How to Study for the MCAT in 2 Months

Creating your MCAT study guide can be one of the most important but challenging aspects of preparing for the MCAT. According to the AAMC, the average pre-med student should spend about 240 hours preparing for the MCAT over three months. As the official MCAT prep of the AMSA, Kaplan recommends that you spend 300-350 hours studying so you can be above average. If you’re planning on taking the MCAT in two months, you’ll need to put aside a significant amount of study time each week for in order to be able to score competitively.

[ RELATED: 1-Month MCAT Study Guide ]

Before you get started, you’ll need to gather together your study materials. Here is our recommended list:

 

• Begin your MCAT prep by taking a practice test or question set that covers all the topics on the MCAT. This will help you familiarize yourself with the test structure and content and establish your baseline performance. The MCAT Sample Test is a great resource for this. Kaplan also has free online practice tests and 3 Full-Length tests included with the Kaplan MCAT Books.
• Once you’ve taken your first practice test and have a diagnostic score, use your results to determine which MCAT content areas you need to work on the most. Your test score should be used to modify the below study plan to meet your needs. For example, if you did well on all endocrine system and immunology questions, you might only study those topics briefly and focus more of your energy on Biology subjects you didn’t do as well with, such as cell biology and genetics.
• Build a personalized weekly study schedule. Proactively fill in your calendar with study blocks, planning on studying at least three hours per day, six days per week. Put specific topics to study into each block so you use your time well and ensure that you have enough prep time set aside. Give yourself a day off of studying every week so you have time to recharge.
• Set up a rotating schedule that works through these topics:
  • Biochemistry
  • Biology
  • General Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Physics/Math
  • Behavioral Sciences
• Use the AAMC Sample Questions and Sections and choose passages based on the content areas you have reviewed for realistic test practice.
• You should study for the Critical Analysis and Reasoning (CARS) section every day. Use the AAMC Sample Questions and Sections to read passages and work on passage-related questions.

Begin with the basics of each subject area, and focus on a different topic each day. In order to really focus, you’ll want to spend at least an hour to an hour and a half on each study topic. Here’s a sample calendar of what your first week of study might look like:

Specific content areas for Week One include:

• Biology: Cell Biology
• Biochemistry: Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins
• General Chemistry: Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
• Organic Chemistry: Nomenclature
• Physics: Dimensional Analysis, Basic Math and Statistics
• Psychology and Sociology: Biological Basis of Behavior
• CARS: Reading to Find the Most Important Information

• Devote blocks of study time on a rotating basis to Biochemistry, Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Behavioral Sciences.
• Use the AAMC Sample Questions and Sections and choose passages based on the content areas you have reviewed for realistic test practice.
• In addition, continue studying for the Critical Analysis and Reasoning (CARS) section on a daily basis. Use the AAMC Sample Questions and Sections to read passages and work on passage-related questions.

Because you likely have already-existing commitments, you’ll need to organize your study blocks carefully and deliberately. Some days you may have time to study more than one topic; on other days, you might only have time to study one subject. Remember to make CARS a daily priority.  An example week might look something like this:

Specific topics to study each week include: