CONTENTS

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MCAT EXAM
STRATEGY
A 6-Week Guide to Crushing the MCAT

By Leah Fisch
If you know anyone who can benefit from this guide,
Please feel free to share it with them by
sending them to this page :

http://leah4sci.com/mcat-exam-strategy-guide

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DISCLAIMER
Id like to promise you a perfect MCAT score or your money back
guarantee if you read this e-book and follow my advice, but sadly I cant.
However, I can promise that you will be much more prepared for your MCAT
than you would have without reading this guide. Implementing my 6-week
strategy will achieve varied results based on several factors, such as level or
preparation, understanding of the material, test-taking ability and more.
Everyones results will be different and no one can promise perfect MCAT scores
(only better ones).

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CONTENTS
01

Cover

05

Introduction

08

Step # 1

Do your Research

11

Step # 2

Create a Baseline to Determine Where You Stand Right Now

15

Step # 3

Understand Your Starting Point

17

Step # 4

Create a Backwards Calendar

20

Step # 5

Maximize Your Practice Exam Data and Create an Appropriate Study Strategy

25

Step # 6

Don't Burn Out Seriously

30

Tutoring

36

About the Author

38

Links and Resources

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INTRODUCTION
As a former pre-med student and an MCAT tutor for the past several years,
Ive helped dozens, if not hundreds, of aspiring medical students prepare to
master the MCAT. Studying for the MCAT can be quite overwhelming. Why?
Well, in a nutshell, you have to know EVERYTHING! And thats just the
beginning. First, you must learn an obscene amount of information. Then, you
must be able to apply the information to tricky and difficult MCAT style
questions.
A bright eyed pre-med student will open a brand new notebook, take a
moment to think about the road ahead, and freak out. Where do I start? Do I
tackle chemistry or physics, biology or organic chemistry? Do I take a practice
test or sign up for a course? These students get overwhelmed before they even
start. So they push it off.
Nah I have a year to go, this can wait. College exams, work, volunteering,
girlfriend/boyfriend issues, and just life in general gets in the way.
Theres still a year until I have to take the MCAT.
I still have eight months.
I still have six months.
I still have uh oh, I dont have enough time.

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Then they start studying like crazy, take practice exams, enter panic mode,
and burn out before even reaching the actual exam. In working with these
students Ive noticed a trend and that is a lack of a strategic approach to MCAT
studying. Ive heard horror stories of students wasting weeks reading through
their chemistry and physics textbooks, of other students reading through years
of biology notes, and even more students taking every possible practice MCAT
out there. None of them had a real strategy so when it came to the exam, they
got stuck. They may have learned all of the information, but they werent able to
apply their knowledge to MCAT style questions.
These students lacked a strategy. A simple but strategic roadmap telling them
exactly what they needed to do to reach their goal. And thats exactly what you
need.
When students hear strategy, they get overwhelmed, expecting I will tell
them to read their book in three days and do all the practice problems. But
thats not the case. In fact, the secret to an effective strategy is creating a
personal game plan, one that works for YOU on your own schedule, focusing on
your own strengths, working towards YOUR specific goal and your personal time
frame.
Im calling this guide a 6 week strategy because I want to give you a
concrete picture of how long it takes to figure out your strategy, create a game
plan, and follow it over the course of six weeks. I will assume that you have
spent some time studying and reviewing the science material needed and are
ready to jump into your last minute preparations. But this guide is not set in
stone. If you have just four weeks to go, this guide will still work for you. It will
also work if you have 4 6 months to go.
To master the MCAT, you cant simply study and hope for the best. You
must approach your studying with a sound strategy from day one. It doesnt
matter if it is day one of a six week, six month, or even a one year study plan. By
creating a sound strategy and mapping out a related game plan, you will know
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exactly what you have do every step of the way. And by knowing what to do,
you take out the guesswork and doubt, and potentially the insecurity that leads
to procrastination.
If you follow a measurable strategy you can track and analyze your progress
along the way. As a result, instead of guessing to see if youre studying the right
way, you have measurable feedback pinpointing when and how to adjust your
preparations, and regular intervals to keep your goal within sight.

