The summer is often the best time for students to prepare for the MCAT. With no classes to attend, students are generally able to devise a study schedule that is comprehensive, flexible and efficient. Below are several key strategies to u s e during your summer of MCAT prep .
1. Formulate a concrete review plan: The most important thing you can do to ensure that your summer MCAT prep is adequate is to create a study calendar. Remember, your time is largely under your own control.
As you draft your calendar, take into account all the commitments and responsibilities that you have. For example, if you know that you will be on vacation during a specific weekend, plan around this item and compensate for lost time.
You should also set firm milestones during your summer prep period. I recommend planning for about 40 hours of study time per week for at least eight weeks over the summer.
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2. Prioritize the material you struggle with: Paradoxically, most students spend the majority of their time reviewing material they are comfortable with because they tend to enjoy it more. For instance, I have worked with individuals who understand physiology very well, but who struggle with certain topics in physics.
These students spent a large portion of their time studying biology concepts that they had mastered because they did not feel comfortable reviewing physics. This led to their practice exam scores plateauing, not increasing, even though they continued to review for the MCAT.
After focusing on the areas where they were weaker, these individuals began to see a corresponding rise in their practice test results. Though it may not be enjoyable to work on material you do not understand well, the simple fact is that your score will only increase if you address your weakest areas.
Without the added time commitments and distractions of the school year, the summer months provide a perfect time for students to diligently focus on topics that they find more challenging.
3. Emphasize practice tests: Many students do study the material they struggle with, but they continue to underperform on their practice exams or on the actual MCAT. This is often because they spent an inordinate amount of time reading over material, rather than taking practice tests.
After you have reviewed the basic concepts and foundations that make up the MCAT two or three times, you will not gain much additional knowledge with each pass through the material. At this point, dedicate the majority of your time to answering as many practice questions as you can.
You will continue to learn about specific topics through practice questions, and you will also have the added benefit of improving your time management skills, gaining familiarity with the exam format and solidifying the critical thinking skills you will need to do well on the MCAT.
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As a general rule of thumb, I recommend initially devoting 90 percent of your time to reading and reviewing material and 10 percent to completing practice questions. Once you have finished two to three passes of the core material, I recommend switching that ratio to 90 percent practice questions and 10 percent additional, focused review of your weak areas.
Most students see a benefit if they’ve completed at least five practice exams during their review period. This is usually doable if students schedule their exam for sometime in August.
4. Review class material that is relevant to the MCAT: Many students attempt to revisit all of their premedical course material while preparing for the MCAT. Though much of what is taught in standard premedical courses is covered on the MCAT, you will find that just as much is not on the test.
In addition, because of institutional variability in class content, certain students may not be exposed to every MCAT concept while in college. As such, it is important to first work through a comprehensive review book and to identify which topics are on the MCAT.
After doing so, students should u se their class notes to reinforce their understanding of these concepts. Compared with the academic year where office hours with professors and teaching assistants are commonplace, the summer months may require you to use other resources, such as tutors or peer study groups, to reinforce course material.
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Set a Summer Study Schedule for the MCAT originally appeared on usnews.com
