Here's a link to the plans that I featured in the video: drive.google.com/file/d/1xP_9DALLlkgPwPb9_xR0Q_yKWwpeEY5s/view?usp=sharing Good luck with studying everyone! 💪
Hey everyone, I've had few questions about this lately so let me just try to clear it up a little :) I used The Princeton Review books (TPR) 2nd edition. In this book set, biology and biochemistry are combined into 1 book called "Biology" - my plan reflects this. From my understanding, the Kaplan books do things slightly differently and break it up into biology and biochemistry. There also appears to be more chapters in total for the Kaplan books. Here's the conversion to fit my plan: For the bio/biochem issue, wherever my plan would say "biology" just alternate one session biology and one session biochemistry. Also, it should follow that because certain books have more total chapters than my books had, each individual chapter *should* (on average) be shorter. If you have more chapters and the chapters are shorter, fit 3 chapters per day into your schedule when the time will allow for it. That way, you still finish the knowledge review (KR) by the middle of the second month. Good luck to everyone writing this summer!
So I’m using that book the Princeton biochem/biology book (2015 Ed) for review in addition to the 2019-2020 Kaplan books. Do you think it’s worth it to get the new edition of the Princeton books??
@@loveish22 No I don't recommend it since you already have the Kaplan books too! There are very minimal changes to the books themselves with each new edition - not worth it in the grand scale imo :)
This video came right on time! With such a well rounded and persistent schedule you have no choice but to dominate the MCAT! Thanks for giving me somewhere to start
God bless you man, by far the best MCAT prep video I've seen. Love how your video and plan are highly structured and detailed. I found many of the other vids to be all over the place and overwhelming.
I will say that the months I spent prepping for the test definitely weren't the most enjoyable - but I really looked forward to and enjoyed my Sundays off :) Really preparing for the test and giving it your best shot will definitely be worth it in the end. No problem man, best of luck with your own test!
Your videos are super detailed and useful bro. I screen shotted those monthly schedules! Appreciate how you keep it a 100 with everything you share! Keep it going man!
Aha that's awesome dude. Glad you liked it and hopefully the schedules come in handy. Will definitely be keeping it up here - I've got big plans for the channel :) All the best and talk soon
Thank you a lot for this video. This is exactly what i was looking for i could not ask for better at this very moment. Good luck in your future career.
Just wanted to let you know that I’ve been following this plan since 6/15 and my MCAT is on 9/12 and my score has improved by 14 points so far. This is amazing advice!! Thanks for this video :)
I'm so glad to hear that! I've got some really good feedback from students who have been using the plan lately so thanks for sharing :) Best of luck with your exam 🔥
Thanks man, and congrats on the med school acceptance! Good luck with the CZcams experience too - it can get a little busy sometimes but it's definitely worth it imo :) See you around
Thank you for this detailed video Gianluca!! This is sooo helpful, especially because you broke down every little aspect with regards to the daily/weekly/monthly schedule. All your guidance and knowledge is greatly appreciated :)
You're welcome Mary :) Thanks for the original suggestion to make these MCAT videos. I figure that if I'm going to make a video like this, then I should probably be as thorough as possible - and I'm really happy with the way that this one turned out. In any case, I'm really glad that you liked it and hopefully everything works out great with your own test! Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll try my best to help. All the best.
@@nxtgenmd Thank you again, you did an outstanding job laying out all this information so clearly in this video. Hearing your advice honestly helped me feel better about this test and a lot more assured going forwards. I will certainly reach out with any further questions. Appreciate all you support very much!! Good luck to you as well in all your endeavours :)
Thank you so much for this video & I’m glad I came across it in time to start studying for the MCAT! I actually wish that I had seen it sooner, because my goal to score that high isn’t feasible if I can’t study for 8 hrs 6 days per week. :(
Hey Farida, I’m glad you came across the video too and found it useful! :) the MCAT definitely isn’t an easy test, but being dedicated and studying hard (and smart) is definitely the best way to get one of the higher scores. Best of luck with your test, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
@@nxtgenmd Wow, thank you so much for responding! I definitely didn't even expect to get a response to my comment since I understand how truly busy you are! :) I really appreciate all your advice and all that you do!! Thanks so much, Doc!!!
@@yourfuturedocburenbeiya I really appreciate the thanks, but its no problem! If you've taken the time to leave me a message, then its the least that I can do to try and respond ... at least until clerkship/residency creeps up on me lol. See you around Farida :)
Hey Gianluca, would you be able to make a video on how you studied for the other sections (Chem/Phys, Bio, and Psych/Soc) and maybe how you approached reviewing your FLs after you took them. It would be so helpful for someone like me who is in the middle of studying. Thank you and amazing content btw!
Thanks Sunny, glad you like it :) I can definitely get around to making videos about tips on the other sections (with my filming schedule right now, I'd expect them to be out in the middle of May) - how to review the FLs might be harder but I'll see what I can do 🤙 If you don't mind me asking, what information would you find most useful?
@@nxtgenmd Thanks for the reply Gianluca! I think information on how you approached example passages for each section, most efficient way to study each subject, etc. As for the reviewing the FLs, I really do hope you can make a video on this because everybody seems to say that you should properly review your FLs the day after you do them. Thanks!
I’m actually just beginning to study for the MCAT and this video is exactly the guidance I needed to get started! I have a question regarding your style of studying did you make notes (written or typed) while reading the chapters, concept maps or just read and highlight? Thank you so much!
So glad it helped and good luck with your studying! I actually put a video out today talking about how I studied. I think it should answer most of your questions :)
Thanks so much for making this video. I took the test in august and the wheels fell off for me the first time. I’m going to stick to this regimen and hopefully I can get a 512 plus. Ps what is kr on your sheet?
No problem Cole, glad you liked it. Don't be too down about your first MCAT, I had a similar story with my own test. I wrote the first time and didn't do too well, so I came up with this program and jumped up more than 10 points! I hope it does the same for you - 512 is definitely achievable, so best of luck! :) *KR stands for knowledge review
NXTgenMD following up. I missed the mark of 512, but I got a 510 on my second attempt using this study plan (128/125/128/129). Ironically, in every practice test I took, cars was my best usually at a 129, so even if I could have scored a 127 on CARS I would have hit my goal. COVID didn’t do me any favors because my timing was thrown off, but thank you for the guidance and good luck with the rest of your journey to be aiming a doctor.
Glad you liked it Mirabel :) Most people have just been screen shotting the schedules from what I can gather - but you're right in that a direct link might be better! I can get that figured out sometime this weekend or you can just message me on instagram and I can send the pictures there if you need them right now
So glad it helped! And I'm sorry but at the time when I filmed this, I didn't think to save the pdf's of the schedules. Feel free to screen shot from the video or just write it down :)
I just came across your CZcams videos and I swear they are so helpful man!Thanks a lot for the tips(i'm planning to migrate to canada for medical college)BTW i follow your ig!!
Glad it helped Taylor 🤙 and I would have a plan but mostly I went chronologically (chapter 1 then 2 then 3, etc.) at the beginning of the week I’md plan out which subjects I was going to pair with each other though. I was pretty flexible though. If i felt that I needed to move something to help the flow of studying, then I’d just do that
No problem Ashley, glad you liked it :) And yes, for the purpose of this schedule (and for my own studying), biochem and large systems biology were covered in the same "Biology" block of my study schedule. Some people may prefer to group it with organic chemistry though, (I don't recommend it, but it should still be fine). Good luck with your studying!
Glad it helped! And yes, I did the gold standard practice tests, kaplan and TPR. (I tried to mix and match to diversify as much as possible) I think most people would agree that besides the official AAMC ones, Kaplan comes in second and then TPR - but feel free to do what works best for you :)
Can you please please name the books you used to study biology and chemistry. I have an arts bachelor background. Would really help if you could name the books for me. Thanks in advance 🙏🙏
Sure thing :) I used The Princeton Review (TPR) to study the sciences and psychology. But I supplemented this with the Khan Academy's free videos to help fill in some of the blanks (none of the prep books really have EVERYTHING to prepare you for the MCAT in my opinion - but most of it is there) Always go check amazon first if you're looking for books as they often have the best deals IMO.
You said you used Princeton review books to study content, did you do the practice question in the book at all? I dont know if I should focus on them. Also for CARS did you first go through the princeton review books or did you only do passages? and where did you get your passages from ? just asking
Yes I did do the practice questions in the TPR books. I thought they were great ways to help check my understanding once I had finished a chapter, but I also looked for other questions such as the free passages on the khan academy. For CARS though, I didn't listen to the princeton strategy at all 😅 If i remember correctly, one of the tips is to just guess 1 complete passage? Definitely not something I recommend. I used their books for the practice passages though and thought they were great. I actually have a tonne of free practice passages linked on my "tips for a 131 on CARS video." Feel free to check it out if you're looking for more passages 🤙
Thanks so much for posting this! I have a question regarding your study method. During month 1 you just read the text and took brief notes, but did you memorize for example biology terms (about 100 per chapter) the same day? Or was that for when the review day happened?
No problem, glad it helped! During month 1 I'd read the chapters, watch videos and answer questions during the weekdays (monday-friday). The goal is to have a well rounded understanding of MOST of the topics and key terms and to also star the difficult sections that you feel like you want to go over again. On Saturdays, I'd go back over my notes and see what I had starred. Then I'd watch additional Khan Academy videos on those topics and answer additional questions / do flash card review 🤙 If you want a more in depth explanation of how I would study for each of the sections, feel free to check out my videos on the specific subjects. But hope this helps to clear it up a little :)
Hi. I’m wondering for the content review how you actually went about this? I’ve start3d this and have been taking notes but it is so slow! Did you take notes or just read or flash cards.....how did you get efficient at kr? Shoutout to Mac that’s my dream school, I go to Waterloo right now
Ahah thanks for the Mac shoutout buddy - hope to see you here too one day soon 🤙 I’m gonna get a video out on this asap but it is kind of a slow grind. I would read chapters, make notes, highlight my notes and then answer questions. The principle is called active recall if youre interested in looking it up. Also, i would make flashcards for things like formulas and orgo chem especially. Best of luck with studying for now 🔥
Very helpful video, I will be taking my exam in May and plan to use you strategy, Question, exactly which bundle(s) did you purchase from AAMC website? Which were helpful and which do you think you could have passed on? Thank You again
Glad it was helpful, good luck with the exam! I bought all of the practice tests that they had available (FL 1-3 But now I think they have an FL 4 as well... buy that too, they all help LOL) I also bought the CARS passages and the physics/chem passages. I’m confident in saying that they were all great assets. The passages are generally degrees of difficulty above the average difficulty of questions that you’ll see on test day (in my experience). Do them last in your prep, and if you can get all of those... then you’re definitely ready 🤙
Hi, I just came across your channel and this video is helping me a lot with creating a schedule for myself so thank you so much! I have a question though; I have to self-teach Biochem and Physics, and I have about 4 months until the exam, do you have any advice or videos on what I can do for this? It's been some time since I was out of school so I'll have to spend more time reviewing other subjects too (which is also why I'm having a bit more trouble with teaching myself biochem than I expected). Any advice/tip would be helpful!
