Tips on how to handle the last month of studying before the MCAT

[Dr. Hokage]

Hi everyone,

At this time, I'm currently scheduled to take my MCAT on April 24th; however, as you all probably know, the AAMC has begun to cancel MCAT dates (March 27th & April 4th) so there is definitely uncertainty surrounding whether or not this is when I'll actually be sitting for the exam. With that begin said, I still would appreciate any guidance on how you all handled/studied the last month leading up to the MCAT and what methods or resources you found especially useful.

To give a little background information about myself, this will be my second time sitting for the exam. My first attempt resulted in a 509 (128/126/129/126) which I took in January of 2019. While I was pleased with my score, I knew there was certainly room to improve, especially in CARS and Psych/Soc. Below, I've listed what I have done, what I'm currently doing, and what my plan is from here on out.

Completed:

• Full-length exams:
  • NS 1: 506 (127/126/126/127)
  • NS 2: 510 (127/127/127/129)
  • NS 3: 508 (128/125/127/128)
  • AAMC FL1: 520 (129/130/131/130)
  • AAMC FL2: 517 (130/129/130/128)
• AAMC Materials
  • Section bank: 74% B/B, 78% C/P, 89% P/S
  • ~75% of CARS Qpack, Vol. 1: 80%
• Third-party resources:
  • K/A 300 pg document
  • Kaplan's MCAT books excluding Psych/Soc and CARS
  • ANKI decks created for both the 300 pg doc. and Kaplan books
  • K/A videos for content review
  • ~60% of UWorld question bank
  • Testing Solutions' 30 Day Guide to MCAT CARS Success

Currently:

• 1-3 CARS passages per day, drawing from both the AAMC question packs and UWorld
• Utilizing ANKI for review of missed concepts
• Doing ~60-100 UWorld questions per day until I finish the set
• Watching K/A videos and reading over chapters relating to topics which I feel less confident about
• Listen to The MCAT Podcast by Next Step

Plan for the future:

From now until the test, my plan is to spread out the AAMC FL4, Fl 3, and Sample (taken in that order) over the next 5 weeks, continue to utilize my third party resources (ANKI, UWorld, K/A) for content review, redo the Section Bank questions and complete the Official Guide questions. Another resource I have available to me are the AAMC Q-packs, however, I'm more hesitant to utilize the AAMC Q-packs (excluding CARS) as I've heard these are the least representative out of all the AAMC resources and are much easier than the actual MCAT.

Again, all recommendations are welcome, and I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! Cheers.

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[Blueprint Med School]

For AAMC material, I would start with the QPacks. You're right, they're considered easier than other AAMC material, but they're still worth doing as content review, and help you find gaps in your knowledge. I'd do those earlier, and then take full-lengths once a week until test day.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors