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(September 25, 2020)--As a medical field aspirator, making the necessary preparation for your pre-medical studies can never be jeopardized. Even after applying to study in your medical school of choice, your application could get forfeited without great scores in your MCAT exam results. So to speak, knowing when to start preparing for the MCAT is an important aspect to make good grades. In this post, you learn when and how to study for the MCAT effectively. I also show you how to make your own personal MCAT study plan schedule to effectively prep and feel ready to take the exam with positivity. Dive in.

When Should I Start Studying For The MCAT?

Basically, there are two factors that determine when you should start. First off, the question “when will I take my MCAT” should be answered decisively. Only after deciding upon when to take the MCAT will you be able to know the amount of studying time you have on the calendar. Once the examination year and month is decided, the next stage is to sit back and analyze your studying capacity. How many hours of study can you take every day? And in how many days in a week are you able to study? With these questions answered, you can finally breakdown your study materials into tiny bits of timeframes to cover them based on your studying capacity and time.

Mind you, given that there are two stages to studying for your MCAT, it is important to notice a few things. Notice if you’ve been taking the following subjects and studying them greatly in college; physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, biology, psychology, and sociology. These are the prerequisite courses that are taken in medical college and your knowledge will be tested greatly on them. Being able to have learned them in college makes the review stage easier and shortens the number of materials you need to cover.

Overall, the best time to start studying is 3-6 months before sitting for MCAT. But again, it all depends on your reading capacity. So, at the bottom line, when you should start preparing is not set in stone. Note that this also applies to the question “how long should I study for the MCAT?”

How Should I Study For The MCAT?

Having known when to start and for how long to prepare, the next step is learning how best to study to become fully prepared for the medical college admission test. This way, your prepping time frame is put to full use. For now, here’s how to study for the MCAT in 3 easy steps.

Step 1; Preparing For the Core Course

As the exam is designed to test your critical thinking skills and your knowledge of core science areas, the best starting point is to study physical sciences and biological sciences thoroughly. And they include your college biology materials, general and organic chemistry materials, and physics. You should also hone in on your verbal reasoning skills, writing, and communication skills.

Step 2; Review MCAT materials

After covering those, purchase MCAT materials of the last 2 previous years for review. Answer past questions and test your knowledge over again. The more you do this, the better equipped and prepared you will become.

Step 3; Connect And Choose a Date

No one is an island of knowledge. If you are naturally inclined to joining a study group, it’s a way to broaden your scope and gain more perspectives. At the end of this, finally, choose a test date that is most convenient for you and not the one picked by the study group.