#missmolly1994

[michaelaconlin]

Merry Christmas!!! Here I am off anon! It's been a lot of fun being your Secret Santa for the past few weeks :) I hope you have a wonderful day!

AW!! Thank you so much for all your sweet messages!! <3 Merry Christmas sweetie! Hope you have a fantastic day! *hugs* <3 (:

[whatshouldwecallbeingamedstudent]

Thanks that was helpful! I need to start studying soon because I'm hoping to take the MCAT early next spring. I just feel like I'm way behind because I only just finished my freshman year, but I'm also graduating a year early and I feel like there is so much to do but I don't know when to do it all! Haha. I took a practice MCAT in January without studying or anything and got a 21, so hopefully that will kinda guide me in what to study. Cuz I have lots of improving to do! Thanks again!

I got a 21 on my first practice MCAT too! :) If you want to graduate in 3 years and go right into medical school, you need to apply next cycle (at the end of your sophomore year) so next spring is ideal to take your MCAT, good planning! There is a lot to do; the application process is tough. But try to take it one thing at a time. You should plan to take your MCAT around March so 1 you can have the score before you need to submit your primary application and 2 you have plenty of time if you decide to retake it. For now, focus on preparing for your MCAT. If you’re not too busy this summer, it wouldn’t hurt to start studying for it now. But if you’re super busy, it also wouldn’t hurt if you waited to study until around your winter break, as long as you really buckled down and worked hard. You should probably start thinking about your personal statement soon too. Think about why you want to be a doctor, etc. I assume you have premed advisors at your college so make sure you talk to them. The primary application won’t be available until May though, so don’t get too hung up on that. Good luck! :)

[whatshouldwecallbeingamedstudent]

What would you say is this best way to study for the MCAT? Best books/study materials?

The key to studying for the MCAT is a book and practice MCATs. I personally used Barron’s- I got the MCAT book and flashcards but to be honest, I didn’t study all the flashcards haha. My friend originally got the Kaplan book but then she got Barron’s and she says it’s a lot better. I really liked the Barron’s book and thought it was very helpful. Some people say taking a course, like the Kaplan course, is good but others say it’s a waste of money. Basically, if you know you can force yourself to study and focus then you don’t need the course, but if you’re worried about motivation the course would be useful.

As for practice tests, take them and take a bunch of them but don’t take them the few days before your MCAT- if you happen to get a bad score you’ll freak out and panic and that’s not how you want to go into your MCAT. AMCAS has practice MCATs, the Kaplan website has a free diagnostic, if you get the Barron’s book it has 3 practice tests, and a website called e-mcat has practice MCATs. There is one free one and then each additional is either 35 or 30 dollars, I don’t remember which.

I know you didn’t specifically ask about it but the amount of time you take to study is up to you. Some people study large amounts each day for about 2 months leading up to it; others (like me!) study small amounts each day for 4-6 months leading up to it. It just depends on how you learn and if a shorter amount of time will motivate you or stress you.

I hope I helped! :)