There’s a ton of generic and conflicting advice out there regarding MCAT prep. Whether it be from inferior articles, ill-informed advisors, non-premeds who’ve ‘heard from somewhere’ or ‘from someone’, and even from friends who took the old exam and don’t realize you’re preparing for a 7.5 hour monster of a test.
A student recently shared an article from USA Today outlining a 3-month MCAT study plan, which she followed… with disastrous results.
With so much conflicting information floating around, how do you know how much time you REALLY need?
The short answer is that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, I’ll attempt to break it down and help you figure out what is best for YOU.
As a general rule, I personally recommend ~500 hours of study. This includes:
- Watching MCAT tutorial videos such as my YouTube tutorials
- Reading your MCAT prep books (see my suggestions: MCAT Resource Page)
- Working through practice questions and passages
- Writing out and reviewing flashcards as taught in this article
- YES, taking your 7.5 hour practice MCAT
- And of course, reviewing said practice MCAT
How you break up the 500 hours depends on how much time you can dedicate per day/week without burning out.
Need help figuring out how to find 500 hours based on your personal commitments? Use this as a guide: MCAT Prep Study Hours to Months Breakdown
For example, in a recent interview with the girl who scored a 518 you’ll see that she only studied for 3 months. She’s an extreme case and most students WILL burn out when trying to cram as she did. She nearly burned out too.
The 3 Phases of MCAT Prep
When setting up Strategy Sessions for my MCAT students and Study Hall Members, I like to organize the MCAT prep process in 3 phases.
Phase 1 – Content Phase
The content phase is just that, a review of subject material you’re expected to know for the exam. Learning the content for the MCAT requires making weekly progress for each subject tested:
- Physics
- General Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Biology
- CARS (verbal)
- Psychology
- Sociology
You MUST give yourself enough time to review and somewhat master content before moving on. Simply reading the chapter doesn’t count.
I recommend following my 5-Steps to Mastering the MCAT Sciences.
Some prep companies will have you doing practice passages and questions right away. But let me ask you this:
Are you really getting the most out of your study time by doing a complex passage on torque PRIOR TO UNDERSTANDING TORQUE??
Give yourself enough time to learn and understand the information BEFORE you start heavy practice.
I include an outline of what I believe are ideal lengths for content review based on different students’ learning habits later in this article.
Phase 2 – Practice and Review Phase
Phase 2 is where you start to practice MCAT material, especially full-length exams and passage-style questions.
Phase 2 should last a MINIMUM of 4 weeks, but up to 8 weeks is typical.
This is when you work through passages and REVIEW information related to the questions you missed by taking a full-length test every 2-3 weeks. Only by answering questions and then GOING BACK AND STUDYING the topics you missed will you REALLY develop MCAT/Passage mastery.
Want to make the most out of each Practice Test? Read 3 Steps to Raising Your MCAT Scores with Full Length Practice Tests
Phase 3 – Hard Core MCAT Prep
Think of this as the ‘wrapping it up’ phase. This is the point in your preparation when you’ve:
- More or less mastered all the content you’re expected to know
- Done many passages/questions with review
- Taken a handful of full-length practice MCAT exams to get familiar with testing style, duration, endurance, AND of course, taken the time to review your weak areas.
Now you should be putting it all together
This is the final 4-6 weeks before your MCAT when you sit through a weekly 8am full-length practice MCAT. Your entire week is devoted to dissecting that exam, studying what you missed, and analyzing your strategy/approach/endurance to help you earn just one more point per week.
Then there’s life, family, work, classes, emergencies… and everything else to take into consideration.
Considerations for How YOU Learn
As an MCAT tutor I’ve worked with thousands of pre-med students over the past decade. I’ve noticed that students fall into different categories. Each type of student requires a different amount of study/prep/review time.
Don’t worry if you don’t exactly ‘fit’ into one of these categories. Just use this as a general guideline.
The Super-Savvy Genius Standardized Test Taker
Some students are really good at taking standardized tests. They just study the material, practice for a bit and ace the exam. These students remember nearly everything from science class and can zip through Phase 1 in record time. These students still need a few weeks each for phase 2 and 3.
This includes perhaps 1-2% of students. It’s ok to hate them (kidding).
The Really Good Student
Let’s face it, you don’t NEED every undergraduate MCAT science course to be successful on the MCAT, but EVERYONE winds up having to re-study some content they once knew well.That being said, if you’re a top student who scored A’s in most of your sciences classes AND you remember much of that information, you will NOT have to focus as much time on pure content review compared to most students.
Let me rephrase.
You’ll still have to review EVERYTHING, but chances are you’ll get through the topic of acids and bases in just an hour while the average student may require 3-6 hours on this topic alone. Instead, your focus should be on heavy passage practice and full length review.
The Average Student
The “average” student is, well, average. But that’s not a bad thing! “Average” refers to the student who has to work for their good grades; the student who may not get it right away. This student works really hard to pull off an A.
Now before you start feeling bad for these students…
I’ve come to realize that the average students tend to outperform the above 2 categories.
