Studying for the MCAT is no easy task. It is a great deal of information to memorize, but there are ways to make it more manageable.
One way would be to utilize a five-month study plan. This article will lay out the structure of this plan and provide suggestions on how each topic should get approached to best prepare for your upcoming exam day.
How Hard is the MCAT?
MCAT is not just a course but a technical one for that reason. It is not as easy as people would have loved it to be. It involves complex calculations and mastery of technical concepts. But is MCAT that hard?
While some students find it simple, the MCAT is a hard test, and you should expect to spend many hours preparing for it. The test is administered by the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) organization, which also helps with the MCAT-RN exam, the MCAT-BK exam, and other standardized tests.
The MCAT is offered online through Pearson VUE and in person at thousands of testing centers worldwide.
The MCAT has four sections: Physical Sciences (30 questions), Verbal Reasoning (60 questions), Biological Sciences (50 questions), and Chemistry (50 questions). Each section is scored on a scale from 3 to 15, with each higher score indicating better performance.
The MCAT consists of three sections that test your knowledge of biology, physics, chemistry, and verbal reasoning skills. Each section takes about two hours to complete and consists of 30 multiple-choice or 60 free-response questions.
Highest and lowest MCAT score
The average MCAT score is between 22 and 23. The highest score is 34, and the lowest score is 10.
The highest possible score doesn’t mean you’ll do well on the test. It means you’re capable of doing well on the test, but there are probably other factors that will determine your performance.
For example, your GPA, your school’s requirements for admission, and how much effort you put into studying for it (or not) are all things that can affect your performance on the MCAT.
How to Study for MCAT
The MCAT is a test that requires both preparation and practice. The best way to prepare for the exam is to get your hands on a great study guide: Design your study plan, which will help you prepare for the important concepts on the test. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to start practicing questions from the book.
It is worth noting that MCAT differs from other courses and should be studied differently. Studying for the MCAT involves making a plan and sticking with it. Here are some tips to help you get started:
1. Plan Your Time
It’s important to figure out how much time you have in the next few weeks and months to study and practice tests. You’ll need time to do the reading, prepare questions, memorize answers, and practice on practice tests. Be realistic about how much time you can realistically devote each day, week, or month.
2. Make a Study Schedule
An excellent way to get started is by creating a schedule for yourself that includes all of the things that need to be done each day.
This will give you something concrete to base your studies on and a sense of accomplishment when you complete them!
Make sure that each hour on your schedule is dedicated strictly to studying rather than other activities like watching television or playing video games (unless they’re related to studying).
3. Study material in small doses
Don’t read through an entire chapter of your textbook or review all of your notes at once. Instead, spend five minutes reading a few pages of each chapter and then reviewing those pages in more detail.
This helps you retain information better and gives you more time to focus on answering questions correctly when you take a practice test later in the process.
4. Take practice tests
You must take practice tests from multiple publishers because they cover different topics than what appears on the exam. Feel free to practice using calculators in MCAT if you need to.
When studying for the real thing, consider taking two separate tests: one with questions drawn from Kaplan books and another with questions taken from other publishers such as Princeton Review or ExamViews; both offer online versions.
Take lots of practice exams, at least once every month or so before your exam date. If you feel overwhelmed by this process, talk to someone who had taken the test before about how they prepared for their exams.
If possible, take an official MCAT Practice Test rather than a self-administered practice test online or through another service provider.
The testing service providers themselves developed these tests, so they should be more representative of what you will encounter when taking an actual exam from Kaplan or Dental School Admissions Council (DSAC).
5-Month MCAT Study Plan
Here is a study plan that will help you prepare for the MCAT in the most efficient way possible. First, you should know how it takes to study for MCAT so that you can plan.
Also, you can take it from wherever you want, when you want, as long as you make sure to follow it! This guide is structured around three major points:
1. The first month of studying should focus on basic science concepts and reviewing knowledge from previous classes or studying materials.
2. The second month should focus on reading your Verbal Reasoning passages and ensuring that you understand the concepts they present.
3. The third month should focus on reviewing Verbal Reasoning passages and learning new ones that are more advanced than those covered in previous months’ reviews (e.g., if you’ve been reading about probability problems, now would be a good time to start reading about conditional probabilities).
4. The final month should focus on preparing for your final exams and taking practice tests as needed – including practice questions and actual MCAT questions!
How Many Times can you Take the MCAT?
There is no limit to the number of times you can take the MCAT. You can take as many times as you want, but keeping track of your scores is important.
If you score below your target score, you may want to consider retaking the test. If you get a new MCAT score, ask your school how they will use it in admission decisions.
The most important thing you can do to improve your MCAT score is to study for it. This is true no matter how many times you take the exam. As long as you make sure to study, the number of times you take the test will not make a difference in your score.
