[real talk] Studying for the MCAT during a gap year
Warning: There is no bullshit within this text. Please get the hell out if you can’t handle the brutal truth.
If any of you have clicked on the About Me link on the desktop version of tumblr, you know that I’m one of many gap year pre-medical students. Some of you may have caught on here and on Instagram that my boyfriend and I studied for the MCAT together. We each had different strengths and weaknesses and though we developed a study schedule together, we employed slightly different strategies to review the content.
As it were, Jake and I were the perfect examples of two major types of gap year students. Most of you reading this will fall into one of these categories with slight variations. Jake represents the Post-Baccalaureate Program Gap Year Student and I represent the Full-time Employee Gap Year Student. It was interesting to observe the differences between our study habits for the MCAT due to our life situations at the time. Jake worked on an as-needed basis in the lab but opted to take six weeks off from mid-April to the end of May. Because we knew when he would start working full-time again, we scheduled our exam for June 1, the last Friday of his extended vacation. We could have taken it the following day, but my college roommate was getting married and it was not a wedding I wanted to miss.
Under the cut, I will highlight the advantages and disadvantages to each gap year student-type as well as our generalized study schedule and the resources we found most helpful.
First, the Post-Baccalaureate Student.
Advantages
You have a set daytime schedule, leaving plenty of evening time to devote to your own pursuits (i.e. studying for the MCAT).
If you time it right, you may find it easier in between program exams, projects, presentations, and finals because it is mostly content review rather than learning new material
You’re already studying for something related to the MCAT so it’s second nature to review things.
Disadvantages
Depending on the demands of your program, you might actually find it harder to study for another exam in between the ones you have to take plus any other graduation requirements.
You’re probably broke and sobbing over having to shell out $330 to take the damn thing in the first place.
And now, the Full-time Employee.
Advantages
You have a set work schedule provided weeks in advance, making it easier to block out time to study.
Depending on the job you have, you might be able do study during downtimes.
You have money to pay for the test and any study materials you want.
Disadvantages
You might not actually have time to study during work, especially if you work odd hours and can’t take advantage of any free online prep seminars.
Let’s be real, you might be broke paying back all your student loans anyways.
Our Study Schedule and Materials
We blocked out three months to study for the exam and shared all of our study materials between us. In the few hours between when Jake finished up his internship or classes for the day and when I had to leave for work that evening, we sat in the library or my apartment and religiously read Examcrackers and did practice questions.
There were more than a few moments when we got into heated debates over how a specific scientific concept worked or what the answer to a question should be, but the great thing about our relationship is being able to move past those petty disagreements and not hold grudges (though it did take me an hour to stop being petty over being grossly misunderstood or partially correct).
At first, we collaborated over making Anki flashcards on each Examcrackers book but that proved to be way too time consuming. I already had handwritten notes over half of the material from last year’s attempt and I spent the next month and a half continuing to write notes as I read. That too proved to be way more time consuming and the effort was probably not worth it in the end but it did make a portable reference for me to carry around in my backpack.
When we were a month out, the panic set in and we started scrambling for practice tests. Realistically, we should have started out by taking a practice exam and feeling foolish at our low scores and then rejoicing at how high those scores rose over three months. But you live and learn.
Around this same time, Jake found a set of Anki flashcards someone else had kindly put out on reddit from the Kaplan books. I bought the mobile app, added Jake to my family so he could download it on his iPad, and we added the decks in. Some decks are much larger than others and took more time to go through. Honestly, the repetition helped me retain so much more material and I wished that I had started with these decks instead of wasting time trying to make my own. The guy who made the decks also wrote a more detailed study guide and suggested study schedule.
We took the free Princeton Full-length practice exam and one of the shortened free Kaplan exams. I bought the Barron’s study book and took both of the computerized tests. Jake also purchased two of the official AAMC practice tests. Of all the tests we took, the AAMC practice tests were the closest to what we actually scored, and the Barron’s was a close second for me.
In the end, fellow gap years, it didn’t matter which type of student we were. What mattered the most was how much time we were able to devote to studying. Both of us sacrificed a lot to buckle down and take this test but in the end, Jake put more time into studying than I did, and it paid off. He scored a 511, higher than any practice test he took, while studying for eleven finals, one board exam, and traveling to the Caribbean for vacation. On the other hand, I scored a 503 working four nights a week during the worst respiratory season I have ever seen, spending Friday sleeping very little, and staying up way too long between Monday and Tuesday. Time was not something I had a lot of in large blocks to take a four--or seven--hour practice exam, but I made the best of it by taking untimed tests and going through flashcards on my phone.
Do you take the MCAT? That’s entirely up to you. Time management is crucial so unless you’ve got the dedication to make it work, then don’t spend your money on practice tests, study materials, or registering for the exam at all.
Getting some used MCAT prep books in the next few days, Examcrackers 9e. Let’s hope this works out an wish me luck. I’m aiming for 6 months till D day :-)
about to invest in some examcracker mcat prep books! i'll let you guys know how i like them and how i decide ultimately which mcat prep course to take. i'm leaning princeton review over kaplan right now and maybe i'll spring for the m prep online course as well. we'll see. if you guys have any opinions/personal experiences with the above companies then let me know!
