I’ve had to retake the MCAT (boo!) so I just wanted to share a resource that I have been and plan on continuing to use – a *magical* spreadsheet.
Optimizing Task Management: Understanding the Essential Role of Spreadsheet Use for Organization and Assignment Processes
This spreadsheet was developed from principles taught to me during my paid MCAT content study course by Blueprint (formerly NextStep test prep). They teach you to create a “Lessons Learned Journal” to track all the questions you got wrong in your practice and to list any content you may need to review.
I took it one step further and after spending years reading on how to learn content, I tweaked the LLJ to meet my requirements. My version of the LLJ is essentially a carefully curated study schedule that is tailored to me, my schedule/life outside of MCAT studying as well as room to revisit content that I struggle with.
Rows
Each row is simple: a date from the starting point of my studying up until test day. I separate each week by a colored row, just for visual clarity.
Columns
Column A: Date – as you see above: this helps me keep my calendar coordinated and to be sure I’m looking at the correct date.
Column B: Day of the week: This also helps me understand which day I’m looking at so I can easily understand my schedule that day for things that aren’t always obvious such as which days I work and which days I’m off work as well as which days I go to the gym after work, therefore limiting my evening availability for studying.
Column C: Work schedule: This simply states whether or not I’m scheduled to work that day. This ensures that when I’m planning content review, practice questions, or passages, I don’t overschedule myself.
Side note: I slightly greyed out the days I work so I can easily see which days of the week I’m busiest. I greyed out in a darker grey my days OFF from MCAT studying – which you can see above on Saturday 9/3.
Next up is Colum D-G: Allocated for content review. I try to schedule lighter content reviews on days I’m working or I know I’ll be busy with other items from my Google calendar. Each content subcategory is under either the C/P section, B/B section, or P/S section, so I know what test section I’m studying. In addition, the CARS section denotes how many practice passages I’ve assigned myself. At the beginning of my study schedule, it was anywhere from 2-4 passages and as I get closer to test day, I am doing one entire section each day. Again, my day off means no studying so no CARS passages.
Column H: Assigned Anki new card reviews – I had several thousand cards to complete before test day, so I did the math and if I did 20 new cards per day, plus my reviews, I’d be able to cover the whole deck. So I can cross these off when I do them each day and then do the assigned reviews.
Columns I and J: These are content review schedules. In my research and per the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve (#MCATtermtoknow) in order to master new content, you can’t just learn it once or even twice. A good rule of thumb is the “Rule of 2’s,” meaning that you learn content and then review it in 2 hours, 2 days, and 2 weeks. I utilize columns I and J to schedule what content to review and when. 2D review (aka 2-day review) just lists the day of the week when I should go do practice questions on the content I learned that day to reinforce learning. For example, if I studied Kinematics on Mon, then on Wed I would review the tough parts of kinematics (perhaps the equations themselves) and then do some practice problems. 2w review (aka 2-week review) lists the date 2 weeks prior that I need to also review that day. At that point, my goal is for the practice questions to be fairly easy.
Adding in Practice Exam and Review Days
I schedule my practice exams using this spreadsheet and block off the following day for review. If any other items come up, like an emergency or holiday, I can block days or move things around easily. For example, if I’m asked to work an extra shift, I can easily copy/paste the topics planned for that day to a day off or some other date to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks.
Organization is Key
If you are like me and have a busy life, organizing your to-do list is essential. It seems like a lot, I know. BUT I love being able to sit down and know EXACTLY what to study that day without question, knowing I’ll cover everything multiple times and I can see my overall week, month, and entire study plan all in one glance. Before, when I tried to start studying, I wasn’t sure what to focus on or how long to spend on it. Now, everything is straightforward and focused, with specific daily goals to reach.
Hopefully, this helps someone else with a busy schedule who needs to make a detailed MCAT plan that doesn’t exist online. I’ve been using it for my retake study plan and we will see how it goes!
Stay strong!
XO Melmo
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