How did you study for the MCAT,DAT,LSAT,GRE,GMAT

[Commando_turned_MD]

I was surprised to see a lot of my classmates invested a lot money in preparing for these exams. The only thing I did was purchase the Kaplan Book and Exam-Cracker. Study for about 8 hours a day for 5 weeks. Score a 36 on the MCAT in 2002.

So how did you guys/gals prepare for these exams?

[yoMAMA]

I'm currently taking a powerscore LSAT prep course and bought a bunch of practice tests and a timer to simulate the real thing.

[Tao]

I was surprised to see a lot of my classmates invested a lot money in preparing for these exams. The only thing I did was purchase the Kaplan Book and Exam-Cracker. Study for about 8 hours a day for 5 weeks. Score a 36 on the MCAT in 2002.

So how did you guys/gals prepare for these exams?


there's no way you could've studied 8 hours every day...that's crazy

[Commando_turned_MD]

there's no way you could've studied 8 hours every day...that's crazy

+ or - 30 minutes.
Is it possible. Yup!
I was a non-traditional student (been out of school for about 6 years). Got up in the morning at 8:00am. Arrived at the library at 9:00am. Left the library any where from 6:00pm to 6:30 pm. An hour for lunch of course.
I plenty of time to do other things in the evening: masturbation, sex, video games.
I was on leave (military) for 8 weeks. Used 5 out of 8 weeks to study for the MCAT. Didnt have to worry about money because I was still getting paid my CPT's salary.

[yoMAMA]

what's the MCAT scoring range?

i think you have almsot a perfect score.

[moser]

Books for GRE and LSAT (cheaper).

BTW, what's the DAT?

[hooligan]

Princeton review, but I was working and taking class during the day. I went to the Princeton review at night. Put in about a couple of hours everyday and the class hours at night.

[nola]

Princeton review, but I was working and taking class during the day. I went to the Princeton review at night. Put in about a couple of hours everyday and the class hours at night.I paid them at 17 and 33 and they gave me 50 and 100 points. :redface: (I got 1350 and 1260).

[hooligan]

I paid them at 17 and 33 and they gave me 50 and 100 points. :redface: (I got 1350 and 1260).

OOO, i meant for the MCATS! I used the Princeton Review for the MCATs.

[nola]

They're the same company, Ben.

[hooligan]

They're the same company, Ben.

I took the SAT prep at some shady chinese place. : P : )

[nola]

Hahaha! You probably didn't need it.

I took them for the confidence building.

[truMp]

They only help to maintain you on a studying course if you're not disciplined to do it yourself.

[lethal]

I never studied. Its not the course of action I'd recommend for anyone else.

[yoMAMA]

I never studied. Its not the course of action I'd recommend for anyone else.

holy shit!

you gotta have a real high IQ, then.

there's no other way that's possible.

[kasia]

for the lsat, i took the KAPLAN course, studied during the summer prior to the october exam, usually for about three to four hours at night - consistently, b/c i worked full-time during the day & had some evening courses as well. i took most weekends off, but did a couple of full exams. didn't study too hard for the week or so prior b/c KAPLAN warned against it. b/c i majored in philosophy, though, i also had a background in logic & that helped. studying for the exam wasn't so bad, but i did sacrifice a trip to hawaii with my college roommates.

studying for the bar was a million times worse. i studied for the entire two months prior. took the BARBRI course. for the first month, i studied from 9-7 or so, but i studied with friends and we studied in bookstores and malls, so it was easy to just bum around. for the month immediately prior, i studied alone in my apt, from 9 AM - 1 or 2 AM, ate my meals while studying, studied in the car, in the bathroom, right before bed, etc. - and was stressed out to the point of nausea the days before the exam. glad it's over.

[truMp]

I never studied. Its not the course of action I'd recommend for anyone else.
what'd you score on the test? i'm curious.

[kasia]

what'd you score on the test? i'm curious.

use the private message function for this question. it's a bit intrusive to ask, so at the very least, it shouldn't be asked publicly. i mean, why don't you just ask my salary while you're at it? :smile:

[deez nuts]

i just took practice exams over and over again. i would also borrow my friend's kaplan course material since he was taking the course.

you should already know the material for the mcat by the time you take it. it's all a matter of reviewing it and building mental endurance.

[John0101]

I took the GREs. I got a 1260 - 530 on my verbal, 730 on my math and 5 on my essays. I didn't take any study course but I did use the Barron's GRE prep book. My verbal could of been better if I had a few more months to study vocab.

I would recommend Barron's if you need to study for the GREs. They give u a solid foundation for the math section and if you have about 3 months of semi-intense studying your vocab should kick ass. I picked Barron's because it was the hardest of all the GRE prep books.

