This post may contain affiliate links. Please read full disclosure here
If you’re a premed student preparing to take your medical college admissions test, otherwise known as the MCAT- then you’ve likely heard many premed students before you express that the MCAT burnout is real!
This sentiment should serve as a cautionary warning to students preparing for the intensive study schedule required to do well on the MCAT.
As a premed student you likely understand that your MCAT score is a key metric used by college admissions to determine whether you are fit to matriculate into their medical school. Therefore, the purpose of this post isn’t to highlight the importance of doing well on the MCAT.
Let’s tuck that bit of information away for a moment and focus primarily on the common mistakes that students make during their MCAT prep which ultimately leads to burnout.
But first, let’s discuss what burnout can look like, as it may be expressed differently by everyone. Burnout may come in the form of increased anxiety, depressive episodes, lack of motivation, loss of sleep, fatigue, inability to retain information, emotional outbursts, etc. You may be well into your study schedule, then suddenly avoid the idea of studying at all costs.
The chances are, you’ve reached burnout and severely need time to recover.
However, there is no need to lose hope- despite how much time you may have already dedicated to your studying. Consider implementing these preventative techniques at the inception of your MCAT schedule planning, or after your time regrouping.
How to Avoid MCAT Prep Burnout from the Start
- Evaluate how much time you have to devote to studying.
- Incorporate weekly breaks.
- Get enough sleep.
- Eat well.
- Exercise.
- Limit hours of study.
- Set aside time for self-care, and time with family/friends.
- Don’t inundate yourself with resources.
- Take online study claims with a grain of salt.
- Don’t force yourself to take the exam, if you’re not ready.
Now, let’s elaborate.
- Evaluate how much time you have to devote to studying. At the very start of your MCAT schedule planning it is extremely important that you evaluate how much time you have to dedicate to your studying. Be honest! Are you working 40 hours a week? Do you have a full-time student course load this semester? Are you a parent, and having to either find childcare or divide your time between studying and spending time with your kids?
To do well on the MCAT it is recommended that you spend, at minimum, 300 hours of dedicated studying. This goal should be adjusted to fit your current lifestyle and schedule. For example, if you’ve given yourself 6 months (180 days) to prepare, then you should consider studying for at least 11.6 hours per week. This may be equally divided to 1.6 hours each day, or 2.3 hours 5 days per week.
You can see that there’s some flexibility here to make your study schedule a perfect fit for you.
If you’re capable of rounding up to 3 hours 5 days per week, great. But only after considering the remainder of the advice given in this post. - Incorporate weekly breaks. Incorporating weekly breaks is a must to preventing MCAT burnout. Every premed student is eager to get started studying for the MCAT. They’ll come out the gate studying 8+ hours per day, 7 days a week- neglecting other aspects of their lives. Consider how long this rigorous study schedule can be maintained before slowing down, or simply losing motivation.
You should tailor your MCAT prep to include weekly breaks. Take a day to which you don’t even look at the direction of your study materials. This is so vital to staying motivated throughout your preparation and keeps you from feeling overwhelmed by the MCAT. - Get enough sleep. As a college student, you likely know how detrimental lack of sleep can be to your memory retention and learning. It is essential that you achieve 7-8 hours of sleep each night.
Again, make this fit your own lifestyle. If you have classes in the morning or work late at night make the appropriate adjustments and ensure that you have a sufficient sleep schedule. You will feel refreshed and ready to tackle your study schedule. - Eat well. Similar to how important it is to get enough sleep, eating well and adequate nutrition will help support your study habits. During your scheduled day/s off, take time to meal plan for the week. This will prevent you from making poor food choices and make meals quickly accessible.
- Exercise. There are so many benefits to regular exercise and a wealth of information out there to support just how important it is for all individuals. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise 5 days a week, or at least 1.25 hours of intense aerobic workouts per week.
Regular exercise may aid you in keeping your stress levels manageable as you study for the MCAT. Schedule your workouts between studying, or during your breaks. Adjust your exercise according to what may work best for you. - Limit hours of study. I may just be reiterating what I’d mentioned in a previous tip, but it’s worth repeating. Do not overstudy.
You’ll meet very few students who devoted 12 hours of studying per day for 3 months straight who aren’t regretful of their choices or who produced a great MCAT score. Maybe they did do great, but they’re severely burned out and actively having to voluntarily commit themselves to a psychiatric hospital- kidding.
Instead, at the inception of study planning find the appropriate amount of time you will need to sufficiently study and work on the discipline to stick to your study schedule. This will prevent you from the last month of cramming, and long hours of studying that will surely lead to burnout. - Set aside time for self-care, and time with family/friends. The world is still going on around you as you diligently study for the MCAT. You don’t want to come out of your MCAT hole 6 months later and find that you’ve missed out on your family and friends. Set aside time for them and for yourself.
Schedule coffee dates with loved ones, routinely get a massage, take a bath, leisurely read (yes, fun reading), watch a movie, get pampered, go for a hike, take on a hobby that brings you joy, go for walks with the dog.
The key to preventing MCAT burnout is balance. - Don’t inundate yourself with resources. If you’ve explored the MCAT material available on the internet you have likely become overwhelmed by the overabundance of MCAT material out there. There are countless YouTube channels dedicated to MCAT prep, Reddit threads suggesting study material, downloadable notes, ANKI sets, or paid study programs.
My suggestion is to assess your ability to learn and tailor your study material to this. Limit your resources to 2, maybe 3 and omit all others unless you are finding that they are truly not working for your learning style, and you are needing to make an adjustment. The continual changes or collecting all of the study material you can find can paralyze you from actually studying effectively. - Take online study claims with a grain of salt. Which leads us to the next tip- don’t look to online study claims by other students and believe that adherence to their exact study material/schedule will produce a good MCAT score. Perhaps they are being dishonest as well. Take these claims with a grain of salt.
The route they’d taken may not be what is best suited for you. Trust in your assessment of your study needs during schedule planning and stay the course. - Don’t force yourself to take the exam, if you’re not ready. Finally, if you’re 5 months into your MCAT preparation and have found that you’ve deviated from the study plan more than you care to admit- reschedule your MCAT. There is no shame in this.
While you don’t ever truly feel ready for this exam, if you haven’t reached your goals in covering all of the MCAT content detailed by the AAMC then it is worth considering taking the MCAT at a time when you have. This might save you from the frustration of having to retake the MCAT and start over with your MCAT preparation.
The MCAT is incredibly challenging for all premed students. Don’t allow anyone to trivialize how difficult this exam is. But it is essential to score competitively for the medical school admissions process.
While you are preparing your personalized study schedule it is vital that you consider these key tips. They were given to help steer you away from MCAT burnout and hopefully get you closer to the MCAT score you want.
Best of luck!
