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6 Steps to Creating a Successful MCAT Study Plan
In this document we will go over the steps for how to create a successful MCAT study plan. All of the advice comes from many years of experience, working for several of the large test prep companies including Kaplan, Next Step and others, and working with hundreds of different students.
1. Start with the Official Materials, familiarize yourself with the exam Know how the exam will be administered, how many sections, the number of questions, the time etc…
To do this start with the AAMC Official Guide to the MCAT which can be found at: https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/prepare/
2. Mastering the Science Content with the three pass approach
The MCAT exam is very different from so many of our traditional science exams and the study process should reflect this. The amount of material covered on the exam can be staggering as it incorporates material from at least 10 different courses (2 Bio, 2 Chem, 2 Physics, 1 Biochem, 1 Orgo, 2 Psych/Soc). It then takes the content and requires that you apply the concepts to new passages and critically synthesize the new material to answer questions. The silver lining in all of this is that because the exam tackles such a breadth of material and topics, it really sticks to the fundamentals of each. This should really be reflected in how you study the material.
I have had many students try to use multiple review books to try and make sure they get everything, but in the end they spread themselves thin and really grasp very little. They become familiar with more than they really even need to know but really master very little of it. Instead, choose one set of content books and stick with it. Which books you choose maters significantly less than how you use them, but I personally recommend either EK, NS, Kaplan or PR. With whichever ever set you end up with, the absolute key will be to know that specific set of content review inside and out, front to back, top to bottom, upside down to right side up etc… It is better to absolutely master the fundamentals than to be familiar with tons of extraneous details so really stick to whichever set you choose and don’t cut yourself slack in learning THAT set of material.
One of the most successful approaches I’ve seen work with students is the three pass approach:
I. First pass:
The first time you work through the material should take longer and it can also be broken down into several passes which we will call 1a, 1b and 1c.
Ia.
Flip through the pages looking just at the bolded terms and pictures. Spend extra time on any you aren’t familiar with, recite the definitions out loud, take brief notes, reproduce figures etc…. but save any questions you may come across and don’t spend the time yet analyzing large blocks of text… The goal of this pass is really just to learn the language and get an overview of the chapter. This should take 20-30 minutes per chapter depending on the length of the chapter.
Ib.
Next read through the chapter carefully and thoroughly. Spend time on each concept, especially the sections that are new or aren’t as familiar. Take notes if needed (try to be concise though), reproduce figures, work through questions (but don’t circle the answers) etc… Now that you know the vocab you can really master the material which is the goal of this pass through. This should take roughly 1-1.5 hours depending on the chapter.
Ic.
Lastly, after you have gone through and really understood the material, you want to do one last pass through. The overall goal of this is to get a broader overview or context for the material. Identify connections between sections, emphasize important concepts, begin to anticipate how the material could be tested and even identify tie-ins to other chapters. This last approach is again a little quicker like the first and should take roughly 30 minutes per chapter.
II. Second Pass
WAIT A DAY…………
Go through the entire chapter a second time. Make sure you still understand all of the content, can reproduce all of the figures (this is especially important so don’t give yourself slack here), reproduce all of the important equations, concepts etc…. The goal here is to reinforce the material and make sure you retain it, so if there is anything that is unclear or that you have forgotten really spend the time reinforcing it and learning it. Re-do all of the questions. This should take roughly an hour per chapter (can be more or less depending on how well you know the material)
III. Third pass
WAIT A WEEK…..
Read through the chapter a third and final time. The goal again is to really reinforce the content so go over all of the content, emphasize key relationships, be able to reproduce all of the figures, and re-do any questions that you got wrong or that were difficult.
Lastly, Kahn academy has produce a whole set of excellent videos and practice passages for much of the exam. The amount of material in each section is inconsistent but the quality is good and it can be used as a great supplement to your books for learning the content. Incorporate the videos on an as-needed basis throughout the process.
The videos can be found here: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat
3. Find an approach for the CARS section that works for you and master it
Different test prep companies advocate different approaches to the CARS section and honestly they all have their advantages and disadvantages and each can work well for different students. Thus the key is to find one that works for you and master it. How do you do that?