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STEP # 1
Do your Research
Lets face it, MCAT studying may not be the most fun activity. You will be
eating, sleeping, and breathing the MCAT. You may not see your friends and
family for months. You need a very strong motivator to keep you going.
Its difficult to know what to aim for if you dont know exactly what you
need to score. The advice of Shoot for a 30 works in a pinch, but thats not
sound advice. Your required MCAT score will depend on a number of factors,
and I recommend doing the research before you even begin your studies.
Devote an afternoon to researching different medical schools, in your state
and country wide. Look into everything about the school (MD, DO), from the
programs they offer to campus layout. But more importantly, look into their
accepted student stats, including class requirements, extra-curricular activities,
average GPA, science GPA and MCAT scores. This will help you determine if you
are considered a competitive candidate for the program.
Aim High (Five)
Once you find a few schools that match your requirements and desires, find
out what MCAT score you are required to achieve, AND AIM TO SCORE FIVE
POINTS

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HIGHER
Medical schools are flooded with applications, and the competition to get in
is fierce. In fact, the average medical school receives dozens of applications for
every available seat. Junk-applications aside, this means you are competing with
many other students to get in. Shooting for five points higher on the MCAT will
help you stand out as an above-average student as far as your MCAT score is
concerned.
In 2013, at total of 48,000 students applied to medical school, of which
35,700 were first time applicants. Only 20,000 first-time students were accepted
into medical school in 2013, meaning, nearly three out of every five new
applicants were rejected. Now keep in mind that most students applied to
multiple schools, and some students were accepted to more than one school,
which means many students were rejected from multiple schools. So it makes
sense to aim for scoring five points higher than the schools average.
In addition:
1. If you score five points above the average you will stand out as a stronger
applicant, thus increasing your chances of getting an interview and potential
acceptance.
2. Aiming for five points higher helps you build in a buffer. No matter how well
you prepare, you will feel nervous on exam day. Nerves and panic will cause
you to make silly mistakes and potentially lose a few points on your exam. By
preparing to score higher from the start, youve built in the careless-mistake
buffer and are still likely to achieve a competitive score overall.

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10

Now that youve done your research, you should have a solid picture of
what lays ahead. This picture will keep you going through the long study days to
come.
As a pre-med student in college, before I discovered my love of teaching, my
dream was to do military emergency field medicine, and my dream school was
the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences or USUHS. I contacted the
school and they sent me a very fat guide complete with their curriculum outline,
student stats, and even campus pictures.
I read that book cover to cover and carried it everywhere. That book and
the dream it represented kept me going through late-night cram sessions and all
those stay-in-and-study days when my friends were hanging out doing fun
things. So get your personal picture, create your own concrete goal and dream
to aspire to.
Now that you have your dream, lets figure out where you stand to
determine how far you have to go to get there.

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11

STEP # 2
Create a Baseline to Determine Where You Stand Right Now
Remember, the goal of mapping out your strategy is to have a concrete
picture of where you need to go and how to get there. The only way to figure
out your next step is to know and understand where you stand right now. I dont
care if youve forgotten all of the material, or even if you havent completed one
or more of the required science courses. If youre taking your MCAT in the next
12 months, and especially if youre taking the exam in six weeks, you cannot
skip this step.
Many of my MCAT tutoring clients come to me after having spent weeks or
months studying on their own. My first question to them is this: Where do you
stand with your MCAT score right now? And they have no idea but they have
good excuses. NOT!
I havent taken orgo 2 yet so I dont feel ready.
I took physics two years ago and want to re-learn it first.
I havent finished going through my biology notes.
The list goes on. Do you have a similar reason for postponing? If so, WHAT
ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? Seriously, if youre planning to take the MCAT soon,
how do you know what youre working towards if you dont know where you
stand right now?

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The MCAT is about more than just content; its about logic, reasoning,
application, math-without-a-calculator and more. And hey, if youre worried
about doing poorly on this exam, lets try some reverse psychology: The worse
you do now, the better chance you have for improvement. And if you miss
points because you didnt learn a topic, think of how much faster your score will
improve once you do learn this topic.
So if you havent taken a practice MCAT, stop reading and RUN to the nearest
MCAT practice test and get started!
But before you run off, let me explain why you need to do this, and then Ill tell
you how to get a free exam.
Remember, the purpose of a strategy is to have a concrete picture of where
you stand, where youre headed, and what steps you must take to get there.
Studying information out of a book will give you a foundation, but the content
foundation is not enough. Yes, the MCAT will test you on your knowledge, but it
will also test your ability to reason through difficult questions, derive answers
from the way material is presented, and answer questions on topics you have
actually never learned before.
Practice, Practice, Practice
So how do you best prepare for this exam? By taking the exam itself or a
REAL practice version of it again, and again, and again at strategically timed
intervals. After taking a practice test, you can answer the following questions: If I
took the MCAT today, how would I score? Am I competitive enough? Whats
missing in my knowledge base? Which subjects/topics/subtopics do I need to
work on next?

