How To Do Content Review For Mcat?

How To Do Content Review For Mcat
#2. Review content and build your knowledge base – The first 1-1.5 months of studying should be focused on content review. Content review is crucial because the MCAT expects you to have a strong foundation of scientific knowledge. The best way to do this is by purchasing a set of MCAT review books and working through each chapter and set of problems.

Popular prep companies include: The Princeton Review, Kaplan, and The Berkeley Review, The specific company you choose is less important than whether you are able to diligently work through the books and fill in any knowledge gaps you encounter. Cracking Med School Admissions Tips for Studying for the MCAT: From our conversations with pre-meds and medical school students, people often used multiple sources to study for the MCAT.

Some test prep materials are better at explaining certain concepts than other test prep materials. So, if you feel like you’re weak in one area of physics and your current test prep books are not cutting it for you, then look at some of the other materials we listed in this blog!

How much content review should I do for MCAT?

What this MCAT study schedule guide covers – To help you sit down and write out your own MCAT study schedule, we’ve developed a comprehensive guide that will help you achieve a 520+ score and get into medical school. This guide will cover the following:

A step-by-step guide to building your own study schedule, which includes choosing a test date and mapping out each week until your exam
Answers to frequently asked questions about the MCAT study schedule
Example study schedules (1-month, 2-month, and 3-month MCAT study plans)
Actionable advice for staying on task

After reading through this guide, you’ll have all of the information needed to build yourself an effective study schedule that helps you achieve a high score on the MCAT. Let’s get started! In order to build your MCAT study schedule, you’ll want to select a, This is often not an easy decision to make, so there are a few questions you should ask yourself before selecting a test date.

Have you taken the classes absolutely needed for the MCAT? These classes include general chemistry, one semester of organic chemistry and physics, and introductory biology. (Note: There are also,)
What other time commitments will you have during the period in which you plan on studying for the MCAT? MCAT preparation is time consuming. You should be honest and realistic with yourself when determining your time commitments.

To assess your time, try this simple exercise.

Select your test date.
Write out every other time commitment you will have between now and your test date. These should include:
- School and school studying time
- Work
- Volunteering
- Class
- Personal time
- Holidays
Write out the average amount of time you will be able to study for the MCAT each week.

You should aim to study for at least 300 hours for the exam. In other words, if you study for 3 months (~90 days), you should average a little over 3 hours each day. Be sure to select your test date carefully. Your study schedule will be constructed around this date.

Suggested reading: ) In general, you should spend at least 300–350 total hours studying for the MCAT, and up to 500 hours. This includes content review, taking practice tests, reviewing the practice tests, and studying what you miss. The number of hours may slightly vary based on how long it has been since you completed the courses, your major, and/or your comfort with certain topics.

Let’s now look at the anatomy of an MCAT study schedule. You can think of an MCAT study schedule as two distinct phases. The first phase is content heavy with a little bit of practice. This means 70% of your time should be spent studying content while 30% should be practice-based.

The second phase of studying is practice-heavy with a little bit of content.
During this phase, the numbers flip and you should focus on 70% practice and 30% content.
To split your study schedule into these phases, count the number of weeks you will spend studying for the exam.
Are you studying for 4 weeks? 8 weeks? 12 weeks? 16 weeks? If you are planning on spending 12 weeks studying for the exam, you should use 6 weeks for the mostly-content phase and 6 weeks for the mostly-practice phase.12 weeks, or 3 months, is generally sufficient time to spend studying for the MCAT at about 20 hours per week.

This can be compressed or extended based on your schedule. To begin building the content phase, write down the name of each chapter from your content review books in an Excel or Google Sheets page. Next, count the total number of chapters that you will need to complete.

In general, most content books will have about 9–12 chapters per subject, which includes biochemistry, biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, and psychology and sociology. If you have 12 weeks to study, aim to finish your content review in 6–8 weeks, which breaks down to between 7 and 10 chapters per week, or at least 1 chapter per day.

Many students are surprised when they complete this exercise—there is a lot of content to go through! Don’t fear, though. Not all of the content is important or high yield. For example, you are much better off spending time on biochemistry instead of physics, so you can put one biochemistry chapter on a Monday and take a deep dive into it while going more quickly through three physics chapters on Tuesday. How To Do Content Review For Mcat mcat study schedule Template (3 months): Content phase (WITHOUT CARS) This study schedule can be adapted for any set of, Each book is shown by the color code at the top of the study schedule. Let’s notice a few important features of this study schedule:

The study schedule goes through the books in parallel instead of one book at a time (i.e. first week biochemistry, second week physics, etc.). The benefit of working in parallel is that you won’t forget the subject that you studied at the very beginning.
This study schedule is based on a student studying part-time with 2–3 hours free per day, and some additional time on a Friday available to take a full-length exam. In other words, this is a manageable schedule if you have other time commitments.
The student finishes all of the content AND takes two full-length practice exams during this content-heavy phase. We cannot overstate the importance of these early practice exams, which make up the 30% practice in this phase. Taking practice exams early on is extremely important in showing you what content you should focus on and the depth to which you need to know it. Instead of memorizing very small details, you will find that the full-lengths tend to test your ability to reason through experiments or look at figures and graphs.
There are checkboxes at the end of each slot so that you can hold yourself accountable. Try to work an accountability tool into your own schedule.
Sunday is built in as a flexibility day here, but it can be whatever day works best for you. Take this day to recharge or catch up on small amounts of content that you were not able to get to during the week.

