How long should I study for the MCAT?

Question

A few weeks? Or longer?

Answer 1

Hey so it completely depends on your availability. If you are studying during a break such as the summer then 2 months - about 8/9 weeks can be sufficient and I have made robust study plans that worked for me and many others during this period. Or if you are in school then this process can be more spread out over multiple months. I would be happy to help you with creating a customized study plan that will help you perform very well!

Answer 2

This is a test that covers a ton of ground - so giving yourself plenty of time really helps you lay a foundation for success. Ideally, I recommend beginning a few months in advance at a slower pace (i.e. on top of college courses, an internship, etc.) and then ramping up with a few weeks to a month towards the end of dedicated studying time. This can be tailored to your schedule – if you only have two months but don't have much else to work on then, you could condense your MCAT studying into those 8 weeks. If you are always going to have a pretty significant workload on top of MCAT studying, then I would recommend incorporating your studying over a longer time frame (like an entire semester).

My advice is to start pretty early on with a baseline practice test. Knowing how much you want to improve will help you figure out how much time you'll need!

Answer 3

Most students need more than 8 weeks to get used to the MCAT! Many students, sadly, end up taking the MCAT exam multiple times because they underestimate how different the MCAT is from regular college science exams. Ideally, you want to give yourself anywhere from 2-4 months to familiarize yourself with all of the content (in each subject area you want to fix your "knowledge gaps"), and an additional couple of months to master the format and duration of the exam. Many students who score exceptionally high scores put in the equivalent of an entire semester of study time!