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In other words, taking practice tests enables you to pinpoint EXACTLY what
needs improvement, and use your remaining time to focus on that. Later in the
strategy portion, Ill talk about continually gauging and improving where you
stand.
Which Exam to Take?
With so many MCAT test-prep companies out there, each offering some
version of the MCAT, its difficult to know where to turn and how to start. I have
nothing against those test-prep companies, But for now, forget them and focus
on gauging your score with a real AAMC exam.
After all, the AAMC administers the real MCAT, and theyve made some of
the past MCATs available online. How much more authentic can you get? You
dont have to play the guessing game. Start your strategy on a concrete
foundation. You can grab a free exam from the AAMC website, (test #3) at:
http://www.aamc.org/freemcatpractice
Dont Waste This Exam
Before you take your exam, keep the following in mind:
Your goal is to simulate realistic exam conditions as much as possible, so
dont waste your practice exam by doing anything stupid. Below are some
common mistakes to avoid. Ive spoken to students who have committed each
of these errors.
Turn off your cell phone! Seriously, this is an exam. That text message can wait,
your Facebook friends wont unfriend you, and you can tweet about this torture
when its over.
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14

Dont use a calculator! The MCAT requires you to do math without a calculator.
Dont cheat yourself and skew your expectations by using electronic aids. If this
throws you off, dive into my MCAT-Math-Without-A-Calculator tutorial AFTER
your practice exam.
Take the entire exam in one sitting! You are testing more than your science and
verbal skills with this exam. Youre testing your endurance, along with your
ability to solve MCAT-style questions over the span of a few hours. Pausing your
exam for an hour or a day to return with a fresh-rested mind does not simulate
exam conditions, so dont do it!
Avoid distractions. You are not allowed to talk during your MCAT, so dont let
anyone talk to you during this pretest. Explain to family or roommates that you
cannot be disturbed, or find another location to work such as a WiFi-capable
caf or library.
So how did you do? Single digits? Double digits?
Believe it or not, its normal for students to score in the high single or low
double digits on their first practice exam. This comes from a combination of lack
of knowledge, incomplete studying, lack of familiarity with the exam and more.
So if you scored low, dont worry; theres still hope for you. In my experience,
MCAT scores can increase by around 20 points with a solid strategy followed up
by serious dedicated studying.
This, of course, depends on your initial score. The higher the score you start
out with, the more difficult it will be to raise your score by many points.
Improving from a 9 or 12 to a 20+ can be achieved with initial studying.
Improving between the 20-30 scores requires serious content studying with
practice application. Improving beyond a 30 becomes increasingly difficult for
every additional point and requires following my strategy to the T.
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15

STEP # 3
Understand Your Starting Point
The AAMC practice exam is more than just a diagnostic test. The feedback
provided with your exam will be the key to creating a six-week study plan. When
you submit your exam you will be provided with a very detailed exam report.
Youll see your overall score out of 45, get your individual section scores for
physical science, verbal and biological science, each out of 15, and youll also get
a detailed breakdown of the topics and subtopics on the exam, including how
many questions you got right, how many you got wrong, and how many you
omitted (hopefully none).
Dont take this report as the final word on your abilities. Your score may
have been impacted by everything from the bird chirping outside or a fluke
correct guess on a tough question, to a careless mistake on your part for a
question that you should have gotten right in your sleep! But its a starting point,
so well use this as the basis of your upcoming foundation.
Instead, focus on the following:
- How did you do overall?
- How does this compare to your score goal established in step 1?
- How did you do in the individual sections?
- What went wrong, which topics were your pitfalls in each section?