Why?
Because they KNOW AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK REALLY, REALLY HARD!
If you’re a proud average student, be sure to give yourself ample time for MCAT Phase 1.
This can range from 2 months of full-time MCAT study to 4 months of part-time MCAT study just for content review.
You’ll then have to focus on passages/practice questions (phase 2) and, of course, full lengths (phase 3). I recommend 6-8 months TOTAL prep for the average student studying 20+ hours per week.
The Learning-From-Scratch Student
Perhaps you haven’t been pulling all A’s in college. Perhaps you’re the student with a lower GPA who either didn’t apply him/herself consistently throughout college, or simply didn’t get the information at the time. Perhaps you’re the student who hasn’t taken a certain class/subject.
As you study for the MCAT you have to treat the material as if you’re learning it all for the first time.
And since your MCAT prep is brand-new learning rather than review, you’ll need the most time to prepare. I’d recommend a solid 3-4 months of full time content review or 4-6 months of part time content review.
This should be followed by passage practice and full length review.
Now before you set your calendar in stone, keep in mind that life happens. Give yourself a few flexible days/weeks to take care of emergencies that pop up. I’ve worked with students who have had to deal with everything from illness, death in the family, relationship drama, car/house trouble, and so much more.
Sometimes you can’t just push these things aside. Sometimes you can postpone by a month or so, sometimes you may need to postpone for an entire year. But if your dream is to become a doctor, and acing the MCAT is your next hurdle, then you WILL find a way to get there, no matter how long it takes.
Because trust me, it will have been worth it in the long run.
Have you already taken the MCAT? Are you considering retaking it? Consider this article for guidance.
Or, are you wondering when you should sign up for your MCAT?
Watch this video to learn my strategy for scheduling your test date at the RIGHT time where you can be confident you won't need to cancel or postpone.
Hello Leah,
I have two sets of content books given to me (Princeton/ Exam Krackers) I am not sure which one to just read content on. I notice that the princeton is more detailed than the Krackers which I like and Krackers is more straightforward. Which one do you recommend? I also have magoosh but I use the videos mainly since I am a visual person and sometimes need to watch videos to help me fully understand. Thank you
Hey Leah, hope you’re all doing well.
I’ve been studying for the MCAT for the whole summer, did have some science background (my first year university was all science based covering physics, general chem, bio), but had not taken an OCHEM & BIOCHEM class. MY study method was to go over the Kaplan books which I did, all of them. Going through all the 15 questions at the end of every chapter and making sure I understand the content. Usually had a one-day break or two half-day breaks and once I started doing passage-based questions two weeks ago (testing in 12 days) I realized how bad my studying method was as I was not used to tackling passages. I think I am good with the content material, but timing, understanding the main points of a passage and not being tricked is my main issue. Ended up with a Kaplan FL of 490, and an AAMC FL of 492 a week later (FL1). My other AAMC FL went downhill even more 486 … knowing that Kaplan tests are deflated, this downtrend in scores few days before the test is amazing lol
Now, I don’t know if I should reschedule my exam and take it two weeks later. Because, I’m not sure how much improvement there can be in two weeks with my current score, plus, term one uni is gonna start and I feel like I could get burnt out or it could mess up week my first week’s university, making me fall behind. Should I reschedule in your opinion, or cancel and take the MCAT next year summer? I’ve read a lot about the fact that you do not want to take the exam having a score around 500 (or below).
Also, for someone like me, I feel like if I had the right guidance I wouldn’t have been where I am today, and especially if I used a totally different study method (like becoming more familiarized with passaged-based questions way earlier). I think my main problem is stamina now and not being used to the Passage based questions, idk if content material is my main issue. Should I go for a Kaplan course if I’m gonna take it next summer? And add Uworld question banks to the equation too for more practice? I’m currently doing only AAMC stuff at the moment.
PS: I only studied for the MCAT during the summer, didn’t work or anything else but took a few day-offs in between to rest in the middle as I felt burnt out. I’ve also read a lot
Thanks for this amazing content, I did watch a lot of your videos while studying the content and you are great at doing it !!! Any advice would be appreciated.
Hey Shawn,
Please email me to discuss this
Is the resource list up to date as of 2019? I noticed some of the comments are from a few years ago so I just got curious
Hi, thank you so much for your article and taking the time out to write these. Do you have another page detailing your MCAT tutoring services?
I feel like I’m in between the Learning from Scratch and the Average student categories. I want to take my MCAT in February. If I start studying in August, that’ll give me 6 months ahead of time. During that semester however, I’ll be taking Biochem, Physics 1, and auditing Gen Chem. I’m not finished with my pre-med requirements, I still have 5 more courses to take (including the ones I mentioned), and I have a 3.18 science GPA. I’m wondering 6 months is too short for me, if I need to study even longer. What do you think?
So, I budgeted a total of 570 hrs of studying over a 4 month period; MAY (15 hrs a week),
JUNE (22 hrs a week), JULY (49.5 hrs a week), AUGUST (max. 56 hours a week). I dont wanna burn out but I am also gonna be missing courses before my MCAT test. Should I add months, am I okay or am I risking burning out?
