When I asked my Instagram followers what their biggest struggles were with the MCAT, one of the most popular responses I got was “I’m scared to start.” If that’s how you’re feeling, don’t stress – I’ve been there too! I heard so many horror stories about people spending months studying then bombing the test, and it made me terrified of the MCAT.
But, I realized that there are ways to turn that fear into motivation and help yourself feel confident and ready for this beast of an exam. So, without further ado, here’s how to start studying for the MCAT without getting overwhelmed!
This post is all about how to start studying for the mcat.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.
Learn How To Start Studying For MCAT
What Is the MCAT?
The MCAT, or Medical College Admission Test, is a multiple choice exam that assesses the skills and knowledge required to start studying medicine. There are four sections on the test:
- Chem/Phys
- CARS (Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills)
- Bio/Biochem
- Psych/Soc
The exam is a grand total of 7 hours long, including breaks. When most people hear that, they immediately start freaking out and wondering how they can possibly learn all that information. I know I did! But, I’m here to tell you that it’s totally doable.
This blog will tell you the exact mindset you need to adopt and the plan you need to follow to get over that first hurdle and start pushing forward in your studies.
The Elephant Mindset
Before you dive into studying, you need to get your mind in the right place. The mantra that I adopted for my MCAT studies was what I call the “elephant mindset.”
You’ve probably heard that famous quote, “There’s only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time.” In this case, our elephant is the MCAT. The only way you can tackle this beast of a test without getting overwhelmed is to break everything down into smaller, more manageable tasks.
In other words, despite laying out a clear plan for yourself. you’ll only think about what you need to do on each specific day. No more, no less.
That way, you avoid the panicked feeling that inevitably comes with thinking about the total amount of work you need to accomplish. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint, so we need to conserve our energy and space things out.
Find Your Why
I don’t think there’s a single person on Earth who wakes up in the morning and thinks, “Wow, I can’t wait to do 80 practice questions for the MCAT today.” Focusing on the tasks themselves isn’t going to motivate you to get your studying done. Instead, you have to shift your thinking to focus on the bigger picture.
Why are you doing this in the first place? What do you want to accomplish? The MCAT isn’t your end goal. It’s just a stepping stone to a bigger dream: becoming a doctor.
Think about the specific reasons why YOU want to become a doctor. Then, write them all down on a piece of paper with your target MCAT score and hang the paper on your wall wherever you study. Every day, when you walk in to start studying, you’ll look at that paper and remember why you’re putting yourself through all this.
Take a Diagnostic Exam
No matter what you think your knowledge level is, I want you to take a full-length practice MCAT on day one of your study plan.
Even if you don’t know anything yet, this score will help you establish a baseline that you can then use as a template to guide your studies. It might feel scary, but it’s an excellent starting point.
Throughout the course of my studying, I ended up taking 13 practice exams:
- Beforehand: One diagnostic exam
- Phase 1: Two practice exams (in the middle and at the end of content review)
- Phase 2: Five practice exams
- Phase 3: Five practice exams
You can take as many as you need, but I recommend fitting them in frequently and mimicking the real-life test day conditions as closely as possible.
The Perfect MCAT Study Plan: 3 Phases for Success
Okay, let’s get into the nitty-gritty. Here are the 3 phases you can use to plan out your routine and finally start studying for the MCAT.
Phase 1: Content Review
Phase 1 will consist almost entirely of reading. You’re going to read every chapter of your MCAT books without skipping any, even the CARS book (it’s boring, I know). During this phase, I typically didn’t answer any passage-based questions. Every day, I would wake up, read my chapters for the day, maybe answer the questions at the end of the book, make new flashcards, review my flashcards, and be done. Boom!
It is important to start learning CARS strategy early on, so you can incorporate one CARS passage a day to help yourself get into the swing of it. Start out giving yourself 45 minutes to an hour to go through it, then slowly whittle that down to between 10 and 15 minutes by the end of Phase 1.