This content phase of the study schedule looks great! Something is missing, though. Can you guess what it is? CARS is missing from this study schedule, and CARS will make up 1/4th of your final score. For, CARS is one of the main scores that admissions committees will look at. So, let’s adapt our study schedule to include CARS: How To Do Content Review For Mcat mcat study schedule Template (3 months): Content phase (WITH CARS) Now, notice that you will be completing 1–2 CARS passages per day. Make these passages count as taking passages followed by careful analysis is one of the best ways to improve your CARS score.

This is an example of a solid mostly-content phase that will set you up nicely to begin your mostly-practice phase. Let’s take a deeper look at our next phase. You are now mapping out the second phase of your MCAT studying journey. The mostly-practice phase will be 70% practice and 30% content, and the content that you review will be chosen based on what you find yourself missing in practice.

For example, if you find yourself missing optics questions, go back and review the optics books chapter or watch the optics Khan Academy videos. To build the practice phase of our test schedule, we want to work back from test day. Remember: at a bare minimum, you should work through all of the AAMC resources at least once.

When you take MCAT practice questions during this phase, it is not enough to simply take the practice passage, skim over the answer choice explanations, and move on.
Rather, you need to understand why you missed the question, write it down, and study it later on.
You should approach each new full-length with new information, or you won’t see an improvement in your score.

Here’s an example of what the practice phase of the study schedule we designed earlier might look like: How To Do Content Review For Mcat mcat study schedule Template (3 months): PRACTICE phase) As you read through this, you might wonder what MQL stands for. MQL stands for “Missed Questions Log,” and this is the personal document or excel sheet you use to track every single question you’ve missed throughout the course of your MCAT studying.

For example, let’s say you miss the following question:
What type of enzyme is a kinase?
a) Ligaseb) Oxidoreductasec) Transferase
d) Lyase

The answer is transferase, but let’s say you selected lyase. You should write down the definition of each answer choice that you don’t know in your MQL. Then, when it says to study the Bio/Biochem (B/B) MQL on your study guide, you will come back and memorize the definitions of these different enzyme classes.

You are better off being extremely prepared to take the exam the first time around instead of relying on, As a safety valve, however, you can book a second exam to make sure that you will still have a testing seat and can always cancel it if necessary (the, though). Admissions committees will also expect to see a strong score increase on your second exam, not a small score increase that might just be the result of you taking the test a second time.

Let’s look at the important features of the practice-phase study schedule:

A flexibility day is built in every Sunday after the student takes a full-length exam. This is a great time to destress after taking a 7-hour exam.
A lot of time is built in for reviewing the practice you take and studying what you miss. It is not worth your time to take a lot of practice if you are not learning from your mistakes!
This schedule can be completed by spending an average of around 2–3 hours per day studying.
The week leading up to your exam, you should review your strong content areas since you likely haven’t looked at them in a while. For example, remember to review amino acids so that they are fresh on your mind.
You will bump up your CARS practice to 3–4 passages per day, and these can come from the AAMC CARS Question Packs 1 and 2, which contain 120 questions each.

At an absolute minimum, you should take the five AAMC full-length practice exams in addition to all of the, In most cases, a diagnostic exam plus two to three more full-lengths from a test prep company is sufficient, in addition to the AAMC materials.

If you are studying over a prolonged period of time, it is not uncommon for students to take over ten full-length exams. However, taking additional exams will not help you significantly if you are not spending a lot of time reviewing these exams and studying the information that you miss. Many students are fearful of changing their schedule after they have made it.

The point of a study schedule is to guide you through the studying process—it is not law. Refining your study schedule as you work through studying for a test like the MCAT is not only common, but it is often necessary and highly encouraged. Unexpected time commitments will inevitably arise, and you will have to shift some of your MCAT studying pieces around.

Don’t be scared to do this! It is a lot easier to shift your pieces around if you build in flexibility from the start, so don’t discount the importance of a flexibility day or a couple of flexibility weeks (instead of the days) before your test date.
Flexibility days can be filled with work you didn’t get to during the week, but you should also try to use them as a time to relax, destress, and recharge for another week of MCAT studying.

Studying for the MCAT while working full time can seem like a difficult challenge. However, many students with full-time jobs manage to achieve high scores on the exam. To build a successful study schedule, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind.

One reason that studying for the MCAT while working full-time might seem daunting is the sheer amount of time it takes to read and learn all the content you will be tested on.
Although you may not have the luxury of dedicating eight or ten hours a day to MCAT prep, you can achieve a significant amount of studying with smaller daily chunks of time spread out over the course of a longer study period.

For instance, covering one or two hours of content every evening would allow you to prep for the MCAT on a six-month study schedule. Completing smaller tasks throughout the day, such as using flashcards to review and memorize vocabulary or listening to MCAT content while commuting, is also extremely valuable study time.

