mcat timing

[premedprepa]

Hi there,

I've taken all the pre reqs for med school besides biochem so far. I take biochem this fall.

I want to take the MCAT in January 2020, so if I use a test prep company, would it be best to start studying for the MCAT now (~6 months of studying) or wait until September when school starts (~4 months of studying)?

I don't want to wait until the spring to study for, let's say, an April test date because the spring for me will be particularly busy.

Will this be beneficial to start studying now for the January test?

Thanks!

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[Blueprint MCAT Tutor]

The only major downside to studying for six months is that there is a higher likelihood of burning out by the time you reach the latter phases of studying. This is also the most important phase, doing the aamc material, and you do not want to be burned out while going through it and thus not learning as much from it as .you can.

My experience with students studying during school is that you will most likely not going to be able to stick to the plan that you have. School exams come up, extracurricular activities get in the way, and you end up not being able to study mcat as much as you want. For that reason, have a longer time frame to study is beneficial because you have more days where you can take gaps from studying due to other obligations.

Overall, I would say start a bit earlier since you may have more free time in the summer than during school. With that being said, make sure you take a good amount of breaks from studying to ensure that you don't burnout. I hope that helps and please reach out if you have any other questions!