So, you’re starting to study for the MCAT and are overwhelmed about where to start. Fear not!
Here are five quick tips that can get you started on your way to crushing it:
1. Take a Diagnostic Test
Start with a full-length diagnostic test to set your baseline. This will identify your strengths and weaknesses, help you set priorities, and give you a feel for how much time and effort you need to devote to each section.
2. Make a Detailed Study Plan
Create a detailed and personalized study plan. My general rule is that in the first half of your MCAT prep, you should spend 70 percent of your time on content review and 30 percent on practice questions. When you’re halfway to test day, flip it: 70 percent on practice questions and 30 percent on content review. Below is a study plan one of my students and I created together.
3. Tackle Content First
There is so much material to learn for the MCAT that it is unreasonable to review every possible topic. Instead, prioritize content review based on high yield MCAT topics (amino acids, for example). Also prioritize content that’s historically difficult for you. Get comfortable with the fact that you will likely feel that you have not had enough content review. This is completely normal! It is important you move into the practice passage phase of your studying. By doing this, you will still be reviewing content.
4. Work in Practice Problems
The MCAT is not your run-of-the-mill final exam. Yes, you need content, but you also need to be able to think critically and understand the structure of the test. Because of this, it is important that you start practice passages early in your preparation, and then slowly increase your amount of practice as you get closer to test day. Be sure to save your AAMC practice resources for closer to your test date. These resources are the most similar to the actual test and will give you the best idea of where you stand.
5. Track Your Progress and Stay Flexible
It’s not enough to complete practice passages; you need to incorporate what you learn from them into your preparation. Keep a log of all the practice questions you miss. In this log you can record the question, the topic, why you missed the question, and what content knowledge or test- taking strategy you learned. Use this log to review your progress and guide your content review. You should never blindly review topics. Rather, you should be using the practice questions you missed to understand your content weaknesses, and then working these topics into your content review.
One last tip: remember you are not alone.
The MCAT is hard for everyone, but you can do this as long as you have a plan of attack! Use these tips to help you approach your preparation strategically and in a way that maximizes your time.
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