See also: How To Do Systematic Review?

The key to making this approach to studying work is building consistency in your schedule. Studying for an hour or two every day for a few months will begin to add up. However, studying an hour or two sporadically for a few months will lead to little to no progress. In addition to studying consistently for smaller periods of time to cover content knowledge, regularly taking full-length exams is critical.

Practice exams will allow you to synthesize the content you’ve reviewed, assess your progress at points in time, and develop the stamina for an eight-hour exam. When planning your study schedule, be sure to account for at least five full-length exams: one at the beginning of your studying and at least four in the weeks leading up to your exam.

These may be best scheduled during weekends, holidays, or strategically scheduled vacation days. Despite your best planning, emergencies and unexpected situations may arise. When we assist students with developing a custom MCAT study schedule and selecting a test date, we consider their personal and professional obligations that may end up consuming more time than expected.

These might include professional review periods, family holidays and gatherings, or periods of sickness. Building an extra month or two into your study schedule would allow you to catch up on material that you may be weak in at a much less frantic pace, without neglecting your non-MCAT life.

Finally, burnout is more common among MCAT students who have layered MCAT studying onto an already full plate; prepping for the MCAT with a full-time job fits the bill.
Therefore, though it may seem counterintuitive, you should take at least one day completely off from studying each week.
It may seem like you’re missing an hour or two of studying in the short term, but the long-term benefits include having the time to recharge and attack the next week with newfound energy.

If you have one month to study for the MCAT, you know that you have no time to waste. It is possible to study on this short timeline if you have 7–8 hours every day to devote exclusively to MCAT studying. As you look through this study schedule, you will notice that some content is sacrificed in favor of practice. How To Do Content Review For Mcat mcat study schedule Template (1 month) To successfully prep for the MCAT in one month, you’ll need to quickly identify your opportunities for greatest improvement and master the strategies to target your weaknesses. Our Select Plan (10 hours of live tutoring) for 1:1 MCAT tutoring can help you do just that. During this 4-week period, we will:

Administer our proprietary diagnostic exam to identify your specific strengths and weaknesses and create a customized day-to-day schedule based on your current time commitments, previous MCAT experience, and available resources to maximize every hour between now and your exam date.
Analyze your current strategy and identify the most high-yield areas for improvement.
Emphasize “need-to-know” content in anticipation of your test date.
Help you eliminate your bad habits —especially the ones you don’t know you have—while doubling down on what’s working for you in the short time remaining.

Some students mistakenly believe that there is too little time remaining to take a new approach to their MCAT prep. And while the best time to get good help was yesterday, today is the next best.

1:1 Private Tutoring
Individualized Study Schedule
Content Tutoring
Strategy Tutoring

Remember: the fewer days you have before the MCAT, the more study time you will need to spend per day. If you have two months to study for the MCAT, we recommend studying 5–6 hours per day. With two months of prep time, you can devote much more study time to test content, though you’ll still want to prioritize test strategy, as strategy will likely have a greater influence on your score. How To Do Content Review For Mcat mcat study schedule Template (2 monthS) If you have two months to study for the MCAT, we recommend signing up for our Superior Plan, which includes 25 hours of customized, 1:1 MCAT tutoring, as well as all of the prep materials you will need (e.g., content materials, full-length AAMC exams) to be successful. During this 8-week period, we will:

Study your diagnostic exam results to create an individualized day-to-day schedule that works around your schedule—school, work, extracurriculars—while building in sufficient MCAT prep for you to succeed on the exam.
Help you master the high-yield content that you’ll need to know for the exam, splitting lessons into targeted content coaching and strategy refinement. That way, you’ll focus on the areas that come up most, rather than those that barely move the needle.
Develop (or refine) a strategy that works for you when it comes to understanding passages, combining passage knowledge with your outside knowledge, and eliminating trap answer choices that the AAMC loves to throw at you.

While you have more breathing room with 2 months of prep time vs. say, 1 month, it’s still time to get serious because your exam date will be here before you know it. By consistently studying the right material several hours a day, you can avoid last-minute, minimally effective cramming.

1:1 Private Tutoring
Individualized Study Schedule
Content Tutoring
Strategy Tutoring
Score Increase Guarantee
Study Materials
AAMC Practice Exams
Tablet for Video Sessions

If you have 3 months to study for the MCAT, you’re in a highly favorable position because you can thoroughly address content and strategy deficiencies without needing to devote full days to MCAT prep to receive maximum benefit. With this timeframe, we recommend studying for about 3 hours per day. How To Do Content Review For Mcat mcat study schedule Template (3 monthS) With 3 months of prep time, you will benefit most from our Superior+ Plan (40 hours of live tutoring) for individualized, 1:1 MCAT tutoring. The Superior+ Plan is most popular among our students and includes all the materials you will need (e.g., content materials, full-length AAMC exams) for successful prep. During your 12-week study period, we will:

Administer and review the results of your diagnostic exam to create a customized day-to-day schedule that will systematize your prep over the next three months. That way, you don’t have to think about what to focus on each day.
Review content that you most struggle with, especially the high-yield content areas that the MCAT question writers love to test you on.
Develop a strategy from scratch to help you answer more questions right while building your confidence to succeed on the exam.