Phase 1 is your first pass at all this information, so you don’t need to try to memorize everything, take tons of notes, or make a million flashcards. If you do that, it’ll take way too long to get through everything. Instead, focus on actively reading the chapters by pausing occasionally to try to recall what you just read.
Here’s a sample daily schedule for Phase 1:
- 8AM – 10AM: Read CARS ch. 7 and complete Q’s at the end.
- 10AM – 12:30PM: Read bio ch. 7 and 8.
- 1PM – 3PM: Do ch. 7 and 8 Q’s.
- 3PM – 4PM: Make new flashcards and review them all.
My cut-off time every day was 4PM to avoid burnout, and I highly recommend scheduling a closing time for yourself too – and sticking with it!
Phase 2: Passage-Based Practice
Phase 2 is when you take everything you’ve started learning in Phase 1 and put it into practice. Start doing passage-based questions every day and make sure you time yourself. You don’t need to hold yourself to a test day level pacing (about 1.5 minutes per question) on day one though. Just see where you’re at and set the goal to hit that ideal pace about halfway through Phase 2.
This is also when you can start incorporating flashcards. I know there’s this tendency to think “the more flashcards I have, the more prepared I am,” but I don’t think that’s true. I was always really picky about the flashcards I made because making one for every missed question would give me way too much to review. It starts to defeat the purpose of flashcards at that point. Instead, I made flashcards for the concepts I kept missing over and over again, and it worked!
Here’s a sample daily schedule for Phase 2:
- 8AM – 9:30AM: 3 CARS passages back to back, then review.
- 9:30AM – 11AM: 59 bio Q’s.
- 11AM – 11:45AM: 25 bio chem Q’s.
- 11:45AM – 12:15PM: Lunch.
- 12:15PM – 2PM: Review all Q’s and make new flashcards.
- 2PM – 4PM: Watch extra videos as needed and review all flashcards.
Phase 3: AAMC-Based Practice
Onto the final phase: AAMC-based practice. This is basically the same as Phase 2, except now you’ll quiz yourself using AAMC materials only. You can add in some extra materials though, especially if you need to address some weaknesses. You should also have nailed down your test day pacing by Phase 3.
The daily schedule for Phase 3 will look very similar to Phase 2. You might be able to throw in some extra questions here and there though as long as you have time. I also recommend doubling down on drilling your weakness in the last hour of the day.
Of course, your timeline might end up looking way different from this one. It all depends on your unique situation! If you need help developing a realistic timeline that works with your schedule, check out my blog How Long to Study for the MCAT? 3 Realistic Timelines for more info.
And if you don’t want to worry about figuring out all the details by yourself?
Join MCAT Roadmap and you’ll get step-by-step video instructions, MCAT strategies and an epic Study Schedule Tool all laid out for you. So you can fully focus on giving your MCAT studying your absolute best!
How to Review Practice Exams
You should review every single one of your practice exams, especially your diagnostic. Your diagnostic review will give a great jumping off point to dive into your study plan.
To review your practice exams, I recommended creating a table that organizes every question on the exam. Don’t skip any! Here’s the breakdown of my review table:
- Column 1: Reference or write out the passage or question.
- Column 2: List the topic.
- Column 3: List the subtopic.
- Column 4: Give a short reason why you missed the question (just a few words).
- Column 5: Explain in detail why you missed the question.
- Column 6: Write out how you can avoid missing that question next time.
If you jump at the opportunity to save some extra time in your busy schedule – get my FREE review template and you can start right away:
What to Buy
You might also be overwhelmed trying to figure out what to buy to help your studying. I’ve got you covered! Here’s my list of recommended MCAT resources:
Free resources:
- Jack Westin
- Khan Academy
- Anki
I don’t have personal experience using Sketchy for the MCAT, but I absolutely love using it for med school. So, I recommend checking out the free trial to see what it’s like if you need a little extra help.
Final Thoughts on How to Start Studying for the MCAT
That’s it for now, guys! I hope this helped you feel confident and ready to take on the MCAT. I know it seems scary now, but you’ll be so thankful to your past self for pushing through when you get those dream test results back. Good luck, and happy studying!
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