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16

But again, if you feel that this is an inaccurate representation of your

current standing, dont worry; youll be taking more exams and generating more
score reports periodically. Below is a snapshot of one of my students diagnostic
exam reports, copied with permission:

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17

STEP # 4
Create a Backwards Calendar
Ive chosen to focus on a six-week strategy based on my experience working
with dozens of MCAT students. Ive found that six weeks is the minimum
timeframe required to see really strong improvement and results when starting
from a diagnostic test. If you have less than six weeks until your exam, dont
rush to change your date. If youre worried about your personal situation
including time-remaining or your current MCAT score via
http://leah4sci.com/contact/ and let me know where you stand, and Ill try to
help.
I really like the backwards calendar when it comes to working towards a
difficult goal. The average to-do list requires writing out a series of bullet points
showing what you still have to do. And while you may be enthusiastic at first, life
tends to get in the way and the motivation slowly dies down, potentially keeping
you from your goal.
By working on your goal backwards you dont try to reach a goal. Instead
you mark down your goals, each one to be conquered on a very specific day. You
backtrack from your final goal, figuring out which steps must be taken along the
way to reach it.
Go to your local office supply store and purchase the largest poster board
you can find (or mock up a large board by taping several sheets of paper
together). Draw a single backwards calendar similar to the images Ive included
below.
This will allow you to eyeball your total strategy in one view. If you have a
traditional calendar, you may not take the next month as seriously when the
exam date is not right there in front of you (in huge letters, no less).
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Mark your exam date/time at the top of the calendar. If you havent
registered for the exam yet, what are you waiting for? Its just six weeks away,
go reserve your MCAT date RIGHT NOW!!
For this example, well assume the MCAT takes place on Wednesday, July 16 at 8
am.
Mark this day on your backwards calendar. Now here is how you mark the
remaining calendar. Remember, you can adapt this guide depending on how
much time YOU have left.
1 week before the exam same day and time Your 5th AAMC practice exam
2 weeks before the exam same day and time Your 4th AAMC practice exam
3 weeks before the exam same day and time Your 3rd AAMC practice exam
4 weeks before the exam same day and time Your 2nd AAMC practice exam
Skip Week #5 this is a study/review week
6 weeks before the exam - diagnostic test if you havent taken one yet, aka your
1st practice exam if youve already taken your diagnostic test.
Quick note: On these practice exams. I will assume that you have access to
the rest of the AAMC exams. I dont care if your friend illegally shared their
Kaplan password or Examkrackers study guides; I recommend that your final
testing and analysis happen through the realistic and official AAMC exams.

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19

Last I checked, there were a total of eight practice exams available on the
AAMC website for the pre-2015 MCAT. Assuming youve taken the first (test #3)
as your diagnostic, you have seven remaining. No, they are not free, but if this
means lunching on Ramen noodles for a month to afford it, its a worthy
sacrifice. You cant skimp on your MCAT preparation.
You can purchase the additional practice exams on the AAMC website here:
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/preparing/85158/orderingpract
icetests_mcat.html
Longer-Term Strategy Addendum
Six weeks is the minimum amount of time required to prepare for the MCAT
in order to see serious improvement. If you are reading this and you have a few
months to go, kudos to you.
Here is how you add to the calendar above. In the eighth week before your
MCAT, schedule another practice test. In the months prior to then, aim for one
practice exam per month, or evenly distribute your total number of exams over
the weeks before the final 8-week period leading up to your actual exam. While
the six-week plan calls for just AAMC exams, the extended period is where you
can take non-AAMC exams to get into the zone.
Just because there are eight AAMC exams does not mean you have to take
them all. Let me repeat: just because you have access to many exams doesnt
mean you should take them all. I will write more on this later.
I recommend taking a maximum of one exam per week. If you have just a few
weeks to go and you just started this strategy, perhaps take an exam every 5-6
days, but dont fall into the exam-overwhelm syndrome.
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20

