- In this video,
I'll share the ideal MCAT study schedule with you.
The MCAT is a long test that covers many different topics,
so sitting down to study
for the exam may seem like a daunting process,
especially if you are taking classes, volunteering,
participating in extracurriculars,
and working at the same time.
If that sounds like you and you don't know where to start,
don't worry, we have you covered.
(keys clacking)
I'm Vikram Shaw, MCAT expert and 528 MCAT scorer.
Creating an MCAT study schedule is one
of the most important steps you will take
before you begin studying for the exam.
In this video,
I'll walk you through some of the main considerations
to maximize your efficiency as you prepare for the MCAT.
After watching this video, you should be able to sit down
and plan out your own MCAT study schedule
or refine a study schedule you have already created
so that you can achieve your highest score.
First, we'll look at the most important factors
you should consider when choosing a test date.
Then, we'll discuss which topics are covered on the MCAT
followed by how to optimize your study schedule.
Question number one,
when do you plan to apply to medical school?
MCAT scores expire after three years at most schools
and after two years for some others.
So, for example, if you plan on taking
at least two gap years after graduating college,
you should take the test during
or after your senior year of undergrad.
Most students take the MCAT some time during their junior
or senior years of undergrad.
In order to apply straight through
and not take gap year however,
you must take the MCAT during
or before your junior year of undergrad
as the application cycle begins early.
If you plan on applying straight through,
you begin the application process
during the summer following your junior year.
By identifying when you want to apply to medical school,
you'll be able to select an MCAT test date
that will ensure you have a valid score
and ample time to prepare.
Keep in mind that you can still submit
your primary application
even if you have not yet received your MCAT scores back.
As a general rule of thumb,
the average amount of time that students wilL spend studying
for the MCAT is about three to four months.
Question two, have you taken the classes needed
for the MCAT?
The classes you should have definitely taken
by the time you take your MCAT are general chemistry,
one semester of organic chemistry, introductory biology,
and one semester of physics.
If you haven't yet taken these classes,
you should plan on taking them
and building your MCAT study schedule around finishing them
before you take the exam.
There are also classes that are recommended
but are not absolutely necessary
to take before studying the MCAT.
These classes include biochemistry,
the second semester of organic chemistry,
and the second semester of physics.
Many students also ask me if they need
to have taken a psychology or sociology to take the MCAT.
While those courses may be a prerequisite
for some medical schools,
even students who have taken these introductory courses,
still must self-study some information
on the psychology and sociology section.
Additionally, courses such as anatomy and physiology
may be helpful, but they are not required
in order to do well on the MCAT.
Question number three, what are other time commitments
you will have when studying for the MCAT?
Let's say we have two students, Marissa and Cole.
Both students plan to begin studying in May for their MCAT.
Marissa has no extracurricular commitments over the summer
and plans to take the exam in early July.
Cole, however, is working
in a research a lab over the summer.
Should Cole take the exam in early July as well?
Probably not.
If there are other time commitments on your plate,
take them into account when you choose your MCAT test date.
Be realistic with yourself, as well.
If you're in classes, working,
and volunteering while studying,
choose a further test date to account for the fact
that you will not be able to spend as much time studying
on some days as you would like.
These three questions,
which cover when you're applying to medical school,
whether or not you have taken the required classes,
and what your schedule will look like when you're studying,
are very important to take into account
when you choose a test date.
Okay, once you've settled on a test date, what's next?
First, let's discuss what is covered on the MCAT,
and the general approach you should take
to study for each section.
The MCAT contains four sections.
Section one is Chemistry and Physics,
Section two is Critical Analysis and Reading Skills,
Section three is Biology and Biochemistry,
and Section four is Psychology and Sociology.
Section 2, also known as CARS,
does not have any content that you'll need to memorize.
Instead, the best way to study for the CARS section
is high quality and high repetition practice.
For the other three sections,
you will study using a combination of content review
and practice problems.
Let's now look at the anatomy
of an optimal MCAT study schedule.
You can think of an MCAT study schedule as two phases.
