How much time should I spend studying the MCAT?

[triplebond]

I've read that students who do well on the MCAT spend 200-300 hours preparing for the exam. My question is, does taking practice exams and going to prep class count towards these hours? I'm currently in a TPR course right now and spend out 123 hours in class, 75 hours taking exams, and only 89 hours studying/doing MCAT homework. Is this much preparation sufficient enough for me to be prepared to take my exam at the end of August.

The reality of this test is hitting me and tomorrow is the last day for me to cancel and still be eligible for a refund. At this point, I don't feel confident, but if I don't take it in August, I won't have a chance to take it until January, which is nearly 6 months later. I would feel as if I wasted a whole summer taking this class and then not take the test.....

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[Squid0612]

I prepared for it in a month over winter break studying 6-8 hours/day with one to two break days a week.
I ended up making a 510.

However, before I started studying, I had just finished the biochem major biochemistry course at my university and psych, which helped tremendously.

I did the Kaplan online course.

You don't need to study a certain number of hours to do well. It's all about how efficient you are when you study. Only review the things you struggle with because it's too tedious to review EVERYTHING. Practice questions using the AAMC question sets!!

Also TPR and Kaplan tests score much harder than the actual MCAT. I made 500s and lower on the Kaplan test and ended up with my 510.. Lol


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[Squid0612]

Also don't take the MCAT until you've taken biochem.
It's not something you can easily teach yourself


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[desiredmembername123]

What are you scoring on the practice tests?

 

[Squid0612]

Also you'll never actually feel ready. I never did and walked out sobbing. I almost signed up for a retake... Then I ended up doing well

It's hard not to be nervous


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[aymar]

There's no magic number of hours. If you are comfortable with how you are doing on the practice tests, then go for it. If you are still in college, I do not recommend trying to wait until the January test date unless you are truly not ready... Trust me, you will end up studying a ton less than you are expecting during the school year. I attempted a January date and ended up rescheduling for April because I was averaging <10 hours a week with all of my other commitments.

As the last poster mentioned, you will NEVER feel ready. Sitting for this test is always a leap of faith, but you need to be confident in your preparation. If you feel like you have prepared well, that is the best thing you can do for yourself. Plus, with over a month to go you have a lot of time to zero in on your current weaknesses to boost that confidence.

 

[bisonbison]

I have zero experience with prep courses but did a little less than 3 months of self-prep. I think the best thing to do would be to budget more time than you think you'll need and to not take the test unless you are scoring near to what you want on the official AMCAS scored. Princeton Review and Kaplan gave me nearly 10 points lower than what I scored on the real thing and the practice AAMC exam so they don't seem to be great predictors.

 

[FMDoge2020]

You may never feel ready, but you should at least go in with some confidence.

How are your performance on the practice tests?
How do you feel about the content?
How familiar are you with the test format?

 

[triplebond]

I guess my performance so far in practice tests and passages are discouraging me since I'm scoring low, but I have heard TPR tests are more difficult than the real AAMC. I don't think anyone walks out of this test feeling like they aced it. But I'll do my very best this month to be efficient in studying and hopefully it pays off in August. I'm in too deep to quit now so thank you everyone for your insight and motivational words!

 

[studentdocftw]

I would recommend a minimum of 2 months. More if you aren't scoring well on practice test . 2/3 content review, 1/3 practice tests and questions.

 

[Gurby]

I've read that students who do well on the MCAT spend 200-300 hours preparing for the exam. My question is, does taking practice exams and going to prep class count towards these hours? I'm currently in a TPR course right now and spend out 123 hours in class, 75 hours taking exams, and only 89 hours studying/doing MCAT homework. Is this much preparation sufficient enough for me to be prepared to take my exam at the end of August.

You're thinking about this all wrong and it is causing me pain. Simply putting in hours gets you nowhere. If you went to the library and stared at the wall for 300 hours, do you think those hours would "count"?