Hey :D Glad the video has been able to help out! I have another video specifically going over the physics and them section tips that I have. I'll link it: czcams.com/video/IV6yWs7Z_o4/video.html Good luck!
First of all, thank you so much for your videos! They have been sooooo helpful. I had a couple of questions. I have a lot of KR to do, especially since I haven’t taken biochem or orgo. I’m not sure I would be fully confident to start practicing tests until I have finished the KR, but that might be two months or so before I can even do tests, so would you suggest I start doing tests anyway? Even if I’m not completely done? Also, I was wondering if KR is just reading the books and taking notes? Are there resources we can use to test specific subjects? Essentially, how do we incorporate practice throughout KR?
Thanks so much! I'm glad they've been helpful :) I would 100% recommend doing practice tests during KR even if you're not done yet. In addition to testing you on the things that you already know, they'll also prime you for future learning by giving you initial exposure to topics that are still coming up. Just be sure to save the AAMC materials until you're done KR* Everyone does KR differently. Personally, I'd read the chapter, make my notes, reread my notes + highlight, make flashcards, and answer questions! I'll make a video on it at some point in the future (once I can find some free time). However, I like to incorporate the whole Active Retrieval / Recall method into my studying now and even during undergrad. I find it to be a big help
Thanks for all the helpful info! I haven’t taken the prerequisites (but I’ve taken biology and chemistry) for the MCAT and I am graduating soon. Do you think it’s absolutely necessary to take biochem and orgo before starting to study for the MCAT?
No problem! And its definitely not absolutely necessary. There are students that do amazing on the MCAT having completed a degree in classical music first - the only problem is, when you haven’t studied the material before, your prep will need to take this into account, which normally means that you’ll need more time to self-learn the concepts. The good thing about science is that a lot of the time, concepts link together well. You’ll have some basic level of understanding biochem even by just studying basic molecular biology. Just be sure to identify any of your weaknesses when reading through the chapters. The internet is a great place for free learning - be sure to spend extra time on khan academy in topics that you feel less sure of and be realistic in setting your own timeline for studying :)
Thank you for this layout. This is in a way of what I am trying to do, but in terms of content review, biochem and psych/soc take me forever. I can't always do 1 chapter from the two books in 1 day. What do you recommend to get this done? I, personally, retain information by taking notes (outline a chapter, to reduce how much is required for me to go over). It is my fear in terms of falling behind. I also plan on doing content review in about 6 weeks. I am good at retaining info, just not good at being fast enough to study it :/ Thanks for the tips! Very helpful
No problem :) If you find that it takes longer to understand the information, you can always just extend the plan. Spend more time on each chapter and plan to complete the entire content review in about 2 months instead (just make sure that you also extend the rest of the plan then). If you want specific tips for psych and sociology I have an entire video about that up on the channel as well 🤙 Best of luck with it!
Hi! Thank you a lot for this video! How are you dividing your time for biology & biochem for the KR section? You put them together under "biology", so I'm just wondering :)
Hi Emma, glad it helped! 🤙 the way my books were structured, bio and biochem were in the same (giant) book. It was just called “BIOLOGY”. If you have separate books just alternate one on one off (bio vs. biochem) should work out the same :)
Great question! I saved the AAMC banks until month 3. In my opinion, these are some of the harder questions that you can see on the MCAT and you're best tackling these the end of your prep once you're more prepared. I only bought the bio | physics | and CARS ones and I would do them after I had finished my FL test review on days when I wasn't writing a practice test
My biology book included biochem in it so the quick fix for you would just be to do 1 chapter of bio and one of biochem per week instead of how I had written it as "2 chapters of biology." Should work out exactly the same :)
Hey Gianluca, I was just rewatching this video because it is so incredibly helpful and had another question I would really appreciate your insight about. What would you suggest to be the best manner to do content review (most of month 1, partially month 2)? Like would you start by passively reading the books and then doing practice Qs immediately/creating notes/using Anki decks, etc.? Thank you :)
Hey Mary, I can definitely try to expand on that a bit. So for content review, I would read the associated chapter in my study books and take notes on things that I didn't already know - highlighting is ok, but I strongly believe in rewriting / drawing diagrams to really help me with memorization. For orgochem and some of the other topics that require a lot of memorization, I would make study cards too and use those (very helpful for the whole enantiomer vs diasteriomer vs etc. part of O-chem.) I didn't start using ANKI until medical school, but I've heard from others that it really helped them with the MCAT. Ideally, questions (those directly pertaining to the chapter you just read), should be done as soon as you've made it through the chapter - to help the information solidify in your head. So sequentially, if I was doing 1 chapter of Bio and 1 of Physics on any particular day (plus CARS), I would read the bio chapter, highlight and make notes. I would then see if there were any topics that I'd need to make cards for (but I'd do the cards on Saturday or when I had free time in my study schedule). Then I'd answer questions for the Bio chapter - my study books had associated questions. Then once that was all done, I'd move on to physics. Don't be too caught up with finding pages and pages of questions though. In month 1 and 2A you just want to understand the info. The best questions are the ones from the practice tests anyways and that's where you'll really start to understand everything from an application sense. Hope this helps :)
@@nxtgenmdOMG thank you for this super detailed reply! Hearing your perspective is extremely helpful and I'm very grateful that you always get back to us despite the hectic med school schedule you must have. I'll definitely save your advice and keep it in mind for the future. Thank you very much once again :)
My friend let me borrow their set of MCAT books apart from the ones I already had. Would it be a good idea to do the second set of books for the second pass of Knowledge review, or would it be a better idea to use the same books I originally used and the Khan academy videos
If you want to use the second set: first do the set of books that you like best - then do khan academy - then briefly skim the last set of books if you have time and if you think it'd be helpful. In my opinion, with a good set of books and the KA videos, you won't need to review a second set of books :)
Where did you find passages/resources to do cars everyday? My review books mainly y’all about strategy but i think it would be helpful to get more practice in. Did you focus on practice passages during your daily cars studying or more on studying test taking tips?
Definitely practice passages! I really didn't agree with the "strategy" that my practice books were suggesting. I have a tonne of free passages linked on my "tips for a 131 on CARS" video :) feel free to check them out but they should last you a while 🤙
I just started studying for the MCAT last week using your study schedule, and I have a quick question. Would you do anything (like practice questions, note taking, etc.) to review the content in the two content chapters you were reading daily after finishing the chapters aside from reviewing the content on Saturdays? Or would the only time you revisited the content from those chapters be on Saturdays? I'm wondering if you did some sort of practice/review every weekday, or if you just reserved practice till Saturdays. I always complete the practice questions at the end of each chapter, but I am scared I am being too passive about my reading of the chapters. Since I am still so early in the content review phase, I don't know if big question banks and anki decks (like the MilesDown deck) would be useful, since there is still so much I don't know yet. Do you have any suggestions for me or examples of what you did? Anyways, thank you so so much for all your help and all the content you put out! It's so helpful to us premeds, and it's much appreciated! (And so sorry for the long comment!!)
Quick question when learning content review I haven’t taken organic chemistry yet but all the other classes. Should I solidify general chem first then go to learn organic chemistry or just wait to do organic after I take the class
Depends on when you're writing the test brother. If you're not writing until next year, then you could wait. But alternatively, studying even without having taken the class is not impossible. Lots of students do well on the MCAT without coming from a science background at all... but it definitely does help :)
Hey! Thanks so much for this fantastic and well organized video! I’m entering my first year at Dal as a chem student!! I have heard it may be more beneficial to take the MCAT after your 2nd year because most of the courses you will take in those two years will cover what you will need to know for the MCAT? How do you feel about this? Also, i’m debating between TPR 510+ guarantee prep course or Prep101. I heard the way TPR teaches CARS is crap though....Prep101 spends way more time doing the CARS. Which would you choose? The guaranteed score or the company that goes over the most challenging section? Have you heard anything about Prep101? Once again, thank you so much for this video i’m cherishing it until it’s my time to take on this monster of an exam hahahaha!
Cherish... every... moment O.o Lol, just messing around. It's no problem, glad it helped :) Congrats on starting at Dal soon! I always recommend taking the MCAT in the summer after 3rd year as the optimal time (but there are definitely people who say 2nd year). My rational is because there a few more "specialized" courses that you can take by then which may help - (physiology, advanced biochem, and human genetics in my case). Also, a lot of students just feel more "mentally prepared." There's pros and cons to both though, so if you feel like writing in second year, then go for it 🤙 I also don't recommend a prep course to most students. I just feel like self study is the way to go based on my experience and what I've heard from other students. If you were to do one though, I'd say the TPR 510+ guarantee is what most students say is the better option (to be fair, I haven't heard of prep 101). I didn't like TPR's CARS "strategy." Follow the plan I made for it and practise every day! :)
NXTgenMD That is very insightful. Well, i’m glad to have heard your opinion! I will 100% be using your schedule for when I start studying the MCAT. For now i’m just going to keep enjoying your content! Keep safe during this pandemic! Once again, thank you very much I really appreciate the guidance. (:
Hello! Thanks so much for the video - does this schedule work for someone without a pre-med background? Or would you suggest I space this out a little bit more? Thanks!
