having a detailed and effective mcat study schedule will eliminate stress
anxiety distractions and will ultimately ensure that you're ready and prepared to ace this exam
remember even the easiest medical schools to get into have certain gpa and mcat thresholds
that must be met and some medical schools will not continue the review of your application
if you do not meet their mcat expectations so aiming for the best score you can achieve
will maximize your medical school options in this video you'll learn how to compose your own mcat
study schedule what should be included in your schedule and i'll break down our comprehensive
six month mcat study schedule and provide tips for shorter study schedules
hi my name is joseph kafka and i'm an admissions associate here at BeMo before we get started be
sure to subscribe on whatever social media channel you're watching this from so you don't miss out on
any of our upcoming videos if you would like us to help you ace the mcat go to bmomcat.com
to schedule your free initial consultation and as a quick tip check out the timestamps in the
description of this video to navigate to specific sections of the video that you're interested in
here's everything we're going to cover on the mcat study schedule what your mcat study
schedule should include a comprehensive six month mcat study schedule and tips for shorter
study schedules three months one month and one week now let's get started aim to make your mcat
study schedule as detailed as possible not only will this help you keep organized in your studies
but it will also eliminate stress and anxiety from distractions like planning out your day
and finding the right resources here's what your schedule should include
start by reflecting on your commitments outside of mcat prep recall all your academic professional
extracurricular and personal responsibilities in your mcat study schedule write down how many hours
each activity requires per week then write down how many hours you can dedicate to mcat prep
that same day this is self-explanatory as the first phase of your mcat prep will be focused
on content review your mcat study schedule must include the disciplines and concepts you want to
study and practice with to keep in line with mcat's format and sections you can use their
content outline as a reference when you fill in this section of your mcat study schedule
this is perhaps the most important section of your mcat study schedule as it outlines
what source you'll be using to fill in gaps in knowledge and how you'll retain this information
make sure to include the actual source such as x chapter in x textbook notes from x course
xbook from the library x video on youtube and so forth and most importantly write out which active
study strategies you will use to grasp these concepts passive learning cannot get you far
you might think you understand something but you will not know whether you can apply this knowledge
if you do not use active study strategies like creating charts and graphs that explain
relationships between concepts taking short quizzes explaining concepts to others and so forth
it may be difficult to think about breaks when you know that the mcat is looming over the horizon
but it is essential to take rest days during your mcat prep perhaps if you're pressed for time it
might be difficult to take an entire day off but you must schedule some kind of rest once a week
maybe you can take an evening off and watch a movie or go for a walk with your friends
or go see a concert with your family just remember to take care of your physical and mental health
check out our blog for an example and template of an mcat study schedule using the template
provided on our blog and the comprehensive six month study schedule that i will explain
shortly you can create a thorough and viable mcat study schedule that will help you ace your exam
after being honest with yourself about how long it will take you to study and adequately prepare
for the mcat use our comprehensive six month study schedule as an example to create your own include
checkboxes next to each item in your schedule and check off items as you go so you can hold yourself
accountable for completing each task you can also check out our blog for more free resources or
if you would like us to help you ace the mcat go to bmomcat.com to schedule a free consultation
now let's break down the comprehensive six month mcat study schedule
determine your baseline mcat score what do you know today to do this you need to take
a full length mcat diagnostic test don't worry about trying to ace your diagnostic exam the
goal is just to understand exactly where you stand for your diagnostic we recommend using
a full length exam from the aamc website complete this practice exam in one sitting and ideally in
an environment that mimics test day conditions take the diagnostic exam in a private room
on your laptop or in a library computer lab where you will not be distracted only use materials that
you will have for the actual mcat no headphones no calculator and be sure to put away your phone
to ensure that you are not distracted by friends but is this really necessary yes this is the
best way to ensure that your baseline score is accurate to see how you cope with the test length
and to ensure that the study schedule you create will effectively address your strengths and
weaknesses your diagnostic test results will also guide your mcat preparations by indicating which
areas you will need to focus on the most create a study outline that breaks down each subject you
will need to study after covering each topic by reading your textbook or by reviewing course work
do a check-in and ensure you feel comfortable relaying the information out loud to yourself
without relying on any study materials continue this for each of the main content areas biology
biochemistry organic chemistry inorganic chemistry physics psychology and sociology next
gather the materials that you will need for your mcat preparation you just took a full length
practice test so start by gathering resources that focus on content such as textbooks challenging
reading materials to build your critical thinking skills and review videos initially at least
70 percent of your study time should be spent reviewing content remember studying content must
