How Many Full Length Exams and How-To-Make-Your-Own MCAT Study Schedule

Here. Let me post an outline of a test schedule I used for my MCAT preparation. You should make a similar schedule outlining the days that you will be taking full length exams, and then carry it out!!

Its color coded to reflect your performance, both composite and sectional scores. Red = bad, yellow = ok, green = good, purple = excellent
In the 'Test type' column I just developed a system to name each of the full lengths that I had. KP is kaplan, PR is princeton, 'AAMC' is official tests.

If you guys have questions about the abbreviations or anything else, just ask. But I strongly, strongly recommend that every MCAT studier make a test schedule and then as it gets closer to your MCAT, do full lengths at regular intervals that start at the exact same time as your actual exam.

Good luck!!

Vihsadas said:

Here. Let me post an outline of a test schedule I used for my MCAT preparation. You should make a similar schedule outlining the days that you will be taking full length exams, and then carry it out!!

Its color coded to reflect your performance, both composite and sectional scores. Red = bad, yellow = ok, green = good, purple = excellent
In the 'Test type' column I just developed a system to name each of the full lengths that I had. KP is kaplan, PR is princeton, 'AAMC' is official tests.

If you guys have questions about the abbreviations or anything else, just ask. But I strongly, strongly recommend that every MCAT studier make a test schedule and then as it gets closer to your MCAT, do full lengths at regular intervals that start at the exact same time as your actual exam.

Good luck!!

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Sounds like a great idea. Looks like your scores really improved over time.

Since you took the Kaplan course and did extremely well on the MCAT, how much would you say that Kaplan played a role in your performance? I've been wrestling the idea of paying for Kaplan for about 4 months now...

0Complications said:

Sounds like a great idea. Looks like your scores really improved over time.

Since you took the Kaplan course and did extremely well on the MCAT, how much would you say that Kaplan played a role in your performance? I've been wrestling the idea of paying for Kaplan for about 4 months now...

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Hey, I didn't actually take the kaplan course. I only bought the Qbank, and the premiere program book. I had a friend who had the kaplan full lengths, and the kaplan topicals and sectionals. The topic tests and section tests were helpful. I also bought the princeton review 'cracking the CBT'. If you're not going to take a course I highly recommend buying both books. They both review content in their own way, and explain things in a different way. Thus, they complement each other well. Also, the princeton is more problem-based than the kaplan.

iheartmandoo said:

wow. you got all arts and crafts, v. u were scoring no lower than a 26 for the majority of the time? ur dates look all like they're all over the place. thanks for the table. it helps. if you started 40 days before the actual exam and managed to knock down 15 i think i will be okay doing round 3/week. how did you balance will filling in holes for content? did you only do them on days where you didn't take a FL or did you jump around on those too? thanks for the response.

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First, the colors don't exactly correspond to my scores (They're pretty close, but I changed some stuff so that it would motivate you to improve!). Second, yes, my first diagnostic was a 28: 8PS 12 VR 8BS. I reached 44: 15PS 14VR 15BS as my highest score on practice exams. Also, this is JUST my test-taking schedule. I actually started studying four months before the exam. I completed 20 practice tests in that time, but for the first 2.5 months or so I did mostly content review and standalone passages/problems. 40 days before is just when I got serious about doing mostly exams. During the days when I had a break I made sure to fill in content holes and to check over my exams with a fine tooth comb. I also did some content review the same night I finished exam. I did this like a full-time job. Overall, I studied and perfected my exam technique 40hrs a week over 4 months.

And yeah, I did get all arts and crafts. Afterall, this was my chance to really prove that I belong here. I wasn't going to settle for anything less than great!

You can't take too many full-length practice tests. I wish I had done more.

Vihsadas said:

Here. Let me post an outline of a test schedule I used for my MCAT preparation. You should make a similar schedule outlining the days that you will be taking full length exams, and then carry it out!!

Its color coded to reflect your performance, both composite and sectional scores. Red = bad, yellow = ok, green = good, purple = excellent
In the 'Test type' column I just developed a system to name each of the full lengths that I had. KP is kaplan, PR is princeton, 'AAMC' is official tests.

If you guys have questions about the abbreviations or anything else, just ask. But I strongly, strongly recommend that every MCAT studier make a test schedule and then as it gets closer to your MCAT, do full lengths at regular intervals that start at the exact same time as your actual exam.

Good luck!!

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hey man.. nice job... just out of curiosity, what were your percentages like on the topicals and the section tests.... on the topicals I'm scoring 80 - 100%.... on the sectionals though... in the 70s.... did you find the sectionals to be difficult?

bozz said:

hey man.. nice job... just out of curiosity, what were your percentages like on the topicals and the section tests.... on the topicals I'm scoring 80 - 100%.... on the sectionals though... in the 70s.... did you find the sectionals to be difficult?

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Yeah they were difficult. I rarely got 100% on them, and usually scored from 70 - 90. The Qbank is hard too. Don't sweat it.

