How to study for the MCAT

There is no doubt studying for an exam is hard. It takes time, effort, and most of all, your energy.

It's my first time studying for such a big test and I already feel like I'm out of breath.

I have been studying for some months now and rescheduled once. I keep trying not to fall behind and keep pushing through until I get the score I want. Working full time and studying is not an easy task, but definitely doable.

So for all of you pre-meds in the same boat, you are not alone.

I have been studying for the exam for some time now and I believe these steps I'm about to show you have definitely helped me.

Here, in this post, I show you the way I believe the MCAT should be targeted and the one I'm currently following.

So, how should you study for the MCAT?

Based on my own research, YouTube, other online platforms, pre-med students, and many medical students, I came to the conclusion of following this for my own self studying.

I was not in favor of paying thousands of dollars on a website that would tell me what to study, I decided to based myself in what I noticed I needed extra work on.

I divided my MCAT studying in 3 phases, for a minimum of 3 months of studying.

❗️Important

*I am not a professional nor do I have the capacity to tell you what to do. I am simply demonstrating my experience and how it came into plan

*It is okay if it takes longer than 3 months. People have studied for the MCAT for 4, 6, 12 months with a different strategy and have conquered it successfully.

*Take your time, it is better to learn it well slowly than to rush through and not learn it at all.

*By the last stage, you should be getting the score you want. If you haven't gotten it yet, it is important to target the areas of weakness before proceeding. This is the best way of staying truthful with yourself and acquiring a good score.

Let's start.

Phase 1

First month - Content Review

1. Take a full length or diagnostic practice test - this will give you the starting point of your studying and will help you have a baseline for future practice tests.
2. Study - Begin studying the content gaps you noticed you have.

This can be done with books like Kaplan, or more personalized studying like the the MCAT Blueprint, Princeton Review, etc... You can also use YouTube, Khan Academy, or Ninja Nerds to help you understand the concepts you need without the need of a paid study plan.

You can make your own study plan based on your content gaps. That was what I did. I went through YouTube and learned the information I knew I needed and was lacking.

1. Anki - You have probably heard of this platform. It is very useful for memorizing content daily. You can make your own decks or use pre-made decks from other people. Whichever one you choose, the important thing is that you do it daily.

Phase 2

Second month - Practice

1. Take a full length practice test - This exam will give you your new score with all the content review you did during the past phase.
2. Practice Questions - The best platform to do practice questions for the MCAT that helped me the most is UWorld. It has amazing explanations and the questions are VERY similar to the ones in the real exam, if not harder.
3. Anki - Continue doing Anki to keep memorizing concepts. You can do them yourself or use pre-made decks, whatever works for you.
4. Take another full length - Practice is key. Take as many practice exams as you can. I recommend you do one every week with the location and time similar to text day.

The ones that I did were in the MCAT Blueprint and paid for several practice exams. It helped me get the hang of the exam and get used to sitting for several hours without suffocating or losing attention in the questions.

Phase 3

Third month - FL with AAMC + Anki (personal choice)

1. Take your first AAMC full length practice exam - This is the real deal. The AAMC created the MCAT, so they will have the closer full lengths (FL) and scores to the actual MCAT.
2. Review FL 1 - Make sure you go through EVERY question, right or wrong, and you understand it throughly. By this time, you did all the content review, and the practice you needed. Make sure you understand why you got that question wrong or why you got it right.
3. Take your second AAMC full length practice exam - Once reviewed all the questions from he previous exam, you are ready for the second FL.
4. Review FL 2 - Again, review each question, right and wrong, with a fine tooth comb. I know it's extensive, but you don't want to move to another exam with loose strings of content from before.
5. Take your third AAMC full length practice exam - By this time, you should already be used to sitting for 7 hours or so for the exam, and based on the content and review you have gathered, you are almost ready.
6. Review FL 3 - Throughly and patiently. You will notice patterns in concepts, and the knowledge gaps should be smaller and smaller.
7. Take your fourth AAMC full length practice exam - This is the last exam the AAMC offers. and it should be taken 3-4 days before the real exam. It will you a score very close to the one you'll be getting on test day.
8. Review FL 4 - Make sure all the content gaps are gone, and that all insecurities in content and test taking strategies are resolved and ready to go.

Done.

Inhale, Exhale.

You did it!

TEST DAY

Take a moment to appreciate the long journey you have gone through and the ups and downs you had. It wasn't easy but you did it. 'Clap, Clap, Clap'.

Now, for test day, make sure you are rested since the day before. Clear your mind and relax.

The hard work is done and you can only clear your thoughts to confront the exam successfully.

You will not solve anything by cramming extra information the day before. The nerves will not allow it no matter how hard you try.

You can now feel secure in your abilities to do well in the exam. You have done it before several times, and think of it as just another test.

You got this

Let your Thoughts and Actions be Fuel to your journey

As long as you believe it you will be able to achieve it.

You have to envision it first before being able to act on it. They go together and act as momentum on your journey.

You can say it out loud and believe it:

"I will get a 5** score in the MCAT!"

But you will also need to act on it to make it real.

Or you can use the ABC Model of Attitude (something to know for the exam):

(affective) I love studying for the MCAT because

(cognitive) I believe it will help me get a 528 score in the exam, so

(behavioral) I will go to the library and study everyday.

Whatever works for you, but your actions need to be aligned with your thoughts.

There will be no studying if you don't want to get up and get the laptop. And there will be no learning if you are in front of a book thinking on going out after finishing the chapter.

My friend's mom used to tell him every day when he was studying for the MCAT: "Cuando studies, estudia, pero con ganas." When you study, study, but with desire.

It was her phrase to let him know that no matter if you are in the library, you need to WANT it for real, to really let the information sink in and never forget it. Just by putting effort and consistency you will be able to achieve it. I know.

If many people have done it, you can do it too :)

I hope this was of help, and I'll be happy to hear from you and your journey through this exam that breaks us all in a way, but strengthens us in another.

To the next time pre-meds :) <3

Alison R