I’m sure that you have all heard me complain on more than one occasion about studying for the MCAT. This exam is a BEAST and a half and let me tell you why.

Why is this test so difficult!?

First of all, this exam is nearly 8 hours long of testing while sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair resembling those from middle school. You are sitting, staring at a computer reading about ancient rug-making, chemistry, lab manual instructions, social constructs, biology, or physics for several grueling hours.

Additionally, this exam is nearly 3+ years of undergraduate classes rolled into one test. Even more for those of us who took Anatomy and Physiology in college (and even more for those of us who had to retake a class or two after getting less-than-stellar grades – whoops!)

So how do you even start studying for this type of exam? I mean there are other exams out there that are worse. The Bar exam takes days. No thanks! The MCAT is different because the test makers love to rave that it is not a standardized exam. Which, I suppose is kind of true…but kind of not. The MCAT asks you to apply scientific knowledge to long passages that may be about topics you’ve never heard of. This means applying some complicated mathematical logarithmic equation to a passage about some bland laboratory technique or reading a passage about the history of street names and inferring how the author may or may not feel about a new street name. It honestly hurts my head! Unfair and confusing, great.

My plan is imperfect and I do not know what I am doing. I did some research on how to study and have long-term memorization and application of subjects prior to starting my plan and tried to apply those principles.

Basically, I broke down each of the subjects into their component chapters. Then, working backward, assign a topic or two (or three or four) to learn that day into a calendar and spreadsheet. Then I added practice questions, practice exams, and review within that. Then I went back and added a review of material from the beginning and other ancillary material to review. After all of that, I scheduled time to review practice full-length exams. The information I review and need to work on gets added to the schedule between practice exams.

Reviewing Content

First, I watch module videos, read chapters, memorize equations, and do practice questions. Instead of taking “notes,” I compile a list of questions where the content I’m reviewing is the answer while I’m reviewing. This means when I’m ready for revision, I can read my own questions to test myself, which is a vital part of long-term learning.

Practice Exams

I take full-length practice exams on Saturdays and then take the entire day on Sunday to review. I use a separate spreadsheet for this. I track questions that I get wrong and right and include what type of questions, what subject, what section, and why I got the answer wrong or right. If I got it right, was it a lucky guess? If the answer is yes, it is still a topic in need of review, so I can’t write it off as a success just yet. Then I use this information to create my study plan for the next week to review the topics that I got wrong and track those trends.

Spaced Repetition

If you have ever taken a test like this or you are pre-med, you know about Anki and that it is spaced repetition GOLD. So I use this for memorizing equations, brain mapping locations, hormones, biological pathways, etc. This gives me a chance to review these items that simply need rote memorization on a regular basis.

And that’s it! Sounds simple enough. Now let’s see if I can execute my evil plan.

My last practice exam was the highest score I’ve ever had. Fingers crossed the progress continues because what is the point of all of this without progress? Take a look at my progress here.

Stay smart peeps!