Hi Suraj - sorry for the delay. Give yourself an extra 2-3 months to study for a top score (95% or higher) as a non-trad premed. This is what my friends have said as well as students that I've worked with. Best of luck :)
Sorry Leslie... no formal sheet for the common equations 😅 You really do need to memorize A LOT. The only thing that's standard is a periodic table. Some of the really uncommon formulas are provided though - like for flow resistance of certain objects in unique fluids, etc. Usually if the "passage" style questions need you to make connections to uncommon concepts, they'll include whichever formula they're referring to.
Hey Gianluca! This video was super helpful and I will be studying exactly following your plan! My MCAT is on September 12, 2020 and I have just begun studying for it. I just wanted to ask that for the time I spend on CARS everyday - is it just doing passages or is it reading the chapters provided in the CARS textbook in the MCAT set or both?
Hey Karishma :) glad the video was helpful. Personally I didn't read the textbook for the CARS 'tips" from my practice books. I started to in the beginning, but then they suggested skipping entire passages to save time and I thought I'd be better off doing things differently 😅 I would suggest spending the majority of your time doing practice passages and answering questions. Good luck on your test!
I would suggest UWorld daily after content review. For example, if you study hormones, right after go and do some UWorld questions associated with hormones. That way you can identify knowledge gaps as you go.
I agree with Ashanna :) I didn't use UWorld myself but have heard great things about it! Start it at the beginning of month 2. Otherwise, you could always start from the very beginning and just do a little bit every day to make sure that the concepts are sticking with you
Hey Almira, for additional CARS practice resources I used the Princeton review passages that came with my study books. But I also really liked the Jack Westin passages - there's a lot of free questions on there, but the difficulty can vary from passage to passage. (I'd still highly recommend checking it out though) Here's the link: jackwestin.com/mcat-question-of-the-day Best of luck and glad you liked the video! :)
I am currently a senior I highschool and I found this video extremely beneficial! However, I have never studied 8 hours in one day (let alone almost everyday), which kind of gets me nervous. Do you think by the time I get through my premed courses, studying for 8 hours won’t seem as bad?
Hey Jamil :) Good on you for getting a head start and looking into this stuff now. Most students will find studying 8 hours a day extremely difficult, even after 3rd year of undergrad. However, you start slowly and pace yourself in the beginning. 4 hours, then 6, then 8 and sometimes you even end up doing 10 on some days towards the end. You will find a way that works for you 🤙
I recently started studying for the MCAT and I'm spending 6.5 hours reviewing each chapter (barely doing any practice questions during that time) :(. Any advice on how to speed up the content review? Thank you for all your help again!
Unfortunately, for some students the knowledge review process may take longer than for others (especially for topics that are new). Recently I uploaded a video talking about how I studied for physics and chemistry on the MCAT. Feel free to watch that one if you need guidance. Don't feel discouraged though! It's much better to study harder on your first MCAT than to rush and then need to write it again... trust me on this 😅 Good luck with everything though, you can do it!
Having the same issue! Made this amazing plan, was super excited, targeted 1 chapter per 3.5 hours, 2 for the whole day, day is over, feeling burnt out, barely managed to finish 1 chapter! (carelessly rushed through the end).
Hey quick question About CARS... My Princeton review set came with 2 books involved with CARS: 1) skills review 2) a workbook. Should I finish the skills review book and then move to practice within the workbook? Or should I just abandon the skills review book and do passage practices daily with the workbook?
Hey :) Personally, I'd recommend skipping the skills workbook. I found that doing practice passages were far superior in terms of seeing results with your score 🤙 But it's totally up to you
Hi! As I was watching this video, I thought that you provide this plan of studying, meaning that we pay for it or you were just saying the concepts how to prepare for MCAT?
What full length practice test company would you recommend, other than the official AAMC? What did you use? I am struggling with choosing something that will be representative of the MCAT and not too easy.
I used a few different companies, each with their own strengths and weaknesses I guess 😅 other than the AAMC tests, I think most people put Kaplan at the top and then TPR. I also did some Gold Standard exams and found them to be very good at testing multiple concepts, but the scores weren't very predictive (i.e I would score significantly lower in CARS for example than I would on the actual AAMC tests). Hope that helps!
Hey GianLuca! I just came across your channel... It’s amazing and very inspiring! Do you have the calendar templates you used in this video as a pdf or word file?
Hey Julia, glad to hear that the videos have helped :D here's the link drive.google.com/file/d/1xP_9DALLlkgPwPb9_xR0Q_yKWwpeEY5s/view?usp=sharing good luck with studying!
Hey Man. Thanks for all the useful tips. So I have been doing 6 CARS passages a day 3-6times per week (because of school not 7 lol) since like October and have seen my timing for 6 passages going down from like 57 minutes to 40-50 minutes. Did you ever use Jack Westin during your prep, meaning the CARS passages? If so what do you think? I’m focusing on JW rn cause I don’t want to burn through the other resources before starting hardcore prep in mid April. Any other tips to improve accuracy? Mans gunning for that 132. Also did you do 90 minutes of Cars passages for 3 months straight? I don’t know where I’d get that many passages LOOL.
Hey :) Good work with your timing 🤙 And yeah I did use the Jack Westin passages, but I actually came across them fairly late into my review (once I have finished all of my other resources - so the opposite of you LOL). I really liked the JW passages but thought that in terms of comparability to the difficulty of passages on the actual test, the Khan Academy ones and the official AAMC stuff were actually the best. Would definitely recommend using JW as well though bc you're right... running out of passages is a real problem for this. I did 90 minutes of CARS prep every day (6 days per week for 3 months) but remember that on practice test days the CARS practice for the day is the practice test itself. Also, the 90 minutes of practice isn't only doing passages, (you gotta correct your answers afterwards). Other than that, I did two physical print books of TPR passages (I think one had 40 passages and 1 had like 100, maybe more?) Then I did JW (only the free ones), Khan, gold standard (included with the practice tests), and the AAMC practice bank. I did some exam crackers ones too but didn't find them the best personally. GS was really difficult to. Also just google free CARS passages. They're hidden behind pages of MCAT prep companies, but if you ever run out, you can definitely find some! Jeeze! 132 is a crazy score but definitely possible 🤙 I got a 131 and I actually know 2 people who got a 132 🔥The only way that I know to improve accuracy is to start off slow and build from there. At my peak though, another tip that I'd have is to make jot notes as you read through. You don't even need to read your notes after, but the act of writing moves the items into the short term memory storage of your brain, which is exactly what you want as you go through it. Practice is really the key though, I started off at 125 on my first practice tests.
NXTgenMD thank you for replying man! I was wondering if you have any tips with anxiety during prep. For me physics has Always been my weak spot, and c/p is the only section that I am actually nervous for. I really need to get over this since it is the first section and could set the tone for how I do the rest. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you once again, and I would love to keep you posted!
@@hunya997 For sure! So first off, anxiety is a super common theme when it comes to this test - totally normal :) But you're definitely right in that the first section can set the tone for the entire test. For general prep anxiety, I personally found that this would come and go in different stages as I studied, but generally decreased as I became more confident in the material. The only thing that you can really do for it is review the concepts and answer practice questions. Remember that messing up one section has absolutely no bearing on the next section, so try your best and then IMMEDIATELY remove it from your head when you begin the next section. That was a really important mindset for me to have when I was writing :)
NXTgenMD Hey man I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your detailed responses. Is there any way I can reach out to you closer to the OMSAS application deadline to get advice? Maybe though email or some other means. Thank you so much man 🙏🏻
@@hunya997 Sure thing :) I'm super limited in what I'm allowed to say when it comes to applications as I'm sure you know. But if you ever get stumped or just need some help with troubleshooting, just message me on my Instagram @NXTgenMD
I go into this a little bit more in my video about the physics and chemistry section! Taking notes is only valuable in-so-far as it helps you to learn. Don't take notes on the many details that you already know, but focus more on the large concepts and small points that link them together. At least that's how I think about it anyways :)
Hi :) Quite honestly, I was convinced by a close friend who swore by the princeton books. She said that she was able to give kaplan a read before buying the books but she (for whatever reason) liked the princeton books better. That's just my bias though 😅 in reality, I hear great things about both sets of books and they are priced very similarly on Amazon (at least when the kaplan books go on sale - otherwise the princeton books are around $50 cheaper.) I know this probably won't be able to help you much but I'm fairly confident in saying that either sets of books would be sufficient when paired with a proper study schedule and additional online resources! In that case, my honest recommendation is to go with whatever will save you a little bit of money - that you can spend on AAMC practice tests down the road!
Hi Eva, I always recommend taking the MCAT after your third year of courses or after your second if you are ok with learning entirely new material on your own. Personally, my recommendation would be to start studying after final exams and set aside 2.5 - 3 months :)
I hadn't saved the originals but I remade them today due to recent requests 🤙 here's the link - good luck studying :D drive.google.com/file/d/1xP_9DALLlkgPwPb9_xR0Q_yKWwpeEY5s/view?usp=sharing
Hey man. How were you able to do FL's if you didn't fully complete content review in the second month? I'm trying to gauge when I should begin FL's, and whether I need to be done all content fully done before hitting the tests. Appreciate the feedback!
LOL most likely was me... next time you walk by, be sure to say hi! 🤙 Normally I'm just on my way to grab a coffee :) But definitely would be able to offer some feedback. I would recommend starting the FL's as I stated on the schedule. This is what I did anyways. The function of starting FL's is two-fold: first, it allows you for maximum exposure to practice tests without compromising time spent on the knowledge review portion. Second, even if you haven't learned a topic yet, seeing it will often prime you for when you do come across during studying. Between my friends and I, most of us agree that the 2nd month is the best time to start practice tests, but feel free to change it up if you feel uncomfortable with it
Just wondering why your schedule for month 1, does not account for biochemistry? Also the schedule from month 1 to month 2A: it accounts for 52 chapters out of 62. When did you do the others?
Hey :) I just pinned a comment explaining this in detail (Lots of people have asked me lately). Feel free to give it a read and let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks!
