How long did you study for mcat?

[dancingparadox]

600 hours of actual, dedicated study time is not average. 8 hrs/day * 5 days/week * 8 weeks works out to around 300, and even that looks like more than will actually get done.

Mm, I disagree, if you are following SN2ed's schedule, you can easily put in around 600 actual hours. This is especially the case, if like me, you weren't really reviewing, but rather teaching yourself large amounts of content for things your pre-reqs didn't teach well or didn't go over at all.

I know I am still in high school but can someone explain how you can study (intensively) for 8 hours a day and still have a life? Do people do that like during summer or something? No job? No other liabilities?

It's actually possible during the summer even if you are working part-time. I would study for 4 hours or so, go to work for 4 hours, and then study another 4 hours during the weekdays. It sucks, but I wouldn't really plan on having a life during the MCAT (outside of taking much needed breaks), especially if you need to do a lot of content review.

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[Pons Asinorum]

Mm, I disagree, if you are following SN2ed's schedule, you can easily put in around 600 actual hours. This is especially the case, if like me, you weren't really reviewing, but rather teaching yourself large amounts of content for things your pre-reqs didn't teach well or didn't go over at all.



It's actually possible during the summer even if you are working part-time. I would study for 4 hours or so, go to work for 4 hours, and then study another 4 hours during the weekdays. It sucks, but I wouldn't really plan on having a life during the MCAT (outside of taking much needed breaks), especially if you need to do a lot of content review.

And if you're studying >600 hours, you've got a problem regardless of plan. You aren't going to have 3000 hours to dedicate to Step 1.

 

[iave9963]

Begin of Feb -> end of May. At least 3 hours a day 6 days a week

 

[gettheleadout]

I think this depends on what we mean by "fine" and what the student's particular situation is. For someone that just got out of their prereqs, it doesn't make sense to spend that much time (most of which is probably content review anyway). They can begin taking some full lengths and go to work. However, for someone that's been MIA for a lot of years, it will take a while for the background material to stick. The more of it you can stick, the faster you can answer questions and the more questions you'll avoid missing by simply not knowing the necessary background information.

That said, I think goals are also important. If your goal is to get a 39 (an unnecessary goal) you'll have to put in a lot of time to snag those few questions that often mean the difference between a 13 and a 14 on a section. If your goal is to get a 33, you can focus more on core ideas and major points that are higher yield. I see it as a war of attrition, and how extravagant your goals are can determine how much of a beating you'll have to take in the name of studying.

To be fair, the average MCAT score is also a 25.

It depends though. If you want to attend a top school on scholarship, you're probably going to need every advantage you can get, including every point possible. I imagine WashU doesn't hand out too many of it's full-tuition scholarships to acceptees with MCAT's below their average.

 

[CnsCrit]

I took the MCAT in April and I started studying in October. I work full time, so the only time I had was after work for about 4 hours/day and on weekends. I think in the end it was better for me because I didn't get burned out. I've been out of undergrad for 3 years so at least half of that time was spent content reviewing.

 

[dancingparadox]

And if you're studying >600 hours, you've got a problem regardless of plan. You aren't going to have 3000 hours to dedicate to Step 1.

I agree, it definitely wasn't ideal, and I told myself afterwards that I can never get that behind again in terms of knowing the content. If you have almost all of the content down cold, then it's an entirely different ball game.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

I agree, it definitely wasn't ideal, and I told myself afterwards that I can never get that behind again in terms of knowing the content. If you have almost all of the content down cold, then it's an entirely different ball game.

Agree 100%.

 

[deh2ase]

I took the MCAT in April and I started studying in October. I work full time, so the only time I had was after work for about 4 hours/day and on weekends. I think in the end it was better for me because I didn't get burned out. I've been out of undergrad for 3 years so at least half of that time was spent content reviewing.

My situation was very similar to this. Started studying in February and took the test in July. Wish I would have been able to treat the test like a full-time job but I had a lot of bills to pay

 

[Frazier]

~3 weeks of hardcore studying.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

~3 weeks of hardcore studying.

Same here.

 

[Lil Mick]

Took two of the practice tests, looked over what I had missed after I took them. You should cover most of the material in your science classes, so try to focus on what you don't remember from them.

