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While you are trying to find a balance between your courses at school, work obligations, research and labs , family and friends , and extracurricular activities, you need to find time to prepare for the MCAT exam. So it’s no surprise that one of the most frequently asked questions is ,“What is the best way to prepare for the exam?”  \nThere is no conclusive evidence about a right or wrong way to prepare, but the MCAT team atthe AAMC created this guide to help you develop your own study plan using free resources and low-cost products. We will walk you through the six steps to creating a personalized study plan.  \nWhile we can’t tell you how much time to spend preparing for the exam , we have the following data from the 2016 Post-MCAT Questionnaire (PMQ) :  \nTime spent preparing for the MCAT exam:  \n\n| Time in weeks | Percentage of examinees |\n| --- | --- |\n| 0–8 weeks | 28.8% |\n| 9–12 weeks | 30.6% |\n| 13–16 weeks | 17.7% |\n| More than 16 weeks | 22.8% |\n\n\n| Time in hours | Percentage of examinees |\n| --- | --- |\n| 0–10 hours per week | 23.0% |\n| 11–20 hours per week | 26.9% |\n| 21–30 hours per week | 20.9% |\n| More than 30 hours per week | 29.3% |\n\nThe majority (77%) of examinees studied over 11 hours per week , with 29% studying more than 30 hours per week. Do remember that preparation takes time, and you should start preparing earlier rather than later.  \nTaking the MCAT exam is one of the milestones in your path to becoming a physician, and the AAMC wants to support your journey. To do that, this guide offers helpful information in addition to the six-step Study Plan. Included in the last section, for example, are links to inspiring stories from medical students and physicians who’ve overcome significant obstacles to achieve their dreams. On days when you feel anxious or overwhelmed, stop for a moment and remind yourself of why you’re on this path. We hope that the inspiring stories will help propel you forward!  \nTable of Contents  \nThis guide walks you through six steps:  \n1.  Find Out Everything You Can About the Exam  \n2. Figure Out Where You Stand: How Much Do You Know?  \n3. Use Free and Low-Cost Resources to Help You Prepare  \n4.  Create Your Study Plan  \n5. Study and Practice  \n6. Commit to a Final Rehearsal or Practice Worksheets and blank templates accompany the guide:  \n1. Sample Test Worksheet  \n2.  Resources and Strategies Worksheet  \n3. Study Plan Worksheet  \n4. Study Plan  \nStep 1: Find Out Everything You Can About the Exam (2–3 days)  \nSuppose you have a competition coming up. What would compel someone to choose you, or what would lead you to win or qualify? How do you size up the event? If you don’t know the rules, how much time you have, nor what you must do to qualify, chances are pretty good that you won’t perform well.  \nYou are less likely to have opponents or adversaries when preparing for the MCAT exam , but there are disqualifiers. You do need to know what’s on the exam , how much time you have, how the exam is scored, when to register, and what you can/cannot bring to the test center, among other details. For example, if the ID you bring with you on test day doesn’t match your registration information, you can’t sit for the exam. And if you’re not completely sure what concepts are going to be on the exam, all your studying may not have covered what you need to know.  \nSo the first thing to do is find out as much as you can about the exam and know what to expect. Use the checklist below to help you take this first step.  \n\n|  | Task | Time needed | Cost | Completed |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n|  | Find out when the MCAT exam is administered. | 15-30\u003Cbr>minutes | free |  |\n|  |  Check the AAMC’s MCAT testing calendar and score release dates. |  |  |  |\n|  | Find out if you qualify for fee assistance. | 1 hour | free |  |\n|  |  The AAMC Fee Assistance Program provides benefits related to exam registratio","cbCaipiR1LVnVPDL","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipiR1LVnVPDL","pdf",781454,28,"English","# Preface\n# Table of Contents\n## Six-step Study Plan Overview\n## Step 1: Find Out Everything You Can About the Exam","[{\"question\":\"How does the guide help readers create a personalized MCAT study plan?\",\"answer\":\"It presents six steps that guide readers from understanding the exam to building and committing to a study plan using free and low-cost resources. It also includes study and practice worksheets to support implementation.\"},{\"question\":\"What preparation time patterns do the guide cite from the 2016 Post-MCAT Questionnaire?\",\"answer\":\"It reports that 28.8% studied 0–8 weeks and 30.6% studied 9–12 weeks, with 17.7% studying 13–16 weeks and 22.8% studying more than 16 weeks. For weekly hours, 23.0% studied 0–10 hours, 26.9% studied 11–20, 20.9% studied 21–30, and 29.3% studied more than 30.\"},{\"question\":\"What should readers do in Step 1 of the study plan?\",\"answer\":\"Step 1 focuses on learning what to expect: exam administration timing, testing calendar and score releases, fee assistance eligibility, medical school application deadlines, and key exam content areas. It also includes reviewing official resources and understanding scoring and registration requirements.\"}]","AAMC Creating an MCAT Study Plan for Premed - 6-Step Guide | PDF",1790369838,10]