Suggested MCAT Study Plan Timetable
If you are considering a commercial MCAT prep course, you should check well in advance on the company web sites.
For the Summer/August MCAT (as a sophomore if classes are done, or for repeat MCAT)
Spring
- Register for MCAT
June
- Spend at least 1 hr per day reviewing Kaplan MCAT guide
- Refer back to notes when encountering problems
- Purchase/find sample tests from the AMC
July/Aug
- Work through practice problems from Kaplan book and the AMC
- When all review is finished, start practice tests from AMC
- Take all tests under test conditions
- Drive to another town library so you feel strange/disoriented
- Set timer, do sections in correct order, 1 hr lunch, grade them only at the end
- Review trouble areas as needed (see “the day of the test” below)
For the Spring/April/May MCAT (review summer work)
Fall
- Build in 6-8 hrs per week to your schedule for prep time (critical!)
- Purchase/find sample tests from the AMC
- Go to Alma Public Library or some other quiet place off-campus to study
- Refer back to class notes as needed
Winter term will require special planning. You must select classes carefully to preserve study time!
Jan-Feb
- Work through practice problems from Kaplan book and the AMC
March
- Pay special attention to pacing, especially for reading passages (Kaplan’s book gives hints on this)
late March
- All reviews should be finished, start practice tests from AMC
- Work through practice problems from Kaplan book and the AMC
- When all review is finished, start practice tests from AMC
- Take all tests under test conditions
- Drive to another town library so you feel strange/disoriented
- Set timer, do sections in correct order, 1 hr lunch, grade them only at the end
- Review trouble areas as needed (see “the day of the test” below)
The day of the test
- Get on a web site and find directions to the test site
- Consider staying in a motel the night before the test, and find the test site that night
- Sleep well
- Take the MCAT and do well
- If you know you have bombed, you can choose to ‘not-release’ scores
- If you void scores or are overwhelmed, start August MCAT plan immediately
General Notes for all test takers
Notice that there are several times when you will be taking most of the day “mock MCATs” and that these all-day exhaustion fests are necessary for you to see pacing and understand how tired you will actually be during the real thing.
Also they help your subconscious believe that the test will be rigorous, which should help your conscious mind attend to its tasks. The new tests will be shorter, so check out the MCAT web site for more info!
You may become discouraged, so develop a network of helpful friends, ones who encourage you to strive and don’t let you get by with less than your best!
Special note about scores: If you do not get at least ‘9s’ across the board for all sections, you are probably wasting both time and money if you apply. Do not assume your grades will save you. There are too many applicants that can beat you out! Get serious and devote yourself to prep for this test!