A 3- or 4-month study schedule is great because it allows you to comprehensively prepare for the MCAT, with respect to test content and strategy. Moreover, you’re less likely to burn out because you can effectively space out your work. That said, 3 months is not that much time, so consistency and accountability will be hugely important to maximize your prep.

1:1 Private Tutoring
Individualized Study Schedule
Content Tutoring
Strategy Tutoring
Score Increase Guarantee
Study Materials
AAMC Practice Exams
Tablet for Video Sessions

With 6 months to study, you can comfortably prepare for the MCAT while balancing your academic, extracurricular, and personal commitments.6 months of prep time would be ideal for you if you want to build up your content knowledge base before diving into practice tests and develop a high-yield strategy from the ground up. How To Do Content Review For Mcat mcat study schedule Template (6 monthS) If you have six months to study for the MCAT, our Top Scorer Plan (60 hours of live tutoring) for 1:1 MCAT tutoring will help ensure that you leave no stone unturned. During these 6 months, we will help you:

Create a customized day-to-day schedule based on results from our proprietary diagnostic exam that incorporates work, school, volunteer, life, holiday, and relaxation, so you know exactly what to focus on each time you sit down to study.
Learn all of the MCAT content that you need to know, including the most frequently tested content areas that will yield the largest score increases.
Develop an empirically-based and highly-refined strategy over the course of your content review phase so that you hit the practice phase ready to dominate your exam.

The highest-achieving students understand the importance of planning ahead. With 6 months of time to prepare for the MCAT, you can avoid much of the stress associated with cramming and maximize your results. By incorporating consistent practice into your routine, you can achieve true mastery and go into the MCAT with confidence.

1:1 Private Tutoring
Individualized Study Schedule
Content Tutoring
Strategy Tutoring
Score Increase Guarantee
Study Materials
AAMC Practice Exams
Tablet for Video Sessions

We sometimes hear from students who are using one of our study plans but still have trouble fitting in each review section or practice passage during their allotted time. For example, perhaps you’re following the 3-month study schedule and putting in 3 hours every day only to complete 2 of the three tasks on your plate or only parts of each task.

This feeling of a lack of progress can develop into frustration and possibly even doubt at your ability to handle medical school.
However, we’ve found that students likely just need to change their approach to fit their personal learning styles.
While our study schedules are thoroughly planned out guidelines, we can’t know your exact strengths and weaknesses without individualized support.

For instance, you might struggle with CARS passages and find that they take up the majority of your study time. On the other hand, it could be physics. Whatever it is, you need to make sure you’re granting your full, focused attention to each passage as you work so that even if you don’t get through an entire passage in the allotted time, you’ve still gained valuable practice and insight into where you need to improve.

Consider where you are studying. Are you attempting to learn in a dorm room or a house with roommates where the things they’re doing are breaking your concentration? Maybe you’re studying in the section of the university library where speaking is allowed and overhearing other people’s conversations causes your thoughts to wander. Are you studying in a public space such as a coffee shop? You might need to find a quiet corner where nothing will bother you.
Make sure you minimize distractions. Distractions are everywhere and not just from other people. Where is your phone while you’re studying? Do you find yourself checking social media when you should be engrossed in a topic? Apps such as can help you maintain your concentration in the face of a world encroaching on your time and space via technology.
Utilize study techniques. If the first two are not an issue for you and you’re still having trouble, try using the, This simple technique has you set a timer and remain wholly focused on a specific task until the timer runs out. Afterwards, you get a short break. The timer can be set for any increment you wish. We recommend 20 or 30 minutes with a 5 or 10 minute rest. This way, you get a large dose of extreme concentration paired with a mental rest to give your brain a chance to absorb the new information. The efficacy of this approach lies in the breaking up of a large task into smaller intervals. You’ve probably experienced the difficulty of retaining information that you’ve crammed the night before an exam.

How to study MCAT content review reddit?

My advice: PUSH THROUGH CONTENT REVIEW QUICKLY. The biggest point of content is to remind yourself of things you’ve seen and done before, but maybe would have trouble remembering from straight up recall. If something seems really really complicated and hard to understand, spend a short time on it and move on.

Is Khan Academy enough for MCAT content review?

FAQs – Is Khan Academy Good For the MCAT? Yes, Khan Academy is good for the MCAT. This is a great prep course to get free content and extra resources before taking exams. How Many Khan Academy Videos Are There For MCAT? There are about 1,100 Khan Academy videos for the MCAT, which is enough to prepare you for the real med school test.

Is Uworld good for MCAT content review?

Introduction – Uworld MCAT Review is a popular study resource for students looking to prepare for the MCAT exam and other college readiness and professional licensing exams. It offers comprehensive review of the exam topics, rationales, and critical reasoning skills,

The question bank boasts an innovative performance metrics system and a user-friendly platform accessible from any device. Uworld MCAT Review’s pricing structure offers a basic plan, standard plan, and an elite tier, making it an economical and affordable option for all students. There are various study materials, including digital flashcards, MCAT-style questions, and in-depth explanations of biology, biochemistry, physics, psychology, and sociology.