Hi, I was wondering if you have any advice about resources for determining eligibility. I'm an international student in Canada and I'm doing my PhD here. I hope to apply in my final year of graduate study, but my undergraduate transcripts need to be converted by WES. It will take me sometime to complete that process, so I was looking for any resources I could consult in the meantime while studying for the MCAT.
Check directly with the school websites :) Unfortunately, across the 17 different Canadian schools there are differences regarding which will take international students and which will require a permanent residency card.
Hey :) If you're working while studying, just extend the amount of time that you study for but keep approximately the same plan. 4 - 5 months instead of 3 is what other students have told me worked for them with this plan
High School diploma is required for undergraduate studies admission in most cases --> high school grades are not used for medical school admissions though :)
(high school student here) when you guys are preparing for the MCAT, are you given specific material to study? like specific textbooks, documents, websites, etc. or do you have to find those yourself?
Hi Sophina please refer to this video for details :) There is a document linked in the description going over what to study as well as test prep books which most students will purchase to help them study. Good luck!
You're free to modify the schedule however you'd like. This is what I'd recommend for 3 months, but if you have less time, you'd just need to condense it down 🤙
1 or 2 extra practice tests sounds reasonable as well as some final review, practice questions and making sure that you've got everything memorized. Personally, with that extra time, I'd just extend my month 3 plan an additional 18 days 🤙 but really it'll come down o whatever you feel like you need to review at that time :)
Hey Gianluca, quick question. Do you think using ANKI is an effective way for studying for the mcat? or just reading the material and taking notes is enough. I want to know is it worth the time to sit and write anki flashcards in order to practice them daily for each subject? Thank you
Hey buddy :) personally, I didn't start using ANKI cards until just this year - however I do see how they could be effective study tools for the MCAT (especially for some of the organic chemistry topics and physics formulas) Everyone preps differently, but imo taking notes, answering questions and doing practice tests is by far going to be the best way to prepare. If you have extra time, you could always look into pre-made ANKI decks for the MCAT too! Could save you some time
I’m terrible in math... not sure how I’ll do for the MCAT in a couple years... really worried to be honest. If anyone took it already and would tell me there scores and what helped them the most I’d really appreciate it.
A lot of the MCAT test has no math at all! The CARS and Psych sections in particular are more-so about reading the problems and memorizing + applying concepts for psych (this is also seen in the bio section). You'll see when studying that the math that is needed is definitely manageable as long as you give it the practice that it needs 💪 But good luck :)
NXTgenMD thank you sir! Kaplan books are the best when studying correct? I’m a freshmen right now but since I haven’t taken classes like chemistry, physics, biochemistry, and biology yet I haven’t started to study. Was wondering if I were to buy those study guides, If they would still help even if I didn’t have the prior education in that field as of now. Thanks again!
The basic science courses mostly - chemistry, bio, physics and then psychology. Beyond that, there's others that I found helpful that I talk about in my videos about the individual MCAT sections :)
How much note taking did you do while reading? I feel like I am taking too much time writing notes😭 but I only write about things that are in bolded font. HELP
It depends on which chapter I was doing! There's lots of room for variation between people too, but my way of thinking about it is that you take notes to help you learn* The objective isn't about writing everything out word for word but rather to summarize important points and organize them in a way that will help you to remember :)
Hey Andres, personally I wouldn’t have any way of knowing since I’ve never prepared that way before. I have heard stories of people who did take longer to prepare and were very successful on the MCAT though - and theoretically, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You can definitely incorporate parts of this study plan into your own and then just plan your day out differently - I would still say that CARS should be done every day even with a longer study time for the best results :)
I'm sorry but I filmed the video a while back and I no longer have the pdf files 😪 Feel free to take a screen shot of the video when they're up on the screen or just write them out by hand :)
It would not be common for students to do multiple chapters and retain all information while also answering practice questions for those chapters in 3 and a half hours. However, everyone's different. More power too you if you can and just modify the schedule based on your own preferences :) Best of luck!
Great question Nick. In my experience (having written the test twice - and having worked full time during my first attempt) my recommendation to most students would be to reduce hours worked as much as possible while studying if they only have 3 months to study. If a high score is what you're after, then it's always better to nail it the first time and not have to give up more time at work later on (I.e writing a second time should be avoided if possible). If taking time off work is not possible however, then the fix would be to just extend your length of time spent studying :) my plan is based on studying ~8 hours per day and 6 days per week. If you can only manage 4 hours per day and 5 days per week, then you can structure your studying over the course of 5-6 months instead. The conversion of my plan (if you're interested) would be to just double the length of time I recommend for each stage. Hope this helps
Hi, For the last two weeks of study, everyone recommending taking a test everyother day! 4 or five AAMC tests! What other 6 tests u recommend to take , to help improve the Mcat score, please? Thxu
Hi :) AAMC tests (save for the very end if you can) Then my favourite practice tests were the TPR ones and the kaplan ones. I also tried the gold standard tests too (which were still good - but were very difficult for the CARS sections) hope this helps!
First let me thxu again for all ur help, advise and guides! Also i started study MCAt last week, i read one chapter per day . I answer the questions at the end of each chapter and also watch kaplan video! What is ur suggestion , Where can i find more questions to practice about the same chapter, please ? I thaught to buy AAMC book but they are so many of them,. Not sure which book match what iam looking for! Thxs again for sharing ur knowledge with others!
@@royamehr4937 Its no problem Roya, glad to be helping :) I have free questions for each section linked in the video descriptions for my psychology + sociology and chemistry + physics + biochem videos. You can check those out if you're looking for free resources. If you're looking for a set of books (imo) I'd recommend The Princeton Review (if you can find them for a good price anyways). They're consistently cheaper than the Kaplan books and imo that additional $100 that you save can be better spent on more practice tests and test banks!
@@nxtgenmd Good morning, I have princeton and kaplan books . I have a question. What is TPR, please? And where i can find the questions u did mention! By the way iam studying Cars every day and using the link u added! Thank u so much!
How do you juggle work, volunteering, research with that study schedule? who has nothing to do but study? i always need to make rent... I hear Toronto is really expansive... How do you take 3 months off? i want to know that.
Yessir! I believe that list is exhaustive. You don't need to memorize them all though, just the most important ones (there's often debate on reddit as to what the most important ones are, but you can decide for yourself). You should however, be familiar with how to use those formulas if they're given to you though. Good luck :)
Here's a link to the plans that I featured in the video: drive.google.com/file/d/1xP_9DALLlkgPwPb9_xR0Q_yKWwpeEY5s/view?usp=sharing
Good luck with studying everyone! 💪
Your positive energy is so contagious. Thank you for this video!! I am taking my MCAT in August and this is exactly what I needed :)
I'm really glad to hear that Mariana :D No problem and best of luck in August 🔥
Any update ?
Hey! How was the exam? Do share some insights
Hey everyone, I've had few questions about this lately so let me just try to clear it up a little :) I used The Princeton Review books (TPR) 2nd edition. In this book set, biology and biochemistry are combined into 1 book called "Biology" - my plan reflects this. From my understanding, the Kaplan books do things slightly differently and break it up into biology and biochemistry. There also appears to be more chapters in total for the Kaplan books. Here's the conversion to fit my plan: For the bio/biochem issue, wherever my plan would say "biology" just alternate one session biology and one session biochemistry. Also, it should follow that because certain books have more total chapters than my books had, each individual chapter *should* (on average) be shorter. If you have more chapters and the chapters are shorter, fit 3 chapters per day into your schedule when the time will allow for it. That way, you still finish the knowledge review (KR) by the middle of the second month.
Good luck to everyone writing this summer!
So I’m using that book the Princeton biochem/biology book (2015 Ed) for review in addition to the 2019-2020 Kaplan books. Do you think it’s worth it to get the new edition of the Princeton books??
@@loveish22 No I don't recommend it since you already have the Kaplan books too! There are very minimal changes to the books themselves with each new edition - not worth it in the grand scale imo :)
dude you made a whole schedule for us your awesome
Thanks man, hope it helps 🔥 good luck with the test 🤙
This video came right on time! With such a well rounded and persistent schedule you have no choice but to dominate the MCAT! Thanks for giving me somewhere to start
No problem man, I'm glad to know it helped 🤙 Persistency is really the key to this thing - good luck with your test!
this is the best MCAT studying video on youtube. I also appreciate putting Edge on there !
Thanks so much dude! Glad it helped :) Good luck with your test!
I just built my study plan based on your template. Thank you again for this video! Looking forward to starting the grind!
Love your energy 🔥 and I’m so glad the video helped! Go get it buddy :)
I wish I watched this before studying, love this channel
Thanks Brittany, good luck studying :)
God bless you man, by far the best MCAT prep video I've seen. Love how your video and plan are highly structured and detailed. I found many of the other vids to be all over the place and overwhelming.
I really appreciate it man, and I'm so glad that the videos have been able to help :) Good luck with your test 🤙
I literally needed this. Thank you so much!
No problem Kyrsten! Glad it helped :)
This looks brutal, but I am 100% sure this will yield a ridiculously high score in the MCAT :s thanks man!
I will say that the months I spent prepping for the test definitely weren't the most enjoyable - but I really looked forward to and enjoyed my Sundays off :) Really preparing for the test and giving it your best shot will definitely be worth it in the end.
No problem man, best of luck with your own test!
Javier, how did this schedule go for you?
Your videos are super detailed and useful bro. I screen shotted those monthly schedules! Appreciate how you keep it a 100 with everything you share! Keep it going man!
Aha that's awesome dude. Glad you liked it and hopefully the schedules come in handy.
Will definitely be keeping it up here - I've got big plans for the channel :) All the best and talk soon
Thank you a lot for this video. This is exactly what i was looking for i could not ask for better at this very moment. Good luck in your future career.
Glad it helped! And thank you :) good luck with the test 💪
Just wanted to let you know that I’ve been following this plan since 6/15 and my MCAT is on 9/12 and my score has improved by 14 points so far. This is amazing advice!! Thanks for this video :)
I'm so glad to hear that! I've got some really good feedback from students who have been using the plan lately so thanks for sharing :) Best of luck with your exam 🔥
@@nxtgenmd thank you! Test went well. Again, highly recommend this plan to anyone reading this comment.