I. Try multiple different strategies and test them out early. Try taking summary (brief) notes for each paragraph of each passage and use them with the questions, try highlighting topic sentences and key vocab, try a combination of highlighting and note-taking, try no notes/highlighting and just read for big picture, read fast, read slow etc….
For each different approach really stick with it for enough passages to a good idea of the approach’s strengths and weaknesses and whether it would work for you (usually this is at least 4-5 passages and as much as a full section test). And try to do this all in the first week or two
II. Master the Approach you selected and constantly refine. You really want to stick with which ever approach you’ve selected. Practice, practice, practice and always learn from the practice. For each set of passages you tackle, identify problems you had with the questions you got wrong, figure out solutions, identify ways to apply and practice the solutions and follow through. You always want to be learning and self-correcting.
4. Integrate tons of questions, section tests, and full length exams.
Mastering content with the three pass approach is only half (maybe even less) of the process for really succeeding on the exam. As we talked about, the MCAT goes beyond the material and really requires you to apply the concepts to new situations (passages) and incorporate the new information/relationships to answer questions. You can’t just know the material, you have to practice applying it. This is absolutely essential and at least half of your study time should be devoted to practicing questions and learning from them. The following points will detail where to find resources, how to practice questions, and how to learn from those questions.
I. Identify resources to use for practice
Below are descriptions and links for various full length practice tests.
1 AAMC Exam
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/prepare/
5 Full Length Practice Tests - NS
http://nextsteptestprep.com/mcat-practice-tests/?gclid=COzpxq7P0MMCFRIjgQodTWgAWA
8 Full Length Practice Tests - PR
http://www.princetonreview.com/mcat2015test/
Several Practice Tests – Gold Standard
http://www.mcat-prep.com/mcat-2015-changes-preparation/
-Not till March and then April/May
1 diagnostic and 3 practice tests
http://mcatcracker.com/
2 Practice Tests - McGraw-Hill Education : $30
Amazon product
4 Practice Section Tests for each Section – Next Step
Psychology/Sociology
Amazon product
Biology
Amazon product
Physics/Chem
Amazon product
CARS
Amazon product
There are a total of 23 full length exams along with an additional 4 practice sections for each section listed above. Most sets of content books also come with several practice exams that you should make use of. All 23 exams can be used and the more practice the better, however you also want to make sure you thoroughly learn from each exam. The old MCAT exams (pre-2015 MCAT exam) can be used, especially for verbal practice, but most of your practice should be with the new MCAT. As a minimum try to fit in at 8-10 exams though 10-15 would be ideal and as mentioned before, completing more practice questions can never hurt. Definitely use the AAMC practice exam, then I recommend incorporating exams from NS, PR, and GS and spreading the exams from each company throughout your study period ( don’t work through all 5 NS, then all 8 PR, then 3 GS etc… instead spread them out so 1 NS, 2 PR, 1 GS, 1 NS, 2 PR, 1 GS etc…)
You want to begin incorporating exams from the beginning and should start the study process with a diagnostic exam. Any of the exams can be used and NS has a half-length exam they have developed for just that purpose. At the beginning 1 exam every week or every other week (depending on the length of your study period) works well and then increase it to 2 exams every week as you approach test day.
II. Learn from the practice exams: 3 step approach.
In my experience the students that have seen the largest improvement have consistently been those who have been able to learn from their mistakes. Many I have worked with will take exam after exam without spending the necessary time really learning from their results. To really learn from the practice exam plan on devoting at least a full day to each full length you take for that purpose. There are two different sets of lessons you want to look for and the general model for fixing them remains the same.
1. First, identify the problem. This doesn’t mean identify questions you got wrong, but instead you need to take it a level higher. Identify patterns, types of problems you struggle with, types of passages you struggle with etc… (you will never see the exact same question again, but you will see the same types of questions, passages etc…)
2. Second, come up with a solution to deal with the problem. For ex, if you struggle getting through Bio experimental passages, try switching your approach and taking brief notes for those passages. If you struggle with stoichiometry calculations, come up with a method/approach to deal with it.