The first phase is content heavy
with a little bit of practice,
which means you'll mostly review content covered on the MCAT
while beginning to take practice questions.
As a rough estimate,
70% of what you are doing should be content based
while 30% should be practice question based.
The second phase of studying is practice heavy
with some a little bit of content.
Here, the numbers flip,
and you should focus on 70% practice and 30% content.
With that in mind, let's work backwards from your test date.
Let's say you choose to take the exam at the end of August.
In the five weeks leading up to your exam,
you should take all five practice exams made
by the test maker, also known
as the American Association of Medical Colleges, or AAMC.
These practice exams are the most similar to the real test.
If you are studying on an accelerated schedule,
you can take two tests a week.
Based on the one test per week model,
if your real MCAT is on a Saturday,
you should take a practice full-length exam
each Saturday leading up to the exam.
The single most important part of your study process
is not taking full-length exams,
but it is rather taking a deep dive
into what you miss on those exams.
As a general rule, you should spend more time reviewing
your full-length exam than you spent taking the exam.
So, if you sit to take a six-hour full-length MCAT test,
you should spend at least six hours reviewing it.
In order to make sure you do your due diligence
in reviewing the exam,
you should explicitly write it into your study schedule.
Reviewing the full-length is very important,
but you also need to study everything you write down
during your review.
You should add time for this into your study schedule, too.
To recap, you can think of full-length exams
as a three-piece process.
The first step is taking the exam,
the second step is going through what you missed
and writing it down in an organized manner
and the third step is studying what you missed
so that you don't miss it again.
Now, let's talk about the first half of your test prep,
which is based on 70% content and 30% practice.
The very first step you should take
is completing a diagnostic exam
as this will give you an idea of what the exam looks like
in addition to content areas that you should focus on.
The amount of time you should spend
during the content phase depends on a few factors,
such as how recently you completed the courses
and how well you know the material.
Students taking the MCAT after college may need
to spend more time reviewing general chemistry
than students taking the MCAT
after their sophomore year of college.
If you're studying on a time crunch,
prioritize high-yield content areas first
and fill in other content gaps based off
of the practice questions that you are missing.
It should take you about an hour or two
to review any given chapter,
and you should only write down the content
that you barely know or don't know at all.
Work your way through one chapter before you sit down
to make your study schedule
so that you have a good idea of the time it takes for you
to work through a chapter.
Then, build in the rest of the chapters
until you finish the content-heavy phase
and move into the practice phase.
In addition to working through content,
you should take two to three CARS passages per day
to ensure you get sufficient practice for the CARS section.
Every two to three weeks,
you should also take a full-length practice exam
to get a feel for how you will need
to apply the content you are learning to the actual exam.
In the month or month and a half leading up to your exam,
you are in the 70% practice and 30% content phase.
In addition to the AAMC full-length exams,
you should also work your way
through the other AAMC practice resources, which include
Section Bank, Official Guide, and Question Packs.
The 30% content that you review during this phase
should be based off the practice questions you are taking.
If you find yourself missing a lot of questions
on a certain subject,
you should read up on that topic or watch helpful videos.
The 70% practice and 30% content phase of your test prep
is the most important part for many students
as it is where they see their highest score jump.
Improvement on the MCAT is not a linear process, though,
and many students don't see a score jump
until later on in their test prep.
Don't be discouraged
if you're not seeing results immediately.
Finally, my last recommendation is
to build flexibility within your study schedule.
You should have a day each week
or a week or two at the end of your MCAT study schedule
that are left completely free.
These can be used to relax or catch up
on anything you fell behind on
when life inevitably gets in the way of your studying.
Happy people make happy students,
so never neglect to take care of yourself along the way.
When I was studying for the MCAT,
the flexibility in my schedule allowed me to play basketball
for a few hours each weekend to burn off steam.
Now that we have covered the ideal MCAT study schedule,
you should be able to approach your own
MCAT preparation with confidence.
If you found this video helpful, give it a thumbs up
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And if you'd like to receive a free MCAT question of the day
to get every last bit of practice in
before your exam, click the link in the description.
Thanks again for watching and we'll see you next time.
(upbeat music)