Great video! Looking forward to more of your content. I'm starting med school in July and planning on documenting my journey as well! All the best
Thanks man, and congrats on the med school acceptance! Good luck with the CZcams experience too - it can get a little busy sometimes but it's definitely worth it imo :) See you around
Thank you for this detailed video Gianluca!! This is sooo helpful, especially because you broke down every little aspect with regards to the daily/weekly/monthly schedule. All your guidance and knowledge is greatly appreciated :)
You're welcome Mary :) Thanks for the original suggestion to make these MCAT videos. I figure that if I'm going to make a video like this, then I should probably be as thorough as possible - and I'm really happy with the way that this one turned out.
In any case, I'm really glad that you liked it and hopefully everything works out great with your own test! Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll try my best to help.
All the best.
@@nxtgenmd Thank you again, you did an outstanding job laying out all this information so clearly in this video. Hearing your advice honestly helped me feel better about this test and a lot more assured going forwards.
I will certainly reach out with any further questions. Appreciate all you support very much!! Good luck to you as well in all your endeavours :)
Mary Montgomery-Gomez were you able to download the schedule? There’s no link for that in the description box
Awesome video. Definitely going to tailor this to my schedule.
Awesome Nayiri! I hope the test goes really well for you. Let me know if you have questions later on :)
thanks so much for making this!
No problem! Best of luck with studying :)
Thank you so much, God bless you, really needed this
Glad to hear it helped Ibhade :D Good luck with it 🔥
Very informative, I appreciate all the work you put into these videos to help us. Thanks a lot Gianluca!
Its no problem at all :) I'm just glad that people find them helpful! All the best Elyas
thank you for being so inspiring, from a fellow Marauder :)
You’re awesome☺️ thank you
thank you! your video is very helpful and the plan is very clear!
Thanks Kristine! Glad it helped :)
Big boost and very helpful thank you!
Glad to hear it! No problem and good luck :)
Thank you so much for this!! super helpful!
Glad it was helpful! best of luck with studying :)
Thank you so much for this video & I’m glad I came across it in time to start studying for the MCAT! I actually wish that I had seen it sooner, because my goal to score that high isn’t feasible if I can’t study for 8 hrs 6 days per week. :(
Hey Farida, I’m glad you came across the video too and found it useful! :) the MCAT definitely isn’t an easy test, but being dedicated and studying hard (and smart) is definitely the best way to get one of the higher scores.
Best of luck with your test, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
@@nxtgenmd Wow, thank you so much for responding! I definitely didn't even expect to get a response to my comment since I understand how truly busy you are! :) I really appreciate all your advice and all that you do!! Thanks so much, Doc!!!
@@yourfuturedocburenbeiya I really appreciate the thanks, but its no problem! If you've taken the time to leave me a message, then its the least that I can do to try and respond ... at least until clerkship/residency creeps up on me lol.
See you around Farida :)
@@nxtgenmd Lol aww, thanks again Doc and goodluck with your journey!! I will definitely keep looking forward to your new posts!! :)
Hey Gianluca, would you be able to make a video on how you studied for the other sections (Chem/Phys, Bio, and Psych/Soc) and maybe how you approached reviewing your FLs after you took them. It would be so helpful for someone like me who is in the middle of studying. Thank you and amazing content btw!
Thanks Sunny, glad you like it :) I can definitely get around to making videos about tips on the other sections (with my filming schedule right now, I'd expect them to be out in the middle of May) - how to review the FLs might be harder but I'll see what I can do 🤙
If you don't mind me asking, what information would you find most useful?
@@nxtgenmd Thanks for the reply Gianluca! I think information on how you approached example passages for each section, most efficient way to study each subject, etc. As for the reviewing the FLs, I really do hope you can make a video on this because everybody seems to say that you should properly review your FLs the day after you do them. Thanks!
Video is super detailed and so helpful. Please keep this up man. Definitely earned that like and subscribe from me
Really appreciate it buddy. I definitely will keep it up, but best of luck to you as well 🤙
Great video, thanks!
Your vids are AMAZING.
Thank you! :) Glad they help!
I literally copied this study schedule! thank you so so much
No problem Isha :D hope it helps and best of luck!
Thank you for the great video it is very helpful
No problem Wael. I'm glad that you found it helpful :)
I’m actually just beginning to study for the MCAT and this video is exactly the guidance I needed to get started! I have a question regarding your style of studying did you make notes (written or typed) while reading the chapters, concept maps or just read and highlight? Thank you so much!
So glad it helped and good luck with your studying! I actually put a video out today talking about how I studied. I think it should answer most of your questions :)
charanpreet, hows studying going? or did you finish?
I loved your video Thank you so much
No problem! Good luck studying 🔥
Thanks so much for making this video. I took the test in august and the wheels fell off for me the first time. I’m going to stick to this regimen and hopefully I can get a 512 plus. Ps what is kr on your sheet?
No problem Cole, glad you liked it. Don't be too down about your first MCAT, I had a similar story with my own test. I wrote the first time and didn't do too well, so I came up with this program and jumped up more than 10 points! I hope it does the same for you - 512 is definitely achievable, so best of luck! :)
*KR stands for knowledge review
NXTgenMD following up. I missed the mark of 512, but I got a 510 on my second attempt using this study plan (128/125/128/129). Ironically, in every practice test I took, cars was my best usually at a 129, so even if I could have scored a 127 on CARS I would have hit my goal. COVID didn’t do me any favors because my timing was thrown off, but thank you for the guidance and good luck with the rest of your journey to be aiming a doctor.
Very helpful! It’s very kind of you to share this information ( could you please attach a link so we can access the schedule?! )
Glad you liked it Mirabel :) Most people have just been screen shotting the schedules from what I can gather - but you're right in that a direct link might be better! I can get that figured out sometime this weekend or you can just message me on instagram and I can send the pictures there if you need them right now
NXTgenMD what’s your Instagram?!
@@vibesonly2024 @giancalcag
so so so thankful for this! I have a question: do you have a link for the schedule that you’re providing in the video?
So glad it helped! And I'm sorry but at the time when I filmed this, I didn't think to save the pdf's of the schedules. Feel free to screen shot from the video or just write it down :)
I just came across your CZcams videos and I swear they are so helpful man!Thanks a lot for the tips(i'm planning to migrate to canada for medical college)BTW i follow your ig!!
Hey Nicole :D I'm glad to hear that the videos have been helpful for you! Best of luck with everything
Gold
Thank you 😊
No problem ☺️
Ima use this study guide for my mcat in a couple of months. Ill update you guys when I get the score. 😤
Would love to hear back from you Alex :D had a student recently present me with his score of a 528! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you 🤞
Wheres the update
Most helpful MCAT video yet.
Did you plan out exactly which chapter you were going to do each day or just decide the day of?
Glad it helped Taylor 🤙 and I would have a plan but mostly I went chronologically (chapter 1 then 2 then 3, etc.) at the beginning of the week I’md plan out which subjects I was going to pair with each other though.
I was pretty flexible though. If i felt that I needed to move something to help the flow of studying, then I’d just do that
Thank you so much for the video! Are you considering biochem and biology the same subject for the purposes of the study schedule?
No problem Ashley, glad you liked it :) And yes, for the purpose of this schedule (and for my own studying), biochem and large systems biology were covered in the same "Biology" block of my study schedule.
Some people may prefer to group it with organic chemistry though, (I don't recommend it, but it should still be fine).
Good luck with your studying!
Your video is very helpful. Can you pls pls tell me what other practice tests did you do apart from AAMC one. Thanks a lott
Glad it helped! And yes, I did the gold standard practice tests, kaplan and TPR. (I tried to mix and match to diversify as much as possible) I think most people would agree that besides the official AAMC ones, Kaplan comes in second and then TPR - but feel free to do what works best for you :)
Can you please please name the books you used to study biology and chemistry. I have an arts bachelor background. Would really help if you could name the books for me. Thanks in advance 🙏🙏
Sure thing :) I used The Princeton Review (TPR) to study the sciences and psychology. But I supplemented this with the Khan Academy's free videos to help fill in some of the blanks (none of the prep books really have EVERYTHING to prepare you for the MCAT in my opinion - but most of it is there) Always go check amazon first if you're looking for books as they often have the best deals IMO.
You said you used Princeton review books to study content, did you do the practice question in the book at all? I dont know if I should focus on them. Also for CARS did you first go through the princeton review books or did you only do passages? and where did you get your passages from ? just asking
Yes I did do the practice questions in the TPR books. I thought they were great ways to help check my understanding once I had finished a chapter, but I also looked for other questions such as the free passages on the khan academy. For CARS though, I didn't listen to the princeton strategy at all 😅 If i remember correctly, one of the tips is to just guess 1 complete passage? Definitely not something I recommend. I used their books for the practice passages though and thought they were great. I actually have a tonne of free practice passages linked on my "tips for a 131 on CARS video." Feel free to check it out if you're looking for more passages 🤙
Thanks so much for posting this! I have a question regarding your study method. During month 1 you just read the text and took brief notes, but did you memorize for example biology terms (about 100 per chapter) the same day? Or was that for when the review day happened?
No problem, glad it helped! During month 1 I'd read the chapters, watch videos and answer questions during the weekdays (monday-friday). The goal is to have a well rounded understanding of MOST of the topics and key terms and to also star the difficult sections that you feel like you want to go over again. On Saturdays, I'd go back over my notes and see what I had starred. Then I'd watch additional Khan Academy videos on those topics and answer additional questions / do flash card review 🤙
If you want a more in depth explanation of how I would study for each of the sections, feel free to check out my videos on the specific subjects. But hope this helps to clear it up a little :)
Hi. I’m wondering for the content review how you actually went about this? I’ve start3d this and have been taking notes but it is so slow! Did you take notes or just read or flash cards.....how did you get efficient at kr? Shoutout to Mac that’s my dream school, I go to Waterloo right now
Ahah thanks for the Mac shoutout buddy - hope to see you here too one day soon 🤙 I’m gonna get a video out on this asap but it is kind of a slow grind. I would read chapters, make notes, highlight my notes and then answer questions. The principle is called active recall if youre interested in looking it up. Also, i would make flashcards for things like formulas and orgo chem especially. Best of luck with studying for now 🔥
@@nxtgenmd thanks my man!
