#examkrackers

[apremedstudyblr-blog]

Check out my first impressions of these MCAT study books on my blog: https://skyrussell24.wixsite.com/skysmedschooljourney/home/first-impressions-mcat-study-books

[futuredocvibes-blog]

My life has just been physics recently 😩 Also, I had to get up at 3:30 this morning because my dad forgot something at home and I had to drop it off to him at the airport. Took a nap but am still exhausted and nothing I read seems to stick in my head, plus my focus is at an all time low 😪😪 Any suggestions?

[peppermint-adventures]

GETTING THROUGH THE MCAT

The MCAT is yet another thing that premeds have to tackle - but you can do this!! In this blog post I summarized my experience of taking the MCAT (twice) and listed some resources I personally found useful. Check it out here! If you have any questions, feel free to ask through the ask box :D. 

[acatex]

Hey Snarklings!

  Are you surprised that I’m still alive? I know I am (lols am I even relevant anymore?) Before I get into my whole MCAT prep strategy, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for leaving you guys in the dust. I have been very stressed lately and I just felt like I was letting you guys down which was why I made a really hard (but spontaneous) decision on my academic career. Of course I cannot comment right now on what I did/planning to do, but an upcoming blog post would be up in the next couple of days to explain the whole grey area that I was stuck in. Okay, it’s time to put away the tissue boxes and dive into every pre-meds worse nightmare: The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)

Disclaimer: This is my method and it may or may not work for you, so please take it with a grain of salt because, the way that I learn may be different from you, but it is a good idea to see how others approach this scary test.

What is the MCAT?

In short, the MCAT is a standardized test taken on a computer program to measure a prospective medical student’s potential to succeed medical school. Think of it as foreshadow of one’s ability to do well on painstakingly long exams that are cut up into blocks: Since most of medical schools in the US and Canada require doctors in training to take many board exams that can be 8-9 hours long.

Another reason why the MCAT is administered is to see whether the applicant can use background knowledge of the subject (biochemistry, biology, chemistry, psychology/sociology, physics, critical reasoning skills, etc) and integrate with other sciences to synthesize and draw an objective answer to a novel/unknown situation. This makes the MCAT different from others standardized tests such as SAT or ACT since these tests are more on memory recall and regurgitation, while the MCAT is more on integration and application to unknown situations. Think of it like this, when a doctor walks into a patient’s room, they know some things (the knowledge they’ve been taught in med school) and there’s probably things that they don’t know about a patient’s health, but when a doctor integrates what he/she knows and connect it to the unknown they can solve problems.

  What is the MCAT tested on?

Since, one of the reasons why the MCAT is administered is to test your endurance on future medical school board exams such as: USMLE step 1, step 2 CK, step 2 CS, Step 3  if you are in the United States or the MCCEE, NAC, MCCQE part 1, MCCQE part 2 in (Canadian boards), and Comlex Level 1, Level 2CE, Level 2PE, Level 3 (Osteopathic med schools/DO). They do this by testing you on undergraduate courses and are broken down into 4 sections/blocks

Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems

Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS)

Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems

Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behaviour

  Prior to Taking the MCAT

I highly recommend taking the required courses before taking the MCAT. The AAMC recommends to take the following pre-med classes:

Introductory (first year) Biology (2 semesters/1 year)

Introductory/General Chemistry (2 semesters/1 year)

Organic chemistry (2 semesters/1 year)

Biochemistry (1 semester)

Introductory Physics (2 semesters/1 year)

Psychology (1 semester)

Sociology (1 semester)

Now I never took a sociology class and I am planning on taking physics in my upcoming (and last) school year of uni. But that doesn’t really matter since you can just self study for it.

  Resources?

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So MCAT prep cannot be MCAT prep without a good set of MCAT books for you to review on. Now, there are many MCAT companies out there and a lot of people are confused on which one they would get to the point that everyone keeps on asking the same question: What books are YOU using? Hey, are those books good? Listen, your success on the MCAT does not depend on what company that you choose to get your books from. Why? Because it is you and how well you reviewed and practice those questions on a DAILY BASIS. I know people who got into med school by using Kaplan, I know people who got rejected who used Kaplan, and the same goes for other prep companies such as The Princeton Review, Examkrackers, The Berkely Review, etc. It doesn’t matter. Just pick one and stick with one. Do not. I repeat. DO NOT BUY TWO BOOKS OF THE SAME SUBJECT BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT ONE COMPANY DOES A BETTER “JOB.’ Again, It is you who will determine your own success, not a book.

