How much do you think the average MCAT taker studies?

[deleted74029]

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As I study 6-8hrs/day I find myself wondering if everyone else is doing the same. I find SDN to be filled with outliers so how much do you guys think the average MCAT taker studys. Per day? Per week?

 

[mhockey14221]

I've been studying 4-5hrs/week for the past 2 months. Have taken 3 or 4 days off.

 

[unsung]

As I study 6-8hrs/day I find myself wondering if everyone else is doing the same. I find SDN to be filled with outliers so how much do you guys think the average MCAT taker studys. Per day? Per week?

I heard 300 hrs on avg.

 

[AsuKa]

10 weeks x 5 days a week or so x 6 hours per day = 300 hrs i guess

 

[TulBox]

really? is 300 the norm, or just the SDN norm? Among my friends and peers that I know of, the average routine was about 15 hours a week for two months, so about 120-140 hours.

Amazing work ethic for studying 6-8 hours a day! I'm sure it will pay off, keep it up. The one benefit of only studying 15 hours a week, though, is that the material and the studying stays fresh. I felt like the days I studied too long, it became too much of a routine and I was less focused. I went from analyzing what I read to simply memorizing. Make sure you stay sharp!

 

[deleted74029]

really? is 300 the norm, or just the SDN norm? Among my friends and peers that I know of, the average routine was about 15 hours a week for two months, so about 120-140 hours.

Amazing work ethic for studying 6-8 hours a day! I'm sure it will pay off, keep it up. The one benefit of only studying 15 hours a week, though, is that the material and the studying stays fresh. I felt like the days I studied too long, it became too much of a routine and I was less focused. I went from analyzing what I read to simply memorizing. Make sure you stay sharp!

Yeah I think theyre speaking of the SDN norm. 300 hours is quite a bit to be average. That'd be saying that the average person studies 300 hours and makes a 25(the average mcat score). I'd bet that most who study that much score much higher.

 

[Vihsadas]

300 is not average, but there was a princeton review study done (I think) that showed that studying for 300 hours is about where you peak in terms of your scores. So if you study 300 hours versus 400 hours it probably won't help your score. But 200 hours versus 300 hours might.

 

[deleted74029]

300 is not average, but there was a princeton review study done (I think) that showed that studying for 300 hours is about where you peak in terms of your scores. So if you study 300 hours versus 400 hours it probably won't help your score. But 200 hours versus 300 hours might.

Well that makes me feel a lil better, I'm at around 150 hours with 5 weeks to go so around 300 hours is where I will be right before test time. Lets hope thats my peak.

 

[kautionwirez]

do you guys think 1000 hours is overload in studying, 91/hours per week?

 

[Vihsadas]

do you guys think 1000 hours is overload in studying, 100/hours per week?

Yes. 3 Months at 25-30 hrs a week is probably enough.

 

[deleted74029]

Yes. 3 Months at 25-30 hrs a week is probably enough.

Yeah I say three months each increasing in magnitude is good. 1st month I did about 2hrs per day, 2nd about 4. Now I'm starting month 3 and will go 6-8 each day.

 

[mulletmudbogger]

I studied for 5 solid months 30 hours a week minimum. I took the june 13th test. Still waiting on my results. I was scoring over 10's and 11's in both science sections and a 6 in the verbal.

My prediction is that I will not do so hot because I only put about 2 weeks of 30 hours a week studying for the verbal. I hate reading and I totally suck at mcat verbal. I have only read 2 full length novels in my entire life and I plan on reading exactly no more until the day I die. Honestly I think i would rather spend an hour at the dentist that have to spend an hour reading some literature book. I know I'm the devil all you book lovers. I do enjoy reading scientific journals and newspapers almost daily.


In regards to this post, I think that unlike myself if you're already pretty good at mcat verbal, 3 months of studying would be enough for most people.

 

[gogopogo]

I studied for about 6h/day for two months straight, and have spent the last 2 weeks or so doing about 4h/day. I have about a week to go, so I guess about 500 hours or so...

Yeesh I'm depressed. This test consumes my life!

 

[AsuKa]

I studied for 5 solid months 30 hours a week minimum. I took the june 13th test. Still waiting on my results. I was scoring over 10's and 11's in both science sections and a 6 in the verbal.