STEP # 5
Maximize Your Practice Exam Data and Create
an Appropriate Study Strategy
The month leading up to your exam is the most critical. Its equally critical to
take these practice exams on the same day and time as your actual MCAT,
spaced about a week apart. If your exam is Monday but you work Mondays, take
your practice exams on Sunday--its close enough. Before I give you my
argument for this, let me tell you a quick story.
I hate running. I repeat: I HATE RUNNING! Yet when I joined the United
States Navy Reserves, I was required to complete a 1.5 mile timed run to qualify
on the physical fitness test. I was also required to run to pass my boot camp
physical, and required to repeat this run every six months as part of my biannual
physical fitness test. That is until I learned I could qualify with a timed swim
instead.
When I found out about the run test, I set out to run, and managed a
quarter mile before I had to stop, huffing and puffing and cramping all over. But
I couldnt give up because I dreamed of becoming a military doctor. And so I
trained. Over the next few weeks I ran, rested, ran, and rested some more.
I was slow at first, walking two miles, then adding in a minute of running
and increasing this time each running day. Slowly but surely, I increased my
ability to run from a quarter mile to a half mile to a mile and finally two miles
without stopping, cursing all the way (did I mention I hate running?). But by the
time I had to run my 1.5 mile test, I was able to do it. By learning to run two
miles with ease, a 1.5 mile test was not only just another run, but it was easier
to complete.

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Many refer to this phenomenon as muscle memory. Now I dont know if my

muscles remembered the run, but over time they got used to it and stopped
complaining so loudly. The length became bearable, the physical exertion
doable, and the time not as boring.
Apply Muscle Memory to Your Brain
So how does this relate to your weekly practice MCAT? Remember that
practice test you took? Perhaps you felt excited, nervous, or motivated during
the physical sciences section. Perhaps your patience began to run out when you
hit the verbal section. But if you are like most students, you were likely pulling
your hair out and jumping out of your seat by the time you reached the
biological sciences section.
Is biology tougher than the rest of the MCAT? Not necessarily. The issue is
that youre simply not used to sitting for 4.5 hours at a time. Your body and
brain protest because they are not happy with the torture you are putting them
through. So not only are you taking your exam, youre also fighting every instinct
that tells you to give up and go home.
Now imagine doing that same exam again one week later with some
preparation; and again the week after, and the week after that. Not only are you
familiarizing yourself with the testing style, you are also physically conditioning
yourself to sit for a few hours at a time and to function at maximum capacity for
those 4.5 hours. And, of course, you are learning to tackle MCAT style questions.
By the time you take your real exam itll feel like just another practice exam, free
of the many-hour boredom and related MCAT jitterbugs.

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22

But taking the exam is not enough. What you do in between practice exams
is key to improving your score from week to week. Were assuming that by the
time youre tackling your final six-week stretch, you have at least attempted to
review all of your science requirements. I say attempted, because no one
REALLY gets through all of it.
Heres what youll take out of each subsequent practice exam:
1. An overall score letting you know how youve improved since last time, and
how close you are to your overall goal.
2. A breakdown of the individual exam section scores to let you know how
youve improved in each section, and how close you are to the individual
section goals.
3. A breakdown of the specific topics and subtopics within each section letting
you know what to study in the coming week.
I think points #1 and #2 are self-explanatory. They are key to helping you
measure your intermediate success, progress, and improvement towards your
overall goal. So lets talk about #3.
A common mistake I see among MCAT students is that they take too much
time to review and study the actual practice MCAT exam. Yes, the exam is a
valuable testing tool, but thats all it is. Dont go and memorize the exam
questions, because the likelihood that youll see the same exact question on
your actual exam is slim to none.

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Instead, here is what you should focus on when reviewing your practice MCAT
1. Specific questions you missed yes, they are still important.
2. The broader topic surrounding your question.
3. Questions you werent 100% confident about despite having guessed or
answered them correctly.
Make a list of topics based on the above points. Look for question types and
bigger picture topics that you missed. Take these topics and break them up on
your backwards calendar for the entire week leading up to your next practice
exam. Aim to spend a minimum of 30 minutes studying and reviewing every
topic that you missed. If you feel you need more time, by all means give yourself
an hour or longer per topic.
Lets say you missed only ten questions (impressive). Thats at least 30
minutes per question topic for a total of five hours spread over the course of the
week. Now lets say you missed or didnt feel confident with 30-40 questions,
which is much more likely. This will require at least 15-20 study hours over the
course of the following week.
Use this time to relearn the information, understand concepts, practice and
memorize formulas, and test your knowledge through practice quizzes and
topic-specific exams in your study books and online material.
For example, if you missed a question on pendulums, dont just review the
answer out of the AAMC exam solution guide. Instead, review the answer first,
then go back to the topic of pendulums in your book. Go back to your study
guides, my MCAT videos and your MCAT prep resources. Did you forget how to
apply harmonic motion and Hookes law? What about potential energy and the
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effect of gravity? Be sure to spend some time reviewing each of these individual
concepts.
When your next practice exam rolls around, you may find some overlap in
the question topics. You wont find the exact same questions, but your review
should have broadened your knowledge and strengthened some of your
weaknesses. You will also come across questions you havent seen before, but
dont worry. Thats why Im having you do multiple practice exams in the weeks
leading up to your exam.
This is the key to practice exam success. Too often I come across a serialMCAT-taker, a student who takes practice exam after practice exam without
maximizing the benefit that each exam has to offer in terms of guided follow-up
study sessions. These students take exams every few days, only study the
answers to the actual exam questions, and nothing else. They quickly find
themselves frustrated and overwhelmed. Dont let this be you.
Note of Caution
You may find that your score stagnates towards the end, or even dips a few
points. This tends to happen as you get into critical thinking mode and perhaps
over think questions. Just relax, realize that this does happen, and in doing a few
practice exams as Ive suggested, youll get comfortable with the strategy and
break out of this plateau.
Longer-Term Strategy
If you have more than six weeks till your exam, this strategy still applies,
especially during the final six weeks. However, if you have a few months to go,
space your initial exams a month or two weeks apart. Spend more than 30
minutes on each topic missed, and perhaps even set up blocks of time devoted
to nothing but content review.
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25

STEP # 6
Don't Burn Out Seriously
You know that feeling of Im so motivated/excited I can go on studying for
hours? Well it doesnt last. And if you keep pushing yourself without taking
proper breaks, youre going to burn out. In fact, you will actually accomplish
MORE by taking regular breaks to refresh and clear your mind.
Breaks include the following:
1. 45-90 minute study sessions should be followed by a 10-15 minute break
2. Multiple 45-90 minute sessions should be followed by a proper
lunch/dinner/fun break
3. Try to take a day (or half day) off from studying at least once a week
4. Make time to hang out with your friends and family.
Your brain is not designed to function at full capacity all the time. If you
attempt to push it, you WILL burn out. Youll find that you forget more than you
retain, get easily frustrated, and overall start hating anything related to the
MCAT.
Hopefully youve explained the seriousness of MCAT prep to your friends
and family. But even if they understand and respect your study time, its
important to dedicate time to spend with them.

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26

Yes you need to study hard, but you must also allow yourself some guiltfree breaks to mingle with people, maintain whats left of your sanity, and have
a good ol fun time. This will keep you happy, focused, and motivated to keep
going.
My sister took her bar exam in the summer of 2013. I was getting to the
point where I forgot I had a sister because she ate, slept, and breathed the bar.
And if I did get her on the phone shed yap on and on about the law. Dont be
like that, or just hang out with other pre-meds.
Emergencies Never Check the Calendar
This is a fun quote that really does apply. Be sure to build safety days into
your schedule allowing you to play catch-up just in case something unexpected
happens on a planned study day.
For some reason, cram days always invite catastrophe, from getting sick, car
breaking down, friend/family issues, anything really. And while life does happen,
you cannot afford to fall behind to the point where you must choose between
postponing your exam or taking it unprepared.
So yes, schedule a day off every week or so, but if something unexpected
happens, turn the day off into a study day to keep you on track.
Another way to avoid burning out is in the way you study. No matter how
much you dislike a specific MCAT topic, the pain can be alleviated if you space it
out over time.
For example, if this weeks post-exam study requires a few hours for each
subject, physics, chemistry, verbal, biology and organic, dont necessarily tackle
them one subject per day.
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Instead, try to vary it. Take your favorite topic and spend the first 30
minutes of each study day on this one topic. This will put you in a positive mood
(since you like the topic) and get your mind into study mode. Now turn to
something less fun; perhaps an hour of physics, followed by an hour of orgo.
Leave the final half hour for additional review of your favorite topic. This
will help you end your session on a high note and keep you motivated for the
next day.
If youre on a longer term schedule, this strategy applies even more to you.
Students often tell me I have six months to study, Ill devote a month to chem,
the next month to physics, then a month to bio
It sounds great, but I advise against it for two reasons:
5. You may WANT to spend a month reviewing each topic, but as life happens,
your month of chem turns into six weeks, your month of physics turns into
two months, and before you know it, youre out of time and you havent
tackled organic chemistry.
6. Say you are the super-motivated type and somehow manage to stick to this
one month per topic schedule. By the time you hit biology in month three,
youll have forgotten general chemistry from the first month. By the time you
hit orgo youll have forgotten even more.
Here is my alternative strategy. Five topics, five days of the week, or
perhaps five consecutive study sessions however you choose to break it up. So
for example, If you devote 2.5 hours per day for five days for the MCAT, try this:

