There are Reddit users out there who truly want to share their experience and help you anticipate some of the most challenging aspects of the test. They genuinely want to share what worked for them in preparations for the MCAT. However, it is wise to remember that not all advice can be applied to your circumstances. You should also keep in mind that Reddit is often used by businesses to promote their own hidden agendas.
Our team found these review classes to be highly effective and one of the key highlights of the Altius MCAT course. Altius builds their prep course around intensive 1-on-1 mentoring sessionsIn fact, Altius is so confident in their method that they even guarantee a 90th percentile score for the majority of their prep packages. These promises of 90th percentile scores and intensive, small group sessions are awesome, but do come at a price, with Altius having some of the highest course prices in MCAT prep. But assuming cost isn’t an issue, Altius is about the best option on the market to get a top tier MCAT score. And despite only being around for a few years now, the results have so far proven Altius right. With an AVERAGE student MCAT score of 516, Altius has about the best performance statistics among all MCAT prep providers.
They flesh out each point in more detail and do it from the perspective of someone grounded in STEM rather than the liberal arts. Although I have my own preferred strategies, it can be great to review and curate some of their best answers when it comes to improving on the CARS section plyo balls for pitching of the MCAT. The difference between a 515 and a 520+ is the little things that you need to remember. 90% of those facts probably won’t show up on the MCAT, but the 10% that do, you’ll be thankful for. Don’t focus on these if you are short on time, but don’t dismiss them either.
The second phase of studying is practice-heavy with a little bit of content. During this phase, the numbers flip and you should focus on 70% practice and 30% content. Students who are thoughtful and spend the time upfront creating a solid study schedule tend to perform much better on the MCAT. /r/MCAT creates a Reddit MCAT exam day thread for every exam date. It’s a space for students taking the MCAT on the same day to engage with each other in preparation or commiseration. Here you can share your own worries and support other community members.
The other major highlight of the Gold Standard MCAT Prep package is their bundle of high-quality eBooks. These digital prep books have been around for over 20 years and are extremely well-vetted by this point. Pulling on the combined expertise of these distinguished institutions, you get a much more diverse and rich practice experience.
I didn’t mind that the subjects are kind of intermixed on the day to day, but if you want to do all of chemistry content in a row, for example, this is not for you. My class is every day 5 days a week, but it didn’t even start P/S until over a month in so I felt really behind and decided to start studying with Anki on my own. Also, if you do the 510+ guarantee you have to take the exam for real within 3 weeks of the “content review” ending, which is not enough time at all.
Administer and review the results of your diagnostic exam to create a customized day-to-day schedule that will systematize your prep over the next three months. That way, you don’t have to think about what to focus on each day. The first phase is content heavy with a little bit of practice. This means 70% of your time should be spent studying content while 30% should be practice-based.
If a quality live class is what you’re after, Princeton Review rates out as our best course for live instruction. You can’t start studying one day and complete the course the next. Therefore, a powerful strategy to adopt at this time is to divide the mcat study phases into two parts.
With that being said, more information is usually better so do educate yourself—just give each piece of information its due consideration. I’m taking it next summer as well, and I don’t plan on studying until February the earliest. I read many comments about some of the most popular organizations some of which are TPR, BP, Berkeley Review, and Kaplan. Instead, find someone who’s been through the process and can help address your questions.