Very helpful video, I will be taking my exam in May and plan to use you strategy, Question, exactly which bundle(s) did you purchase from AAMC website? Which were helpful and which do you think you could have passed on? Thank You again
Glad it was helpful, good luck with the exam! I bought all of the practice tests that they had available (FL 1-3 But now I think they have an FL 4 as well... buy that too, they all help LOL) I also bought the CARS passages and the physics/chem passages.
I’m confident in saying that they were all great assets. The passages are generally degrees of difficulty above the average difficulty of questions that you’ll see on test day (in my experience). Do them last in your prep, and if you can get all of those... then you’re definitely ready 🤙
Hi, I just came across your channel and this video is helping me a lot with creating a schedule for myself so thank you so much! I have a question though;
I have to self-teach Biochem and Physics, and I have about 4 months until the exam, do you have any advice or videos on what I can do for this? It's been some time since I was out of school so I'll have to spend more time reviewing other subjects too (which is also why I'm having a bit more trouble with teaching myself biochem than I expected). Any advice/tip would be helpful!
Hey :D Glad the video has been able to help out! I have another video specifically going over the physics and them section tips that I have. I'll link it: czcams.com/video/IV6yWs7Z_o4/video.html
Good luck!
First of all, thank you so much for your videos! They have been sooooo helpful.
I had a couple of questions. I have a lot of KR to do, especially since I haven’t taken biochem or orgo. I’m not sure I would be fully confident to start practicing tests until I have finished the KR, but that might be two months or so before I can even do tests, so would you suggest I start doing tests anyway? Even if I’m not completely done? Also, I was wondering if KR is just reading the books and taking notes? Are there resources we can use to test specific subjects? Essentially, how do we incorporate practice throughout KR?
Thanks so much! I'm glad they've been helpful :)
I would 100% recommend doing practice tests during KR even if you're not done yet. In addition to testing you on the things that you already know, they'll also prime you for future learning by giving you initial exposure to topics that are still coming up. Just be sure to save the AAMC materials until you're done KR*
Everyone does KR differently. Personally, I'd read the chapter, make my notes, reread my notes + highlight, make flashcards, and answer questions! I'll make a video on it at some point in the future (once I can find some free time). However, I like to incorporate the whole Active Retrieval / Recall method into my studying now and even during undergrad. I find it to be a big help
Thanks for all the helpful info! I haven’t taken the prerequisites (but I’ve taken biology and chemistry) for the MCAT and I am graduating soon. Do you think it’s absolutely necessary to take biochem and orgo before starting to study for the MCAT?
No problem! And its definitely not absolutely necessary. There are students that do amazing on the MCAT having completed a degree in classical music first - the only problem is, when you haven’t studied the material before, your prep will need to take this into account, which normally means that you’ll need more time to self-learn the concepts.
The good thing about science is that a lot of the time, concepts link together well. You’ll have some basic level of understanding biochem even by just studying basic molecular biology. Just be sure to identify any of your weaknesses when reading through the chapters. The internet is a great place for free learning - be sure to spend extra time on khan academy in topics that you feel less sure of and be realistic in setting your own timeline for studying :)
Thank you for this layout. This is in a way of what I am trying to do, but in terms of content review, biochem and psych/soc take me forever. I can't always do 1 chapter from the two books in 1 day. What do you recommend to get this done? I, personally, retain information by taking notes (outline a chapter, to reduce how much is required for me to go over). It is my fear in terms of falling behind. I also plan on doing content review in about 6 weeks. I am good at retaining info, just not good at being fast enough to study it :/ Thanks for the tips! Very helpful
No problem :) If you find that it takes longer to understand the information, you can always just extend the plan. Spend more time on each chapter and plan to complete the entire content review in about 2 months instead (just make sure that you also extend the rest of the plan then).
If you want specific tips for psych and sociology I have an entire video about that up on the channel as well 🤙 Best of luck with it!
Hi! Thank you a lot for this video! How are you dividing your time for biology & biochem for the KR section? You put them together under "biology", so I'm just wondering :)
Hi Emma, glad it helped! 🤙 the way my books were structured, bio and biochem were in the same (giant) book. It was just called “BIOLOGY”. If you have separate books just alternate one on one off (bio vs. biochem) should work out the same :)
How did you incorporate the other AAMC materials into your study schedule?
Great question! I saved the AAMC banks until month 3. In my opinion, these are some of the harder questions that you can see on the MCAT and you're best tackling these the end of your prep once you're more prepared. I only bought the bio | physics | and CARS ones and I would do them after I had finished my FL test review on days when I wasn't writing a practice test
I'm using the Kaplan books which includes a biochem book - how would you recommend incorporating that into your monthly schedule example? Thanks :)
My biology book included biochem in it so the quick fix for you would just be to do 1 chapter of bio and one of biochem per week instead of how I had written it as "2 chapters of biology."
Should work out exactly the same :)
Hey Gianluca, I was just rewatching this video because it is so incredibly helpful and had another question I would really appreciate your insight about. What would you suggest to be the best manner to do content review (most of month 1, partially month 2)? Like would you start by passively reading the books and then doing practice Qs immediately/creating notes/using Anki decks, etc.? Thank you :)
Hey Mary, I can definitely try to expand on that a bit. So for content review, I would read the associated chapter in my study books and take notes on things that I didn't already know - highlighting is ok, but I strongly believe in rewriting / drawing diagrams to really help me with memorization. For orgochem and some of the other topics that require a lot of memorization, I would make study cards too and use those (very helpful for the whole enantiomer vs diasteriomer vs etc. part of O-chem.) I didn't start using ANKI until medical school, but I've heard from others that it really helped them with the MCAT. Ideally, questions (those directly pertaining to the chapter you just read), should be done as soon as you've made it through the chapter - to help the information solidify in your head.
So sequentially, if I was doing 1 chapter of Bio and 1 of Physics on any particular day (plus CARS), I would read the bio chapter, highlight and make notes. I would then see if there were any topics that I'd need to make cards for (but I'd do the cards on Saturday or when I had free time in my study schedule). Then I'd answer questions for the Bio chapter - my study books had associated questions. Then once that was all done, I'd move on to physics. Don't be too caught up with finding pages and pages of questions though. In month 1 and 2A you just want to understand the info. The best questions are the ones from the practice tests anyways and that's where you'll really start to understand everything from an application sense.
Hope this helps :)
@@nxtgenmdOMG thank you for this super detailed reply! Hearing your perspective is extremely helpful and I'm very grateful that you always get back to us despite the hectic med school schedule you must have. I'll definitely save your advice and keep it in mind for the future. Thank you very much once again :)
@@marymontgomery-gomez5314 Its no problem, I'm happy to help :) Keep up the good work with studying!
My friend let me borrow their set of MCAT books apart from the ones I already had. Would it be a good idea to do the second set of books for the second pass of Knowledge review, or would it be a better idea to use the same books I originally used and the Khan academy videos
If you want to use the second set: first do the set of books that you like best - then do khan academy - then briefly skim the last set of books if you have time and if you think it'd be helpful.
In my opinion, with a good set of books and the KA videos, you won't need to review a second set of books :)
Where did you find passages/resources to do cars everyday? My review books mainly y’all about strategy but i think it would be helpful to get more practice in. Did you focus on practice passages during your daily cars studying or more on studying test taking tips?
Definitely practice passages! I really didn't agree with the "strategy" that my practice books were suggesting. I have a tonne of free passages linked on my "tips for a 131 on CARS" video :) feel free to check them out but they should last you a while 🤙
NXTgenMD thank you so much for your advice, I’ll definitely check that video out! Thank you for all of this amazing content!
@@CristyCinderella No problem! Goodluck studying :)
I just started studying for the MCAT last week using your study schedule, and I have a quick question. Would you do anything (like practice questions, note taking, etc.) to review the content in the two content chapters you were reading daily after finishing the chapters aside from reviewing the content on Saturdays? Or would the only time you revisited the content from those chapters be on Saturdays? I'm wondering if you did some sort of practice/review every weekday, or if you just reserved practice till Saturdays. I always complete the practice questions at the end of each chapter, but I am scared I am being too passive about my reading of the chapters. Since I am still so early in the content review phase, I don't know if big question banks and anki decks (like the MilesDown deck) would be useful, since there is still so much I don't know yet. Do you have any suggestions for me or examples of what you did?
Anyways, thank you so so much for all your help and all the content you put out! It's so helpful to us premeds, and it's much appreciated! (And so sorry for the long comment!!)
Do you recommend doing any practice questions throughout the 3 months in addition to the FL's or just focus on the FL's?
Quick question when learning content review I haven’t taken organic chemistry yet but all the other classes. Should I solidify general chem first then go to learn organic chemistry or just wait to do organic after I take the class
Depends on when you're writing the test brother. If you're not writing until next year, then you could wait. But alternatively, studying even without having taken the class is not impossible. Lots of students do well on the MCAT without coming from a science background at all... but it definitely does help :)
Hey! Thanks so much for this fantastic and well organized video! I’m entering my first year at Dal as a chem student!! I have heard it may be more beneficial to take the MCAT after your 2nd year because most of the courses you will take in those two years will cover what you will need to know for the MCAT? How do you feel about this? Also, i’m debating between TPR 510+ guarantee prep course or Prep101. I heard the way TPR teaches CARS is crap though....Prep101 spends way more time doing the CARS. Which would you choose? The guaranteed score or the company that goes over the most challenging section? Have you heard anything about Prep101? Once again, thank you so much for this video i’m cherishing it until it’s my time to take on this monster of an exam hahahaha!
Cherish... every... moment O.o Lol, just messing around.
