One of the most important strategies for the MCAT is to start questions from Day 1. A mistake that is often made is to separate studying time into content time and then question/assessment time. Students sometimes feel that they should learn content via traditional didactic content—i.e., books, videos, podcasts—before they attempt any questions. But questions are the best way to learn in the first place. Questions prime you to learn the content more efficiently.

When you review the questions you’ve answered, you can use a method called active reviewing. In this method, you go through all your questions first, simply marking correct and incorrect, without looking at the explanations. Next, go through and redo the questions you got wrong, just to make sure it wasn’t because of a simple mistake. If you still get the answer wrong, it is likely because of a content issue, and you can review the topic using the above resources. This makes the information more memorable as your brain is primed to learn it.

Another strategy you can use to structure your study time is subject spacing. This means you alternate the topics you study throughout the day. For example, you can start the morning with CARS, which would wake you up, then switch to the science sections, then psych/soc, then CARS again before lunch, before doing the same thing after lunch. This method allows you to cover a subject multiple times throughout the day, which helps you to consolidate the information. It also forces you to change focus, keeping you awake through a long study day.

Finally, we will address notetaking, or rather, limiting it. Students often take too many notes, as if in doing so, they will remember everything they write down. But the best way to learn is through active learning and copying notes from your resources is not active. Active learning involves recall, as with doing questions or flashcards. If you take notes, do so sparingly, focusing on topics/questions you’ve missed several times.