❓️Ask Us Anything❓️- When are you "done" with content review? 📖
Moderator
🚨As an instructor, I hear a lot from students about their MCAT study plans, past and present, and there's always a question that comes up.
"If I set aside 4-6 months for MCAT studying, how much of that should be dedicated to content review?"
And it's a valid question! Since the MCAT covers SO much ground, the number one concern for most students is cranking through all of that material. The tried and true method of getting through the content first, and then doing some practice leading up to the big day might be just fine for undergraduate classes, but I don't know about you, no undergraduate exam ever tested this breadth of knowledge. And speaking as someone who did just that—all the content first, then practice—I learned some pretty important lessons about what NOT to do.
First up, I'm of the opinion that content review doesn't really end, which I know, sounds terrible. But the reason why you want to go from practice → content is that it points you in a direction. Even if the content in your practice is something you haven't seen in ages, completing and reviewing that practice will help you hone your focus—now you have an action step. Instead of thinking you have to know everything in chemistry 🙃, perhaps your action step points you towards identifying nucleophiles and electrophiles!
Second, that knowledge is important to track, because otherwise, you'll start hamster-wheeling your way to reviewing content → forgetting content → facepalming🤦♀️ when you realize you forgot that content. The further you go in your studies, the more time you want to dedicate to what I call maintenance rehearsal. That could be reading over notes, working through flashcards, looking over diagrams. Carve out that time in your regular study plan!
Third, you absolutely cannot forget about how the MCAT is wayyyy more than a knowledge test. Developing your ability to solve problems (aka doing the doctor thing) can help you answer questions even if you don't know/forgot the content. And that's not a "lucky guess" or "cheating"!
Now, I am presuming that you're either doing a college degree, or you've recently graduated. If you're a super-duper non-traditional student like I was, give yourself some grace to ramp back up on the content. I'm not at all ashamed to say that I took about a year to study for the MCAT. I still wouldn't change the above advice, but plan for more time to (re)familiarize yourself with the content that's tested.
I'd love to hear from you—what resources are you using to help you gain the content background necessary for the MCAT? What questions do you have about your own studies?