It's no problem, glad it helped :) Congrats on starting at Dal soon! I always recommend taking the MCAT in the summer after 3rd year as the optimal time (but there are definitely people who say 2nd year). My rational is because there a few more "specialized" courses that you can take by then which may help - (physiology, advanced biochem, and human genetics in my case). Also, a lot of students just feel more "mentally prepared." There's pros and cons to both though, so if you feel like writing in second year, then go for it 🤙
I also don't recommend a prep course to most students. I just feel like self study is the way to go based on my experience and what I've heard from other students. If you were to do one though, I'd say the TPR 510+ guarantee is what most students say is the better option (to be fair, I haven't heard of prep 101). I didn't like TPR's CARS "strategy." Follow the plan I made for it and practise every day! :)
NXTgenMD That is very insightful. Well, i’m glad to have heard your opinion! I will 100% be using your schedule for when I start studying the MCAT. For now i’m just going to keep enjoying your content! Keep safe during this pandemic! Once again, thank you very much I really appreciate the guidance. (:
@@simonmartin-vandesande1626 Thanks so much! You stay safe too and don't hesitate to reach out in the future :) Good luck!
Hello! Thanks so much for the video - does this schedule work for someone without a pre-med background? Or would you suggest I space this out a little bit more? Thanks!
Hi Suraj - sorry for the delay. Give yourself an extra 2-3 months to study for a top score (95% or higher) as a non-trad premed. This is what my friends have said as well as students that I've worked with. Best of luck :)
Hi there! So are we provided with a formula sheet on the Mcat? Or are we supposed to memorize everything ?
Sorry Leslie... no formal sheet for the common equations 😅 You really do need to memorize A LOT. The only thing that's standard is a periodic table.
Some of the really uncommon formulas are provided though - like for flow resistance of certain objects in unique fluids, etc. Usually if the "passage" style questions need you to make connections to uncommon concepts, they'll include whichever formula they're referring to.
Hey Gianluca! This video was super helpful and I will be studying exactly following your plan! My MCAT is on September 12, 2020 and I have just begun studying for it. I just wanted to ask that for the time I spend on CARS everyday - is it just doing passages or is it reading the chapters provided in the CARS textbook in the MCAT set or both?
Hey Karishma :) glad the video was helpful. Personally I didn't read the textbook for the CARS 'tips" from my practice books. I started to in the beginning, but then they suggested skipping entire passages to save time and I thought I'd be better off doing things differently 😅 I would suggest spending the majority of your time doing practice passages and answering questions. Good luck on your test!
@@nxtgenmd Thank you so much for replying - highly appreciate it :)- I'm all set now!
Karishma, how did your exam go
For a test retaker when would you recommend incorporating practise such as Uworld into the 3month schedule
I would suggest UWorld daily after content review. For example, if you study hormones, right after go and do some UWorld questions associated with hormones. That way you can identify knowledge gaps as you go.
I agree with Ashanna :) I didn't use UWorld myself but have heard great things about it! Start it at the beginning of month 2. Otherwise, you could always start from the very beginning and just do a little bit every day to make sure that the concepts are sticking with you
For the CARS practice, where do you get CARS practice resources besides Khan Academy Passages and AAMC? Thank you!
Hey Almira, for additional CARS practice resources I used the Princeton review passages that came with my study books. But I also really liked the Jack Westin passages - there's a lot of free questions on there, but the difficulty can vary from passage to passage. (I'd still highly recommend checking it out though)
Here's the link: jackwestin.com/mcat-question-of-the-day
Best of luck and glad you liked the video! :)
@@nxtgenmd Thank you so much!
Do you think I’ll be okay if I use your schedule even though I have 82 days left? Also I have a weaker gpa so need to do great !
Yes! 82 days is just shy of 3 months :) Best of luck 🔥
I am currently a senior I highschool and I found this video extremely beneficial! However, I have never studied 8 hours in one day (let alone almost everyday), which kind of gets me nervous. Do you think by the time I get through my premed courses, studying for 8 hours won’t seem as bad?
Hey Jamil :) Good on you for getting a head start and looking into this stuff now. Most students will find studying 8 hours a day extremely difficult, even after 3rd year of undergrad. However, you start slowly and pace yourself in the beginning. 4 hours, then 6, then 8 and sometimes you even end up doing 10 on some days towards the end. You will find a way that works for you 🤙
@@nxtgenmd thank you so much for the information!
I recently started studying for the MCAT and I'm spending 6.5 hours reviewing each chapter (barely doing any practice questions during that time) :(. Any advice on how to speed up the content review? Thank you for all your help again!
Unfortunately, for some students the knowledge review process may take longer than for others (especially for topics that are new). Recently I uploaded a video talking about how I studied for physics and chemistry on the MCAT. Feel free to watch that one if you need guidance.
Don't feel discouraged though! It's much better to study harder on your first MCAT than to rush and then need to write it again... trust me on this 😅 Good luck with everything though, you can do it!
Having the same issue! Made this amazing plan, was super excited, targeted 1 chapter per 3.5 hours, 2 for the whole day, day is over, feeling burnt out, barely managed to finish 1 chapter! (carelessly rushed through the end).
Hey quick question About CARS... My Princeton review set came with 2 books involved with CARS: 1) skills review 2) a workbook. Should I finish the skills review book and then move to practice within the workbook? Or should I just abandon the skills review book and do passage practices daily with the workbook?
Hey :) Personally, I'd recommend skipping the skills workbook. I found that doing practice passages were far superior in terms of seeing results with your score 🤙 But it's totally up to you
Hi! As I was watching this video, I thought that you provide this plan of studying, meaning that we pay for it or you were just saying the concepts how to prepare for MCAT?
Hi :) I'm sorry but I'm not quite sure I understand you. This plan is totally free for anyone to use if they'd like!
What full length practice test company would you recommend, other than the official AAMC? What did you use? I am struggling with choosing something that will be representative of the MCAT and not too easy.
I used a few different companies, each with their own strengths and weaknesses I guess 😅 other than the AAMC tests, I think most people put Kaplan at the top and then TPR. I also did some Gold Standard exams and found them to be very good at testing multiple concepts, but the scores weren't very predictive (i.e I would score significantly lower in CARS for example than I would on the actual AAMC tests). Hope that helps!
NXTgenMD thank you so much, I appreciate your advice!
Hey do you happen to have a word document of this schedule?
Hey Christina, I'm sorry but I don't have a pdf of the schedules anymore. Just screenshot the frames where I have it up on the screen and then crop :)
Hey GianLuca! I just came across your channel... It’s amazing and very inspiring! Do you have the calendar templates you used in this video as a pdf or word file?
Hey Julia, glad to hear that the videos have helped :D here's the link
drive.google.com/file/d/1xP_9DALLlkgPwPb9_xR0Q_yKWwpeEY5s/view?usp=sharing
good luck with studying!
@@nxtgenmd Thank you so much!
Hey Man. Thanks for all the useful tips. So I have been doing 6 CARS passages a day 3-6times per week (because of school not 7 lol) since like October and have seen my timing for 6 passages going down from like 57 minutes to 40-50 minutes. Did you ever use Jack Westin during your prep, meaning the CARS passages? If so what do you think? I’m focusing on JW rn cause I don’t want to burn through the other resources before starting hardcore prep in mid April. Any other tips to improve accuracy? Mans gunning for that 132. Also did you do 90 minutes of Cars passages for 3 months straight? I don’t know where I’d get that many passages LOOL.
Hey :) Good work with your timing 🤙 And yeah I did use the Jack Westin passages, but I actually came across them fairly late into my review (once I have finished all of my other resources - so the opposite of you LOL). I really liked the JW passages but thought that in terms of comparability to the difficulty of passages on the actual test, the Khan Academy ones and the official AAMC stuff were actually the best. Would definitely recommend using JW as well though bc you're right... running out of passages is a real problem for this.
I did 90 minutes of CARS prep every day (6 days per week for 3 months) but remember that on practice test days the CARS practice for the day is the practice test itself. Also, the 90 minutes of practice isn't only doing passages, (you gotta correct your answers afterwards). Other than that, I did two physical print books of TPR passages (I think one had 40 passages and 1 had like 100, maybe more?) Then I did JW (only the free ones), Khan, gold standard (included with the practice tests), and the AAMC practice bank. I did some exam crackers ones too but didn't find them the best personally. GS was really difficult to. Also just google free CARS passages. They're hidden behind pages of MCAT prep companies, but if you ever run out, you can definitely find some!
Jeeze! 132 is a crazy score but definitely possible 🤙 I got a 131 and I actually know 2 people who got a 132 🔥The only way that I know to improve accuracy is to start off slow and build from there. At my peak though, another tip that I'd have is to make jot notes as you read through. You don't even need to read your notes after, but the act of writing moves the items into the short term memory storage of your brain, which is exactly what you want as you go through it. Practice is really the key though, I started off at 125 on my first practice tests.
NXTgenMD thank you for replying man! I was wondering if you have any tips with anxiety during prep. For me physics has Always been my weak spot, and c/p is the only section that I am actually nervous for. I really need to get over this since it is the first section and could set the tone for how I do the rest. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you once again, and I would love to keep you posted!
@@hunya997 For sure! So first off, anxiety is a super common theme when it comes to this test - totally normal :) But you're definitely right in that the first section can set the tone for the entire test. For general prep anxiety, I personally found that this would come and go in different stages as I studied, but generally decreased as I became more confident in the material. The only thing that you can really do for it is review the concepts and answer practice questions.
Remember that messing up one section has absolutely no bearing on the next section, so try your best and then IMMEDIATELY remove it from your head when you begin the next section. That was a really important mindset for me to have when I was writing :)
NXTgenMD Hey man I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your detailed responses. Is there any way I can reach out to you closer to the OMSAS application deadline to get advice? Maybe though email or some other means. Thank you so much man 🙏🏻
@@hunya997 Sure thing :) I'm super limited in what I'm allowed to say when it comes to applications as I'm sure you know. But if you ever get stumped or just need some help with troubleshooting, just message me on my Instagram @NXTgenMD
I am having a hard deciding what to take notes on. How did you do yours? Did you focus on taking notes on just high yields subjects?
I go into this a little bit more in my video about the physics and chemistry section! Taking notes is only valuable in-so-far as it helps you to learn. Don't take notes on the many details that you already know, but focus more on the large concepts and small points that link them together. At least that's how I think about it anyways :)
Hey! I was wondering why you chose The Princeton Review over the Kaplan books?