Everyone should realize that the only real indicator of how you will score are your AAMC exams. The kaplan and princeton exams may or may not be, but they usually aren't. Hell, sometimes the AAMCs don't predict that well

I've been following your study strategy for over the past month, and so far, have found it really helpful. I'm scheduled to take the MCAT Jan 31, and am feeling a little crunched, but I think I'm on track.

I was wondering exactly in what manner you did practice passages/questions during your content prep phase. I'm using the PR/Kaplan combo like you suggested, and for now, I've primarily been doing the PR end of chapter passages. Did you supplement these with Kaplan topicals and section tests after reviewing a particular chapter in PR?

It seems like reading through PR, taking notes, and doing its passages takes up a decent amount of time. I've been holding back on ramping up online Kaplan work until I've finished about 200 more pages in biology (almost done). Any advice on how I should allocate my time?

Thanks!

dude Vihsadas my man! after reading your exam schedule about 2 months ago, I did the same thing (even color-coded it !) Anyway, I noticed that you were increasing throughout your test-taking, and that your actual score reflected what you were getting on your final tests. I'm wondering if you're just an outlier because most people say to take the average of all your tests, and since you really only got to the 39-45 range with your last 5 tests, I'm sure your average would be far lower than your actual score.. I've been kind of experiencing the same trend as you. started at a 26-30 diag, got stuck around 30-33 for a few tests, then moved into the 36-37 range where I've been stable for the last 5 or so tests... I'd really like to bring my range to about a 38-40 before I take the real thing in January, but even if I do, I'm sure my calculated "average" will be around 36ish. What is your opinion on gauging where you should be expecting yourself to score?

Also, what are your opinion on the subject tests, topicals, section tests, and full-lengths from Kaplan? I'm planning on doing a string of practice tests every other day until I go back to school in early Jan, and then saving AAMC 8-10 and Kaplan 9 for the last four weeks before the exam (taking one each week, and then one the day before the exam). In between test days, I'm planning on working through EK101 VR and EK1001 bio, and hammering down my weak concepts (mostly in gen chem) with 1001 series. I also plan to do the subject tests from kaplan, as I feel that even though they are discretes, they are "MCAT-style" in the sense that they are not as straightforward as 1001, but they make you do a bit of thinking/reasoning. I was also planning to sprinkle the 14 sectional tests (which I've heard are good practice, though harder than the real deal) across those last 4 weeks. Does this sound like a good/bad idea?

...I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I don't think I'd be doing straight-up content review anymore (except maybe rereading a few chapters here and there), and I remember that this is kind of what you suggested in your 30+ study habits post, so how did that work out? I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to mix practice passages with content review.. I like to do the content review thoroughly and then move onto the practicing, but I wasn't sure if this was a smart idea when I'm getting nearer to the test.

bleh, sorry for hijacking this thread... I started writing a short reply and then everything just started spilling out

Wow, some great tips in here, thanks Vihsadas especially. One question: how did you possibly manage 40 hours of studying a week?? That IS like a full-time job!! Were you not in school/working at the time? I can't possibly see giving the MCAT more than 2 hours a day besides for weekends...I'm commuting to school, doing research, volunteering, and taking a full course load while studying!

Any tips for good time management, guys?

A good number of people do treat studying for the MCAT as a full-time job. I remember studying all day for three months. It wasn't fun, but it's still a sound time investment. Hence is why I usually suggest people take time off to study for the MCAT unless they absolutely cannot do so. When I say cannot do so, I'm talking about they must have their job or they don't eat. Again, I strongly suggest you do not take the MCAT without proper preperation. I don't think many people could get away with only 2 hours per day except weekends. Heck, just reading through the content review chapter, excluding taking the practice problems in the chapter, can take 2+ hours easily.

I love Vihsada's exam schedule! And I love excel spreadsheets in general.

I'm not good with making fancy spreadsheets, though, so I had to search around for a good template for my MCAT study schedule. I searched for 'to do list' and found This to-do template which works really well - I titled each section "Physical Sciences", "Verbal Reasoning" and "Biological Sciences" and for the tasks, wrote down the section tests I needed to do, the sections I really had to work on, and any background things I should do (such as review log rules, trigonometry, or borrow a friend's microbiology book) then gave them each a date by which I needed to do them.

I keep meaning to add something time-tracking to my MCAT schedule so I can have a column that says "15 days left" or something for each deadline, but I haven't had time. And by 'haven't had time', I mean, 'I have no idea how to do that.' But I bet I can convince a friend to do it for me.

i started by making an excel sheet with all of the practice mateirals i wanted to cover so this has a tab for all of the kaplan stuff, ek stuff, as well as a sheet for weak areas..i also have a day to day schedule which helps me track my progress. if you would like, pm me your email address and i can send you a copy of what i made! I think its about being realisitic with yourself and making a schedule that works for you. i am a big fan of ek for content review..and i like all of the kaplan online stuff even though the class time isnt as helpful!

i think its def. a full time job. knowing that i had to feel fully dedicate my time to this exam i have left my full time job to study for mcat. i think its really up to you though. some people are great at multi-tasking..for me..i knew that i couldnt even work part time because my mind would be distracted for the mcat. i think 3.5 months of fully focused studying is exactly what i will need to do well. but i think mcat is so much about what works for you and how much you think you can handle.