There’s another subset who are too inflexible to postpone, even when that would prove beneficial. There is a subset of students who delay the test when unnecessary and end up hurting their score. What we want to determine is whether you should take the MCAT as planned, or opt to delay and reschedule for a later date. In understanding these two core foundations of forgetting and burnout, we can rid ourselves of the notion that more studying will always lead to an improved MCAT score. Let’s be real, there are probably more than just a few other things you’d rather be doing than studying for the MCAT.īurnout is a multifactorial phenomenon that can be mitigated, but that’s a conversation for another time. You cannot expect yourself, or any student, to be able to study for the MCAT indefinitely, particularly at high intensity, without reaching a point of burnout or frustration.
The second part of the equation is burnout. This increases the rate of learning and retention, and caps the rate of forgetting. For example, 3 months fully immersed in MCAT preparation at higher intensity, or even 6 months with moderate intensity. We find that students generally, all other things being equal, perform best when they can study for the MCAT over a shorter duration but higher intensity. By spending a fewer number of hours per day spaced out over a longer duration, they forget information at a higher rate, thus reaching the retention-forgetting balance point much sooner. This effect is more prominent with those who space out their MCAT studying over longer periods, such as 9 or 12 months. However, after a certain point, the rate of information you are adding and retaining will balance out with the rate of information you are forgetting. We can limit the amount of forgetting through certain learning principles, such as spaced repetition and active recall. The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve illustrates the fact that we don’t retain information forever. The reason for this is two-fold: (1) the balance of retaining versus forgetting and (2) burnout. However, at a certain point, further time spent studying will result in a score plateau, and after this point, further studying will actually result in a worse MCAT score outcome. You can visualize your own MCAT test performance as a bell-shaped curve, with the time spent studying on the X-axis and your score on the Y-axis.Īt early stages, more time spent studying will yield an improved score. This is simply false, as demonstrated by the fact that many students who spent 6, 12, or 18 months studying for the MCAT don’t necessarily perform better than those who spend just 3 or 4 months. Students erroneously believe that the more time they spend studying, the better their final MCAT score will be. In reality, delaying the MCAT results in two overlooked drawbacks: (1) forgetting content and (2) burnout.
Let’s first dispel the myth that delaying is always good because it gives you more time to study. The Misunderstood Costs of Delaying the MCAT
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Here’s an easy, step-by-step process on how to decide if you’re ready to take the MCAT, or if you should delay it. The MCAT is upon us – your test date is approaching and you’ve been studying hard, but perhaps you aren’t quite certain if you should take the MCAT or reschedule it for a later date. Premed & Medical Student Annual Scholarship.
2020 Medical School Application Updates.
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