 

[Frazier]

Same here.

Only way to fly, my man.

 

[yehhhboiii]

1-2 hours a day on weekdays and around 6 hours on weekends for 3 months or so. spent 2 months reviewing examkrackers and 1 month doing practice tests on the weekends with the weekdays spent reviewing stuff i missed. got above a 35

 

[Dbate]

That is dedication right there man! I didn't mean to make myself look like I am against it or anything, did you do it during like summer or something? Did you have anything else going on as far as academics/work/volunteering/research for you during this period of studying? And lastly how long did you keep that up for?

I did it during a time when I had nothing else going on. I just studied and I recommend studying for the mcat without other things going on.



I did this for one month. I have always been able to function on 5 hours of sleep, so going to sleep at midnight and waking up at around 7 am or 8 am was actually more sleep than usual.

 

[Narmerguy]

It depends though. If you want to attend a top school on scholarship, you're probably going to need every advantage you can get, including every point possible. I imagine WashU doesn't hand out too many of it's full-tuition scholarships to acceptees with MCAT's below their average.

I agree, that is probably the only case where it makes sense to shoot for that high of a score. That's actually what I was hoping for as well. But most applicants (even with 39+) still have a low chance of getting a scholarship so it's questionable whether this goal should be taken on without a lot of serious thought.

 

[trackrunner1500]

About 3 weeks 2-4 hours a day. I would take the mini quiz after each topic-based section first (kaplan). If I scored over 80%, I wouldn't bother studying the material in said section...worked well for me

 

[piggle]

2.5 months of in-depth studying (but it was interrupted by a one month international trip to visit family). My diagnostic was a 30, my AAMC practice test average was a 39, and my actual score was a 39. I used Kaplan, although I have to admit, it wasn't necessarily the instruction that helped me. It was the sheer amount of practice material.

I cannot stress how important it is to practice taking the test. It helps you build up endurance. I was absolutely exhausted after my first full length, but by the end of my studying, it was much easier. I treated each full length as though it was the real thing (took the breaks, made sure I was completely undisturbed, etc.). On the day of the test, I just felt that much more comfortable with the whole thing. Good luck and I hope this helped! Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[Hulk Smash]

Twice:

3 solid months, no less than 5 hours a day 6 days a week with Kaplan online course, completed the summer after graduation and I had nothing going on. Ended in average score and depression.

Just about a year of about an hour a day after work, full practice test on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays using AAMC tests, TPR book. Cover to cover on TPR then tests+whatever wrong answers were researched to death in TPR. Ended in above average matriculant score.

moral of the story: 3 months of hardcore studying may not be for you and my suggestion is use TPR

 

[Redpancreas]

I studied from May go August but was really inconsistent and got a 28. For this time I used Princeton and tried to cover all the bases. I finished about 1/3 of all their material. Then in October I started reading alot and did a couple tpr verbal passages.Then starting in mid-December I started doing about 2-3 berkeley chapters a week (on average because of school work)-some weeks I'd be productive and do 5 and other weeks Id do one. I kept reading and practicing verbal passages throughout. Almost exhausted all good verbal sources then in mid march I took a 1-2 week break before the test and simply relaxed and did school stuff.

Got an 11/11/12 on my March 23 attempt (6 pt. improvement)

All in all as you can tell it took me time. With that being said, if you took the time i actually spent studying and spread it over an 5x a week 9-5 schedule itd probably take a month. I know Step 1 is a completely different story that requires the aforementioned schedule so I will have to adjust.Btw, I think that a how long did it take you thread really selects for responses from the braggarts who will say they studied for two weeks and ended up with a 37 or something. You just need to understand YOUR needs by taking a practice exam. I think the biggest thing is Berkeley has MORE passages and they're more like the real deal. It's all about practice IMO.

 

[tarheel1408]

I studied for 8 hours once, about a month before I took it. I don't recommend my study strategy, haha

 

[Pons Asinorum]

.Btw, I think that a how long did it take you thread really selects for responses from the braggarts who will say they studied for two weeks and ended up with a 37 or something.