Now, for me, I was about to buy the Kaplan MCAT series but, my mother surpised me on my 21st birthday with the NextStep MCAT Content Review and Practice Passages. At first, I was bummed out but as I went along, I realized that the books are doing its job: Helping me review what I learned in undergrad (wipes tears away; literally every time I turn a page I get flashbacks). And the best part is: It was free since it was my birthday gift so I did not have to spend a dime.

When I found something that I did not fully understand or the book did not give me a detailed answer I usually used Khan Academy videos (There’s a whole section just for the MCAT with practice problems). Other videos/channels worth mentioning:

AK Lectures for biochemistry and general chemistry (his explanations for thermodynamics is so straight to the point, they’re super clutch)

The Organic Chemistry Tutor: MCAT Test Prep General Chemistry Review Study Guide Part 1 and MCAT General Chemistry Lectures Review Prep Part 2 – Equations & Practice Questions

Leah4SciMCAT for doing MCAT Math Without a Calculator and Amino Acids for MCAT/Biochem students. I also looked at Fischer Projections for MCAT Orgo and Biochemistry which helped so much since she sues fun mnemonics and straight to the point concepts that just makes the learning fun and easy.

Bozeman science for their anatomy and physiology sections for every organ system mentioned in the biology MCAT book. I also looked at a video or two from the AP chemistry, AP biology, and AP physics (which I remembered fondly back in high school and so I’m familiar with them thus, I didn’t look at every video but just ones that I had trouble with, ex: transcription vs translation.)

  My method for studying: I tend to study in rotations or two chapters of the same subject a day until completion. The image below is how that looks like in my mini day planner:

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Since I do not have a job nor am I in school during the summer I was able to study for 8 hours a day and found myself going through rotations quicker than I expected. Before I go to bed I reviewed what I learned and anything that I do not finished I would have to finish in the morning before starting a new rotation.

  Active Learning

So when I start a new chapter I use my metacognitive abilities: What do I know vs what do I don’t know.

Let’s take the endocrine system as an example. I know that the endocrine is invovled in hormone secretion and regulation of the metabolic oathways that maintains homeostasis. I know an example of this would be aldosterone (a steroid hormone) and vasopressin (a peptide) hormone helps regulate homeostasis by repsonding to low fluid levels and by increasing fluid retention. But what I do not know is how exactly they achieve this: thus when I’m studying that’s my goal or my purpose. I am learning to apply and find answers to my questions.

Every time a paragraph says something about a hormone I would turn it into a question and write the answer in my own words. Here’s an example on tropic versus non tropic hormones:

In orange I wrote the section of the chapter: Regulation

I wrote a capital Q for question and A for answer.

And sometimes I write a little flow chart for easy summary of what I learned

The reason why I used this system was for 3 reasons: (1) By writing out the section in a different colour, it acts as a study guide (you know with all the topics/questions pertaining to one part of the chapter for a test). (2) Turning the info in a paragraph into a question and answers makes it interactive and makes you think about what you are learning; sort of like flashcards. I would cover the answer portion with another piece of paper and just talk/aggressively whisper out the answer (the answer doesn’t have to be word by word but just similar to what it is). (3) When it is time for revision: Your notes are in a Q/A format or like test which is better than writing a bunch of notes and just passively looking over.

Here’s another one on the hypothalamus-anterior pituitary-adrenal cortex axis (HPA)

As you can see I love flow charts for sequential pathways and showing the cause and effects of each step (what increases or decreases, which hormone is involved, etc)

I will write a more detailed post on what I put into my MCAT notebooks and what I look for when reading or extracting information from the review books. So just hold on and be patient.