[deez nuts]

there's no way you could've studied 8 hours every day...that's crazy

the mcats are nothing compared to SHELF exams you'll be taking during your clinical years (especially if your trying to get that honors) and steps 1-3 of the USMLE.

the mcat is just the tip of the iceberg. the fun has just begun. you'll be longing and yearning for the days you were studying, prepping and taking your mcats.

[Commando_turned_MD]

the mcats are nothing compared to SHELF exams you'll be taking during your clinical years (especially if your trying to get that honors) and steps 1-3 of the USMLE.

the mcat is just the tip of the iceberg. the fun has just begun. you'll be longing and yearning for the days you were studying, prepping and taking your mcats.

He's right. MCAT is a walk in the park... Step 1-3 is going to determine your future...

use the private message function for this question. it's a bit intrusive to ask, so at the very least, it shouldn't be asked publicly. i mean, why don't you just ask my salary while you're at it? :smile:

So how well are you doing Kasia..? :biggrin:

i just took practice exams over and over again. i would also borrow my friend's kaplan course material since he was taking the course.

you should already know the material for the mcat by the time you take it. it's all a matter of reviewing it and building mental endurance.


Same here. kaplan practice exams and Exam-Kracker (I highly recommend these)

what's the MCAT scoring range?

i think you have almsot a perfect score.

Not even close.

I believe 24-26 is national avg. Most likely you will be heading overseas if you score in this range.

35+ highly competitive.

I.e. Washington University in St.Louis will only look at 35 and above. You application goes into the trash if it is lower than this. Wash U is a highly competitive school.

Once you hit 35 or above, you have a great chance of getting in anywhere

[lethal]

what'd you score on the test? i'm curious.

Kasie took the words out of my mouth. Thanks :smile:

I scored pretty high with my study methods. I'd venture to say that almost all SAT or LSAT takers would have gladly traded scores with me. Leave it at that.

I will, however, study pretty damn hard for the bar. Not as hard as kasia, cause she's more disciplined than me, but still pretty damn hard.

[kpih]

Ha ha. I did not work very hard on my GRE. That really hurt. I resent and object to standardized testing and I still do. I did quite well with the one part they don't look at: analytical...

[stunninglyAsian]

Read the Kaplan books, skimmed it, took some random pratice sections... then two weeks before started taking practice tests/studying hardcore.

[John0101]

i'm been thinking about getting a CFA within a few years if I go into the finance industry. Anybody got any advice? I'm going to ask my professor tomorrw.

[yoMAMA]

i'm been thinking about getting a CFA within a few years if I go into the finance industry. Anybody got any advice? I'm going to ask my professor tomorrw.

I was finance major and I know quite a few guys/girls in the b school that wants to get their CFA.

I heard it's super hard, though, like 6 levels or something. But once you get it, you are set.

For me...nah....I'd rather go into the legal aspects of finance.

[Arex]

For the LSAT, my friend took Testmasters and copied a bunch of their practice exams for me. I took about six of 'em under timed conditions. I also purchased a study guyide (I think it was Princeton Review), but I don't think I ever even opened it,

For the Bar Exam, I did the whole BarBri regimen. I signed up for their morning classes, thinking it'd get me an early start so I could study the rest of the day. I eventually scrapped going in early and watched the videotapes in the afternoon session instead (I'm not much of a morning person). I tried to keep up with their ridiculous study schedule (they plan it all out for you, day by day), eventually fell behind, and decided to give up on their schedule (too much work, too lazy). After class, I think I generally started studying around 5pm-6pm ish, until about 12am-2ish, taking frequent coffee and cigarette breaks. Quite often, while studying at a coffee shop in K-town, when the clock struck midnight, my friend and I would pack up the books, walk over to Intercrew (cru?) and grab some beers. My method of study consisted of transcribing the lecture outlines onto notecards, doing multiple choice problems in both the PMBR and Barbri books, and then doing practice essays, in that order.

RX

[nameless]

jesus, you guys are scarying me :frown:

for the BAR takers...do you think the quality of your law school classes made it any easier/harder to comprehend the material?

[John0101]

I was finance major and I know quite a few guys/girls in the b school that wants to get their CFA.

I heard it's super hard, though, like 6 levels or something. But once you get it, you are set.

For me...nah....I'd rather go into the legal aspects of finance.

well three levels. if i have nothing to do after I graduate I guess I might as well study for a few years for the CFA since you can't be a title holder for 3 years after you graduate.