3. Lastly, (and possibly most importantly) apply that solution and practice it extensively BEFORE your next full length. If you found Bio exp passages difficult and decided to try brief note-taking as a solution, then make sure you tackle several Bio experimental passages before your next full length exam (even if they are passages you have seen before, reinforcing the new approach/lesson learned is absolutely essential).
Then really focus on consistently applying the lessons learned on your next full lengths. And as a side-note, make sure to review all questions on your full lengths including the ones you got right. Lessons learned can come from both positive accomplishments and mistakes that need improvement. If you have found something that works well for you, reinforce it and continue to apply it.
III. Keep a Take-Aways Notebook and constantly review
In order to really learn from your lessons/take-aways you want to keep track of the problems and solutions and review them constantly. This helps you focus on what you need to do to keep raising your score. The best way I have seen students accomplish this is by keeping track of your take-aways in a separate notebook or word document. In general split the lessons learned into 2 categories to keep track of them.
The first is content/knowledge gaps and mistakes. As you read through questions (both ones you got right and wrong), identify any content gaps, go back to the set of content books you have and review/learn those sections, and for step 3 apply that knowledge and redo the questions in the back of that chapter and the questions on the full length exam that you missed.
The second are strategy/approach mistakes. This category will help you identify mistakes in your approach or patterns of questions or passage types that you consistently struggle with. For ex, you may struggle with calculation questions. If so, you have identified the problem, then work through an approach or series of steps to solve calculation questions and lastly apply that to a series of calculation questions (even from old exams).
Make sure to review your take-aways notebook every other day or so depending on the length of your study schedule.
5. Find others going through the same thing
We are all social beings and need support. Others who are going through the same difficult study process can be an immense support both socially and for learning the material/strategy.
6. Keep perspective and don’t forget to rest
MCAT study is an extensive process and many students can get tunnel vision. Don’t lose track of yourself in the process. Make time for other activities, friends, family, and other things that are important too you and remember why you are studying for exam in the first place. The MCAT is a marathon, not a sprint and you will need this perspective and time to rest in order to keep up the pace over the long-run and not burn out. There are several ways to accomplish this, but ideally intentionally set aside time in your schedule for rest. Choose a day of the week that you know you can look forward to and enjoy it.
In this document we will go over the steps for how to create a successful MCAT study plan. All of the advice comes from many years of experience, working for several of the large test prep companies including Kaplan, Next Step and others, and working with hundreds of different students.
1. Start with the Official Materials, familiarize yourself with the exam Know how the exam will be administered, how many sections, the number of questions, the time etc…
To do this start with the AAMC Official Guide to the MCAT which can be found at: https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/prepare/
2. Mastering the Science Content with the three pass approach
The MCAT exam is very different from so many of our traditional science exams and the study process should reflect this. The amount of material covered on the exam can be staggering as it incorporates material from at least 10 different courses (2 Bio, 2 Chem, 2 Physics, 1 Biochem, 1 Orgo, 2 Psych/Soc). It then takes the content and requires that you apply the concepts to new passages and critically synthesize the new material to answer questions. The silver lining in all of this is that because the exam tackles such a breadth of material and topics, it really sticks to the fundamentals of each. This should really be reflected in how you study the material.
I have had many students try to use multiple review books to try and make sure they get everything, but in the end they spread themselves thin and really grasp very little. They become familiar with more than they really even need to know but really master very little of it. Instead, choose one set of content books and stick with it. Which books you choose maters significantly less than how you use them, but I personally recommend either EK, NS, Kaplan or PR. With whichever ever set you end up with, the absolute key will be to know that specific set of content review inside and out, front to back, top to bottom, upside down to right side up etc… It is better to absolutely master the fundamentals than to be familiar with tons of extraneous details so really stick to whichever set you choose and don’t cut yourself slack in learning THAT set of material.
One of the most successful approaches I’ve seen work with students is the three pass approach:
I. First pass:
The first time you work through the material should take longer and it can also be broken down into several passes which we will call 1a, 1b and 1c.
Ia.
Flip through the pages looking just at the bolded terms and pictures. Spend extra time on any you aren’t familiar with, recite the definitions out loud, take brief notes, reproduce figures etc…. but save any questions you may come across and don’t spend the time yet analyzing large blocks of text… The goal of this pass is really just to learn the language and get an overview of the chapter. This should take 20-30 minutes per chapter depending on the length of the chapter.
