Sample study strategy from a guy who just rocked his MCAT and get a 41: So, basically

this guy is smart. No two people will have exactly the same strategy, but I figured his approach could examined as a guide for folks planning out their own MCAT preparations. Plus he got a highass score so he has street cred now. 1. I blocked out 3 straight months for MCAT studying and really not much else but MCAT studying (I did this during the summer, but during a year off of school would work too). The only thing I did besides study for the MCAT, work out and hang with friends was shadow a doctor once a week for 4 hours. 2. I worked 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. I put myself on the clock every time I was working and took myself off the clock every time I took a break, even for 5 minutes on facebook. Some days I would plan something fun to do for after I completed my 7 hours and so I would do the whole thing in about 9 hours (including breaks). Other days, I was feeling particularly procrastinationprone and the whole thing would take me 12 hours. Either way, I didn't sleep until I had done my 7 hours. **Note** The specific times I'm presenting are variable... maybe you're more of a 6 hours a day 6 days a week person or an 8 hours a day 4 days a week person, but overall, I'd try and shoot for 30-40 hours of actual (timed/non-procrastination) work a week for 3 months, if you want to hit the high 30s or beyond. 3. I did not do any kind of stand-alone material review, nor did I enroll in a class. I didn't even use any review books. This isn't because I'm some kind of bio/physics/chem genius who payed attention in class (I didn't). I learned everything I needed to for the test in the context of doing practice tests (the core of which were the 9 AAMC tests). The answers to all the questions come with the tests and for more in-depth review of a concept that the tests have show you you're really weak on there's mcat-review.org, wikipedia, and student-doctor network forums. I really think with all the tests available stand-alone material reviews are a waste of time because the information doesn't stick by itself as well out of the context of test questions. If you do enough test questions nothing will surprise you on the real test. 4. Throughout the whole process, I kept an ongoing study guide where I'd write down discrete facts, formulas, etc that make sense just reading alone and not necessarily in the context of a question - but always material that I had encountered in a question. The only material that made it to the study guide is material I initially didn't know or was very shaky on. No need to write down stuff you knew before even taking your first practice test - chances are you won't forget that material. In hindsight, I would have marked down next to each entry where to find the question that prompted that entry in the study guide - but I didn't do this. I started off with the study guide organized by just 4 sections - ochem, bio, gen chem, and physics. Once I had about 2 pages front and back for each, I rewrote the whole thing with subcategories for easy access. I reviewed the appropriate section in the study guide before taking every practice test. 4. I did the first 3 or 4 AAMC tests open-note and off-the-clock, one section at a time. I made sure to guess on each question before looking up the answer so I could still track my progress by score. The score isn't indicative of your real performance because it's off the clock, but it's a metric of progress nonetheless. 5. Once I started hitting 8s and 9s I started taking the tests on the clock and without notes, but still one section at a time. Be careful to go over every single question - not just the ones you got wrong - because sometimes you guessed and got it right! Never miss an opportunity to add new things to the study guide! 6. Eventually I was breaking 10s pretty consistently and so I started doing all 3 sections at once under timed conditions, mimicking the real exam. Once I exhausted all the AAMC exams, I

scavenged the rest of the AAMC materials, including their diagnostic exams and their book available for order. **In hindsight, I would have done the diagnostic exams BEFORE anything else. I found the book to be harder than the AAMC practice tests and it doesn't contain full-length practice tests, so it's hard to know how much time to give yourself. Therefore, I would also recommend using the book BEFORE the practice tests but after the diagnostic tests, during the open-note off-the-clock phase of study.** 7. After this, I moved on to Princeton Review online tests, which I found to be harder and cover material that the AAMC tests didn't. My scores plummeted and I was pretty concerned. Not sure whether it would have been better to do these first or not. On the one hand, it killed my confidence before the test, but on the other hand, I think it overtrained me and kept me on my toes. I really only got through 3 or 4 of these, so I don't think it matters much. I attribute most of my success to milking as much out of the AAMC tests and other materials as possible - there's really a lot of material there. Sure, everyone has access to it, but not everyone follows a rigorous method for getting the most out of it. The study guide is key! Go over every question after the test and even if you got the right answer without guessing, maybe there was a possible wrong answer with a term you didn't know. Look it up! You get the point... 8. Finally, I didn't study much the day before the test at Andrew's suggestion. I took the test at the end of the 3 months without allowing any time to elapse between studying and taking it except for my day off the day before. I didn't want to allow any time for me to forget! ...And that's it! Feel free to message me if you have any questions, including about what my score was. I'd want to know that too, if I was about to listen to someone's advice about how to study for the MCAT, and I'm happy to tell you privately -- I just don't want to post it here in public. Good luck! Addendum: RE: studying during school year I'd say if you have no other choice, then just spread it out. I think concentrated study time is ideal, but if you keep a study guide, that should serve to jog your memory. I see the method I described as being the most efficient way to study, si ni matter what your time frame is, I'd say adapting it to that is your best bet. But you will most likely score even better if you find a some amount of time where you can do nothing but MCAT. Its really worth it with so much riding on that score