5 steps to an effective MCAT study schedule
Exam: MCAT Test - Medical College Admission Test: Verbal Reasoning, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Writing Sample
If you are planning to be a good doctor, then you will probably encounter the MCAT at a stage in your life. To be a good doctor, you need to the best medical school, and in order to that you need high-MCAT scores. Whatever it may be one is doing, they need a plan and to set achievable goal so as to achieve it. With the right kind of plan, one can achieve a high score in their MCAT paper. To be able adequately to prepare for the MCAT, you need a study program that will work. One that will enable you to acquire the necessary skills and ability that will be tested on the paper. Not all students are the same, you find some do not have to spend a lot of study time in order to pass exams, while other require ample and enough time to be able to study. No matter what kind of student you are, you still need a study plan, a schedule that will enable you to tackle the medical exam without any problems.
Students who create a well-structured MCAT study schedule will end up performing great. Gathering the tight kind of tools is critical and creating a flexible schedule is advised. With the right guidelines, one can easily create their own MCAT study schedule that they can use at home. As you are planning your study schedule, make sure to assess and know what you require. There are several things that one should consider before they create an efficient MCAT study schedule. The following are five practical steps to creating a study plan before your MCAT:
- Make sure to determine your weakness and Strengths
This is an important step in planning your study schedule. Since you are a student, you probably know your weakness in the field of medicine. If you find that you have a weak science background, you may find starting with the science review would be ideal for you. By starting with the weak topics, you will be able to work your way up to the other strong topics that you are good at. This will ensure you get comprehend and have enough time to study your weak points and make them strong. When planning your schedule, make sure to allocate your weakness more time compared to your strong topics. You will be able to cover much more of what you do not understand.
- Get to arrange and rank the subjects or topics based on the difficulty. The MCAT covers so many topics, including general chemistry, biology, physics and organic chemistry. As a student, make sure to rank them from the most difficult one to the less difficult one. This will enable you to know on which subject you should spend more time at. When you realize the difficult subjects for you, you can get more resources on those subjects so as to gain more knowledge and acquire the right skills and ability. By the end of the study schedule, you will find that you find all the topics quite easy and that they will not give you a hard time as you sit-down for the MCAT exam.
- Next you should consider your academic grades. They play a crucial role in ensuring you have an effective study guide. Your academic grades will guide you in deciding on which subject or area you need to have more study time. You find that students who usually have a strong and good science background and with an average of A will require around three months of preparation or even less. For students have a weak or no science background, they will probably need up to 6 months of preparation. Once you are aware of how much time you require for the preparation, you will end making a schedule that will be flexible and efficient to you. It is imperative to have a program that covers the required resources within a particular duration.
- Make sure to have both daily and weekly study guide. It is known that a minimum of around three hours of study time a day is ideal for any student preparing for the MCAT. Once you have identified the difficult subjects in your studies, make sure that you that allocate enough time to each subject. For example, the most difficult and second most difficult subjects, one can allocate them two days of study a week in the schedule. It is advised that one should spend at least two-thirds of their study time going through the most difficult topics and subjects. This will make sure that you improve your weak subjects. When it is around one month away from the MCAT exam, start doing one or two realistic practice test each week so as to give you the experience of the final exam.
- Adhere to your MCAT study program. This is the most difficult part that most students do not follow. One needs to adhere to the study plan they have made. If you miss studying for a subject make sure to recover the lost time. By adhering to the study schedule that you have made, you will quickly acquire the necessary skills and ability that will be tested. To be able to stick to your study plan, make sure to make one that has realistic goals and targets, so that you will not have a hard time sticking to them.
These are the main steps that you should follow in creating an efficient study schedule for your MCAT preparation. By identifying your weak spots and making them strong, you will find that you will not have a hard time tackling the Medical College Admission Test.