My prediction is that I will not do so hot because I only put about 2 weeks of 30 hours a week studying for the verbal. I hate reading and I totally suck at mcat verbal. I have only read 2 full length novels in my entire life and I plan on reading exactly no more until the day I die. Honestly I think i would rather spend an hour at the dentist that have to spend an hour reading some literature book. I know I'm the devil all you book lovers. I do enjoy reading scientific journals and newspapers almost daily.


In regards to this post, I think that unlike myself if you're already pretty good at mcat verbal, 3 months of studying would be enough for most people.

wow, you studied a lot.

5 months x 30 hours a week x 4 weeks a month = 600 hours

i dont know if studying for so long (over 3 months) is a good idea because you kind of start to forget stuff. i mean theres only SO much stuff you can fit in your head at any given time.

 

[LikeClockWork]

Well, I think the median score for the MCAT is a 25, which is quite a bit lower than what the median score on SDN seems to be. 😉

I'd say whatever the average is on here, just bump it down a few hundred hours and that'll be close to the real answer.

 

[BlueElmo]

I have been doing 55-60 hours a week( including TPR classes) since early June and my test is 9/6/08. Do you guys think I should take it easier?
I don't have ANYTHING this summer to do other than studying MCAT, that's why.
I don't want to burn out towards August because that's when I was planning to really hit the practice tests and passages. (As opposed to just mostly content review right now).

 

[Isoprop]

it's about quality guys, not quantity. i would say that the test taker who scores a 25-27 probably studied about 10 to 15 hours per week for about 3 months. but that's my guess, and even if it were true, it doesn't really mean anything.

 

[Luxian]

No idea what the average is...

I studied 2-3 hrs a day for 8 weeks. That makes
2.5*7*8 = 140 hrs

Oh, and I got a 37.

 

[olemissbabydoc]

I studied about 600 hours (more than the average bear) for my third try. About 300 for the previous tries, so I suppose that puts me at the God-forsaken total of 1200 hours or so 🙁

It consumed my life. But I FINALLY got something worth going to med school with.

 

[engineeredout]

I have no idea how people can put in 6-8 hours. Between hospital volunteer, research, internship, SLEEP, I'd never be able to find that kind of time.

I'll put in maybe 3-4 hours 5-6 days a week.

 

[mulletmudbogger]

Yeah I studied a lot, but it was mostly because the premed program at my college was horrible in biology and physics and you really didn't have to study very much to make an A in every class. Even though I made A's in all my science classes, we barely went over most of the material in physics and biology, and flat out skiped a bunch of stuff. So that meant I had to learn a lot of it from scratch during those 5 months. If i would have went to a real university, I would have spent all that time studying physics and biology when I was IN the class, not AFTER I have taken the class and gotten an A.


I guess there is a reason a teacher makes a class hard, its to make you study and learn the material. That way if you come out of a class with an "A" you shouldn't have to review too much for the mcat because you know the material.

Not at my college! Heck, I know students who graduated with a 4.0 gpa and the studied for weeks for the mcat to only make a 20!!! Thats stupid ass south georgia for you.

Now that I think about it I probably didn't spend quite 30 hours a week on mcat alone, I was working on my research and studying for my classes. So about 25 hours a week for 5 months is probably more accurate. Still a lot of studying.


I don't know what the heck I made on the june 13th test, but based on the questions I now know I missed, probably not so hot. who the heck knows. I'll just retake it if I have to.

 

[ldnk]

I don't fault anyone who does it, but I will never understand studying 600 hours for the MCAT.

I work a full time job, I do research on the side, I volunteer at three different programs (a palliative care centre; a hospital, and as an academic counselor) and I play soccer. Adding in friends, their birthdays, and the odd trip to visit a really close friend out of town, there is no way I could cram 100 hours of studying in every week. On top of that, I wouldn't want to give up all of the things that I am currently doing.

What I try to do is study in smaller chunks and then when I get the chance (like at work, or when I am traveling, etc.) I go over the material in my head, almost like I am giving a lecture on the material. Maybe I should be including that in my studying time, but I find that if I stay current with the material and focus on it during my down time, I am getting more down with less time.