  Practice, Practice, Practice

Knowledge is power but practice makes perfect. Remember that the MCAT will not really test your ability to recall facts straight from the book; this is not a trivia show. It is your ability to apply known information (your MCAT content review) and integrate them with other information in an unknown situation (the MCAT passages). That’s why I like that my MCAT books have practice passages at the end of each chapter. I also bought extra practice passages from NextStep because they really do help me understand the content and the timing. If you do not have practice passages right now, go to the Khan academy MCAT section and there’s loads of them (but they are really easy though).

Also, I really enjoyed watching videos on YouTube on how to approach passages and seeing what other people’s strategies and methods are. I tend to integrate what others do with my own method, but everyone is different so just take it with a grain of salt. Here are a couple of my favorite Youtubers, one of which is actually my best friend.

Amanda and Rich Show: MCAT Biology Passage Breakdown

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 Biochemistry Tutorial 1 (Amino Acids) – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: MCAT Biology/Biochemistry Passage Analysis (Acetylcholine) – CurveSetter MCAT Prep

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 Chemistry Tutorial 3 (Titration Passage) – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 Chemistry/Physics Selected MC 1 – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: Electricity and Magnetism MCAT Physics Passage – CurveSetter MCAT Prep

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 Biology Tutorial 1 (Neuron Passage) – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 CARS Tutorial 1 (Passage) – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 CARS Tutorial 1 (Questions) – CurveSetter Tutoring

SecondChance MCAT: MCAT Science Passage Breakdown #1

SecondChance MCAT: Full MCAT CARS Passage Breakdown (98% CARS Scorer)

Bless her Health: CARS WORKSHOP 08/24

Bless her Health: CARS WORKSHOP 08/28

  After going through a few passages or so, review your mistakes! Then again look up your Q/A notes and see where you went wrong. When you do this, you’re allocating your attention areas that need it. This really helped me retain information whilst, practicing applying concepts with other concepts. Another reason why, is that the questions on the MCAT are really different from your college classes. Again, you’re not regurgitating facts out, you’re applying what you know with what you don’t know by looking at superficial similarities and coming up with the best answer. Since this is a new skill, the only way to learn it is through practice.

I am planning on making a post about how I breakdown science and CARS passages as well so stay tuned.

Spaced Repetition Is Key

One of the keys to success for the MCAT is repetition for retention. If you do not review, you will forget it. That’s why I always made sure that after a section of a chapter I would look over what I had so far and really try to understand what I just learned and see how it relates to other chapters or to the other subjects in one way or another to get the BIG PICTURE. Then, before I go to sleep I will look over at the chapter again as a whole and annotate anything that I think needs more detail. Then the next day before starting a new chapter, I quickly look at all the previous chapters by talking aloud (or aggressively whispering if you’re around people, sorry to the girl at Starbucks who has to put up with my) and just make connections to it. Over time, I looked at all the previous chapters so much that I can recall many concepts.

Review while making your Q/A notes

review after making your Q/A notes

Look at your Q/A notes before you go to bed

Before starting a new chapter, look at all the previous Q/A notes to refresh your memory

1 day later look at your old Q/A notes then maybe 3 days later do it again

Congratulations, all the info you’ve mastered are now stored in your long term memory. It is permanent until you die (unless if you get amnesia).

  I hope this helps make up for my absence and don’t worry, I will post more on MCAT prep. So ciao for now, and stay flossy everyone.

  How I Prepare for the MCAT Part 1 Hey Snarklings! Are you surprised that I'm still alive? I know I am (lols am I even relevant anymore?) Before I get into my whole MCAT prep strategy, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for leaving you guys in the dust.

[foreverlunaria-blog]

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.

[md-admissions]

I had a question for you and your followers: Has anyone used the ExamKrackers full length exams for MCAT practice? If so, does anyone recommend using them?

I only ever used their prep books, anyone know about the exams? I really liked the books though; as a visual learner, the colors and charts helped immensely for me.

