Tame the M{CAT}: My Study Plan Breakdown

Hey guys! This is the second part in my series “Tame the M{CAT}”. I want to share with you guys an in-depth, week-by-week break down of the study plan I used in preparing for my MCAT. I will also tell you guys what worked for me and what I wished I did. So, let’s keep reading! January: I took my diagnostic test and jumped straight into planning out a study plan . Whether you like to plan on a digital calendar or a written planner, staying organized and sticking to your schedule is the most important thing to studying successfully. Before I write down the specifics, I already have in mind the chunks of time I will be dedicating to study MCAT as well as schoolwork. The tip here is once you know the times, you need to write in exactly what you are planning on studying. You should create some kind of checklist of topics to review, questions to practice, videos to watch in that chunk of time. Leaving the block and labeling it “Study MCAT” or “Do CARS” will prevent you from having a clear path to tackle the vast amount of material you need to cover. It will also slow you down because you may spend 3 hours reviewing it when all you needed was 1 hour of efficient studying. These are some of the questions you should ask yourself before you start mapping out your study plan:

1. What section is my weakest? Needs the most work?
2. What topics within that section do I need more reviewing?
3. How long will it take me to go over/understand this topic?

So for the first month, I was really focused on content and memorizing material. I wanted to make sure that I was confident in answering the questions instead of wasting time by guessing continuously. By taking a lot of notes from the textbooks and videos, condensing the material so that it was easier to digest.  I would do the questions that were related to that topic and see if I could get the answer. After a few weeks you should go ahead and take your first full-length MCAT even if you don’t feel ready, you have to start somewhere and practice makes perfect! February: At this point, I knew what my weaknesses were: CARS and CHEM/PHYS. I hated these sections, and I hated even more the fact I had to study them the most. You just have to push yourself to get better even when the odds are against you. I filled up most of my schedule with studying for these sections. For CHEM/PHYS I would watch a lot of videos because I didn’t understand the concepts. For CARS I would do around 3 passages a day, every day. I would spend Saturdays taking the practice test and all day Sunday reviewing it. You should spend at least 4-5 hours reviewing the questions you got wrong and prepare your study plan for the next week accordingly. March: All questions, no content! I took a lot of section exams where I broke down the entire exam and did it by sections based on what I needed to work on. I did the AAMC and Kaplan question banks. Studying this way was more time consuming because I would time myself per section (1.5 hours) and then I had to spend time after to review them. It was a very adaptive cycle of practicing questions and tailoring what you needed to work on. The MCAT is very strategic and if you understand HOW they ask the question, then you can find the correct answer accordingly.April: I did all the AAMC question packs, the remainder of my Kaplan course section exams, all the flashcards on my Kaplan app, and the section tests from Examkrackers. I’d taken all the practice exams from both AAMC and Kaplan. At this point, I was sick of taking the exam which meant I was comfortable and ready. For my last week before the exam, I took it as a week to just review and go through all my notes. I did some practice questions but at this point, there is no need to cram or be anxious. You just need to be calm and trust that the work you’ve put in the past 3-4 months will have been enough.

Personally, I wished that I had started on doing practice questions earlier. The more familiarized you are with the format, the less scary it will seem. Don’t be afraid to answer questions wrong because you don’t remember the content! As you can see on my calendar, I did have a life outside of MCAT. I went to class and studied for them. I had work and other life activities such as working out, hanging out with people, and having me time. So, don’t worry too much that you are not going to have a life, a big portion of it will just be dedicated to MCAT. As I said before, this is my personal study plan and it should be used as a reference. I just wanted y’all to get a clear idea of what to expect/ how to start. I hope y’all found this helpful! Feel free to ask me any questions you may have! Until next time,Lub dub,Shanon