MCAT Studying Questions
So I just finished my Junior year and I’m starting dedicated MCAT prep for an 8/15/26 test date (goal is 513+). I took a diagnostic today and it definitely humbled me, so now I’m trying to figure out if my study approach is actually reasonable or if I’m setting myself up poorly.
Current plan:
- ~35–45 hrs/week studying this summer
- Working through Kaplan books for content review (trying to finish by mid-June)
- Doing Anki daily (MilesDown + Kaplan chapter-specific)
- Planning to transition heavily into AAMC material after content review
- UWorld mixed in after I finish more content
- Full lengths weekly once I’m deeper into prep
One thing stressing me out is pacing. Today it took me awhile to do Anki. I guess I stop and make sure I actually understand concepts instead of just memorizing definitions. I genuinely can’t tell if that’s normal early on or if I’m being way too slow/inefficient.
I also feel like I constantly forget prereq material even though I did well in my classes. When I see MCAT-style passages it feels very different from normal college exams.
For people who scored well:
- Did content review feel super overwhelming at first?
- Were you slow with Anki/content early on?
- Is finishing content review by late June for an August exam realistic?
- At what point did things “click” for you?
I think I’m getting in my own head a bit and would appreciate honest feedback from people who’ve gone through this already. I am not sure if my current plan is the best?