General Tips

The MCAT is the admissions test for those applying to medical school in America and Canada (less emphasis). It is a 7.5 hour test composed of 4 sections. This masterpost is a compilation of MCAT resources I have found and pulled together to help those preparing for their MCAT exam.

Disclaimer: I do not endorse one test prep company over another; I also do not guarantee that this is a conclusive resource list; there are several other resources out there as well that may or may not have been mentioned in this guide. 

Here’s a quick break down of the exam (table provided by Princeton Review):

General Tips

Take practice exams! Practice tests are not always a huge indicator to how well you will do on the actual exam but rather a way to familiarize yourself with the exam. Take practice exams like it’s test day. Whatever you do, don’t retake a practice exam. 

Have a study schedule that you will stick to like super Gorilla glue.

Plan on spending about 3-6 months/ one semester to prepare for the MCAT. If you are planning to study for the MCAT while in classes, take a light-weight course load that semester. 

Register early for the MCAT. It’s harder to get spots later on.

Make condensed one-page outlines of what you learn for each chapter.

Practice timing yourself and take your breaks. This is a 7.5 hour exam, you need the stamina and you need the breaks before your brain goes haywire. The test does not have a designated “alarm”. 

Flashcards! *Pile all your flashcards together and shuffle frequently; all information that you learn is connected together.

Make your own mnemonics. 

Think quick; think smart. The MCAT is meant to test you on how well you can think like a doctor. 

The best (and most popular) time to take the MCAT is in late May to early July of your third year. 

Do not cram. 

Do not study one subject at a time.

Don’t leave a question unanswered. 

General Resources 

bolded are my favorite resources

AAMC: your go-to website for MCAT stuff because they write the test

KhanAcademy MCAT: AAMC and KhanAcademy have partnered up to help students with free resources to tackle the MCAT

Princeton Review MCAT study guide

Princeton Review Free Online Practice MCAT

Kaplan: What changed on the test

Kaplan Free Online Practice MCAT

109 Tips & Strategies for the MCAT

ExamCrackers MCAT

StudyGuideZone’s MCAT study guide

Free MCAT study materials

Berkley Review books for MCAT

Kaplan’s MCAT quick sheets

Reddit’s MCAT content review: scroll down and take a look at the “what are the study materials out there” and the “free study materials” sections 

Other References

simplewanderings​​‘s MCAT tag

ephie-ubc-science’s experience with the 2015 MCAT

studycyclops’s 12 week mcat study schedule

premedtomd’s MCAT study schedule

How to Prepare for the MCAT

Reddit MCAT forum