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Monday Chemistry
Tuesday Physics
Wednesday Verbal
Thursday Biology
Friday Organic
Sat/Sun Sanity, friends
If you have just 2-3 days to study, break your allotted time into five study
sessions. For example:
Monday Session 1 Chemistry
Monday Session 2 Physics
Thursday Session 1 Verbal
Thursday Session 2 Biology
Saturday Organic
This pattern of studying ensures that you devote enough time to each topic,
stay fresh on each topic, AND keeps your study schedule exciting by changing
topics every day or every few hours.
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And thats it!

You have your strategy, now get to it!

If you dont have an exam date yet, GO SIGN UP NOW

If you havent done a practice exam yet, what are you waiting for? GO DO IT
NOW!
I will be posting a ton of valuable MCAT videos, tips, tricks, guides, cheat-sheets and
more on my website at http://leah4sci.com/mcat The topics and advice I publish will be
direct reflections of the questions I receive from students, so if you have any questions
dont hesitate to contact me via http://leah4sci.com/contact/

Good Luck!

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TUTORING
Sometime studying on your own is not enough. What do you do if you dont
understand the information, get stuck on a concept, or get lost on the
explanation to a practice question?
This is where you need to enlist help to ensure you remain on the right track and
keep moving forward to your goals.
I offer private online tutoring and will be happy to help you prepare for your
upcoming exam including setting up a personal MCAT exam strategy, working
through your content/understanding foundation, and helping you with difficult
concepts that come up in your study material and practice MCATs.
Additional details/information can be found on my website at
http://leah4sci.com/mcat-tutoring-sessions or contact me directly to set up a
session at: http://leah4sci.com/contact

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leah Fisch has always been fascinated by science and has
nurtured a lifelong desire to understand how things work or what makes
them tick. While other kids were watching Barney & Friends or Clifford,
The Big Red Dog on television, Leah was watching The Magic School Bus
and learning about the inside of the human body.
Yes, you could call her a geek. She used to 'borrow' her siblings science
books and lock herself in the bathroom to read undisturbed.
At 15 she learned first aid in a lifeguard certification class. That
experience opened her eyes to medicine and the fascination grew from
there. She watched movies like Saving Private Ryan and shows like Xena
Warrior Princess that invoked a sense of adventure, an interest in the
military and an overall goal of doing military emergency field medicine.
During college Leah joined the U.S. Navy Reserves and served with the Maritime Expeditionary
Security Forces while working on her pre-med dual degree in biology and chemistry. She has served in
both Iraq and Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and has
actively participated in other adventures such as port security at fleet week, border patrol missions and
training the Panamanian military/police in security.
To further satisfy her passion for science and to help enlighten others, Leah has been tutoring
high school and college students in general and organic chemistry and other sciences for nearly a
decade. Leahs students love her informal, down to earth teaching style, based on understanding, her
simple explanations delivered on their level and her wonderful sense of humor. They are grateful to be
able to actually enjoy the learning process rather than memorize the material.
Leah currently lives in New York with family and a pet brown bunny. She enjoys sculpting magical
creatures in polymer clay, swimming, bike-riding and rising through the belt ranks in Shotokan karate
and Kobud.

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

Leahs Website: http://leah4sci.com
Tutoring with Leah http://leah4sci.com/mcat-tutor
Leahs MCAT YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/Leah4SciMCAT
Leah4sci on Facebook: http://facebook.com/mcatexamstrategy
Leah4sci on Twitter: http://twitter.com/leah4sci

Be sure to visit the links above to subscribe to my YouTube channel and say hello
on Facebook and Twitter

Copyright 2014 Leah4sci.com

All Rights Reserved

(c) leah4sci.com 2014