[Lyoness]

let me just say that i've taken both the MCAT and the LSAT and I would take the LSAT over again a million times before i ever go through the stress of the MCAT again!! but, law school is have oddles of fun kicking my ass now :)

[kasia]

For the LSAT, my friend took Testmasters and copied a bunch of their practice exams for me. I took about six of 'em under timed conditions. I also purchased a study guyide (I think it was Princeton Review), but I don't think I ever even opened it,

For the Bar Exam, I did the whole BarBri regimen. I signed up for their morning classes, thinking it'd get me an early start so I could study the rest of the day. I eventually scrapped going in early and watched the videotapes in the afternoon session instead (I'm not much of a morning person). I tried to keep up with their ridiculous study schedule (they plan it all out for you, day by day), eventually fell behind, and decided to give up on their schedule (too much work, too lazy). After class, I think I generally started studying around 5pm-6pm ish, until about 12am-2ish, taking frequent coffee and cigarette breaks. Quite often, while studying at a coffee shop in K-town, when the clock struck midnight, my friend and I would pack up the books, walk over to Intercrew (cru?) and grab some beers. My method of study consisted of transcribing the lecture outlines onto notecards, doing multiple choice problems in both the PMBR and Barbri books, and then doing practice essays, in that order.

RX

don't study like arex. read my post & compare it to his, but know that we got the same score on the lsat. i probably 5 times as much as he did.

also, for the bar, i did not go to bars and/or consume alcohol (xcept during the exam), but RX routinely went to ktown bars and ran over flashcards while in a buzzed/drunken state. and he still passed.

he's an anomaly, and i wouldn't follow his footsteps. :biggrin:

[Arex]

for the BAR takers...do you think the quality of your law school classes made it any easier/harder to comprehend the material?Obviously, if you had a more effective professor while in law school teaching a bar subject, you're going to be better prepared than someone who had a less effective professor. But, even if your professor sucked, I think the mere fact that you've been exposed to the bar subjects in school for a whole semester definitely helps once you sit down to study the material for the exam. As far as I'm concerned, everything you need to know to pass the bar is taught to you in your bar review class.

et me just say that i've taken both the MCAT and the LSAT and I would take the LSAT over again a million times before i ever go through the stress of the MCAT again!! but, law school is have oddles of fun kicking my ass now :)No shit!! As far as tests go, the LSAT is probably even easier to take than the SAT since, unlike every other standardized test out there, the LSAT doesn't require you to have any particular knowledge coming in to the test. No vocab, no math, no science, nothing. You've just got to know how to read and think logically.

he's an anomaly, and i wouldn't follow his footsteps. I actually did a pretty good amount of studying--it was just full of breaks and distractions. It was like a prolonged finals period.=) But I'll admit I didn't do as much studying as others.

To all those looking forward to taking big tests, if there's one thing I learned in my 21 years of schooling, it's that you've got to study in the way that you learn most effectively. Some people just don't take well to 8 hours of solid studying in a day. Some people need to block off 12 hours out of the day to study so they don't lose their focus. Some people need to smoke a bowl before they come to class just so they don't get bored and lose their focus. If you've been studying in a particular way all through school, and if the amount of material you need to cover allows you to do so, I say don't change your study system too drastically. This is particularly the case if you're prone to burning out. Last thing you want to do is put yourself two-thirds of the way through hell by adopting a study regimen that's too drastic for your style, only to give up towards the end and completely fuck it all up. Ultimately, you've got to do what works for you. Put in the work, but don't kill yourself.

RX

[John0101]

Ha ha. I did not work very hard on my GRE. That really hurt. I resent and object to standardized testing and I still do. I did quite well with the one part they don't look at: analytical...

the verbal was wicked hard, so much harder then the SATs. I was way too lazy to memorize vocab so i spent two weeks practicing sentence completion and reading comprehension. I also tried to learn to eliminate choices. I think about 3 months of drilling in vocab should be enough to score a 700+ on verbal.

I think you only need about 2 weeks of medium pace studying for the math section to score a decently grade.

to study for the GREs.. at the very least get the Barrons book (imo) and spend a few weeks studyin it. You should do as good as me. To get a decent score (1400+), spend about three months of semi-intense studyin with a prep course.

for the essays, I would suggest spending your time in the rant room.

Nobody here took the GMAT????

YW is a bunch of lawyers and doctors.

[nameless]

Obviously, if you had a more effective professor while in law school teaching a bar subject, you're going to be better prepared than someone who had a less effective professor. But, even if your professor sucked, I think the mere fact that you've been exposed to the bar subjects in school for a whole semester definitely helps once you sit down to study the material for the exam. As far as I'm concerned, everything you need to know to pass the bar is taught to you in your bar review class.

thanks. glad to hear it, since i don't think i'll be going to a great law school heh

[kpih]

I think about 3 months of drilling in vocab should be enough to score a 700+ on verbal.

It is all about drilling. Sure enough. Many students from Mainland China with perfect GRE verbal scores cannot write a complete sentence. I was told some of them take the practice test over and over and over to memorize all the questions.

GRE is crap. It was used to assess and predict success in graduate school. In my experience it often turns out the opposite in social science. Book smart and intellectuality are two different skills.