If you’re preparing to take the MCAT, or thinking about it, you may be wondering how to create an MCAT study schedule. It’s important to have a general approach or idea of how you’re going to conquer this test. There is a lot of content that has to be covered in a potentially short amount of time.
However, by creating a plan, MCAT prep may seem more manageable. The type of plan you create will differ depending on your personality. If you are a type-A person who likes detailed plans, then your schedule will reflect that. If you need a bit more flexibility, then your schedule won’t be as rigid.
At the end of the day, studying for the MCAT takes discipline and focus. Even if you are not a disciplined person, you’re going to have to overcome that for the duration of exam prep. The exam is 7 hours long, so in addition to preparing for the content, you’re also building up endurance. Continue reading for a step-by-step process on how to create an MCAT study schedule.
Schedule your test
The most important step in how to create an MCAT study schedule is to sign up for your test. You won’t know how much you have to do every day until your exam is scheduled. That determines how long you have to study. Ideally, you’ll want to give yourself at least 4-6 months. Some individuals may even need up to a year to prepare for the exam.
The best time to schedule it depends on when you want to apply to medical school. Early applicants will want to take their exams in the spring of the year they are applying. Those okay with applying a bit later in the cycle can take their exams all the way up to the end of the summer.
Your application is not considered complete until your MCAT score is in. If you’re a repeat tester, then schools will have your old exam scores until your new ones come in. These are all factors that influence your decision on when to take the MCAT.
Prioritize your content areas
After scheduling your exam, the next important step in how to create an MCAT study schedule is to determine your weak and strong content areas. There are seven content areas on the MCAT:
- Biology/Biochemistry
- Chemistry/Physics
- Psychology/Sociology
- Critical Analysis and Reading
You must score well in each category for a strong application. This means at least a score of 125 in each for a super score of 500, which is considered passing. However, many schools have average scores of 510 or above. Scoring in this range could increase the competitiveness of your application.
Determine which of those are your weakest subjects, and which are your strongest. Your stronger content areas don’t require as much time as your weakest. Therefore, you should prioritize your weaker content areas for the beginning of your schedule. This way, you give yourself more time to review that content and become more familiar with it. Your schedule may not be equally yoked across the content areas unless you feel equally confident across the board.
If you struggle to identify your weak or strong content areas, look at your performances in class. Take a practice section test to see which questions were easiest, and which ones were hardest.
Plan full-length test days
The best way to prepare for the MCAT are repeat full-length test days. If you take anywhere from 5-8 practice tests, this will give you an idea of how the test asks questions. You can know the content all day long.
But, the trick to doing well on the MCAT is knowing how to answer the questions. Sometimes, prior knowledge isn’t even required. Your ability to determine what they are looking for will help you get most of the questions right. The only way to improve this skill is to answer as many practice questions as possible.
Full length practice tests also improve your endurance. You’re preparing for a marathon of a test, not a sprint. Therefore, you have to train for that by forcing yourself to sit and test for 7 or 8 uninterrupted hours. You should aim to take a practice test anywhere from every 2 weeks to once a month depending on how much time you have until your test. Don’t take a full-length within 2 weeks of your exam so you can avoid getting an outcome that dampens your confidence before the exam.
Choose which days in your schedule you are blocking out for full-length days. Then block off the next day to review your test. You learn just as much from questions you answered wrong as you do from questions you answered right.
Determine how many hours a day you can study
The other determining factor in how to create an MCAT study schedule is how much time you can dedicate to test prep. Life may not be able to stop for you because you have to study for the MCAT. You may still have school, work, family, and extracurricular activities. Therefore, you have to block out a set amount of time to work on the MCAT each week. Even if every day doesn’t look the same, you should aim for 10-15 hours a week.
Studying for the MCAT has to be a non-negotiable in your schedule. It can easily get pushed aside for things that you deem as more important. But, the last thing you want is to end up in a situation where you’re two months out from the test and hadn’t studied. (Trust me I’ve been there, and you don’t want that to happen).
Schedule in breaks and “sick days”
If you’re on a tight schedule, you may think that you need to study everyday until your test. However, everyone gets burnt out. I don’t care how intrinsically motivated you are, it’s natural to feel fatigued studying for this test. There is so much to cover, you never feel like you know everything there is to know.
Therefore, when figuring out how to create an MCAT study schedule, determine which days are recovery days. These are days where you don’t even think about the MCAT. Not only does this give you a break, it gives you something to work towards. It’s like an incentive. Grind hard for five days, then take one day off. Take a full-length test, review it, then take the next day off. These are just examples of how you can schedule breaks into your schedule.
Also put in “sick days”. Sick days can either be used to get caught up if you got behind, or can be used as mental health days. These are in addition to your rest days because you may need them to study. Life happens and your schedule is going to get interrupted. You’ll want this buffer time in every couple of weeks to help relieve the build up of work.
Alternate content areas
After mapping out which which days you’re going to study, and for how long, you then need to plug in what you’re going to study. As I said, there is so much material on the MCAT. Therefore, it’s not enough to just vaguely say you’re going to study something. This puts you at risk for forgetting major topic areas, getting stuck, and having a very unbalanced schedule.
When deciding on how to create an MCAT study schedule, alternate content areas. Don’t spend three weeks at a time on one, then switch to another for three more weeks. This, one, can quickly lead to burnout, and two, can cause you to forget content by the time the exam comes.
Each day should be a different content area. This mixes things up so you don’t get bored. It also gives you a good breadth of coverage for preparing to take the MCAT. See the example below.
Create an accountability/tracking system
Figuring out how to create an MCAT study schedule is only great if you follow the schedule. Simply creating it and then blowing it off does not help you prepare for the exam. So, create an accountability or tracking system to keep you track. Life is going to get in the way, but you have to get back on track. If not, you’ll risk being wholly unprepared for the exam because you didn’t stick to your schedule.
If you have a buddy who is taking the MCAT too, give them your study schedule. Have weekly check-ins about how you both are doing. Are there adjustments you need to make to your schedule? It’s not concrete and set it stone. You can always change it if need be. Maybe your study window is too tight. Or perhaps, you don’t need as much time on a content areas as you thought. These are all things you can discuss with your study partner.
Faculty advisors are also great for keeping track of your studying. Mentors in the medical field who have taken the MCAT can help you stay on track as well.
Outside of these meetings, find a way to check off each thing that you did. If you’re a visual person, maybe this is a chart that is placed on the wall. If you’re a technology person, maybe there is an app where you can check off that you got some studying done. Some study platforms even have accountability systems built within them to help you stay on track.
Key Takeaways
MCAT studying can be intense and long-winded. However, if you approach it with a study schedule that works for you, then you will increase your chances of scoring higher. If you are struggling to come up with a study schedule, don’t hesitate to reach out to me for a free chat about how to curate a schedule that works for you. At the end of the day, these are all suggestions, and it’s up to you to make these things happen. Good luck, and if anyone has any other tips, then please leave them in the comments!
1 thought on “How to Create an MCAT Study Schedule”