MCAT studying stress

[physiogirl2019]

For the past (almost) month I've been studying for my early April MCAT. I started with a 499 on my diagnostic half length (before any kind of studying/content review), and last week I took my first NS FL (after 3.5 weeks of mainly practicing passages and reviewing content I didn't know in them) and scored a 506. I'm a full-time student, and much of the material overlaps with what I am learning in my classes. What I am worried about is I feel like I'm making good progress and am learning how to take the exam, but I only study around ~4-5 hours a day 5 days a week and I guess seeing people who studied 10+ hours a day full-time is freaking me out. Does anyone have any personal experience with studying for the MCAT around my hours or less a day and getting a good score? I know different people study differently, but it still concerns me that I'm not putting in enough time.

Thanks! 🙂

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[Lannister]

The best thing you can do is stop comparing yourself to others. I've been doing the same thing as I study for step 1, and it's mentally exhausting and anxiety-inducing to constantly be worrying about whether I'm doing enough compared to everyone else.

You're doing fine. I studied maybe 2 hours a day for the MCAT from January-early May and did well enough to get into medical school.

 

[Dwight Snoot]

You are putting in plenty of time. In my opinion, anything more than 5 hours a day is to much. Don't overwork yourself but keep at a steady pace and you will be fine! I studied 3/4 hours 5 days a week for two months and got a 515

 

[physiogirl2019]

That is so relieving to hear, thank you! I see so many stories here on SDN of people waking up every day at 8 am, eating specific foods, cutting off all social ties, and studying for like 12 hours a day. I don't have many (if any) premed friends, so I truly don't know which MCAT studying habits are ~normal~.

 

[Drez06]

Hey, I think you should be fine! That’s pretty much what I did. I worked a full time job while I studied for the MCAT (along with going to school and volunteering), so i was only able to study around that amount of time during the week (work - study an hour in my car during lunch - dinner with my husband - study 4-6 hours before bed). But I didn’t just study during the week, I really took advantage of the time during the weekend to focus on it, especially taking and reviewing FL practice tests. It can be done with your level of studying. (Take what I say with a large rain of salt, I only scored a 504 - but I got the MD accept anyway!) Best of luck to you, the MCAT is stressful, I don’t envy you!!

 

[Swagster]

I found that quality of effort beat quantity. I stopped counting hours after a while and focused on the number of passages I fully understood. That was a much better, and less stressful measuring stick. The test went very well.

 

[Siromas]

That is so relieving to hear, thank you! I see so many stories here on SDN of people waking up every day at 8 am, eating specific foods, cutting off all social ties, and studying for like 12 hours a day. I don't have many (if any) premed friends, so I truly don't know which MCAT studying habits are ~normal~.

Agreed with @Lannister above- you can't compare your progress to others if you want to keep your sanity. Just do what's best for you!

As someone who studied at least 10 hours a day during my MCAT prep, I guess I'm one of the people you're referencing. My study schedule worked best for me since I work full-time with 12 hour shifts. Studying for such a long period of time on my days off just felt like another work shift.

 

[NextStepTutor_1]

Hi @physiogirl2019 -

Sounds like you're making good progress! As you keep studying in the next month and a half or so, practice tests will help you keep track of the progress you're making. As others have said, it's about getting the most out of the time you put into it, and 20-25 hours/week is definitely a solid time investment.

Stepping back, there's a tremendous amount of MCAT resources out there. If someone came up to me and asked me to fill 40-50 hours a week of their time for the next 3-4 months, that would be very doable -- but it's definitely not necessary. Although some students do have the ability to drop everything and focus just on the MCAT for a period of time, in my experience, that's more the exception than the rule. Having to balance MCAT studying with classes/work/family is a common experience, and it is definitely compatible w/ succeeding on the MCAT, although the more you have going on in life, the more disciplined you have to be both in terms of allocating time for the MCAT and in terms of making the most of that time. If you have limited study time, one suggestion I would have is to be pretty ruthless about avoiding things that "feel" productive but don't actually translate into much benefit -- a common example is extensive passive note-taking, but the basic principle is just to be mindful of any ways that you can improve your efficiency.

Hang in there, & best of luck as you study!!

 

[WIMNFamilyMed]

Agreed with @Lannister above- you can't compare your progress to others if you want to keep your sanity. Just do what's best for you!

As someone who studied at least 10 hours a day during my MCAT prep, I guess I'm one of the people you're referencing. My study schedule worked best for me since I work full-time with 12 hour shifts. Studying for such a long period of time on my days off just felt like another work shift.

I studied for the MCAT 10 hours or so a day for 5 weeks in a row before I took it because the regular semester had ended. I could not have maintained that pace for any longer, and I out-study most of my peers in regular semesters, but I never studied for it outside my regular corses before that month preceding test day. Remember to go outside and take breaks when you stall out!

 

[Siromas]

I studied for the MCAT 10 hours or so a day for 5 weeks in a row before I took it because the regular semester had ended. I could not have maintained that pace for any longer, and I out-study most of my peers in regular semesters, but I never studied for it outside my regular corses before that month preceding test day. Remember to go outside and take breaks when you stall out!

Thanks for the Domino's pizza time

 

[WIMNFamilyMed]

Thanks for the Domino's pizza time

Haha no thank you! Yeah I’ve always won $5 or so with this contest. They’re usually around noon central time.