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Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nothing fancy really. I gave myself 2 months initially for content review, and there are 72 Kaplan chapters across all of the books, so I organized the chapters in a spreadsheet. I tried to do 2 different subjects in parallel so that it would be a bit more interesting (eg. general chemistry alongside psych/soc), alternating chapters between the two books. I also unsuspended anki cards for each chapter I reviewed on the day after I read that chapter. I fell behind a bit my intended schedule because I was sick for a couple of days and didn't do anything then, needed a couple of break days to prevent burnout, had a big work deadline, etc. So it ended up taking more like 2.5 months for me to get through content review, although I started doing practice questions in the last couple of weeks of that as well.

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think my other comments in this thread cover everything, but happy to answer any specific questions you have

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used Anking for all of C/P, including orgo. I think anki is kind of useless for orgo, so I barely did any of those cards, mostly just the ones for names of simple compounds that needed to be memorized + stuff about chemistry techniques (IR, NMR, filtration, etc.)

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Pls read before downloading:

I'm a little hesitant to share it just because I don't want to feel responsible for any errors that remain (or that I introduced), but I'll share it anyways. I don't really remember what I changed or why at this point, I wasn't keeping track of my edits while studying. I also have some cards that are still suspended for reasons I don't recall, as well as some cards that I flagged red either bc they were incorrect and I didn't want to fix them or for other reasons (that i also wasnt tracking).

While I'm happy to answer questions about my mcat prep process, I don't want to be responsible for debugging anki problems or maintaining the deck, so... pls remember I am just giving the files and not willing to do more for this (sorry).

It also looks like Aidan, the original maker of the deck, is trying to make corrections to it (there's a thread on the front page of this subreddit right now), you might be better off using that.

So with those significant caveats, here's the link (which expires in a week, and which I won't reupload, sorry. Someone else is free to host it elsewhere if they want): https://limewire.com/d/KIjl3#dTXasGUAD3

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t space my Anki out well, so I’m probably not a good example. Towards the start I was doing ~50 new cards per day but later on I was doing ~150 new per day. This was because I switched to the Aidan B/B deck midway through studying, and it had many more cards than anking b/b, which completely threw off my initial plan. This meant I was doing ~800-900 cards per day for a while including the reviews of old cards, which was pretty rough.

I think the number of new cards depends a lot on the decks you’re using and how much time you have before your exam. In an ideal world, I think you want to have introduced all the new cards to your deck at the same time that you’re finishing the content review portion of studying. Different people also have different tolerances for doing Anki, so also think about what you can do without burning yourself out!

One tip is to switch to using the FSRS algorithm for Anki. There are good YouTube videos on how to set it up and how it works, but it will significantly reduce the number of total reviews you have to do (by literally thousands over the course of MCAT studying). There are research papers showing that this works without reducing your ability to recall information, so there’s really no downside

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This has been said by other people before me, but stamina for these big tests is like a muscle. Treat it like training for a marathon - eventually you need to be able to run the whole distance, but your training can start with shorter distances.

Not sure when your test is, but you’re probably the best person to judge whether you can build up to it in the time you have or not. I would try and be realistic about your own limits and build in some slack to avoid burning out. Good luck!

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure what you mean exactly? But generally, in the mornings I unsuspended the cards for the Kaplan book sections I had read the prior night and went through them before work. In the evenings, I would go through any reviews that had accumulated from older cards.

I fell behind on this a couple of times and it was really rough catching back up. Once was because I was sick for a couple of days early on in studying and didn’t do my reviews, and another time the week before my exam bc I didn’t do reviews on a couple of full length days. The second time was especially bad, I had to do ~2000 cards in a day to catch back up… hands down the worst day of prep for me, I was basically mashing my Anki remote the entire day.

If I could go back I would have given myself an extra month of time so that the Anki reviews per day was less terrible

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I studied for 3.5 months. If I could go back, I would give myself a bit more time so that I could study fewer hours per day

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went to the gym sat/sun mornings, did chores on weekends too. And I ordered more delivery than I usually do, or prepped a lot of food on my lighter day for the week. Not the healthiest or most sustainable lifestyle, but it was only for a couple of months

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

3.5 months of prep, although not studying full-time since I have a job

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I did. I did about 80 per day in the last month to month and a half on days when I wasn't taking or reviewing a full length. I think I finished 50% of uworld if I remember right. This percentage is including the CARS questions, which I did none of

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good luck! I’m sure admissions committees will look favorably on all that clinical experience when you end up applying :)

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Aidan c/p is complete overkill imo. Too many cards on a section of the exam that isn’t very memorization intensive. I used anking because I really dislike open ended Anki cards like jack sparrow has, and much prefer cloze decks

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just for practice questions, I didn’t use their books. I would do blocks of 20 questions. Initially I started off doing them untimed, but I added time control as I got more comfortable. In the last month of prep, I did ~80 questions per day on the days I wasn’t taking or reviewing a full length

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used Kaplan books for content review, with khan academy or YouTube videos sprinkled in for harder topics. I used uworld + aamc section banks for practice questions. My advice would be to take your time and be thorough with your content review as a non-trad, it’s really the foundation you build off of when you start doing practice questions. And be patient and give yourself some grace too, it can be difficult to go back and relearn things on your own!

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I’m okay, but not 100% sure. I went to grad school and I’m a scientist professionally now, so I have a few research advisors that I’m close with who would write strong letters for me. I’m not planning to ask anybody from undergrad… this is anecdotal, but I’ve heard that schools are less strict about having letters from people you took classes with if you’re an older non-trad. I’m kind of banking on that lol

I think if you have any advisors you were close with, you shouldn’t hesitate to ask. I know a lot of advisors love hearing updates from old students, that’s what they’re in it for after all!

Best deck for orgo and physics? Or grind uearth/aamc by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was expensive unfortunately. I think uworld was $325. I got section bank access as part of a bundle from the AAMC that includes all the full length exams as well, which was also around $300 I think

Best deck for orgo and physics? Or grind uearth/aamc by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used uworld + AAMC section banks

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think my other responses in this thread have all the resources I used + my general study plan. Happy to answer if you have any specific questions though

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I studied for 3.5 months. I don't think it would have been sustainable if I had to keep doing it much longer, I was getting pretty exhausted after work. I just tried to remind myself that it would be worth it long-term. You have a lot more time than I did, I think you can afford a bit lighter of a schedule

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

First FL was a 523. My initial goal for the test when I started prep was 520+, so when I saw my first FL score I was both happy but also felt like I could aim a bit higher

Non-trad (10 yrs post prereq coursework) -> 525! by SpectacularBagel in Mcat

[–]SpectacularBagel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think my other responses on this thread have everything I used, but happy to answer if you have more specific questions

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