Ib.
Next read through the chapter carefully and thoroughly. Spend time on each concept, especially the sections that are new or aren’t as familiar. Take notes if needed (try to be concise though), reproduce figures, work through questions (but don’t circle the answers) etc… Now that you know the vocab you can really master the material which is the goal of this pass through. This should take roughly 1-1.5 hours depending on the chapter.
Ic.
Lastly, after you have gone through and really understood the material, you want to do one last pass through. The overall goal of this is to get a broader overview or context for the material. Identify connections between sections, emphasize important concepts, begin to anticipate how the material could be tested and even identify tie-ins to other chapters. This last approach is again a little quicker like the first and should take roughly 30 minutes per chapter.
II. Second Pass
WAIT A DAY…………
Go through the entire chapter a second time. Make sure you still understand all of the content, can reproduce all of the figures (this is especially important so don’t give yourself slack here), reproduce all of the important equations, concepts etc…. The goal here is to reinforce the material and make sure you retain it, so if there is anything that is unclear or that you have forgotten really spend the time reinforcing it and learning it. Re-do all of the questions. This should take roughly an hour per chapter (can be more or less depending on how well you know the material)
III. Third pass
WAIT A WEEK…..
Read through the chapter a third and final time. The goal again is to really reinforce the content so go over all of the content, emphasize key relationships, be able to reproduce all of the figures, and re-do any questions that you got wrong or that were difficult.
Lastly, Kahn academy has produce a whole set of excellent videos and practice passages for much of the exam. The amount of material in each section is inconsistent but the quality is good and it can be used as a great supplement to your books for learning the content. Incorporate the videos on an as-needed basis throughout the process.
The videos can be found here: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat
3. Find an approach for the CARS section that works for you and master it
Different test prep companies advocate different approaches to the CARS section and honestly they all have their advantages and disadvantages and each can work well for different students. Thus the key is to find one that works for you and master it. How do you do that?
I. Try multiple different strategies and test them out early. Try taking summary (brief) notes for each paragraph of each passage and use them with the questions, try highlighting topic sentences and key vocab, try a combination of highlighting and note-taking, try no notes/highlighting and just read for big picture, read fast, read slow etc….
For each different approach really stick with it for enough passages to a good idea of the approach’s strengths and weaknesses and whether it would work for you (usually this is at least 4-5 passages and as much as a full section test). And try to do this all in the first week or two
II. Master the Approach you selected and constantly refine. You really want to stick with which ever approach you’ve selected. Practice, practice, practice and always learn from the practice. For each set of passages you tackle, identify problems you had with the questions you got wrong, figure out solutions, identify ways to apply and practice the solutions and follow through. You always want to be learning and self-correcting.
4. Integrate tons of questions, section tests, and full length exams.
Mastering content with the three pass approach is only half (maybe even less) of the process for really succeeding on the exam. As we talked about, the MCAT goes beyond the material and really requires you to apply the concepts to new situations (passages) and incorporate the new information/relationships to answer questions. You can’t just know the material, you have to practice applying it. This is absolutely essential and at least half of your study time should be devoted to practicing questions and learning from them. The following points will detail where to find resources, how to practice questions, and how to learn from those questions.
I. Identify resources to use for practice
Below are descriptions and links for various full length practice tests.
