General Study Questions

[highlander11]

Hello, I have a few questions about studying for 2021 MCAT. I plan to start studying in August/September and then test in January. If the January test does not go as planned, I will test again in May/June.

I was wondering if anyone could suggest a study plan for this 4 month timeline. Ideally, I would like to casually study in September, October, and November. Once December comes, I will really amp things up, aiming to study 8+ hours a day during Winter break.

I was also wondering what materials I might need. I have the general idea of what to do, but seek more direction. I have 2017 (or 2018) full set Kaplan books. I was planning on also getting lots of practice tests and AAMC flashcards.

If someone could offer advice of any kind relating to my timeline and materials, it would be greatly appreciated!

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[JimKimSlim]

I used 2016 edition of Kaplan review book and did fine on the MCAT earlier this year. I also studied for about 4 months, while enrolling in college for the first half and working full-time for the other half. I don't think 4-month is ideal for casually studying because around 2 months prior to your exam, you're going to have to focus on practice problems and FL'S, which takes 8 hours of your weekend day. This puts you only 2 months to review all MCAT materials, which took me 4 hours every week day, 8 hours on Saturdays, and rest period on Sundays. If you have already taken the pre-reqs, it shouldn't be too hard to review everything in 2 months with a consistent study schedule. For practice problems and FL's, I used Altus FL'S and AAMC materials.

 

[AdamJ2020]

I primarily used Kaplan and Picmonic to prep for the MCAT. I focused on studying 5 days a week for 6 months and did fine. Heres one of the playlists I used to prepare: https://www.picmonic.com/share/pathway/human-physiology_1004?ref=W6ZEW9O53ADZLGO20. I think as long as you have a good balance between focused studying and life you'll do great.