[futuredocvibes-blog]

I just realized I’ve had this account for so long and haven’t ever wrote an intro! Some facts about me: - You can call me D, I’m 20 (soon to be 21) and live in Canada. - I am currently in University for a BSc, and my major is Biochemistry. - One of my biggest insecurities for my med school application is my GPA. It took me a long time to find studying methods that worked for me in university and so my first and second year were not great for me, and are definitely not a reflection of how much I’ve learned or how hard I’ve worked. But I’m trying to stay positive and hopefully things will work out in the end! - Although I was always interested in medicine and health care, I didn’t consider a medical career until very recently! I always thought that I’d end up with a career related to drug development or medical research, but I fell in love with physiology when I took an elective and decided to take MCAT this summer! - Honestly, I feel like a bit of an oddball in the studygram/studyblr community. I don’t really care about the aesthetic of things and I’ve never cared for having neat/pretty notes. I mainly just joined to help increase my motivation, meet like-minded individuals, and draw inspiration from others’ journey while also sharing my own! - I’d love to hear why you guys joined the studygram community in the comments! 💕

[coffee-and-studying]

MCAT 6.5

Took AAMC practice test 2 yesterday. My score was a 509.

Chem/ physics: 86th percentile

CARS: 49th percentile

Bio/ biochem: 97th percentile

Psych/ soc: 75th percentile

Can I have an amen that my chem and physics section improved so much! I swear it was lucky guesses. I was dying. Maybe I’ve gotten better with recognizing concepts?

CARS was soooo hard. I don’t know what I was doing but clearly nothing good.

Biology and biochemistry I felt myself improving but that much is insane? I’ve been crushing the Uworld problems.

Psych and sociology used to be my best section. I clearly need to do some serious review of definitions.

Overall I’m very proud of my improvements. I plan to finish Uworld questions, and my ExamKracker problems. Soon I’ll start AAMC passages and section banks. Maybe I’ll buy NextStep 1-4 to work on as well since I have only one more AAMC FL.

[momentsinmed]

July 12, 2017 >> With a little over a month until my MCAT, I just started my Live Online Kaplan course and have reworked my study plan to focus more on my Kaplan work and less on trying to fit in the dozens of other resources that I was trying to balance. I think I originally fell into the trap of trying to use Kaplan and ExamKrackers and AAMC and Princeton and Khan and Barron’s and Anki and MCATme and etc etc etc. There and so many resources out there but you just have to focus on the few that work best for you. I am loving the EK books for the bulk of my studying and the Kaplan flash card app for when I’m standing in line at the store and such, while AAMC is pretty much mandatory for practice questions. What are your favorite MCAT resources?

[patacaliente]

Post-MCAT reflections

Use ExamKrackers for general content review. Only get more specific on things as they come up as weak spots when you do AAMC OFFICIAL practice problems. They are worth the money because...

The MCAT is a logic test, and the best way to develop that intuition is to practice.

Memorize amino acids backwards and forwards.

Study psych vocabulary and terminology (the discrete questions get SPECIFIC and RANDOM).

Bio is reading comprehension with some content knowledge (and required the most practice for me to see score improvement).

I thought I was fucked, took it once, and did better than my goal score (and 5 points higher than AMCAS FL1, the only full length practice test that I did the year of my MCAT). You can do it!!!!

[tea-letters]

The MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is definitely pretty daunting when you first sit down to start preparing for it. For those of us here in the US/Canada, it’s probably the biggest, hardest standardized test you’ve ever had to take in your life so far. I thought I’d try to make the whole process just a little less painful! :)

Helpful Links:

AAMC (buy official practice material, sign up for test dates, & see your score)

Reddit r/MCAT (wonderful source of resources/info, help, & motivation)

Khan Academy

Khan Academy Notes/Transcriptions (collective effort by reddit)

Official MCAT Topic Outline (PDF)

Helpful Classes to Take (optional but recommended):

General Chemistry // Biology // Physics

General Psychology // Sociology

Organic Chemistry

Biochemistry

MCAT Books (optional)

Kaplan: widely regarded as one of the best. If you buy the 7-book set, you’ll get 3 free FLs (full-lengths).

ExamKrackers (EK): also widely regarded as one of the best. More user-friendly than Kaplan. Psych book is not comprehensive enough.

The Princeton Review (TPR): unnecessarily detailed in the science sections but overall good. TPR psych is supposedly very good.