Uworld MCAT Review comes with a few pros, such as detailed content, well-designed digital cards, vivid imagery, and renowned experts, offering 2,000 strategically designed questions, However, it lacks certain features, such as minimal review materials, a lack of practice tests, and insufficient MCAT simulation.

Is 6 months too long for MCAT?

Even with six months to prepare, you will need to put aside a good chunk of study each week to attain a competitive score on the MCAT. Let’s take a look at how the next six months should shape up for you. First thing to consider is that this is a long term plan.

Are Kaplan books enough for MCAT content review?

Option #2: I want a more thorough review – If you’re looking for a set of books that go into more detail than the ExamKrackers books, then I recommend Kaplan. They generally do a good job of covering everything you need to know without going completely overkill.

These are the books that I used to get a 526 on my MCAT, and they’re my favorite set all around. The Kaplan books are probably the best choice for most people. Especially if you feel like you might be weak in some areas, the Kaplan books will be very thorough. That said, the one drawback is that there are some sections where they go into more detail than you’ll need.

I especially found this to be true in some of the sections that cover physiology. My preferred way to use them was to focus especially on knowing everything that was mentioned in the end of chapter summaries. That helps to narrow your focus a little bit and keep the content more manageable.

Can I study for the MCAT in 3 months?

Experts recommend that the average pre-med student spend between 300 and 350 hours over several months preparing for the MCAT. Three months might seem like plenty of time to prep, but you’ll still need to set aside many hours of study time each week in order to score competitively on the MCAT.

Is memm enough for content review?

For students starting to study for the MCAT – The most common way to use Memm is as the cornerstone of content review. Most students traditionally have used it alongside a set of review books, such as the Kaplan 7-book set for their first pass-through of content.

Memm is the king of content review.” L.
L, scored 520 More and more students have reported skipping review books and using Memm alone with the included Med School Insiders course content as a complete resource for content review.
Memm is designed to be completely comprehensive for content review.
We’ve heard that review books include many unnecessary details and promote an inefficient, passive learning style.

” incredibly helpful. I can’t emphasize it enough. It’s all the content review you need, a thousand times better than the Kaplan review books (I used both). Kaplan includes SO Many details that you really don’t need to know to do well, its so easy to get bogged down. How To Do Content Review For Mcat Sample 3-month and 6-month MCAT study schedules using Memm

What is the hardest subject on MCAT?

The Most Difficult MCAT Test Section – Many students report that the most difficult section is CARS, and the average scores reported by AAMC back that up. The lowest average section scores overall and for matriculants are in CARS. Students report struggling with CARS because it takes the idea of using critical thinking and logical reasoning and puts it on steroids.

The questions in this section are so different from anything students have studied in their undergrad science classes. You could easily ace every med school prerequisite and be completely baffled the first time you see a CARS practice question. This is because questions in CARS are not designed to test your scientific content knowledge.

In fact, it’s entirely possible to answer every question in CARS with the information provided — you don’t need any background content knowledge. The questions are completely designed to test your thought process, what you can infer from reading a passage, and how well you can separate important and useless information.

Because it includes long, complex passages, it also tests how quickly you can read and comprehend passages.
Additionally, according to AAMC, CARS tests content from ethics, philosophy, studies of diverse cultures, population health, and a wide range of social sciences and humanities disciplines.
For this reason, students who majored in the humanities might find CARS easier than students who majored in the sciences.

The fact is that CARS might not be inherently more difficult than other sections, but it is likely to be the most different from the ways students have studied and been tested in the past. This makes it feel very difficult to test takers, particularly those who don’t spend a lot of time practicing these types of questions.

What is the most heavily tested subject on the MCAT?

On the MCAT, biology (at 65% of the Bio/Biochem section) will be by far the most important of the four ‘classic’ MCAT subjects, followed in importance by general chemistry (30% of the Chem/Phys section); physics (25% of the Chem/Phys section); and finally organic chemistry (15% of the Chem/Phys section).

Is the MCAT mostly memorization?

How to ace the MCAT in 3 steps! How To Do Content Review For Mcat The MCAT is not a memorization test. Let me be more specific: it’s much more about recall than it is about recognition. When you’re prepping for the Psych/Soc section of the MCAT, you’ll learn about different types of memory—sensory, working, procedural, episodic—how memory is stored, and how it’s retrieved.

You can retrieve stored memories through recall—rattling off everything you remember about ADH—or through recognition—noticing that aldosterone is one of the answer choices and remembering you read about its role in the renal system. So don’t worry about memorizing every single detail in your prep books.

You do, of course, need to memorize some things for the MCAT, but by and large, the MCAT is about recall and association: drawing the connections between subjects. This format actually mirrors how memories are organized in the brain: in semantic networks.

Semantic networks connect memories whose meanings are related, and ultimately, the goal of your studying will be to strengthen those networks. Ultimately, you will be increasing your fluency in a number of areas, appreciating how they speak to one another, and noticing the patterns that underlie the details.

The MCAT tests your ability to associate much more than it does your capacity to memorize.

Is 60% on UWorld bad?

