My MCAT Study Schedule
I made my schedule based on Examkracker’s Home Study Schedule but with my modifications. I paired Examkracker (EK) chapters with Kaplan Review (KR) chapters. Because the KR chapters are pretty lengthy and some chapters don’t exactly align with the EK chapters, I try to read a chapter or two a day and try to read the KR before I read the EK chapter. I’ve also opted out of the recommended midway study break because I know if I do a full week of nothing, I’ll lose motivation and break my habits. This is just my preference because I know my study habits but I’m sure if I feel like I’m burning out I’ll modify my schedule. I’ve also incorporated break days for upcoming
Information is key but some of the tips I read about prepping for the MCAT scare me. Studying 40hrs a week, 8 hours a day? Yikes, I definitely can’t do that. But some tips like waking up early, taking a practice exam each week, and how to effectively review the results of practice exams, are some things I will definitely incorporate into my routine. I aim to study about 5 hours a day, everyday, expect on days of review. Days when I review I plan on spending only about 3 hours. Making this plan took me a couple of hours and I tried to do a lot of research on some tips along with taking a look at other people’s study plans.
Here’s a look at my study plan for the first week::
Week 1 Day 1: Do the AAMC Online Practice Questions. Review questions. Day 2: Pre-read (skim) EK: Reasoning Skills Intro (Lecture i & ii) & Lecture 1; Biology 1: Molecules Lecture 1. Read KR: Physics Ch 10, 11, 12 Day 3: Read (take notes, highlight) & work through problems EK: Reasoning Skills Intro (Lecture i & ii) & Lecture 1 + take In-Class Exam & review results. Read KR: Biochemistry Ch 1 Day 4: Read EK: Biology 1 Lecture 1 + take In-Class Exam. Read KR: Biochemistry Ch 2 Day 5: Read EK: Reasoning Skills Lecture 1 + take In-Class Exam. Read KR: Biochemistry Ch 4 Day 6: Read Kaplan Advanced Prep - Biology (Chapter 10). Read KR: Biochemistry Ch 5 Day 7: Read KR: General Chemistry Ch 1, 2. & [REVIEW DAY] Review all material. Revisit weakest lecture. Refer to additional sources for further clarification on any confusing topics.
I won’t post my entire study plan just yet. I’m not an expert and I’m not too sure how the schedule will really work for me yet so it may be subjugated to modifications. Every day, I plan on blogging about the lessons I’ve learned and note any topics I struggled with. This will be useful for my review days. Follow me on my journey!