It's almost like every thread on SDN ever in that way. Just the nature of the beast, really.

 

[Benedictus123]

I off and on studied for two years - I kept delaying when I'd sign up. I consistently studied four months out, roughly 2-4 hours a day. The last month was more like 5-6 hr. Took it on May 30th this year, felt pretty good walking out, now just patiently awaiting my score.

 

[Dbate]

It would be somewhat interesting to know how people did on the real deal compared to their very first diagnostic. I remember trying to find this information right after I took my first full length cold.


For me:

Diagnostic: 26 (7 PS, 10 VR, 9 BS)
Final Real Test: 35 (12 PS, 12 VR, 11 BS)

 

[GatsbyK]

I study way more than I should have. I was going to take it 2 years ago, but then an earthquake happened as I was hitting the verbal section, as you can guess we all had to evacuate. I studied another summer well into august and took the MCAT to receive a lower than expected score. At the moment I have put another 5 months into solidifying my knowledge.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

I study way more than I should have. I was going to take it 2 years ago, but then an earthquake happened as I was hitting the verbal section, as you can guess we all had to evacuate. I studied another summer well into august and took the MCAT to receive a lower than expected score. At the moment I have put another 5 months into solidifying my knowledge.

I suggest (to everyone, really, not just you) working with someone at your school/program about assessing your innate, best study strategy/method and working on implementing some of the recommendations. You're trying to get into medical school, where you cover the amount of information (all essentially new to you) that is covered by the MCAT every month or so. You can't pre-study for med school, but you can suss out how it is that you study best. If you don't, you have a high likelihood of finding yourself in a world of hurt once orientation is over and the MS1 begins. That isn't the time to figure out that you are too inefficient with your knowledge acquisition and retention. Start figuring out how to do it better now.

 

[qwe7791]

What are you guys referring to when you say you took a diagnostic? Is that like the stuff the prep companies give you or is that like the AAMC #3 test? Thanks!

 

[Frazier]

What are you guys referring to when you say you took a diagnostic? Is that like the stuff the prep companies give you or is that like the AAMC #3 test? Thanks!

It is lingo for one's "first test".

Typically, those first tests (one's "diagnostic") are taken before a person has started any dedicated prep.

 

[GUH]

I studied an hour or two per weekday for about five months. Mostly just went through the McGraw-Hill book since that was the one that they were selling at Barnes & Noble. Took three AAMC's in the two weeks leading up to the exam. Did not take any diagnostic test before then.

Ended up with a 33; never took any science courses past the bare pre-reqs so all the A&P was new material.

I think what's key is to do a bunch of practice problems as you go along.

 

[GUH]

KNOW WHAT ELECTRON-WITHDRAWING AND ELECTRON-DONATING GROUPS ARE

Yeah I had these down when I took the test but have completely forgotten everything now. Hopefully this doesn't bite me in the ass when I start school in a few months.

 

[nabilesmail]

I spent 600 hours over 7 months (during school) got a 34 13-9-12 but my average towards the end was 37-38 on AAMC.

 

[pachewisc]

About 250 hours over 3 months the summer after sophomore year. I was pulling about 60 hours a week between jobs, so my hours were pretty dispersed. Because of this, I took a week off before the test to solely study and probably did 70+ hours that week. That power week was absolutely key in getting me the score I got. I suggest concise, focused studying (like the 3 weeks Pons Asinorum and Frazier mentioned above). Obviously that varies person to person though.

 

[fourhumours]

4 weeks about 6-7 hours a day 5 -6 days a week. I think I mapped it out and got about 100-120 hours in in a month. I also had finished summer orgo that summer so I didn't need to study that and was a humanities major so completely ignored verbal. also last week before exam was literally just taking a practice test every other day and then going over it.

 

[forever21xo]

i studied for 5-7 hrs a day for 2 weeks by watching the khanacademy youtube videos on chemistry and physics, and also doing physics problems in microsoft paint. Zero practice tests.

I got a 31R after throwing up in the morning after being woken up extra early by leaf blower gardeners. I drank gatorade and ate white bread during the section breaks, and fell asleep during the writing section due to sugar crash. It was an awful day but I got a decent score.