Summer MCAT Prep

[deleted600623]

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I won't be taking the MCAT until next fall due to pre reqs that I need to take for the new MCAT so I plan on studying for 12 weeks in the summer. To anyone who has done this, how many hours a day were you studying? My instincts are telling me to treat it as a 40 hour week but I'm not sure if this is overkill. I know it is relative to the person but for 12 weeks, is this a reasonable plan?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

That is a good time period to study, but I don't recommend treating it like a 9-5 job, that's how you burn out on studying. You should study hard yes, but go at a pace that you feel is appropriate. The reason you give yourself 12 weeks is so that you don't have to cram hard every single day. MCAT burnout is very real and can hurt your grade, I felt it starting at the very end of my studying when I was doing a practice test every other day, but I feel like I timed it correctly so that I took it right to edge on the day of the real test. Like an Olympic athlete, you must be at your peak on the real test day. Don't peak early.

 

[deleted600623]

Thank you for the advice @CaliforniaDreamer !

 

[efle]

I did ~3 weeks full time studying followed by ~9 weeks of about 15-20 hours right up until the test. Doing a full 12 weeks of full time studying is absolutely overkill, you can have a part time (20-30 hour) commitment to something else in summer and still be fully studied up for the test.

 

[deleted600623]

@efle Ah I see! Were you focused on studying M-F and weekends off? Or did you spread the studying over the whole week?

 

[efle]

@efle Ah I see! Were you focused on studying M-F and weekends off? Or did you spread the studying over the whole week?

I had three weeks off at the beginning and studied seven days per week of content review; then I started taking a ~25 hours/week physics class with only a couple hours of content review per day and practice exams on weekends. The real trick is just to set up a study plan and stick to it - doesn't matter too much exactly how the time is allocated as long as you're keeping track of your progress.

 

[deleted600623]

Ok awesome thank you so much!