497 --> 510 in two months and what I changed.
This is my advice for somebody studying for the MCAT. I took it twice. For context, the first time I took it, I gave myself five months to study and ended with a 497. Because I was studying abroad, I had a hard deadline for my retake. Two months after the score came back, I ended with a 510. During those two months, I had an organic chemistry Boot Camp for two weeks, worked part-time as a researcher, had a part-time job, took full summer classes, and had eye surgery. That is to say, I found a system that was much more efficient for me and wanted to share it here. It may not work for you, but this is what helped me get a 13-point jump in two months.
- First, I reevaluated my content. I had read all the Kaplan books, taken notes, and done practice questions, but I realized it had not been enough.
- This time, I did all of the MilesDown on Anki, doing about 80 new cards a day, so that I would have half a month where it was purely review.
- Taking a class that was focused on organic chemistry really helped because I didn't have to do individual review to pick up the concept.
- I was also working on my senior thesis and taking a class that was focused on a scientific background, so I read a lot of very dense texts. I also enjoy creative writing in my free time, so I didn't focus a lot on studying for CALS. It was my highest score in the first one.
- I would spend about 5 to 6 hours a day studying. I would use UWorld and take a full-length practice exam. AKA, I would set a time limit for 60 questions that would be like the actual timing of the exam. UWorld questions are a lot harder, so I would go from having not enough time to having an extra five minutes. On the actual exam, this translated to having about 10-15 extra minutes in the free sections. Taking the practice exam also showed me the level of comfort. I would have more time and would be very comfortable at the speed I was reading and processing.
- Those practice tests would be every three weeks or whenever I had a free day.
- I would always take the practice questions and then let them sit for an hour or two before I went back and analyzed. I kept track of how many I would get right and how confident I felt in each. I would also go through and analyze why I got each question wrong for about an hour and a half.
- I was set to finish UWorld in a month and a half, so that I would have a half-month of overview. This ended up being 60 to 120 questions a day, sometimes more if I had a free day. During this review, I would redo all of the practice problems I had that were wrong or was not confident, though not under time.
- P/S is the place where I saw the most improvement.
- I went back and redid every single practice problem that I did wrong or wasn't confident in under time conditions in the weeks leading up.
- I also read the 250-page Kaplan PDF the week leading up.
- My part-time job was mostly home health and involved cleaning. Whenever I was cleaning, I would listen to MCAT Mastery or other MCAT podcasts on topics that I was not confident in.
Differences between the first and second exam.
- In the first exam, I had to drive to a different city and spend the night in a hotel. I didn't sleep well because of this and wasn't able to prepare lunch the way I would've liked. It was also a very cloudy and cold day, and it definitely affected my mood.
- During the second exam, I started waking up at the time I would need to two weeks before the actual exam. This got me in a cycle, so the night before, I was able to fall asleep at 9 o'clock and get a full nine hours of sleep. Two days before, I didn't study, and the day before, I just reviewed and prepared for the next day. I woke up at the time I would need to and drove the route to the exam center to help me not be nervous about getting there on time and to see what traffic might look like. I prepared a dinner of something that I really liked, and I packed it away so I would have a hot meal. I also had a bunch of high-protein snacks and fruits that I would eat in between every section. Even if I didn't feel hungry, I would make sure that I had something to eat. I bought a coffee the day before and had it in the fridge to heat up, as it was from my favorite café. I would take sips between each exam portion rather than straight in the morning, so I had a slow dose of caffeine all day. I would also take a couple of sips of water and make sure that I was well hydrated. Even if I didn't feel like I had to go to the bathroom, I would go to the bathroom and walk around and stretch until it's time to go back in. During my lunch break, I ate lunch and then walked up and down the stairs multiple times to get my heart rate up. I was super comfortable and really happy after getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, and eating enough. Getting my heart rate up was also very helpful. I think the reason I did so well in psychology was that I outlasted a lot of the other people. I could see that a lot of people were drained by the end of the exam, and I felt just fine. I actually went dancing later that evening because I had so much extra energy and was so happy to be done. It was a stark difference.
I'm not saying this will help everyone, but this is what really helped me and what I hope to take some of these strategies into medical school. ( Sorry, this is not very well edited. Feel free to ask follow-ups if you'd like!)
Posted Jun 3, 2026, 11:38 PM UTC
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