Review Questions You Got Wrong AND Questions You Got Right – While reviewing the questions you answered incorrectly is a key element, it is important to review the questions you answered correctly. Sometimes you get questions right because you guessed.
How do I review MCAT content?
#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!
Are MCAT practice exams harder?
Is the actual MCAT harder than the AAMC practice exams? – There is a lot of debate on this topic and it largely depends on who you ask. Some students find the AAMC practice exams to be more difficult than the actual MCAT, while others find them to be a good predictor of what they will see on the test day.
There are a few things to keep in mind when considering this question. First, the AAMC practice exams are designed to be as close to the real thing as possible, so they are a good indicator of what you can expect. However, they are not an exact replica of the MCAT, so there may be some differences. Second, everyone has a different learning style and some people may find the AAMC practice exams to be more challenging because they require a different approach to study.
Ultimately, it is up to you to decide whether or not you think the AAMC practice exams are a good predictor of your performance on the actual MCAT.
How accurate are MCAT practice tests?
Official AAMC Practice Scores – The AAMC’s official Full-Length (fl) exams are the practice exams that are the most representative of the real exam. So which of the AAMC fl exams is most representative? The answer is most likely a combination of all of them.
- As long as you imitated test-day conditions as closely as possible, your actual MCAT score will approximate the average of your 5 full-length AAMC practice test scores.
- One thing to note is that the practice exams generally tend to increase in their accuracy of the actual MCAT, starting from the sample and becoming most representative towards the last practice exam (AAMC Full-Length Practice Exam 4).
This is due to the fact that they were released over time, meaning that the last practice exam (4) is the latest. As it is the most recent exam to be added to the available practice exams, it will contain the most pertinent material. The first and second exams’ Psychology/Sociology sections are generally reported to be too content heavy with short and easy questions, a practice which is no longer used in current official exams.
- However, any official AAMC practice exam is an excellent resource and should be completed when preparing for the MCAT,
- In the end, you should expect that your official FL AAMC practice exams will be the most representative of your MCAT preparedness and reflect what the real exam will be like.
- As for how to assess your preparedness for the real MCAT, there are a few baselines for official AAMC practice scores.
The average medical school matriculant’s MCAT score is a 510. This is not to say that a score 1-2 points below this significantly impacts your application, or that a score 1-2 points above this guarantees matriculation. For knowing a specific medical school’s MCAT averages and medians, it is best to consult AAMC’s MSAR service, which will show these details.
- One important thing to note while looking at your subsection scores is that some medical schools have MCAT subsection cutoffs.
- These schools will not, for example, accept an application with a CARS subsection score of less than 123-124, regardless of how high the other 3 subsection scores or overall score might be.
Most importantly, do not let low practice scores bring you down! Remember that all students’ practice scores will be lower early on and will increase over time as you continue to learn material and take practice exams to build your stamina and your familiarity with the MCAT.
How many practice tests should I take before the 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.
Can I study for MCAT in 2 months?
As the official MCAT prep of the AMSA, Kaplan recommends that you spend 300-350 hours studying so you can be above average. If you’re planning on taking the MCAT in two months, you’ll need to put aside a significant amount of study time each week for in order to be able to score competitively.
Is the MCAT a lot of memorization?
How to ace the MCAT in 3 steps! 
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.
What is the hardest section of the 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 a good first practice MCAT score?
A good MCAT score is generally considered to be 511 or higher, with no section score below 127. The MCAT, also known as the Medical College Admission Test, is a computer-based standardized exam designed to assess your potential as a medical student and doctor.
How many hours of study is recommended for MCAT?
How to Juggle MCAT Prep and Work 
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!
Is it worth taking the MCAT twice?
Final thoughts – Retaking the MCAT comes with potential rewards and risks. As such, you’ll want to carefully assess if another attempt is worth the effort and uncertainty. The answer will depend on your existing score, the potential you show through practice exams, the MCAT averages of your target medical schools, and your ability to put in the work towards studying hard.
Can I 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
Is a year too long to study for MCAT?
They began their MCAT preparation too late. – You need to plan ahead of time when it comes to taking the MCAT. As much as possible, you should start studying for the MCAT 3-6 months before the test day. This will give you enough time and preparation and help you achieve your target score.
Can you self study for the MCAT?
Not Everyone Needs an MCAT Prep Course – Some people will be able to self-study for the MCAT just fine. In that case, no, you don’t need a full MCAT prep course. But you can’t know until you get started. To figure out whether or not a course makes sense to you, the first thing to do is to take a diagnostic MCAT test.
Can you improve MCAT score in 3 weeks?
5 Ways to Raise Your MCAT Score in 3 Weeks – Written by Nassim on Feb 3, 2023 Is it three weeks before your MCAT? Are you feeling worried that you haven’t done enough and there’s not much time left to do anything? While increasing your MCAT score in three weeks is a tall order, it can be done.