I passed in 60 questions, this is how I did it. – I’m writing this in case it may help someone who will be taking the exam soon. First, I set a goal of passing in 60 questions. I wanted to finish strong and have always believed in over preparing. I took the exam on 8/24/20 and finished at 60 questions in under an hour.

I was in and out of the testing center quickly and felt relatively confident about my performance afterward.
My study regimen/advice is as follows: 1.100 practice questions a day (with a few days off), usually in blocks of 20-25 questions at a time.
I started a little more than a month before the exam and had completed all of the questions about 1.5 weeks before the exam date.2.

FINISH ALL OF THE PRACTICE QUESTIONS! The people I personally know who struggled the most did not go through all of the practice questions. I know one who barely went through half and ended up getting the absolute maximum number of questions on the NCLEX and spent hours inside the testing center only to have an emotional breakdown afterward.

This person ended up passing but it was likely a very close call. Don’t do that to yourself, be prepared.3. I took both assessments the week before the exam. Being that I had gone through all of the practice questions, I ended up with a “very high” chance of passing on both.4. I took notes on the questions I got wrong or happened to guess correctly.5.

I made a master list of all medications mentioned in the questions and reviewed them when necessary.6. YOU WILL HAVE TO GUESS ON THE EXAM, expect it to happen occasionally. I think the uworld questions actually improve your ability to guess with confidence (sounds weird but its true).7.

I spent about 2 hours per day studying.
This involved the practice questions and taking notes on the rationales.
I used very few outside sources, if I did it usually involved medications or obscure diseases.
Hi, I am taking my NCLEX RN in October 17.
My scores on the qbank are 58% or 60%.
Are those good? Also, how soon before the exam should I take the predictor exam? bpgb629137 wrote: Hi, I am taking my NCLEX RN in October 17.

My scores on the qbank are 58% or 60%. Are those good? Also, how soon before the exam should I take the predictor exam? 58-60% is OK, a good sign is being consistently above the average scores. The Uworld package I bought came with 2 assessment exams. I took the first about 1.5 weeks before my scheduled test date.

Keep in mind that I had completed all of the Qbank questions by that time. After the first assessment, I spent about 5 days reviewing all of my notes from the Qbank rationales and then took the second assessment about 3 days before the NCLEX exam. HIII FUTURE NURSES!!!!! I am writing this to send words of encouragement for your upcoming NCLEX-RN exam and to believe in yourself.

Reading other posts really helped me and I wanted to do the same for someone else. I graduated nursing school in Dec 2022 and didn’t start studying for nlcex until first week of Jan 2023. My school had exit HESI so that helped me with what to do study and where to focus my study content on.

ANYWAYS.
My UWORLD test scores: well.
Not the best compared to others.
I completed 1491 questions (69% used) and my overall bank score was 55%.
I had 2 self assessments, the first one I took Tuesday, Feb 7th.
Eep in mind my test was scheduled, Friday Feb 10th.
I got 59% HIGH chance of passing.
THEN next day Wednesday, I took another self assessment and got 50% LOW chance of passing.

This killed all my confidence and really upped up my anxiety. I really thought I wasn’t capable of passing. My issue was that I wouldn’t take the time to REALLY read the question and answer options throughly. NCLEX is easier than Uworld so as long as you’re doing practice questions and reading the rationales, YOU WILL BE OKAY!!! DO NOT LET YOUR ANXIETY GET TO YOU.

I also listened and took notes from the 12 Mark K lectures. I really took my time with those and did one a day and actually took hand-written notes while I listened and reviewed those notes by myself then had one of my family members test me for what I learned that day. DAY BEFORE EXAM: Okay so I have really BAD anxiety and when Im not reviewing or doing questions, I really start to overthink and feel guilty like I’m not doing enough.

SOOO AFTER all the advice of not to do anything the day before your exam, I did NOT listen. Was it a mistake??? possibly as I took a Kaplan CAT test and got a RED overall (which is bad lol) and really got in my head like wtf am I doing. Especially with my previous scored being GREEN overall.

SOOOO if you’re going to do something the day before your exam I really just recommend reviewing your notes and IF you do end up doing questions or any practice exam, DO NOT ALLOW YOUR SCORE (good or bad) get in your head. Then go do something for yourself, something you enjoy for the rest of day. Try to sleep early and eat healthy.

I literally went to sleep 10 o’clock and woke up every 2 hours out of nervousness until 6am. I did the full 145 questions and really made sure to take my time to read the question and take breaks when needed. I did the pop up trick later that day and got a GOOD pop up.

How to increase MCAT score by 10 points?

Top Scorer MCAT Strategy 3 – Improve Practice Test Taking Abilities To Improve Your MCAT Score – If your scores aren’t improving, if you’re not able to get beyond a certain threshold like the 500 mark, you’re likely not not leveraging practice exams resourcefully.

Here we’ll cover a few quick highly recommended top scorer practice exam strategies.
First, a major factor in using practice tests efficiently to increase your MCAT score, as top scorers recommend, is to constantly identify and reflect on the reasons for your mistakes.
If you’re doing anything to stall your reflection process, you’re hurting your MCAT score.