1 AAMC Exam
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/prepare/
5 Full Length Practice Tests - NS
http://nextsteptestprep.com/mcat-practice-tests/?gclid=COzpxq7P0MMCFRIjgQodTWgAWA
8 Full Length Practice Tests - PR
http://www.princetonreview.com/mcat2015test/
Several Practice Tests – Gold Standard
http://www.mcat-prep.com/mcat-2015-changes-preparation/
-Not till March and then April/May
1 diagnostic and 3 practice tests
http://mcatcracker.com/
2 Practice Tests - McGraw-Hill Education : $30
Amazon product
4 Practice Section Tests for each Section – Next Step
Psychology/Sociology
Amazon product
Biology
Amazon product
Physics/Chem
Amazon product
CARS
Amazon product
There are a total of 23 full length exams along with an additional 4 practice sections for each section listed above. Most sets of content books also come with several practice exams that you should make use of. All 23 exams can be used and the more practice the better, however you also want to make sure you thoroughly learn from each exam. The old MCAT exams (pre-2015 MCAT exam) can be used, especially for verbal practice, but most of your practice should be with the new MCAT. As a minimum try to fit in at 8-10 exams though 10-15 would be ideal and as mentioned before, completing more practice questions can never hurt. Definitely use the AAMC practice exam, then I recommend incorporating exams from NS, PR, and GS and spreading the exams from each company throughout your study period ( don’t work through all 5 NS, then all 8 PR, then 3 GS etc… instead spread them out so 1 NS, 2 PR, 1 GS, 1 NS, 2 PR, 1 GS etc…)
You want to begin incorporating exams from the beginning and should start the study process with a diagnostic exam. Any of the exams can be used and NS has a half-length exam they have developed for just that purpose. At the beginning 1 exam every week or every other week (depending on the length of your study period) works well and then increase it to 2 exams every week as you approach test day.
II. Learn from the practice exams: 3 step approach.
In my experience the students that have seen the largest improvement have consistently been those who have been able to learn from their mistakes. Many I have worked with will take exam after exam without spending the necessary time really learning from their results. To really learn from the practice exam plan on devoting at least a full day to each full length you take for that purpose. There are two different sets of lessons you want to look for and the general model for fixing them remains the same.
1. First, identify the problem. This doesn’t mean identify questions you got wrong, but instead you need to take it a level higher. Identify patterns, types of problems you struggle with, types of passages you struggle with etc… (you will never see the exact same question again, but you will see the same types of questions, passages etc…)
2. Second, come up with a solution to deal with the problem. For ex, if you struggle getting through Bio experimental passages, try switching your approach and taking brief notes for those passages. If you struggle with stoichiometry calculations, come up with a method/approach to deal with it.
3. Lastly, (and possibly most importantly) apply that solution and practice it extensively BEFORE your next full length. If you found Bio exp passages difficult and decided to try brief note-taking as a solution, then make sure you tackle several Bio experimental passages before your next full length exam (even if they are passages you have seen before, reinforcing the new approach/lesson learned is absolutely essential).
Then really focus on consistently applying the lessons learned on your next full lengths. And as a side-note, make sure to review all questions on your full lengths including the ones you got right. Lessons learned can come from both positive accomplishments and mistakes that need improvement. If you have found something that works well for you, reinforce it and continue to apply it.
III. Keep a Take-Aways Notebook and constantly review
In order to really learn from your lessons/take-aways you want to keep track of the problems and solutions and review them constantly. This helps you focus on what you need to do to keep raising your score. The best way I have seen students accomplish this is by keeping track of your take-aways in a separate notebook or word document. In general split the lessons learned into 2 categories to keep track of them.
The first is content/knowledge gaps and mistakes. As you read through questions (both ones you got right and wrong), identify any content gaps, go back to the set of content books you have and review/learn those sections, and for step 3 apply that knowledge and redo the questions in the back of that chapter and the questions on the full length exam that you missed.
The second are strategy/approach mistakes. This category will help you identify mistakes in your approach or patterns of questions or passage types that you consistently struggle with. For ex, you may struggle with calculation questions. If so, you have identified the problem, then work through an approach or series of steps to solve calculation questions and lastly apply that to a series of calculation questions (even from old exams).
Make sure to review your take-aways notebook every other day or so depending on the length of your study schedule.
5. Find others going through the same thing
We are all social beings and need support. Others who are going through the same difficult study process can be an immense support both socially and for learning the material/strategy.
6. Keep perspective and don’t forget to rest
MCAT study is an extensive process and many students can get tunnel vision. Don’t lose track of yourself in the process. Make time for other activities, friends, family, and other things that are important too you and remember why you are studying for exam in the first place. The MCAT is a marathon, not a sprint and you will need this perspective and time to rest in order to keep up the pace over the long-run and not burn out. There are several ways to accomplish this, but ideally intentionally set aside time in your schedule for rest. Choose a day of the week that you know you can look forward to and enjoy it.