This is very informative and easy to follow through. Thank you so very much for the effort put in to create this piece, Leah.
I would say I fall into the average student category and I am trying to decide when to register for my mcat at the end of summer and I am just worried about experiencing burn out when it comes time write the test so I’m worried studying for more than 4 months might cause that. Any advice?
Thanks for the advice!! Very helpful!! Greetings from Puerto Rico!
Very Interesting and detailed guideline to prepare for MCAT…
Thanks it will surely help!
Leah, when do you think is the best time (or phase) to start a guided MCAT prep course (ie. Kaplan)? At 32, Ive been out of school for 10 years, so I’m feeling the need to dust off the cobwebs before jumping into a course. Im in the beginning of Phase 1 now, and I’m trying to select a course date/schedule that will help me build on my studies rather than take me somewhere I’m not ready to go yet.
Would you recommend using khan academy as a secondary study resource for practice exams in addition to your study game plan?
the craziest advice about preparation for the MCAT was to take 3 months for 8 hrs a day even when I work at a PCP office for 8 hrs a day. so thanks for this. it has given me the confidence to continue to study.
Leah,
I basically like to consider myself a “learning from scratch” student. Because of a long explanation that I’ll save you, I had to leave school with one semester remaining in my biomedical engineering degree in 2012. I now am planning on finishing that final semester in the spring of 2018, and in the interim 5 to 6 months, I want to start to really start working on preparing for my MCATs. Is there any way you can advise me on how I should go about doing this? Is there any way I can open up a more one-on-one means of contacting you to help me devise a plan of action?
Regards,
Paul
I’m trying to put together a self-study schedule and this was very helpful (although a little sobering…. I only have <200 hrs available to study yoooikes.) Thank you!
When you say full time content review (in the starting from scratch section) how many hours/days a week do you recommend? I won’t be working/doing anything besides MCAT and want to devote all my time to studying.
Great article Leah! Thanks for sharing.
I believe I fall under the “learning from scratch” student category. I’m currently using the Kaplan books for content learning/review. Do you think that it’s a good resource? Also, I have never taken a formal Biochem course at school, so I’m self-teaching it to myself for the 1st time. What are your thoughts about that?
Would you recommend a different study regimen for somebody taking review courses? (KR/TPR)
Thank you Leah! This really helped me know
what I really need to focus on and exactly how much time I would need.
Hello,
So I am finishing school in mid december and will begin studying for the MCAT pretty soon after. I also plan on taking the MCAT in April. I am worried that I didnt give myself enough time. I am very much a visual learner and an average student. I have good grades but I have to work for them. I am not afraid of work though. Can I pull this off? I need a good score and need to do well. I will be working 15 hours per week while studying but the rest of my time will be devoted to MCAT.
I had to bite the bullet and accept that I cannot cram over one summer for this exam. I was a little down on myself at first, but I have a lower-than-competitive GPA, so I have no choice but to ROAST the mcat. After having read this, I’m going to extend my prep by at least 5 months. Thank you, Leah. And a big piece of advice I can give anyone out there is to rule out as many distractions as you can, understand that you will feel like you’re losing touch with who you were before and that’s okay, your real friends will understand if you have to disappear for a while, and to be balanced and make times for the things that count. Oh, and don’t be in a relationship with a pesky person. As mean as this sounds, other peoples’ feelings can’t be that important to you during this time if they can’t understand what you’re going through. Be humble, focus on yourself, get love and give love to IMPORTANT friends and family, and “trim the fat” in your life. Be focused, and be happy. Take vitamins. Drink lots of water. Exercise if you can. Smile often and try to laugh hard at least once a day. Be all about this exam 🙂
You’re very welcome for the resources. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Great advice!! Thanks so much
So by a full-time study routine you mean 20+ hours a week? Also I’ve heard that you shouldn’t study for the MCAT too long, one physician told me 10 weeks is a good amount of time. Do you think studying for 4-6 months might mean losing some of the information you’re learning as you go?
Can you recommend some study books besides your awesome videos?
Bobbi: read this https://leah4sci.com/mcat-resources
Do you have any pcat prep videos and a prep schedule or do you recommend the same thing as the MCAT
I don’t have anything specific to the PCAT. The schedule is different so adjust the times based on what you think you need. I’m not as familiar with PCAT prep to fully answer this
Hey Leah, I was wondering if your MCAT tutorial videos could still be used for the new MCAT format?
They were created FOR the new format
This was great advice. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Ashley
This is gold! Best advise I have ever read. Thanks
Thank you! Glad you found it helpful. The key is customization to YOUR needs.
I’m considering purchasing the Berkeley Review MCAT books, what do you think?
From what I was told
1- they were created for the old exam
2- they go into a LOT of detail (too much for some)
3- they are really good for the student looking for the intense detail
Best MCAT advice I’ve ever heard. Thanks Leah.
You’re very welcome Nnaemeka. The real question is, did you implement this yet?