Hi :) Quite honestly, I was convinced by a close friend who swore by the princeton books. She said that she was able to give kaplan a read before buying the books but she (for whatever reason) liked the princeton books better. That's just my bias though 😅 in reality, I hear great things about both sets of books and they are priced very similarly on Amazon (at least when the kaplan books go on sale - otherwise the princeton books are around $50 cheaper.)
I know this probably won't be able to help you much but I'm fairly confident in saying that either sets of books would be sufficient when paired with a proper study schedule and additional online resources! In that case, my honest recommendation is to go with whatever will save you a little bit of money - that you can spend on AAMC practice tests down the road!
Hello, what time do you recommend taking the MCAT if I am currently a junior and want to apply my senior year?
Hi Eva, I always recommend taking the MCAT after your third year of courses or after your second if you are ok with learning entirely new material on your own. Personally, my recommendation would be to start studying after final exams and set aside 2.5 - 3 months :)
Hi are you able to share a google doc of your template?
I hadn't saved the originals but I remade them today due to recent requests 🤙 here's the link - good luck studying :D
drive.google.com/file/d/1xP_9DALLlkgPwPb9_xR0Q_yKWwpeEY5s/view?usp=sharing
Hey man. How were you able to do FL's if you didn't fully complete content review in the second month? I'm trying to gauge when I should begin FL's, and whether I need to be done all content fully done before hitting the tests. Appreciate the feedback!
Sidenote* I just completed my undergrad at Brock, and I'm pretty sure I passed by you at the Mac section in Cairns this year LOL!
LOL most likely was me... next time you walk by, be sure to say hi! 🤙 Normally I'm just on my way to grab a coffee :)
But definitely would be able to offer some feedback. I would recommend starting the FL's as I stated on the schedule. This is what I did anyways. The function of starting FL's is two-fold: first, it allows you for maximum exposure to practice tests without compromising time spent on the knowledge review portion. Second, even if you haven't learned a topic yet, seeing it will often prime you for when you do come across during studying. Between my friends and I, most of us agree that the 2nd month is the best time to start practice tests, but feel free to change it up if you feel uncomfortable with it
@@nxtgenmd Appreciate the advice man 😃
Just wondering why your schedule for month 1, does not account for biochemistry? Also the schedule from month 1 to month 2A: it accounts for 52 chapters out of 62. When did you do the others?
Hey :) I just pinned a comment explaining this in detail (Lots of people have asked me lately). Feel free to give it a read and let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks!
Hi, I was wondering if you have any advice about resources for determining eligibility. I'm an international student in Canada and I'm doing my PhD here. I hope to apply in my final year of graduate study, but my undergraduate transcripts need to be converted by WES. It will take me sometime to complete that process, so I was looking for any resources I could consult in the meantime while studying for the MCAT.
Check directly with the school websites :) Unfortunately, across the 17 different Canadian schools there are differences regarding which will take international students and which will require a permanent residency card.
How would you plan for studying like this successfully but while working full time? I work 3 days a week scribing in an emergency room on my gap year,
Hey :) If you're working while studying, just extend the amount of time that you study for but keep approximately the same plan. 4 - 5 months instead of 3 is what other students have told me worked for them with this plan
@@nxtgenmd thank you so much!
Do canadian medschool accept prerequisite courses instead of high school diploma?
High School diploma is required for undergraduate studies admission in most cases --> high school grades are not used for medical school admissions though :)
Quick question I plan to apply to McMaster med and I heard that they only look at the CARS and not the other parts of the MCAT, is that true?
Yes that's 100% true (as of the last cycle anyways) - it's up on their website if you'd like to read more about how they select 🤙
(high school student here)
when you guys are preparing for the MCAT, are you given specific material to study? like specific textbooks, documents, websites, etc. or do you have to find those yourself?
Hi Sophina please refer to this video for details :) There is a document linked in the description going over what to study as well as test prep books which most students will purchase to help them study.
Good luck!
@@nxtgenmd thank you! just checked out the link.
how can i create a calendar like that
You're free to modify the schedule however you'd like. This is what I'd recommend for 3 months, but if you have less time, you'd just need to condense it down 🤙
If I have 3 months and 18 days, what you suggest I do in the extra 18 days, should I just keep doing more FLs?
1 or 2 extra practice tests sounds reasonable as well as some final review, practice questions and making sure that you've got everything memorized. Personally, with that extra time, I'd just extend my month 3 plan an additional 18 days 🤙 but really it'll come down o whatever you feel like you need to review at that time :)
Hey Gianluca, quick question. Do you think using ANKI is an effective way for studying for the mcat? or just reading the material and taking notes is enough. I want to know is it worth the time to sit and write anki flashcards in order to practice them daily for each subject?
Thank you
Hey buddy :) personally, I didn't start using ANKI cards until just this year - however I do see how they could be effective study tools for the MCAT (especially for some of the organic chemistry topics and physics formulas) Everyone preps differently, but imo taking notes, answering questions and doing practice tests is by far going to be the best way to prepare. If you have extra time, you could always look into pre-made ANKI decks for the MCAT too! Could save you some time
Thank you so much! 🤙🏻👍🏻
I’m terrible in math... not sure how I’ll do for the MCAT in a couple years... really worried to be honest. If anyone took it already and would tell me there scores and what helped them the most I’d really appreciate it.
A lot of the MCAT test has no math at all! The CARS and Psych sections in particular are more-so about reading the problems and memorizing + applying concepts for psych (this is also seen in the bio section). You'll see when studying that the math that is needed is definitely manageable as long as you give it the practice that it needs 💪 But good luck :)
NXTgenMD thank you sir! Kaplan books are the best when studying correct? I’m a freshmen right now but since I haven’t taken classes like chemistry, physics, biochemistry, and biology yet I haven’t started to study. Was wondering if I were to buy those study guides, If they would still help even if I didn’t have the prior education in that field as of now. Thanks again!
What courses did u take in university that prepared u for the MCAT
The basic science courses mostly - chemistry, bio, physics and then psychology. Beyond that, there's others that I found helpful that I talk about in my videos about the individual MCAT sections :)
How much note taking did you do while reading? I feel like I am taking too much time writing notes😭 but I only write about things that are in bolded font. HELP
It depends on which chapter I was doing! There's lots of room for variation between people too, but my way of thinking about it is that you take notes to help you learn* The objective isn't about writing everything out word for word but rather to summarize important points and organize them in a way that will help you to remember :)
NXTgenMD thank you!!
would this method work if i wanted to study for 6 months? for 5 hours a day?
Hey Andres, personally I wouldn’t have any way of knowing since I’ve never prepared that way before. I have heard stories of people who did take longer to prepare and were very successful on the MCAT though - and theoretically, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
You can definitely incorporate parts of this study plan into your own and then just plan your day out differently - I would still say that CARS should be done every day even with a longer study time for the best results :)
Can I have a PDF files of your study resources? 🙏
I'm sorry but I filmed the video a while back and I no longer have the pdf files 😪 Feel free to take a screen shot of the video when they're up on the screen or just write them out by hand :)
Okay sir thank you 💕
question. how do u only study 1 chapter from 2:30 to 6? seems like u can knock out a couple chapters or even 3 in that time frame??
It would not be common for students to do multiple chapters and retain all information while also answering practice questions for those chapters in 3 and a half hours. However, everyone's different. More power too you if you can and just modify the schedule based on your own preferences :) Best of luck!
What about those of us who work full time?
Great question Nick. In my experience (having written the test twice - and having worked full time during my first attempt) my recommendation to most students would be to reduce hours worked as much as possible while studying if they only have 3 months to study. If a high score is what you're after, then it's always better to nail it the first time and not have to give up more time at work later on (I.e writing a second time should be avoided if possible).
If taking time off work is not possible however, then the fix would be to just extend your length of time spent studying :) my plan is based on studying ~8 hours per day and 6 days per week. If you can only manage 4 hours per day and 5 days per week, then you can structure your studying over the course of 5-6 months instead. The conversion of my plan (if you're interested) would be to just double the length of time I recommend for each stage.
Hope this helps
Hi,
For the last two weeks of study, everyone recommending taking a test everyother day!
4 or five AAMC tests!
What other 6 tests u recommend to take , to help improve the Mcat score, please?
Thxu
Hi :) AAMC tests (save for the very end if you can) Then my favourite practice tests were the TPR ones and the kaplan ones. I also tried the gold standard tests too (which were still good - but were very difficult for the CARS sections)
hope this helps!
@@nxtgenmd thxu so much!
First let me thxu again for all ur help, advise and guides!
Also i started study MCAt last week, i read one chapter per day . I answer the questions at the end of each chapter and also watch kaplan video!
What is ur suggestion , Where can i find more questions to practice about the same chapter, please ?
I thaught to buy AAMC book but they are so many of them,. Not sure which book match what iam looking for!
Thxs again for sharing ur knowledge with others!
@@royamehr4937 Its no problem Roya, glad to be helping :) I have free questions for each section linked in the video descriptions for my psychology + sociology and chemistry + physics + biochem videos. You can check those out if you're looking for free resources. If you're looking for a set of books (imo) I'd recommend The Princeton Review (if you can find them for a good price anyways). They're consistently cheaper than the Kaplan books and imo that additional $100 that you save can be better spent on more practice tests and test banks!
@@nxtgenmd Good morning,
I have princeton and kaplan books .
I have a question. What is TPR, please?
And where i can find the questions u did mention!
By the way iam studying Cars every day and using the link u added!
Thank u so much!
How do you juggle work, volunteering, research with that study schedule? who has nothing to do but study? i always need to make rent... I hear Toronto is really expansive... How do you take 3 months off? i want to know that.
Bro seriously, that's a lot of Formulas
Yessir! I believe that list is exhaustive. You don't need to memorize them all though, just the most important ones (there's often debate on reddit as to what the most important ones are, but you can decide for yourself). You should however, be familiar with how to use those formulas if they're given to you though.
Good luck :)
@@nxtgenmd Aww you're a sweetheart for replying to your comments! I'll do my best bro, cheers! :)
@@7dnein944 Good luck bro :) 💪