Preparing for the MCAT

The process of preparing for the MCAT goes beyond just studying for the exam, we need to plan well ahead. Most importantly, when you are taking the test in line with how much progress you have made with your degree. Or, if you are taking the MCAT after graduating. Another part that we need to consider is that you apply to medical schools a year in advance. So for example, if you want to enter into medical school in the fall of 26, you need to apply in the spring of 25. And, if you are trying to optimize your application by applying earlier and having a complete application ready for review, you would need to have already taken the MCAT and have a score back. The means the latest you should take it would be end of April of the year you are applying.

Some general tips first:

If possible, try to have taken all of the required classes for subjects that are found on the MCAT. I would estimate that if you have taken 3 classes in each subject you are unlikely to see any truly novel content

• General Biology
  • Subset: 1 course in biochemistry
• General Chemistry
• General Physics
• Organic Chemistry
• Psychology + Sociology

Taking all of the classes makes reviewing a bit easier. Once you have a general idea of when you are going to take the MCAT, if you are going to take a gap year etc, plan for about how long you will be able to study for with relative dedication. I suggest doing a minimum of 3 solid months of studying. This test is a "mile wide, inch deep" as my friend who is now in medical school like to put it. The sheer breadth of content is what makes the process so time consuming.

Pacing

The only time I would suggest a minimum of 3 months is if you have a summer where you can dedicate the entirety to the MCAT. If not, most people would benefit from a 4-5 month study plan, and longer depending on the schedule of the individual. Do NOT take a heavy course load if possible. Make things easy on yourself, at least this time. I highly suggest taking summer school earlier in your college career so that you have a lighter schedule when you are an upperclassmen.

Let's Begin

What I first want you to do after doing the above to the best of your abilities is to open up google sheets right now and make a calendar of dates from when you are going to begin studying to when the test actually is. Essentially, you are going to plot what you need to do for every day up until test day. I suggest studying for 5-6 days a week and at LEAST taking 1 day off. I made this mistake and as a result it deteriorated from my actual effectiveness in studying and finishing things on time. Keep in mind that you are going to be spend a minimum of 2.5 hours each day on studying, potentially more. In order to succeed, we need to be highly organized and persistent. We need to also figure out how you best learn. Are you a reader? Do you prefer audio/video? Do you learn best through trial and error? The method below will provide a relatively well rounded plan for most types of learners.

We are going to divide our studying into major components. First, a "content review" component, second a "practice problem component" and third a "practice test" component. These are not strict categories, and we will actually be doing a little bit of everything at the same time.

In order to review content, there are three predominant categories we are going to do. First, we are going to use Anki to review definitions and concepts. Second, we are going to watch lecture videos that explain the concepts more in-depth as well as go over problems and methods for taking tests. That type of lecture style isn't well executed in free services, so my lectures attempt to solve that issue. Otherwise, check out Khan Academy and other resources listed in the resource page for content review videos. Third, we are going do practice problems. These can be from Jack Westin, the question bank here, or any other resource you have. If you have the resources, the paid software that is the best for practice problems is UWorld. It is about 370 dollars, but again, if you have the resources this is a must. We are going to integrate practice problems as we learn material rather than dividing it up.

Workflow Pathway 1 - Using the Atlas Course

Once your schedule is finalized, start. Take the blueprint half length diagnostic exam (free). Then after, take a break. The next day, go over your mistakes briefly, then watch lecture 1 and either make your own notes or use the notes provided. Next, run through the flashcards for the lecture. Repeat this until you reach the "time to practice module". Complete the practice questions. These questions are intended to make you familiar with the structure of MCAT style questions and keep reviewing content. The more times you see the content and actively use the information the more you will remember. Continue this cycle at a pace in accordance with your schedule until reaching the "time for a change of pace" module. You will begin this model by taking an Official AAMC Exam.

• A key exception is for CARS. Do 1 at least 1 passage a day as practice from the very beginning.

At this point in the lecture, we will have already covered all of the high and moderately tested topics and now will be covering lower yield topics. Now we are going to ramp up the pace of practice problems. Depending on what software you use, you should have spaced out the number of practice problems you will be doing per day. Do the problems in moderate chunks, don't do more problems on the same day if your initial set wasn't so good. We aren't doing a long distance race, we are doing a whole marathon. Pacing is vital!

To optimize our learning from the practice problems, we are going to be tracking our errors. The easiest method is through excel sheets, but I believe companies like blueprint offer templates and storage for tracking. Whatever works best for you, you need a method of writing down what you missed (most specifically content) and why you missed the question. In the lecture 1 answer key video, I demonstrate a method to do this.

Phase 3 is our practice test phase. This should be at least 1.5 months before exam date. I suggest taking 1 full length exam every two weeks counting backwards from your test date, at least taking 3 full length exams. These should be AAMC Official Exams only. Earlier in your studying, I do recommend taking other tests like Kaplan or Blueprint

Workflow Pathway 2 - No lecture course

In the no lecture course pathway, Anki and any review books you use will be your main source of content. You may use other sources like Khan Academy and YouTube to supplement your review. Here, I suggest using a major Anki Flashcard deck such (I used JackSparrow2048 for my exam) and figuring out a total number of cards to do per day. There are two ways to do this, both are effective

1. Review one section of the exam first and then do practice problems specifically for that section (don't do all of them, save about 35% for after you have finished content review). Repeat until all three sections are reviewed. After, begin doing the AAMC exams as suggested above, doing one every 2 weeks counting backwards from your test date. Integrate and complete more practice problems as you work on your tests, and continue to review content with Anki as the software suggests
2. Do a little bit of everything at the same time, this is a bit more complicated to do with flashcards, but UWorld at least has an ability to randomly generate question blocks from any of the topics. You can use this and try to complete 60% of the total question bank before doing your final AAMC exams