How to Study for the MCAT: Study Tips from 99th-Percentile Tutors

The MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) includes 230 questions and takes approximately 7.5 hours, including breaks and other exam activities. Check-in adds additional time to your test day. The exam assesses your science knowledge, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills — all important foundations for medical school.

Studying for the MCAT takes a significant amount of time, and it’s important not to let that time go to waste. We’ve compiled study tips from some of our top tutors, so you have the best chance at excelling on this crucial exam.

Don’t leave your MCAT exam to chance: invest in high-quality MCAT tutoring with MedSchoolCoach.

1. Start Early

Plan to begin studying 4-6 months in advance of your scheduled MCAT exam date. It’s possible to study in less time (3 months is usually the minimum requirement), but you may need to sacrifice other commitments and rest to cover the material well. Having enough time to prepare will ensure you’re ready on test day (not trying to cram) and retain the material for med school. 

On each study day, set aside 3-6 hours to prepare. If you know you’re able to benefit from longer study periods on certain days (like 8 hours on a Saturday), work that into your schedule from time to time. Some students get overwhelmed by this amount of time, though — don’t force it if it doesn’t work for you.

2. Plan a Balanced Study Schedule

A balanced study schedule for the MCAT means integrating various study elements while ensuring you get enough rest and personal time. You should also plan to tweak your schedule as you go.

Distribute your study hours among different resource types like textbooks, flashcards, and online materials. Take a baseline diagnostic test at the beginning of your study schedule so that you understand what concepts you know and what you’ll need to review most heavily.

Pencil in regular practice exams and use the results to guide your studying. Review each question thoroughly, especially those you got wrong or answered correctly by guessing. Identify whether you need to review a concept, improve your passage interpretation, or adjust your timing. For instance, if you got 3 questions about the citric acid cycle wrong because of a content gap, add that topic to your review list.

We recommend allocating specific days or sessions for focused content review mixed with days dedicated to practice questions and exams.

Make sure to include breaks and days off to prevent burnout. A balanced schedule should also adapt to your personal learning style and pace so that no single aspect of preparation overwhelms the others. This approach not only helps you cover the entire breadth of information but also prepares you for peak performance on test day.

Your MCAT study time is valuable enough that you should give yourself time to optimize it regularly. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you navigate how to optimize your study schedule over your total study time:

• Figure out what study frequency works best for you. Some pre-med students benefit from 15-20 minute spurts throughout the day of content review, while others prefer hours of uninterrupted time every other day. Test different review frequencies to understand your needs.
• Use various resources and review types: Self-quizzing with flashcards, practice questions, and online tools like the MCAT Prep app or Khan Academy is a vital part of studying for the MCAT. However, other methods can be equally as effective, like group discussions and study sessions on a particular topic or teaching tough concepts to others to reinforce your own understanding of it.
• Use review time to understand the mistakes you made on your most recent full-length practice exam. MCAT practice test questions offer great insight into how well you’re preparing, and looking over your errors helps you understand the correct approach for next time. This improves your knowledge base and hones your test-taking strategy.
• Document your progress. Documenting your review sessions and the outcomes helps track your progress over time. Note down what topics you reviewed, mistakes made, and lessons learned. This documentation can be invaluable for refining your study plan as you go.
  
  

3. Understand, Don’t Just Memorize

Understanding concepts rather than just memorizing facts is vital for MCAT and future medical school success. 

Ethan Bott, a 99th percentile MCAT scorer and tutor, highlights the importance of this approach in his test prep: 

"I realized early on that the MCAT is a critical thinking test more so than a knowledge-based test."

Ethan Bott, 99th Percentile MCAT Scorer and Tutor

This doesn’t mean memorization has no place in your preparation. You still need to know key facts, equations, and scientific concepts, but you also need to practice applying that knowledge to unfamiliar passages and questions. Understanding the underlying principles helps you do both—on the MCAT and in a future career as a physician.

Another 99th percentile MCAT scoring student, Owen Ezell, shares his thoughts on this concept, too:

"Students often misunderstand the role that science content plays on the MCAT. They spend most of their time trying to memorize flashcards, textbooks, and cheatsheets, thinking that alone will improve their score. The problem with this approach is that the MCAT isn't like a typical college exam. Most of the exam is passage-based and requires you to integrate your science knowledge with brand-new information presented in the passage. The MCAT is actually a giant critical thinking test — the science content is just the backdrop.With that said, my recommendation is to keep your content review focused on the actual exam. Go through your practice tests, find all the questions that you missed, and list the science topics related to those incorrect answers. Then spend the next few days reviewing those exact topics. After that, do some more practice passages to evaluate your progress, rinse, and repeat. By keeping your content review exam-focused, you automatically prioritize the highest-yield topics without even having to think about it."