The whole idea of "homework" is to force people, whether they like it or not, to engage with material. This is why your middle school algebra teacher assigned you 50 problems to do every night - s/he knew you would never learn the material of your own free will. You aren't in middle school anymore. Take responsibility for your own knowledge/understanding.

FWIW, I have a friend who put ~20 hours in skimming content review books, took half of 1 practice test, and then scored a 524 on the real thing. I am not that smart, and had to put in 20x as much time as him before I was satisfied that I was performing at a level I was satisfied with. So it goes.

 

[wanderingorion]

As much as you need.

 

[To be MD]

I've read that students who do well on the MCAT spend 200-300 hours preparing for the exam. My question is, does taking practice exams and going to prep class count towards these hours? I'm currently in a TPR course right now and spend out 123 hours in class, 75 hours taking exams, and only 89 hours studying/doing MCAT homework. Is this much preparation sufficient enough for me to be prepared to take my exam at the end of August.

The reality of this test is hitting me and tomorrow is the last day for me to cancel and still be eligible for a refund. At this point, I don't feel confident, but if I don't take it in August, I won't have a chance to take it until January, which is nearly 6 months later. I would feel as if I wasted a whole summer taking this class and then not take the test.....

I don't know where I'm getting this number, but in my research I came across: 300 h+ to get a 30+ (509+). I think that's fair. Much of the rest is test-taking skills, deep knowledge v. superficial knowledge, and a little bit of good fortune come test day.

I'd estimate, without knowing you, that another 100 h will get you to where you want to be.

 

[triplebond]

I guess how much time spent on studying varies from each person. To be honest, the thing that's psyching me out is that TPR gives us 8 encyclopedia-sized review books and expects us to finish them within 2 months plus 10 practice tests. But my MCAT Instructors did tell me to focus on the subjects that I'm struggling with as opposed to reviewing everything in detail.

 

[Cotterpin]

Also you'll never actually feel ready. I never did and walked out sobbing. I almost signed up for a retake... Then I ended up doing well

It's hard not to be nervous

I don't think this is true. I studied full-time for maybe a month and a half. I felt ready about a week before the test and basically stopped heavy studying a few days before. I just chilled out and did a bit of flashcard review for my weaker spots. Made sure I was calm and well-rested. Felt very relaxed before and during the test, left feeling confident, and got a 517. I actually think managing your emotions and staying calm and focused throughout is a major part of MCAT prep.

 

[liquidsodium]

As someone noted above, the common estimation is ~300 hrs of active studying to be "adequately prepared" for the MCAT. This number is virtually meaningless, because it varies from person to person and it's not like you'll keep a timer at your desk counting up the hours. What it should show you, though, is that MCAT studying will take a significant amount of your time. That length of time is dependent on your existing science background, an honest reflection of what it takes for you to learn new material, and general test taking ability.

Personally, I spent 3-4 months studying (most of my free time, while taking a lighter load of ~10 credits and working part time) and took my score from somewhere in the ~502 range initially to 521 on my final.

Take a practice test now and critically review your answer choices, correct and incorrect. Identify areas that need work. If you're significantly behind where you need to be, then consider postponing your exam. If you aren't, buckle down for the next month and tackle those problem areas. You're still almost a blank canvas at this point - the way you spend the next 4 weeks could make or break your Aug test score. Remember that it's normal to feel stressed and uncertain about your upcoming test, and have those times where you wonder if you should cancel/void. The best solution is to study hard, walk in confident, and trust that your preparation was enough.

 

[triplebond]

I consulted my MCAT Instructor today and he basically told me that I should take the test whenever I feel ready/confident enough to take it, as most of you have mentioned here. I've only taken two practice tests and while I understand that the score I get on these practice tests isn't a good prediction of how well I can do on the real MCAT, I honesly confess that I am weak on core concepts in a few of the science sections, which is likely an indication that I'm not ready to take it yet....

What I'm going to do is keep my exam date in August and really devote these next 4 weeks to see if I can get up to the point where I am confident enough in my basic science knowledge to be able to tackle the questions swiftly and accurately. If I feel like I'm still lacking a week before the August test, I will cancel my registration and take it in January.