How to Study for the MCAT in 3 Months

Creating your MCAT study guide is one of the most important aspects of preparing for the MCAT, but it can also be one of the most difficult. The AAMC recommends that the average pre-med student spend between 300 and 350 hours over several months preparing for the MCAT. Three months might seem like plenty of time to prep, but you’ll still need to set aside many hours of study time each week in order to score competitively on the MCAT. Below is a weekly plan designed to help you get the score you want.

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• Start your studying by taking a diagnostic practice test or completing a question set that covers all the topics from the MCAT to familiarize yourself with the whole test and establish your baseline performance. The MCAT Sample Test is a great resource for this. There is also a free online practice test available from Kaplan, as well as 3 Full-Length tests included with the Kaplan MCAT Books.
• Use your initial test results to determine which content areas you need to work on. Make changes to the study plan below accordingly. For example, if you did well on all reproduction and nervous system questions, you might only study those topics briefly and spend more time on a Biology subject you didn’t do as well with, such as amino acids and the immune system.
• Build a weekly study schedule. Fill in your calendar with study blocks, planning to study at least three hours per day, six days per week. Take one day off from studying each week to give yourself some time to recharge. Assign specific study topics to each block so you know what to study when, and so you’re confident that you have enough prep time set aside before the test.
• Set up a rotating schedule that works through these topics:
  • Biochemistry
  • Biology
  • General Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Physics/Math
  • Behavioral Sciences
• For test-like practice, use the AAMC Sample Questions and Sections and choose passages based on the content areas you have reviewed.
• In addition, study for the Critical Analysis and Reasoning (CARS) section daily. Use the AAMC Sample Questions and Sections to read passages and work on passage-related questions.

Start with the fundamentals of each subject area, and split your time between different topics each day. In order to get the most out of your study time and really focus on each test topic, you should plan on focusing on individual topics for at least an hour to an hour and a half.. Here’s a sample calendar of what your first week of study might look like:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Full Length Test	Test Review; Study Planning	Biology, Biochemistry + CARS	General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry + CARS	Physics, Psychology and Sociology + CARS	Revisit problem areas; modify Study Plan	Day Off

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 study blocks on a rotating basis to Biochemistry, Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Behavioral Sciences.
• For test-like practice, use the AAMC Sample Questions and Sections and choose passages based on the content areas you have reviewed.
  
• In addition, continue to study 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.
  

Organize your time around your existing commitments. Some days you may be able to schedule more than one topic; on other days, you may be able to fit in only one subject. Remember to work on CARS every day. An example week might look something like this:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Biology,  Biochemistry+ CARS	General Chemistry + CARS	Organic Chemistry + CARS	Physics + CARS	Psychology,  Sociology + CARS	Revisit problem areas; modify Study Plan	Day Off

Specific topics to study each week include:

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• Begin each week with a practice test, and follow up with a full day of test review. Carefully evaluate the topics and types of questions that you are missing, and use that to hone your study strategy.
  
• For test-like practice, use the AAMC Sample Questions and Sections and choose passages based on the content areas you have reviewed.
  
• Continue to study 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.
  

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Full Length Test	Test Review; Study Planning	Biology,  Biochemistry + CARS	General Chemistry,  Organic Chemistry + CARS	Physics, Psychology,  Sociology + CARS	Revisit problem areas; modify Study Plan	Day Off

Specific content areas for Weeks 9 through 11 include:

Once again, begin the week by taking and reviewing your practice test, looking over every question and using the results to modify your study plan if needed. Spend extra time reviewing CARS, re-reading the passages to determine what information you actually needed and what you didn’t.

• Early in the week, take the AAMC Practice Test available from aamc.org. Set aside time to review the test as well.
• For your remaining few days, spend time reviewing the content areas that you struggled the most with on your last full-length test. If you’ve never truly mastered a topic, though, now is not the time to attempt to learn it. Instead, focus on the material that you struggled with the first time through but that you think you can master given just a little more time.
• If you have time, travel to the testing center first to make sure you know how to get to the correct building, where to park, and which room your test will be in. Having all these logistics out of the way will help reduce your stress on Test Day—and ensure you aren’t late!
• Take the day before the test completely off; your brain needs to rest before the marathon of test-taking to come! Eat healthy, balanced meals and get a full night of rest so you are mentally and physically prepared for Test Day. On the day of the MCAT, wake up with plenty of time to spare, and be sure to eat breakfast before leaving to give your brain the fuel it needs.

Example Study Calendar

This plan will put you well on your way to success on Test Day. But keep in mind that if after three months you don’t feel prepared for the MCAT, or you aren’t scoring near where you want to be on your practice tests, you should consider changing your test date. It’s better to postpone your plans and get the score you want the first time than to not do well and have to retest anyway.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
AAMC Practice Test	Test Review; Study Planning for Final Week	Final Content Review	Final Content Review, Visit Test Center	Final Content Review	Day Off	Test Day!