If you’re pressed for money, I believe there is a full EK set scanned online somewhere (try asking Reddit). Also, honestly Khan Academy is just as good as the MCAT books in terms of content review.

Free FLs

Next Step FL1 (NS1)

Next Step Half-Length

Kaplan Half-Length

Altius Half-Length

The Princeton Review FL

General Tips Everyone Kinda Agrees On:

OFFICIAL AAMC PRACTICE MATERIAL ARE NOT OPTIONAL. At the very least, buy the Section Bank and the AAMC FLs. There is no practice out there that will predict your score as well as the AAMC FLs.

USE KHAN ACADEMY FOR P/S SECTION. If you have time, use the 300pg Psych document! Otherwise, use the 100pg doc.

KNOW YOUR AMINO ACIDS. That includes structure, 3-letter abbreviations, AND 1-letter abbreviations. Know what class they are (hydrophobic/philic, acidic/basic).

3rd Party FLs (e.g. Kaplan, Next Step) should only be used to practice sitting for 7 hours and to identify content gaps. Do not use them to gauge your score. 3rd party FLs tend to deflate your score.

It’s best to get a good score in one try. If you don’t feel ready, either reschedule your test or void it. Schools will only see scored exams.

^That being said, a “bad” score isn’t the end of the world. Take a break, pull yourself together, identify what you could do better, and slay the MCAT on your retake.

Pace yourself. Most people do ~3 months of study with scheduled break days, but adjust to your own pace!

MCAT courses are $$$ and only useful for certain people. If you are someone who can discipline yourself and do what you need to do, you don’t need to take a course.

Below 500 typically means an issue in content review.

Please don’t retake 514+ scores. Not only are they amazing scores, but if you retake and (god forbid) drop, it will reflect poorly on your decision-making.

You don’t need a 515+ to get into med school. It really depends on what tier of school you’re applying to, what speciality you want to pursue in the future, etc. If you’re not aiming for a Top 20 or a derm residency match, you don’t need a 95+ percentile score.

My Personal Tips:

A little about me: my score release was on 9/19/17 and I got a 518 (97th percentile) with breakdown: 129/130/130/129.

Don’t be afraid to postpone your test. I rescheduled my test twice (3/31 to 6/16 to 8/18) because I knew I wasn’t ready.

Try not to study during the semester. It’s already hard enough managing your everyday classes and any extracurriculars you have.

Practice >>> Content Review. Do a quick general content review before starting practice. Do any practice you can get your hands on. Then REVIEW THEM. Reviewing should take you basically the whole day. Really understand every aspect of the problem. Even if you got it right, make sure you’re getting it right for the right reasons and not cuz of luck. Look up anything that you’re even a little doubtful about.

If you’re going straight-through (applying summer after junior year), try to take your test the summer after sophomore year just in case you have to retake. Similar advice for gap year students (like me), try to leave enough time for a retake if necessary.

I recommend foam earplugs during the test. You’ll have to bring them to the testing center in a sealed package and open it in front of the proctors.

Don’t be afraid to use your scrap paper. In the 10 minute tutorial at the beginning of the exam, I did a massive brain dump of every equation I could think of.

C/P Specific Advice: The MCAT won’t ask you for a ton of math. Know your most important chemical structures (e.g. amine vs. amide, ester vs. ether). Know your basic formulas, especially for optics!! Know how to identify the nucleophile/electrophile in an orgo reaction.

CARS Specific Advice: This is the hardest section to improve on. If you’re scoring low, do a lot of practice and try to read more (newspapers, articles, books) until you plateau. Don’t bring in any outside info. The answer is almost always hidden in the passage in plain sight.

B/B Specific Advice: AMINO ACIDS. Also know basic research notations (e.g. A123K = alanine at 123 position of sequence changed to lysine). Also ENZYME KINETICS.

P/S Specific Advice: Khan Academy. Seriously. This is also the easiest section to improve on.

Last note: remember anything on the topic list is technically fair game.

Good luck! Hope this helped!!

[lovechelseaross-blog]

(via Examkrackers Mcat Study Package)

[realtalk-princeton]

@Nick, do you recommend Princeton Review or Kaplan MCAT prep study books? Also, how many practice tests did you take? Where are you supposed to buy practice tests from (is it just from the official AAMC website?)? Thanks!! pls help this confused premed

Response from Nick Carraway:

Questions about MCAT prep bring back so many memories (one of my friends was asking me a few questions about it earlier today lol). I used Princeton Review and loved it (don’t think I could have possibly been more prepared than I was on test day, and my score showed it). Lots of my friends have used Kaplan; I think you can’t go wrong with either. I took an online self-paced course, so when I was choosing between Kaplan and Princeton Review, it came down to which company would give me access to the online materials for a longer period of time. Since I was studying from last August through this April, I needed maximum access. Princeton Review had 9 months of access, and Kaplan’s was shorter. In my brief skimming of Kaplan materials, there were more random details that were 100% not necessary for the MCAT. But Princeton Review still had every detail and more that I needed. The two companies are very similar though, so I’ll just say you can’t go wrong with either.

I took 12 full-length practice exams, and I did hundreds of practice passages and free-standing questions that weren’t in practice exams. I think 12 was a bit excessive; 6-9 tests is fine…After like 6 practice tests I was hitting 521-524 on every test I took (which is right around what I scored), so I think I plateaued. My Princeton Review online course came with 9 Princeton Review full-length practice tests. I didn’t like the princeton review ones that much, though. They were harder than the actual MCAT. So I took 4 of these, but then took the 3 released AAMC tests (these are the best), then I took 4 from Next Step, and 2 from ExamKrackers. I found ExamKrackers and NExtStep to be relatively in line with actual MCAT difficulty. ExamKrackers tests are expensive ($50 per test which is absurd), but you can get a pack of 4 or 6 NextStep tests for only like $50.

Hope this helps the confusion a bit!

[med-study]

Hello there! If you don't mind me asking, what resources did you use to study for the MCAT?

Hello! Of course I don’t mind :)

I did a self paced online Kaplan course for a duration of three months. And reviewed the Kaplan hard copy books that come with the course. I used ExamKrackers verbal 101 passages book to practice for the CARS section.I used the khan academy website videos for the psych/social.

I did Kaplan, AAMC, and Next Step practice tests.

If you scroll a little through my premedadvice link you can see where I talk a little more about MCAT.

As an FYI disclosure I received a 503 on the MCAT so it wasn’t anything too crazy but it was my second time taking the test and I improved a lot compared to my first time. I focused on my improvement and medical school admission boards seemed to like that.

[premedvideos-blog]

BEST MCAT PRACTICE TESTS

1. AAMC - the best. I mean these are from the people who make the exam. They have three full-length exams out for the new MCAT. 

 - Sample Test

- Practice Test One

- Practice Test Two

2. ExamKrackers - I really liked these and seemed to resemble AAMC practice tests in terms of difficulty. Check out their five tests here: ExamKrackers

3. NextStep - I took a couple of their tests and they were okay. You can buy them here: NextStep

[mcatme]

There’s a lot(!) of material to cover but most important is incorporating MCAT passage and question practice early on to develop analytical and reasoning skills layered on top of tested content.

Have solid resources for review (prep book set, khan academy...), have materials for practice (question banks, practice passages, full lengths...), and have a consistent schedule for making progress.

Try to discover your best learning methods early on, and of course make sure you are reviewing your practice to identify where to make improvements.

As far as exactly which materials are best, there will always be someone who recommends something in particular, but you have to find your path to success. Absorb best by video?, try Khan Academy. Need lots of background information?, follow the AAMC content outline and use your textbooks. Want more concise review?, try Examkrackers or Berkeley Review. Need structure and a lecturer?, maybe go for a prep course.

Mostly, dedicate your time to your own process! You can do it! Start early, make adjustments in your schedule and materials as necessary, practice practice practice!!!

Try this study plan builder to get an idea for when to start and how to organize your studying: https://www.mcat.me/tools/study-plan-builder

Does anyone know of some good resources to study for the MCAT? I’m planning on taking it next summer and I was thinking of starting in August. Also, any study regimens/schedules would be helpful