Early in her prep, Sarah tried to study five hours a day for the MCAT on top of a full-time job.
She lasted about a week and a half before she ran out of energy, and then went a couple of weeks without studying at all!
She went on to score a 526 MCAT in August 2022, and today she's one of our MCAT tutors and Live Course instructors.
In the video above, she walks through the mistakes she made on the way to her 526 MCAT and what she'd change if she studied again. Here's the written version, so you can skip a few of those mistakes yourself 🙂
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Sarah's 526 MCAT, Section by Section
Sarah studied for about four months, over the summer of her second year, while working full time in research. She took the exam in August 2022.
Her 526 MCAT broke down to a 132 in Chem/Phys, Bio/Biochem and Psych/Soc, and a 130 in CARS!
If you're wondering where that sits, our guide to whether 526 is a good MCAT score covers the percentile. What's more useful for you is how she got there, mistakes included.
Mistake 1: An Unrealistic Schedule
Five hours of MCAT studying a day on top of a full-time job didn't last.
After a week and a half she had no energy left, and the couple of weeks she lost afterward could have been avoided if she'd been more realistic from the start.
She also ended up pushing her exam date back from the one she'd first scheduled.
Her advice is to stretch your prep instead of squeezing it. Not everyone can study for the MCAT for a couple of months straight, and that's okay!
You can always add a couple more months to your study period. Jamming too much prep into a short window alongside your other commitments is a recipe for burnout.
If you're already running on empty, these tips for MCAT burnout can help you reset.
Mistake 2: Starting Without Physics or Biochemistry
Sarah went into MCAT prep without having taken physics or biochemistry. Knowing you'll be tested on topics you've never studied is intimidating!
It takes more effort up front, and it's doable!
Spend some time at the very start of your prep on a crash course in anything you haven't seen or have started to forget, so you have the background before you start on practice questions.
Our free MCAT content review covers every section, so you can work through physics or biochemistry from the ground up before you start practice sets.
Mistake 3: Using Every Resource She Found
When Sarah started, she thought she had to use almost every resource she came across to do well. Looking back, she says that couldn't be further from the truth!
You'll be bombarded with resources, and it's hard to know which ones are best. Pick a few good ones and finish them!
That's what she'd tell herself if she started over :)
If she studied for the MCAT again, here's the order she'd follow:
- One content review source. Videos or books, whichever you learn from best.
- One source of practice questions. She used a large third-party question bank that ran a little harder than the official exam, which made the AAMC material feel easier afterward.
- AAMC practice material. She found the AAMC section banks the closest to how the test reads now :)
- AAMC full-length exams. If you only have time for one thing, make it these. The AAMC's own guide to creating your MCAT study plan also builds practice exams into your prep.
Planning that order around your own schedule is something our 6-Week Live MCAT Accelerator does with you, and Sarah has taught in it. It also includes seven 1:1 sessions with a 515+ scorer.
Tip 1: Review Every Practice Question You Miss
Of everything that went into her 526 MCAT, Sarah calls reviewing practice problems probably the most important part of studying. Here's how she did it:
- Redo the question without looking at the answer or the solution. If you get it right the second time, you could answer it all along, and something got in the way the first time.
- If you miss it again, reveal the correct answer. Then work backward from it until you see how you'd get there.
Working backward trains you to think the way the test makers want you to, which helps far more than reading the solution they give you!
For a full method, see our guide on how to review MCAT mistakes. If you'd like someone to watch you work backward and catch where your reasoning slips, a mentor can do that with you in 1:1 MCAT tutoring.
Tip 2: Start CARS Early and Stay Consistent
Sarah also recommends working with AAMC CARS material early on. In her experience, many third-party CARS passages follow a different thinking style and pattern from the AAMC's, and the AAMC describes what the section tests in its CARS section overview.
If CARS is where you want help, our CARS Mastery Course is taught by 130+ CARS scorers, and our guide to MCAT CARS timing is a good place to start.
Tip 3: Go Over Quick Sheets Before Test Day
In the days before her exam, Sarah went over a set of high-yield quick sheets to make sure she had all the high-yield content down and to memorize last-minute facts that might come up.
Our free MCAT cheat sheets work well for this :)
Tip 4: Spend 10 Minutes a Day on Amino Acids
If you'd like to review them first, start with our notes on amino acid structure.
526 MCAT FAQ
How long did Sarah study for her 526 MCAT?
About four months, over a summer, while working full time in research. She also pushed her exam date back once to give herself more time.
What resources did Sarah use for a 526 MCAT?
One content review source, a large third-party question bank, then the AAMC section banks and full-length exams. Today she'd keep it to that short list and finish each one.
Can you score a 526 MCAT without taking physics or biochemistry?
Sarah did. She recommends a crash course at the start of your prep on any subject you haven't taken, so you have the background before you start on practice questions.
What's the most important part of studying for the MCAT?
For Sarah, reviewing practice questions. Redo every miss without the solution first, and if you miss it again, work backward from the correct answer.
Learn From a 526 MCAT Scorer
Sarah has taught in our 6-Week Live MCAT Accelerator, where live strategy classes, weekly office hours and seven private 1:1 sessions with a 515+ scorer help you avoid the mistakes she made.
If you'd rather work one-on-one, MCAT tutoring matches you with a mentor who can build a realistic schedule with you and review your practice questions the way Sarah did. We'd love to help!
For another mentor's story, read about the MCAT mistake Deven made before scoring 521.
You don't need a perfect plan to get a great score, and Sarah's 526 MCAT came after a few false starts. Be realistic with yourself, pick a few good resources, and keep reviewing. You've got this :)
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