come before in-depth use of practice questions to test how you are applying your knowledge the only
exception is when you take your diagnostic practice exam to assess your baseline it is
important to start preparing for the critical analysis and reasoning skills or cars section
of the mcat right from the start why the cars section is the only mcat section that does not
relate to specific medical school prerequisites and coursework if you're not impressed by your
car's score on your diagnostic exam your critical reasoning skills can be improved in time for your
mcat with the right study strategies preparing for cars requires practice in reading complex
texts outside of your comfort zone aim to read challenging texts for at least 30 minutes every
day our comprehensive study schedule includes recommended texts that if used in this way
will strengthen your skills as a reader your mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
focus your content review on biology biochemistry
and organic chemistry in preparation for the biological and biochemical foundations
of living systems section of the mcat your mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
continue your content review by concentrating on inorganic chemistry
organic chemistry and physics in preparation for the chemical and physical foundations of
biological systems section of the mcat your mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
focus your content review on psychology and sociology in preparation for the psychological
social and biological foundations of behavior known as the mcat
psychology section of the test your mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
complete a car's practice test as well as a biological and biochemical foundations of
living systems practice test time yourself on each practice section ensure active learning
by taking the time to understand why you answered each question correctly
or incorrectly after completing a practice test start a mistake log where you write down missed
questions with their solutions and key definitions refer to your log regularly to reinforce concepts
moving forward if you find yourself missing questions on content that you have already covered
ask yourself why delve deeper into the subject to truly understand it
while reviewing try creating a pop quiz for yourself then complete it two to three days later
to see if you understand the subjects see if you can explain a topic to yourself and to a classmate
ask your classmate if they understood the topic you explained to them
ensure that you can do this without relying on course materials if you fell behind on any reading
in your mcat study schedule so far use this week to get caught up focus your content review
on biology biochemistry and organic chemistry your mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
concentrate on inorganic chemistry organic chemistry and
physics content review your mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
focus your content review on psychology and sociology
your mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
complete a cars practice test as well as a chemical and physical
foundations of biological systems practice tests
this week catch up on any of your mcat study schedule reading assignments that are incomplete
focus on biology biochemistry and organic chemistry content review
your mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
concentrate on inorganic chemistry organic chemistry
and physics content review your mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
focus your content review on psychology and sociology your
mcat study schedule challenging read for this week
with the content heavy phase of your studying complete check in with your progress by taking a
full length mcat practice test the goal here is to see how you're progressing since your first
diagnostic full-length exam by this point you should be done reviewing all of the relevant
science content at least once so start focusing on the practice phase of your mcat preparation
practice practice switch gears so at least 70 percent of your study time is now spent
completing mcat practice questions continue with your mistake log to keep track of questions you
miss and concepts you are struggling with focus your content review on topics you find yourself
missing during your practice ensure that you are taking ample time to understand
why you missed a question so you can approach your next round of practice with new information
approaching each full-length practice test or sets of practice questions with an improved knowledge
base is essential for improving your mcat score in addition to your full-length mcat practice test
complete a psychological social and biological foundations of behavior practice tests this week
review biological and biochemical foundations of living systems practice questions and
continue reading war and peace by leo tolstoy review chemical and physical foundations of
biological systems practice questions and read articles from the economist if an evening mcat
prep course is a part of your study plan now is the time to start review mcat physics equations
you must know for the test for more help with mcat physics be sure to review our ultimate guide
review psychological social and biological foundations of behavior practice questions
continue reading the economist and attending your evening mcat prep course complete a full-length
mcat practice test when taking your practice test remember the following the more you can replicate
actual testing conditions during your practice the more prepared you will feel on test day in
addition to this practice use this week to catch up on your mcat study schedule reading assignments
as needed review biological and biochemical foundations of living systems practice questions
complete another full-length practice test in addition to attending your evening mcat prep
course review chemical and physical foundations of biological systems practice questions examine your
progress by completing a full-length practice mcat and continue with your evening mcat prep course
review psychological social and biological foundations of behavior practice questions
and continue attending your evening mcat
prep course you should also complete your next full-length practice test
complete a full-length practice mcat and continue attending your evening mcat prep course
you should have about one week of your prep course remaining at this point additionally spend some
time reviewing your strong content areas these are topics that you felt confident in before you began
your mcat preparation so it is likely that you have not reviewed these content areas recently
complete another full length practice test and wrap up the last week of your evening
mcat prep course now is a good time to check the time of your scheduled mcat
exams generally begin in the morning so if you consider yourself a night owl
start adjusting your sleep schedule to ensure you can perform at your best for a morning
mcat start going to bed a few minutes earlier each night until you have achieved this goal
test your knowledge by completing two full-length practice tests be sure to set aside time to review
the tests as well it is not feasible to complete more than two full-length practice tests the week
before your mcat since you will not have time to review them effectively it is not recommended to
review your practice exam the same day that you take it after you complete a full length practice
mcat take the rest of the day off to relax come back the next day well rested and ready to review
the test your final practice tests should be done one week prior to test day at the latest it is not
recommended to do full length practice tests closer than one week prior to test day because
each test is long and tiring to take instead start tapering your studying relieving stress
and avoiding burnout ensure that you are going to bed at a reasonable time each night this week it
is important to get plenty of rest in preparation for next week it's finally here the week of your
mcat spend the beginning of the week focusing on topics that you feel need a final review but limit
this to only a few subtopics avoid getting bogged down in trying to review every topic on the mcat
if you never truly mastered a certain topic now is not the time to attempt to learn it by cramming
instead focus on topics that you struggled with on your most recent full-length practice test
that you feel you can master given a little more time focus on three to five topics you missed
recently and only review those it's important to taper your study over the course of the week
from several hours of studying a day at the beginning of the week to just an hour by two
to three days before your test to no review the day before your mcat as you wrap up your studying
continue your mcat study schedule challenging texts in preparation for the cars section
what if you do not have 6 months to devote to mcat preparation while we strongly recommend that you
stick to a six month mcat study schedule it is possible to prepare for your mcat in less time
so let's explore some of our tips for shorter mcat study schedules
it's not uncommon for students to take their three-month summer break to study for the
mcat and it is more than possible to prepare for your mcat in this amount of time your first step
must be to take an mcat diagnostic test you cannot skip this step as it will allow you to learn which
content areas you need to improve once you know your results you can create an appropriate study
plan to cover each of the four mcat sections you will still need to review content for each section
but your study schedule will be compressed this means that you must create a rigorous mcat study
schedule and stick to it firmly refer to our six-month study schedule to see which content
you need to review and when to take practice tests to assess your progress your schedule must also
include reading challenging texts every week to get ready for the car section this is a crucial
step that you cannot skip during your three month preparation continue to take full length practice
mcats ideally you'll take five to seven practice tests to gauge your progress additionally
it's important to begin tapering your studying as you approach the mcat you should take your last
practice test the week before the exam and ensure you take the day before the test off
to successfully prepare for the mcat in one month you will need to be completely comfortable with
the content covered on the mcat perhaps you have just taken all of the necessary coursework and
feel confident in your knowledge if this is your case your first step should still be taking a
diagnostic exam to see if there are any content areas that you do not ace next create a list of
15 to 20 content areas that you need to brush up on and begin to review those topics only study the
content areas you struggle with and try to cover a few topics per discipline each week for example
two biology topics per week plus three chemistry topics and so on try to review an addition of
the economist and one book per week set a goal to complete five practice tests before your mcat date
it is important to note that this is not a sufficient study plan for most students
a one week mcat study schedule should include taking a diagnostic exam first to see if you are
truly ready and prepared for the mcat you must know the content on the exam very well because
you will not have time to review it if there are a few concepts that you do not feel completely
comfortable with make sure you study them content review will need to be reduced in favor of getting
ample practice with sample questions and full length practice tests we recommend that you use
this week to take several practice mcats to ensure that you feel prepared for the format
and duration of the exam and to prove that you are consistently scoring in your desired range
aim to take the evening before the test off to relax and get a good night's sleep this wraps
up our video for today check out our blog to learn more about the mcat study schedule
i've included a link in the description of this video so you can find it easily if you would like
us to help you ace the mcat go to bmomcat.com to schedule your free initial consultation hopefully
you enjoyed this video so please subscribe like and leave a comment if you have any questions
about the mcat study schedule that i didn't cover in this video let me know in the comments section
and i'll get back to you as soon as possible thank you so much for watching and see you next time you