Owen Ezell, 99th Percentile MCAT Scorer

Use your practice results to identify areas that need extra attention, but also check the AAMC’s official content outline so you don’t overlook topics your practice exams haven’t covered.

The idea of understanding concepts also translates to the math-related questions on the MCAT. You’ll do better with the math if you get the concepts and use effective shortcuts (like understanding how to round and developing good number sense). 

Think you know your MCAT material? Put to the test with our free MCAT Runner Game. Answer MCAT-style questions, clear obstacles, and see how far you can get.

4. Take High-Quality Practice Exams

Regularly incorporating high-quality practice exams, including official AAMC exams and those from MedSchoolCoach, is a key component of MCAT prep. These exams simulate the actual test environment, giving you an insight into the MCAT's format, timing, and types of questions. They should be a regular part of your study regimen, ideally after a solid content review.

After completing each practice test, carefully analyze your results. This analysis lets you identify strengths and areas needing improvement. Adjust your study plan based on what you glean from what you got right and wrong. 

In fact, we recommend conducting a careful review of your incorrect answers after each practice session: 

• Why did you get those questions wrong?
• If there was a gap in your science knowledge, what subject or topic should you review to address it?
• If the problem was related to reading comprehension or test-taking strategy, what’s a takeaway you can draw that will help you avoid similar mistakes in the future?

As you get closer to your test date, shift more of your study time toward timed practice and targeted content review. Space out full-length exams so you have enough time to review your results and work on the weaknesses you identify before taking another.

Get ready for test day! MedSchoolCoach’s practice exams are the closest in the world to the actual MCAT.

5. Create a Strategic Approach to CARS

The Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) section tests your ability to understand, analyze, and evaluate passages without requiring outside content knowledge. Preparing for it means practicing how to identify an author’s argument, draw inferences, and evaluate how new information affects what you’ve read.

CARS requires you to analyze and understand passages, not just recall facts. To excel, focus on comprehensively understanding each passage and identifying key themes and arguments.

As Camille Villar, a 99th percentile MCAT scorer and student at Baylor College of Medicine, puts it:

“I read the passage thoroughly before even looking at any of the questions. While reading, I would highlight important nouns, claims/main ideas/thesis statements, and actions/events. After each paragraph, I’d pause and quickly ask myself to paraphrase/summarize what I just read before moving on to the next paragraph (e.g., I’d think to myself, “this paragraph is about ___”). After reading the whole passage, I’d quickly remind myself of what I told myself for each paragraph (to get an idea of the general structure/flow of the passage), and then I’d tell myself what the overarching main idea of the passage was. Because I went through the passage so thoroughly and because I focused on intentional highlights, answering questions was usually faster for me (if you understand the passage, you’ll understand what part/argument of the passage a question is testing you on faster). Overall, for each passage, I spent 5-7 minutes on the passage and 3-5 minutes on questions. I recommend figuring out exactly what parts of the process you struggle on. Once you do that, adjust/change something about your strategy and see if that helps or hurts you. Repeat until you hit something that works! (For example: I plateaued on CARS until I told myself to pause between each paragraph and tell myself what it was about.)”

Camille Villar, 99th Percentile MCAT Scorer and Tutor

Your pacing may look different from Camille’s. CARS includes 9 passages and 53 questions to complete in 90 minutes, giving you an average of 10 minutes per passage and its questions. Some passages will take longer than others, so practice this approach under timed conditions and adjust your reading, highlighting, and answering time to finish the section.

Read Next: Requesting MCAT Special Accommodations & Extended Testing Time

6. Prioritize High-Yield Topics

High-yield MCAT topics are those that appear most frequently on the exam. 

Our tutors analyzed the official AAMC MCAT practice exams to learn which specific topics were tested most frequently. The subjects test-takers see most frequently on the MCAT are introductory biology, biochemistry, general chemistry, and psychology

In addition to the highest-yield topics by number of questions, make sure to understand your highest-yield topics. You may be comfortable with the material most likely to show up in the Psych/Soc section but need more review of the topics you’ll find in Bio/BioChem (Biological and Biochmical Foundations of Living Systems).

Consider working with a tutor to understand which topics will be the most highest-yield for you as an individual.

Learn more about how to prioritize high-yield MCAT topics in our full guide.

