Ideal MCAT Study Schedule That’ll Help You Break 515

Why Do You Need an MCAT Study Schedule?

The MCAT is the Medical College Admissions Test. This is a high-stakes exam in which your performance on this exam will be one of the primary determinants in whether or not you are accepted into medical school. As such, take this exam very seriously and prepare yourself to the best of your ability.

It is important to have a solid study plan for two reasons. A study plan keeps you focused and targeted and lastly, a study plan helps to track efficiency and progress. Being focused is important for goal setting and goal achieving. In order to assess if your plan is working, it is important to remain on schedule to track your progress.

I found the study plan to be most helpful in accomplishing the two aforementioned benefits. The most beneficial being assessing the validity and efficiency of my study schedule and plan. It was vitally important for me to assess my practice test results and make the necessary adjustment based on my subsequent performance. 

How Long Did I Study for the MCAT?

I studied for 3 months of full-time study during the summer to prepare for the MCAT.

When deciding how long to study for the MCAT, it was highly recommended by professionals to choose a 3 – month or 6- month study plan. A 3 – month plan was preferential for full-time study, meaning 5-6 days per week and at least 2 hours per day. The 6- month study plan was recommended for one who could only commit 3-4 days per week and 2 hours per day. I found that the full-time 3-month study plan worked well for me and I found that it was enough time for the material to stay fresh. The risk for longer study plans is the forgetting of material. In addition, I found that studying during the summer months worked well as this was the optimal time-block for me that I could commit mainly everyday studying that did not compete with my work and family schedules.

What material did I use for the MCAT?

1. I used All of the AAMC Exam Prep Material including Section Bank, Question Bank, and 4 Practice Exams
2. In addition, I used three practice Exams including a diagnostic exam from a 3^rd Party Test Prep Company (Kaplan)
3. In addition, I utilized Kaplan books for content review and the 300 pg Psych/Soc document from Khan Academy for the Psych/Soc section.

I chose these resources because at the time they were simply highly recommended by my peers. Therefore, I wanted to use resources that had familiarity with my peers. I found that this allowed me to ask directly how to better make use of these resources. It was also important that I used resources from an experienced and reputable source. I found these resources particularly helpful in the fact that they provided replicable MCAT content. If I had to take the test now, I would use these same resources in addition to BeMo for content review. I think the content review with a specialist at BeMo would have helped me understand test taking strategies for efficiency during test day.

When choosing study groups versus studying alone, I much preferred to study alone simply because this method was the best way that I could maintain a flexible study schedule. There were times that I needed to study late at night or early in the morning and using study partners and groups would have limited my study times. I would recommend using a hybrid approach however. I think there are benefits to studying alone and also amongst a group. Incorporating both will likely be optimal. Group study will allow one to understand different perspectives and strategies for test taking and self-study will allow for maximum flexibility.

My MCAT Study Schedule

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