For example, if you get a discouraging score on a practice test, it’s tempting to go hard on the books. Don’t. Don’t study from a place of anxiety. Take some time to rest and go back to the practice test AFTER you’re in a clear, focused, positive mindset.

This could be a few hours later or the next day.
Giving yourself time to rejuvenate is important because it helps you refresh your mind and avoid burnout.
When you rest, you’re able to proficiently see your mistakes and your reasons for making them.
This will greatly help you identify exactly where you keep making the same errors, why you’re making them, and that’s when you’ll identify exactly what you need to do to STOP making them.

As a result, you’ll see your MCAT score rise with every practice exam you take AND correctly analyze. Also, top scorers ensure that they not only analyze why they got questions wrong, but also WHY they got questions right. When you’re done your practice exams, don’t ignore all your correct answers.

Take time to go through those as well. Another key top scorer practice test strategy is to schedule practice tests very regularly to help maximize your score. Don’t leave them to later. You want to track your progress and not be surprised at what you see when the exam is too close. So far, in a way we’ve kept you ‘inside the forest’ interacting with individual trees, giving you some strategies and opening your eyes to how you can improve your MCAT score using proven methods and strategies of top scorers before you.

As we end this article, we want to fly you out of the jungle and give you a ‘bird’s eye view’ of the entire forest, so you can see the big picture. So you can see exactly how a top scorer, and more importantly, a future doctor, looks at the MCAT. This is the perspective that’s going to evolve you into preparing for the MCAT like a top scorer, and hopefully keep you on the path of consistent increases in your MCAT score

Can you study for MCAT in 8 weeks?

How many months and hours to study for the MCAT? –

If you’re doing your MCAT prep for about 8 weeks (about 2 months), you should devote a good 15-30 hours per week to studying. If you work full-time or you’re really busy and you only get to study 10-15 hours a week, then it will likely take a longer period of time. Start with an MCAT diagnostic exam, and get a sense for yourself where you’re sitting at this time. If you’re already close to the score you want, then obviously you don’t need to study as long for the MCAT.

If you’re doing your MCAT prep for about 8 weeks, you should devote a good 15-30 hours per week to studying. Click To Tweet

How long does the average person study for the MCAT?

How to Juggle MCAT Prep and Work How To Do Content Review For Mcat Here’s a math problem for you: How many hours are left in the week if one pre-med adds a full-time MCAT study schedule to a full-time job or course load? How many hours are left if you account for family commitments and “free time”? The correct answer is.not many.

But with a little strategy, you might find more than you’d think!, Here are five ways to plan the juggling act of MCAT prep and work so that you never drop the ball: 1. Give yourself enough time to study and practice. If you compare yourself to peers who can study full-time for the MCAT with no distractions, you may feel like you’re at a disadvantage.

After all, someone who can devote 40+ hours per week to MCAT prep can be ready in less time than someone with an already-packed schedule. Take heart—you’re not at a disadvantage. In fact, the kind of long-term planning you’ll need to do now will serve you well in medical school and beyond.

You’ll have to juggle prep with medical school and residency commitments, for example.) Plus, have you ever heard the expression, “If you want something done, ask a busy person?” As you ably manage your concurrent commitments, you’ll become more efficient and productive than ever.
So, where should you start? Most people need 10–15 hours per week to study for the MCAT over a period of at least four to six months,

In total, you should aim for at least 200 to 300 hours of MCAT study time. You should plan to spend even more time studying if you last covered the material a while ago, or if you have a particular area of weakness. Since it is always easier to work toward a definitive goal, consult the section of AAMC’s website devoted to, and decide on a test date about six months away.

If the current test calendar does not extend that far out, then look at similar dates in the current year (the testing schedule remains relatively consistent).
Pro tip : While you’re there, take note of when registration is available for your desired test date, and be sure to register as early as possible.

Dates and test centers fill up quickly!

How long should I do content review for MCAT?

#2. Review content and build your knowledge base – The first 1-1.5 months of studying should be focused on content review. Content review is crucial because the MCAT expects you to have a strong foundation of scientific knowledge. The best way to do this is by purchasing a set of MCAT review books and working through each chapter and set of problems.

Popular prep companies include: The Princeton Review, Kaplan, and The Berkeley Review,
The specific company you choose is less important than whether you are able to diligently work through the books and fill in any knowledge gaps you encounter.
Cracking Med School Admissions Tips for Studying for the MCAT: From our conversations with pre-meds and medical school students, people often used multiple sources to study for the MCAT.

Is Kaplan harder than actual MCAT?

Kaplan Practice Scores – The general trend for Kaplan practice exams is that they are based heavily on content and may present as much more difficult than the real MCAT. Many students claim that Kaplan practice exams are not representative of the official MCAT exam.

As they are generally based on content, the questions asked on the exam might be more detail-oriented and lower-yield, as they do not test reasoning or critical thinking as the official exam will. The majority of students report receiving higher scores on official AAMC practice MCAT material. From user submitted scores of both their Kaplan and official MCAT exams, the general trend is that Kaplan practice exams are generally scored ~10 points below what you can expect to receive on an official MCAT, were you to take one.