In this article we will walk you through how to increase you MCAT score in three weeks, what to do if you are not seeing improvement, and which resources are going to be the most important during your study. Whether you have been preparing for months or feel that you have not done enough and need to squeeze in more studying, you probably have many feelings about the upcoming test.
So, how does one learn the MCAT in 21 days? Although we recommend postponing the MCAT if you can devote more time to preparation, some students have to reach the desired MCAT score they need in less time due to unpredictable circumstances. You can increase your MCAT score in three weeks if you approach your preparation process strategically.
When should I stop studying for the MCAT?
When I started studying for USMLE Step 1 (“the boards”), I wondered which aspects of MCAT studying would come up again. Some biochemistry topics felt comfortable ( amino acids and protein structure ), and some topics required more learning (urea cycle and nucleotide metabolism).
Resources to use and checklists for using them Tracking my practice problem performance Weekly study timeline
Weekly study timelines never change. You know how much time you have in a week, your upcoming commitments, and plan your studying around those activities. Whether it’s preparing for the MCAT, finals, block exams in medical school, or the board exams, doing this type of planning helps you create realistic goals and sets you up for success. 
Once you’ve put in 98% of the hard work, scored well on practice exams, and have reached the final week of preparing, your weekly study timeline serves a very different purpose. Before that week, it’s all about maximizing effective study hours, making sure there are no significant holes in your content knowledge, and honing your strategy.
But with just days before your actual test, a new priority emerges: being at full strength on test day. Most advisors and people who’ve taken the MCAT before will tell you to take a break the day before your exam. What’s the point of solidifying 10-15 new pieces of information (of which, maybe none or one will be tested) if it means you’ll be fatigued on test day and only working at 80% or 90% of your full potential? The MCAT is a marathon, with 39 passages and over 6 hours of actual reading and answering questions.
Starting the day at 100% energy and focus is the top priority since it can profoundly affect how many questions you get right. A big part of being 100% on test day is avoiding burnout. To learn more about this, check out our previous blog on 7 Tips to Avoid Burnout,
One day before the test, plan on studying for 0-2 hours. No practice problems, only reviewing high yield topics, and the minute you feel fatigued or tired, stop immediately. Am I feeling tired when you wake up? Don’t study at all. Don’t risk being fatigued on test day. Two days before the test is the last real day of studying, and you should heavily focus on notecard review here. Practice problems are for building a strategy and showing you what areas you still need to study; as your last real day of learning, this is too late. Focus on topics you have seen before but don’t have fully memorized, 3-5 days before the test is far enough out that new practice problems can be done. If you haven’t exhausted the AAMC question packs and section bank, use those now (and convert those questions into predicted AAMC scores using our Study Plan ). The focus should be on memorizing high-yield details and understanding the foundational concepts. ~6 days before the test is the last day, I would recommend doing full-length exam. You need time to recover from these long tests and enough time to actually review those answers and learn the material you missed.
With all of this free time built into the final week and stress about the exam, how can you effectively spend your time? My top tip would be finding a form of physical activity and socialization that works well for you, and planning it ahead of time.
If you enjoy hiking, text your friends and tell them to plan a trip a day or two before your test. Even jogging or walking the day before your exam can help you burn that excess energy, reduce your stress levels, and sleep better the night before the exam, which is a big part of being 100% on test day.
If you’re reading this and freaking out about only having a week left before your exam, take a breath and write down those bulleted points. Everyone feels stressed before big exams, even test experts. It’s all about finding the right balance between studying enough to feel prepared and resting enough not to have regrets walking out of that testing center. 
Timothy is a medical student who has helped over 100 students succeed on the MCAT. Not only did he score in the 99th percentile, he also has extensive understanding of MCAT questioning and has written hundreds of practice questions! For more MCAT Tips: Sign up for our free weekly MCAT newsletter,
What is best for MCAT content review?
#1 | The Princeton Review MCAT Subject Review Complete Box – With unparalleled content coverage to prepare for the MCAT, The Princeton Review MCAT Subject Review Complete Box is something to arm yourself with before taking this graduate entrance exam test. The Princeton Review MCAT box set offers detailed coverage of the content found on the MCAT, including biology, general chemistry, biochemistry, organic chemistry, physics, math, psychology, sociology and critical analysis and reasoning. You’ll find an overview of strategies to tackle varying question types on the MCAT, as well as online practice exams.
For visual learners like me, these books provides a wealth of information with diagrams, tables and illustrations, as well as formulas, charts and concepts that cover all sections of the MCAT exam. Find quick access to concepts using the comprehensive index and learn more about how to master the concepts with the enriched explanations in this prep book set.
Maximize your time during test preparation with the comprehensive resources and tools available with the Princeton Review MCAT Subject Review Complete Box. ➡ RELATED : Read our review of the Princeton MCAT prep course
Are Khan Academy videos 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.