Every pre-med student dreads the MCAT. It’s the monster under the bed, lurking in the back of our minds as we aim to become doctors. But how do you even prepare for a seven-hour long test that seemingly requires you to know a billion things? Well, here’s where to start.
1. Plan More Time Than You Think
Timing is the universal stumbling block when studying for the MCAT. With all the biochemical pathways and facts about enzymes and hormones you need to know offhand, you’ll need a lot of time. According to AAMC, pre-med students spend an average of 240 hours studying over 12 weeks. That averages at about three months of full-time study!
However, this timeline may extend for countless reasons, such as work commitments, travel plans, social events, and other responsibilities that demand your time. Not everyone is the same, so there’s bound to be differences in our study plans.
The first step in planning your study timeline is to identify which topics you want to cover each week, and make sure it’s realistic. You won’t be able to go over the entire biochemistry section in one day, even if you aced your biochemistry courses! It’s just not feasible. The MCAT emphasizes higher-level understanding, not just recognizing something you heard in class a few months ago. This exam requires active, repetitive learning, which can only really be accomplished over several months of study.
Adding buffer time to your schedule sets you on the right course for healthy breaks and relaxation, which are conducive for better learning. Moreover, if you find yourself in the opposite situation, requiring more time, then you may have to pay a hefty fee to the AAMC to reschedule your exam for a later date. Depending on how far in advance you reschedule, this fee can range from $55 USD to $210 USD, and if it’s less than 10 days before your exam, you cannot reschedule at all.
Overall, one of the best things you can do is give yourself lots and lots of time to study.
2. Take Time Off
Sort of going along with planning lots of time, is taking time away from your desk and computer to do things you enjoy. While it may seem counterintuitive that relaxing can be good for your learning, it’s both scientifically proven and generally well-understood that you need a healthy mind and body in order to learn well.
The absolute worst thing you can do for yourself while studying for the MCAT is to study non-stop, all day, every day. This is the recipe for burnout, and it’ll leave you demotivated and miserable: the worst mindset you can go into the test with! Instead, make time for plenty of breaks, whether that means taking short breaks between study sessions or setting aside entire days to rest. You may find that, although you’ve seemingly “lost” valuable study time, you return to your studies refreshed and with a greater capacity to learn.
Even simple activities like going for a walk and exercising improve memory consolidation, enhance focus, and reduce stress, all of which are essential for maintaining a healthy brain that is ready to learn! Other activities include baking, reading, prayer, or whatever you do that makes you feel like “you” again.
3. Start on the Subjects You’re Least Confident In
While it might be tempting to review material you already know and congratulate yourself on how well-prepared you are, this technique won’t prove very useful in the end. It’s easy to revisit familiar material while putting off more challenging topics to be done later, but this could be your grade’s undoing.
However, studies show that our brain better recalls things we categorize as coming ‘first’. This is called the primacy effect and may actually show up on your MCAT in the Psychology and Sociology section!
Research shows that, because of heightened attention and repetition, we remember what we learn first; therefore, it’s best to start with the topics we’re least confident in. There’s also a similar effect for the last’ things we study, which is called the recency effect. However, further research shows that the primacy effect is usually stronger than the recency effect regarding long-term memory encoding, which is exactly the sort of memory you’re trying to build when it comes to studying for the MCAT.
So, scientifically speaking, it’s best for you to tackle those subjects you’re least confident in first. Although it may be frustrating not to excel at everything you review, your efforts will pay off in the end as you develop a stronger understanding of the material you initially struggled with most.
4. Group Up
Another helpful study tip is working alongside other pre-med students who are in the same lot as you. While many people prefer to study alone in the quiet of their rooms, discussing and debating material with others is more effective than independent study in quite a few ways.
Not only does explaining a concept out loud to a peer force you to organize your thoughts and test your own logic, but it also helps move the information into long-term memory, which already makes it far better than passive reading. Moreover, debating different answers helps expose gaps in your understanding that you might’ve missed on your own. Research confirms that discussing concepts with peers helps switch incorrect answers to correct ones through collaborative reasoning. Plus, it can make for a fun hangout with friends!
While studying alone offers benefits, such as greater focus and independence, a good mix of both is critical.
5. Stick to a Course or Textbook
This one is a given. Every pre-med student preparing for the MCAT is going to be following some sort of study regime or book outlining all the material needed for test day. These are super helpful because they often come with ready-made timelines, so if you stick to them consistently, you should have enough time to get through everything as needed.
Naturally, these MCAT courses cost quite a bit, but that’s to be expected. The more self-paced, affordable options start at around $300 USD over the course of several months, which is pretty decent for a big test like the MCAT. The tradeoff, however, is that the materials are usually more limited. For example, these packages may include select video lectures and question banks, but they lack the full-length practice exams you need to prepare. Meanwhile, the pricier options can reach as high as $3,500 USD but offer more comprehensive resources, including live classroom sessions, private one-on-one tutoring, and full-length practice exams.
To save money, you can also look for whatever free material you can find! If you know what topics you’re looking for, you could check out YouTube, Quizlet, or other free study resources. Furthermore, the AAMC website itself offers its first two graded full-length practice exams for free!
Not everyone studies and learns in the same way, though. Resources that work well for some people may not work for others; ultimately, it’s about finding what best suits your individual learning needs and preferences.
Overall, studying for the MCAT is going to be difficult; there’s no way around that. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it needs to be a miserable, stressful experience. Through proper planning and support, the path to pursuing medicine is very feasible.