Prepare for the MCAT with these six tips! We’ll cover how to make a 60-day MCAT study schedule, review practice exams, and more.
Sketchy partnered with Blueprint and Dr. Ryan Gray to bring you these key tips and tricks. They’re all focused on planning and scoring high on your MCAT in 60 days or less.
Even if MCAT is farther down the line for you, these tips will put you on the right track for success. Watch the full webinar below! Keep reading to find all the takeaways on what you should know for your MCAT test.
Set aside the time to take full-length practice tests. It’s the most accurate way to simulate the test-day experience. That makes it the best way to study for the MCAT overall.
This also means starting the exam at the same time as your actual test. You should also eat the same meal that you plan to eat on your MCAT test day, too. That way, you can determine if you’ll have enough energy to make it through the entire experience. .
As you’re taking your test, treat your breaks, just like the real exam. It’s also in your best interests to simulate the restrictions on those breaks as well. That means not looking at your phone and following the same break schedule as test day.
Take exams in different physical areas as well. Considera library or a study room that has some amount of low-level distractions.
Know that you’ll be testing around other people. Your goal is to train your brain and body to be used to those testing situations.
When you build your MCAT study plan, it’s important to take a diagnostic exam early on. That way, you can evaluate where your weaknesses are and see where you are strongest. This can help you decide which content should be top of your list to review.
Here’s an often overlooked part of how to prep for the MCAT: Remember to schedule days off. Other life obligations will happen. You’ll want to have a little bit of wiggle room for your MCAT study prep if things don’t stay on schedule.
If things do get way off schedule, it’s important to reset and rebalance before it’s too late. You should be consistently checking and readjusting in order to stay on track. Be realistic if you’re not going to meet your test date.
Also, know it’s okay to move your test date if needed. It’s better to be prepared and take it a little later than expected than rush and feel unprepared.
You always want to take the best possible opportunity to reach your goals. The best way to study for the MCAT is to give yourself enough time to build mastery of the material.
Once you start studying, you’ll want to find the study resources that work for your learning style. This will take some trial and error, but once you find the ones that work, stick to them.
Don’t spend too much time testing ALL of the study materials.. You can end up spending too much time fiddling with your study strategies. And that can get your MCAT prep off track.
Also, be realistic about how much time you have to study each day and each week. If studying for the MCAT is your full-time job, that would only be 40 hours a week.
It’s recommended that you study around 300 hours total for the MCAT. So, if you only study for the MCAT 40 hours a week, it would take about 7.5 weeks to prepare for the MCAT.
High-yield content is considered material that is tested heavily on the MCAT exam as well as material that will get you points. That encompasses both content knowledge and critical thinking.
Everyone will have different content and skills that they will need to review. It’s important for you to understand and decide what areas you should be studying. That information comes from practicing and reviewing practice exams.
Part of the process of taking practice exams is to also fully review them as well. Start tracking when and where and why you get a question wrong as well as right.
Did you get a practice question wrong because you didn’t know the content? Or was it because you didn’t understand the question, or ran out of time? Also, take time to review the questions you got right to better understand how you chose the right answer.
Once you have this important information, look for trends. Seeing where your weaknesses are can help inform and structure your MCAT study plan. That’s especially important when following a 60-day MCAT study schedule.
When you’re setting goals, use the SMART goal rule:
Instead of saying you want to improve your MCAT score by 5 points, get more specific. Look at your MCAT practice exams and trends and see where you can improve.
Small goals around content or action-oriented goals will lead to better results. When you understand which areas need more attention, your investment of time and effort can provide a better payout. And that’s definitely worth it for something as important as MCAT prep and study strategy.
Also, observe how you feel as you take a practice exam. How confidently or quickly are you able to answer questions on a certain topic? That can also be a good indicator of if you’re feeling positive about the subject and see if that confidence is well reflected in the test results.
And there you have it, six tips to keep in mind as you prepare for the MCAT in 60 days or less. Although 60 days is a short amount of time, if you set your study schedule, and focus on your goals you can achieve it.
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