7. Practice Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is a vital skill for the MCAT, particularly in analyzing complex passages and questions. Here are some tips for critical thinking practice as you get ready to take the MCAT for the first time or retake it:

• Analyze, don't just read: In the quote above, Camille highlights the importance of thorough passage analysis in the CARS section. She suggests reading each paragraph attentively, highlighting key points, and summarizing main ideas. This approach helps to quickly locate relevant information for answering questions.
• Use incorrect answers to examine your thought processes: Learn from your mistakes by understanding why an answer was incorrect. Reflect on your thought process and identify where you might have gone wrong in your thinking. Alternatively, if your reasoning was okay but you were missing some science knowledge, make sure to review that concept thoroughly in a future study session.
• Simulate real exam scenarios: Practicing under conditions that mimic the actual MCAT can enhance your ability to think critically under pressure. Regularly take timed, full-length practice tests to build endurance and adaptability.

Incorporating these strategies into your study plan will sharpen your critical thinking skills, preparing you not just for the MCAT, but also for the challenges of medical school.

Read Next: Is Retaking the MCAT a Good Idea for You?

8. Take Care of Your Body and Mind

Don’t forget to prioritize your physical and mental health as you spend time preparing for the MCAT. Adequate rest, balanced nutrition, and stress-reducing activities play a significant role in your overall performance. 

Aim for consistent sleep patterns and follow a diet rich in nutrients that support cognitive function (read: not cheap Ramen for every meal). Get regular physical activity to enhance your focus and reduce stress. Mindfulness practices like meditation can also be beneficial.

Remember to take breaks and do things you actually enjoy to maintain a healthy balance. If you experience signs of burnout, don't hesitate to adjust your study plan or seek professional support.

On test day, stick with familiar food and your usual caffeine routine rather than trying something new. Bring lunch and snacks for your scheduled breaks, and use your full-length practice exams to figure out what works best for you.

9. Invest in MCAT Tutoring

Preparing for the MCAT can be challenging, especially if you’re unsure how to address persistent content gaps, improve your test-taking strategy, or adjust your study plan.

An experienced tutor can help you identify what’s holding you back and provide focused support. Look for someone who has performed well on the MCAT, has experience teaching the material, and can explain concepts clearly. They should also be able to tailor your preparation to your starting point, schedule, and target score.

Read Next: 15 Best Pre-Med Schools in the US in 2025 & How to Choose One

Our tutors have spent more than 10,000 hours with pre-med students getting ready for the MCAT. Students who work with MedSchoolCoach score around 12 points higher, on average, versus their diagnostic or previous exam attempts.

How to Know You're Ready to Take the MCAT

Your recent practice results are more useful indicators of MCAT readiness than the number of hours you’ve studied. We recommend looking at your scores, pacing, and endurance together before deciding whether you’re ready for test day.

Here are a few signs to look for:

• Your practice scores are consistently near your target. Look at several recent full-length exams, especially scored AAMC exams, rather than relying on one strong result. Check your section scores, too, so your total doesn’t hide a persistent weakness.
• You can finish each section within the time limit. Take practice exams under standard timing (or your approved accommodated timing) without pausing the clock, checking notes, or taking extra breaks.
• You can maintain focus throughout the exam. Full-length practice should help you assess whether fatigue affects your accuracy or pacing in later sections. Use these sessions to practice your food, caffeine, and break routine.
• You’re making progress on recurring mistakes. You don’t need to get every question right, but you should understand why you miss questions and see improvement as you address content gaps, passage interpretation, and test-taking habits.

Practice scores can’t guarantee your test-day result, but they can help you make an informed decision. If your scores remain well below your target or you regularly run out of time, reassess your study plan and consider whether moving your MCAT test date would give you the preparation time you need.

The Best 6 Study Resources

MedSchoolCoach has a comprehensive library of MCAT study resources to make your study schedule a cinch. Here’s what we recommend (both of our own and other resources): 

• MCAT Prep by MedSchoolCoach, the top-ranked MCAT mobile app featuring science content videos, lecture notes, and flashcards
• MCAT Basics+ by MedSchoolCoach, an audio MCAT prep course that allows you to study MCAT science anytime and anywhere
• CARS Mastery by MedSchoolCoach, a video course that teaches you expert-developed strategies for maximizing your CARS score
• MedSchoolCoach MCAT Practice Exams, the most realistic practice exams on the market
• AAMC full-length MCAT practice tests (use our MCAT Score Conversion Calculator to get a scaled score from your AAMC practice exam)
• AAMC study guide for the MCAT, including practice questions

Read Next: When Should You Take the MCAT?