{"id":121,"date":"2016-03-22T06:27:43","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T06:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/?p=121"},"modified":"2016-11-27T19:50:39","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T03:50:39","slug":"top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MCAT is not an easy exam, but every year tens of thousands of pre-medical students receive stunning MCAT scores. How do these students do it? This is a great question that students ask me all the time. In reality, there is no one right answer. There are numerous ways for students to study for the MCAT and attain a great score. However, you will find that successful students tend to follow the following five strategies for MCAT success.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Make a Study Plan<\/h2>\n

The MCAT is not a test that you can take without adequate preparation. Successful students are thorough in planning both when they want to take the MCAT and how much time they want to dedicate to studying for the exam. Early on, these students consider when they will have taken enough of the prerequisite courses for the MCAT and have time in their busy pre-medical lives to study for the exam. Some students will choose to study just a few hours a week but give themselves a lot more time before their test date. Other students choose more intense study schedules, preparing for the exam in two months<\/a> or just one month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Review the Content<\/h2>\n

As a pre-medical student, you may have already taken most or all of the prerequisite courses for the MCAT. The chances though that you remember all of the information that you need from these classes to excel on the MCAT is low. Successful students know this so they dedicate a good chunk of their studying time to reviewing the scientific concepts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Practice the Content<\/h2>\n

While content review is great, the best students also know that they need to do practice questions to learn to apply the content. The MCAT is not a test of pure memorization. While there is a good amount of scientific knowledge that you will need to know, the exam also tests your critical analysis and reasoning skills and doing practice passages is the best way to improve these skills.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Build up the Endurance<\/h2>\n

The new MCAT has 6 hours and 15 minutes of actual testing time. Including the breaks, you can expect to spend 7.5 hours at the testing center. At first, students will find that completing just the first of the four sections on the exam to be mentally exhausting. To be able to finish the next three sections without your brain giving up on you is difficult. However, you can learn to build up the stamina to do so by taking practicing tests. Successful students will take as many practice tests as necessary to build up their ability to maintain focus throughout the entire exam.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Get Good Study Materials<\/h2>\n

In order to fulfill #2\u20134 above, successful students need study materials for the MCAT. There are many ways to obtain study materials. The creators of the MCAT<\/a> have released a bunch of practice questions for purchase on their website. There are also many test preparation companies with textbooks, practice problems, and full-length practice tests for the MCAT. Finally, you can simply go on the web and find many free online MCAT study resources<\/a>. You can also check out Magoosh’s affordable MCAT prep<\/a>!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No Substitute for Hard Work<\/h2>\n

The five strategies above are great and will certainly help pre-medical students in their MCAT preparation. However, getting the score you want on the MCAT will take more than just following strategies. Success on the MCAT also requires putting in considerable time and effort into studying. It may be tough but with hard work and the right approach, you can also achieve a stunning MCAT score.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The MCAT is not an easy exam, but every year tens of thousands of pre-medical students receive stunning MCAT scores. How do these students do it? This is a great question that students ask me all the time. In reality, there is no one right answer. There are numerous ways for students to study for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2325],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2339],"class_list":["post-121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mcat-tips-strategies"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTop Five Strategies for MCAT Success - Magoosh MCAT Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What are the best strategies for MCAT success? Make a study plan, review content, practice content, build endurance, and get good study materials.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What are the best strategies for MCAT success? Make a study plan, review content, practice content, build endurance, and get good study materials.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh MCAT Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-22T06:27:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-28T03:50:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ken\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ken\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ken\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5d65bf33178f5d47967702e6f352b7\"},\"headline\":\"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-22T06:27:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/\"},\"wordCount\":605,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"MCAT Tips & Strategies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/\",\"name\":\"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success - Magoosh MCAT Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-22T06:27:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"What are the best strategies for MCAT success? Make a study plan, review content, practice content, build endurance, and get good study materials.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh MCAT Blog\",\"description\":\"Get the MCAT score you want\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2019\/08\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2019\/08\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"width\":265,\"height\":60,\"caption\":\"Magoosh\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5d65bf33178f5d47967702e6f352b7\",\"name\":\"Ken\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/a69817f4d4bfbf7ac8ec18abc36eaeab\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dd82d34bd2fc4f9775d758fa6fcca1fb92ac06fcc5c017cc07d2affb9c3e78e1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dd82d34bd2fc4f9775d758fa6fcca1fb92ac06fcc5c017cc07d2affb9c3e78e1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ken\"},\"description\":\"Ken is a blog writer for Magoosh who went on to work on developing new and effective ways to help students achieve success on the MCAT exam.\",\"sameAs\":[\"ritakreig\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"MCAT\",\"Medical School\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/author\/jenkang\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success - Magoosh MCAT Blog","description":"What are the best strategies for MCAT success? Make a study plan, review content, practice content, build endurance, and get good study materials.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success","og_description":"What are the best strategies for MCAT success? Make a study plan, review content, practice content, build endurance, and get good study materials.","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh MCAT Blog","article_published_time":"2016-03-22T06:27:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-11-28T03:50:39+00:00","author":"Ken","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ken","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/"},"author":{"name":"Ken","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5d65bf33178f5d47967702e6f352b7"},"headline":"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success","datePublished":"2016-03-22T06:27:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/"},"wordCount":605,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization"},"articleSection":["MCAT Tips & Strategies"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/","name":"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success - Magoosh MCAT Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-03-22T06:27:43+00:00","description":"What are the best strategies for MCAT success? Make a study plan, review content, practice content, build endurance, and get good study materials.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/top-five-strategies-for-mcat-success\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Top Five Strategies for MCAT Success"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/","name":"Magoosh MCAT Blog","description":"Get the MCAT score you want","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization","name":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2019\/08\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2019\/08\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","width":265,"height":60,"caption":"Magoosh"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/9c5d65bf33178f5d47967702e6f352b7","name":"Ken","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/a69817f4d4bfbf7ac8ec18abc36eaeab","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dd82d34bd2fc4f9775d758fa6fcca1fb92ac06fcc5c017cc07d2affb9c3e78e1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dd82d34bd2fc4f9775d758fa6fcca1fb92ac06fcc5c017cc07d2affb9c3e78e1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ken"},"description":"Ken is a blog writer for Magoosh who went on to work on developing new and effective ways to help students achieve success on the MCAT exam.","sameAs":["ritakreig"],"knowsAbout":["MCAT","Medical School"],"url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/author\/jenkang\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":2339,"user_id":173,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jenkang","display_name":"Ken","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dd82d34bd2fc4f9775d758fa6fcca1fb92ac06fcc5c017cc07d2affb9c3e78e1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Tao","first_name":"Ken","description":"Ken is a former blog writer for Magoosh who left to focus on developing novel and effective ways to help students achieve success on the MCAT exam."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}