MCAT Study Schedule

Introduction

There are many ways to study for the MCAT from self-studying to structured classes the options are endless.  As a minority student beginning their pre-med journey, I thought the only way to get a good score was to go through an expensive company that offered classes and courses for MCAT prep.

This was not an option for me as I did not have thousands of dollars to drop on a class while I still had to support myself through college. This led me down a rabbit hole of trying to pull different resources together that were still in my budget.

This process pushed me to be resourceful and cut out as much fluff as possible so I could focus on what was really needed and what was not.

In this article, I want to offer you guidance on how to make your own study schedule if that is the route you want to take and also give you an example of how my study schedule was set up.

1. Working Backwards
   
   When deciding how you should study for the MCAT I suggest the approach of working backwards. What I mean by this is to decide what month and day you would like to take the test and work backward from there. 
   
   Once you have your test date set this will give you a date to work towards and keep in mind as you are studying. I suggest scheduling your test before you actually start studying for this reason. I also suggest this because test dates can fill up fast depending on the area you live in so scheduling it early will ensure that you won’t have any problems later on.
   Along the lines of scheduling the test, I also believe that you should leave a 1-2 week grace period for yourself. This allows extra study time just in case you do not feel prepared to sit for the test. I left roughly 2 ½ months of grace which I ended up needing and was very grateful for it. 

   Lastly, in the early stages of building out your schedule learn about the necessities you need to do well on the test and solidify and secure those resources. Researching this early will allow you to save money and access it at the right time. 

   Check out our resource guide if you want more help (https://culturehealthline.com/2024/05/mcat-resource-guide/) –can we have a picture of the article with the link attached to it?
   

2. Work Into Your Schedule
   Studying for the MCAT is practically like working a job. It takes dedication and organization to even sit for the test. This is why it is important to work your studying into your schedule. Whether you are still in school or out in the workforce you are going to have to carve out time for the test. When deciding how you want to schedule studying first take into account all the other activities you participate in.

   From work, school, volunteering, and shadowing it all takes up time. During this time you may have to slow down extracurricular activities so you can ramp up on the studying. 

   After taking into account all your other activities it’s time to decide the details like do you want to study in the morning, afternoon, or evening, where will you study, and how much time in a day do have to study. 

   I want to harp on the last question because you want to be very strategic about how much time you spend in a day studying. This ensures that you have gone through most if not all you need to know for the test.

3. Deciding How To Tackle The Material

   Going along with the last section, you want to be strategic about planning out the content you have to get through and how thoroughly you want to go through it. There are so many different ways that people decide to go through content. Some people may take two straight months and study 8-10 hours a day and that is enough for them. 
   Others may only have 4-5 hours a day and may have to take 4-5 months.

   You have to decide what approach works best with you and stick with it. I studied for 6 months total but really only 3 strong months. For the first 3 months, I was trying to figure out how to approach everything and was wasting time. Once I got organized I fell into my routine. Since I was in school still I studied roughly 4-6 hours a day during the week and on Saturday I took practice tests which lasted roughly 8 hours. This worked for me and my school schedule and allowed me to get through all the material.  

   Going even deeper helped me to divide up how I wanted to spend those 4-6 hours every day so when it was time to study I did not have to think about it. 

   I divided up my schedule based on the content review phase and practice problems phase. From there I divided up how I wanted to tackle the material for each phase accordingly. 

   I also added extra columns for strengths, weaknesses, and percentages I was making on UWorld. This helped me access this material quickly when needed. My example schedule will be available through our email list but here is also a quick snapshot of what it looked like.

   

4. Do A Test Run

   This step is not necessary at all but it is something that I wanted to add in there because I wish that I did it.

   Doing a test run of your schedule to see how it works for you will allow you to adopt a study style that works for you faster. You will also be able to adjust your schedule early so that you are not midway through studying trying to completely change how you are studying. Being intentional about this step can save you time in the long run.

5. Be Consistent
   
   This step is self-explanatory but is still worth mentioning because it works wonders. Being consistent with your study plan will allow you to continue to build upon your knowledge and track your results as you go.

   It can be very discouraging to put in all this work just for your practice test score to drop or not being able to get through all the chapters that day but keeping at it even during the hard times is the only way you are going to get through it.
   If you feel like you are hitting a rough patch take time to sit back and reevaluate your methods and then power through it. This is why I stressed leaving yourself a grace period for times like this.

   Taking breaks is crucial for success and also allows you to stay consistent on your journey.

Conclusion

However you decide to approach your studying make sure that it is working for you, don’t be afraid to change it up if you need to, but also be as consistent as possible. 

Conquering the MCAT is a journey but it is not impossible!! If you would like to access the schedule that helped me to get in the 505-510 range and get into medical school join our email list. If I can do it so can you!