This might seem very off and imply that Kaplan exams are poor predictors of the MCAT. However, they are great resources for finding content gaps, developing stamina with increased practice, and learning how to approach the MCAT as a stronger test-taker.

This is arguably one of the largest gains in taking a practice exam, as stamina and content gaps are important to keep in check while preparing for real thing.
Practicing will therefore always be beneficial.
Additionally, the increased difficulty of these practice exams may improve your ability to think quickly given time restrictions—a skill which is valuable in any exam setting.

Practicing with Kaplan’s more difficult practice tests may prepare you well for official AAMC material through rigorous practice.

Is Kaplan better than Princeton review for MCAT?

Which MCAT prep course is better, Kaplan or Princeton Review? – It is very close to call and we give both courses high ratings, but overall, we prefer Kaplan’s MCAT prep course to Princeton Review’s. Kaplan has superior video lessons, a better live class format, and their practice tests are more realistic.

Is Berkeley review good for MCAT?

The MCAT – See what it takes to score in the 90th+ percentile. Learn when to take the exam and how to maximize your score with The Berkeley Review. “TBR gave me exactly what I needed; Review ALL contents I needed in detail while also knowing what I needed to approach the exam strategically.” Tao B.

Former TBR Student “Extremely knowledgable teachers, know the test inside & out. Tons of practice problems plus detailed answers in the material, with class lectures makes it so worth it.” Megan Y. Former TBR Student “The Berkeley Review covers the materials needed to prepare me for the MCAT thoroughly.

This is definitely the best way to prepare one for this test.” Uyen V.M.D. Former TBR Student “Books were well written and I enjoyed reading them. I enjoyed the structure of the phase I and phase II practice exams.” Marina G. Former TBR Student “TBR is the best test prep program that goes above and beyond to help students succeed!” Suki K.

Former TBR Student Eric K.
Former TBR Student “I really liked all the instructors and their slightly different teaching styles.
The resources available are really helpful, but you definitely need to stay on top of the material.
My advice – take a light course load if you’re a student!” Jasmine M.
Former TBR Student “I am very happy for the review that I received from this program.

I’m happy I didn’t go elsewhere. Very helpful and I like the mnemonics and tricks that were taught.” Ben F. Former TBR Student “So glad I went with TBR. The personalized element and expertise of teachers was incredibly helpful and appreciated.” Joey P. Former TBR Student “The books are all very detailed and have lots of great explanations and hard practice passages!” Stanley D.

Former TBR Student “I would recommend The Berkeley Review to anybody who is serious about getting into a top Medical School. I felt like the program pushed our class further than we were expecting. My level of understanding of scientific principals was astonishing after the course was over. I wish courses like this were offered during my undergrad! Ryan T.

Current Med Student, UCSF “Thank you so much to all TBR staff from Summer 2019! You all are amazing for being a support system for me to hopefully achieve my dream of going to med school!” Sasha R. Former TBR Student “Super helpful material!” Ling L. Former TBR Student “Easy to read books considering the complicated topics.

Lots of great examples and passages.” Lonnie Z. Former TBR Student “Very well prepared material, lots of details and mnemonics. Stands out from normal textbooks in many ways.” Steven E. Former TBR Student “TBR gave me exactly what I needed; Review ALL contents I needed in detail while also knowing what I needed to approach the exam strategically.” Tao B.

How long should I do content review for MCAT?

Popular prep companies include: The Princeton Review, Kaplan, and The Berkeley Review,
The specific company you choose is less important than whether you are able to diligently work through the books and fill in any knowledge gaps you encounter.
Cracking Med School Admissions Tips for Studying for the MCAT: From our conversations with pre-meds and medical school students, people often used multiple sources to study for the MCAT.

How many times do you have to review full length MCAT?

The Average Number for a Well-Prepared MCAT Student – A good number of practice tests for a well-prepared MCAT student to take would be five or six. You take three from AAMC and another three from a prep company like Next Step, If you need to go beyond that, that’s fine. But if you’re reviewing them properly, there shouldn’t be any need to go past nine or ten tests.

How many hours total should you study for the MCAT?

But with a little strategy, you might find more than you’d think!, Here are five ways to plan the juggling act of MCAT prep and work so that you never drop the ball: 1.
Give yourself enough time to study and practice.
If you compare yourself to peers who can study full-time for the MCAT with no distractions, you may feel like you’re at a disadvantage.

(You’ll have to juggle prep with medical school and residency commitments, for example.) Plus, have you ever heard the expression, “If you want something done, ask a busy person?” As you ably manage your concurrent commitments, you’ll become more efficient and productive than ever. So, where should you start? Most people need 10–15 hours per week to study for the MCAT over a period of at least four to six months,

If the current test calendar does not extend that far out, then look at similar dates in the current year (the testing schedule remains relatively consistent).
Pro tip : While you’re there, take note of when registration is available for your desired test date, and be sure to register as early as possible.

Dates and test centers fill up quickly!

How much time should I spend per passage on the MCAT?

How much time should I spend reading the MCAT passages and answering each MCAT question? You should spend an average of 9.5 minutes per passage in the MCAT. For the MCAT science sections, you should spend about 9 minutes, and for the MCAT CARS section, you should spend no more than 10 minutes.