- Take a class (Like Kaplan which will run about $1800)
- Buy some review books (Kaplan, Princeton Review, ExamKrackers,etc)
- You could get some DVD's (MCAT the Gold standard for example)
- You could try and sit in on some of the classes you haven't taken in a long time like general chemistry, physiology,etc
- You could go over some flashcards with a friend
- Get used to reading (read science journals, newspaper articles etc.)
I have done most of these things (except the Kaplan course for monetary reasons) and I would say that there are pros and cons to each but collectively I believe a wide spectrum of techniques spaced out over a few months would be optimal. For me I didn't really like the Kaplan prep book that much it was boring and for some reason I had the attention span of a squirrel while reading it. To make it more bearable I resorted to reading while making a power point over each section. The benefit to that is I was taking it slow trying to understand the concepts and that made answering the questions at the end of section a lot easier.
One thing you should avoid doing while reviewing the book is highlighting while you read. I don't know if highlighting is a habit picked up from reading the scriptures but studying for the MCAT is different. When you highlight something in the scriptures it stands out to you and strikes a chord within you somewhere. However when studying concepts that a difficult to understand such as scientific literature and the such, the parts that stand out to you are usually the only parts you understand really well. Then when you go back you treat that part you marked more sacred than the rest of the reading and that is problematic because you should be more concerned about studying the concepts and ideas you are having a hard time understanding. I found this out in a humanities class when the professor brought up the very argument I shared with you and I skeptically had a hard time believing him until I went back and looked through some of my books I had marked up and then it hit me that it was true.
I'm not saying marking your text is bad but avoid falling into the trap of marking anything just because you understand it.
The best thing in my opinion that you can possibly do to prepare for the MCAT is go onto http://www.aamc.com/ and purchase old tests (they cost $35 each) but you have the option of doing on paper or computer. I recommend the computer because that's how the MCAT is really administered. Go through do the test. Without changing answers and fooling yourself look up the answers which gives you an explanation why each answer is correct, make a not if you missed a problem, go back to your review or text book and go over the concept you didn't understand and YES you may MARK it at this time.
I purchased a set of DVD's for Organic chemistry and the benefit of this method is you go over everything you went over in you year of O-Chem but at a much faster rate. It is great for review because your getting the lectures on your own time and you can repeat the part you need the most over and over again, on the other hand the DVD's aren't a good idea if you don't have prior exposure to the material they cover (and you probably should be taking the MCAT if you haven't at least taken the courses covered in the MCAT).
Preparing for the MCAT is painful for most people. Its something you have to do in addition to work and school if you want it done early or when the weather's fine and its summer time if your like everyone else. Treat it like a job, lock yourself in a room. I visited the local community college and the clerks office at church so that nobody would bother me while removing many of the distractions that come into play when studying.
You don't need a lot of money to purchase the materials if you do it a little at a time. Another money saver is find out who has already taken the test and buy their books off of them, their happy to have money and your happy to get buy the new materials (although slightly used) for a fraction of the price. You also don't have to buy everything at once, if you're like me and have a wife and kid, you've got to pace yourself, plan ahead, and shop around to get what you need. If you're completely broke checkout what your library has, you might be surprised.
The only other option to the MCAT dilemma is to forget it and apply to some school that doesn't require it... although I recommend that if you choose that rout be extremely cautious. Such schools are typically foreign such as University of Health & Medical Sciences St.Kitts. Other foreign schools such as St.Georges in Grenada require the MCAT while advertizing that MCAT ≠ USMLE making a stance that the MCAT isn't as important in their application process. (And sadly to say they are right, St.Georges USMLE1st time pass rate hovers between 97-98% which is comparable to other U.S. Allopathic schools while having an average MCAT which is far less.)
