you need.
4) Here are the documents with all the content on the AAMC official content list. I suggest you print these babies out, and study it religiously as review notes. Sciences (C/P and B/B), P/S notes
5) Some people swear by this 300 page P/S MCAT notes created from all the Khan academy P/S videos (Playlist 1, playlist 2, playlist 3). Watch on 1.5x - 2x speed and follow these notes in order.
6) Register for UWorld, it is a good simulator and has good explanations that mimic the actual MCAT. This is the second best resource for the MCAT besides AAMC material itself. It is a question bank, and it is VERY WELL WORTH THE MONEY. You get a free 1 week subscription when you sign up to try it - you can theoretically use a new email every week to save money, but it won’t save any of your progress and you can see the same questions again.
7) Anki is a flashcard app that helps with space repetition - find it in the appstore/playstore. You can either make your own decks for the MCAT, or you can use premed95 for complete deck or just use the P/S section.
8) Biochemistry free textbook pdf, our class’s biochemistry pdf
9) Physics review
10) Organic chemistry as a second language book 1 pdf and book 2 are amazing for dumbing down main organic chem reactions.
This document has all the overlapping topics between different MCAT prep books (like if you are using TBR, Kaplan and EK), you can find relevant topics in what chapters are in each book.
Create or use my template to prepare your application by logging hours and keeping track of stuff (MD opens in May, submit in June, DO opens in May, submit in May). Get your unofficial transcripts and see what classes you’re missing.
Let me know if you have any other resources I can link here for others to use as well.
