Are you thinking about including MCAT prep in your freshman year? This means you’ve already made the huge decision to be a pre-med student! This is an exciting and nerve-wracking time. Balancing your volunteering, science classes, and campus life can be quite a challenge. You know you eventually have to take the MCAT exam but aren’t exactly sure what, if anything, you should be doing now.

When is the Best Time to take the MCAT?

First, let’s talk about when you should take the MCAT  so that you know when to start studying for MCAT. You should realistically plan to take the MCAT in the spring semester of your junior year. Of course, everyone’s timeline is slightly different and there’s no mandate that says you must take it your junior year. Err on the side of caution and take your MCAT when you feel ready—which, as you might have guessed, is definitely not your freshman year. When to start studying for MCAT really depends on your personal MCAT study plan. Fortunately, there are things you can do as a pre-med freshman that will set you up for later success on the MCAT exam, as well as your entire undergrad career.

It’s important to understand upfront that the MCAT, is a mile wide but an inch deep. That means that many of your undergrad classes are going to cover a lot of material that either isn’t directly tested on the MCAT or isn’t tested in as much detail. That doesn’t mean you should rest easy, but it does mean that you should go into your classes with a good idea as to what is on the MCAT.

AAMC Topics List

A great place to start is the AAMC topics list. This is a current list put out by the writers of the MCAT, and it has every topic that could be covered on the actual MCAT exam. Before you start taking any of your prerequisite courses, take a look at this list and note what subjects you are likely to see again. Once you get your syllabi for your classes, try and compare the two, and see when you will be covering MCAT coursework.

But how will you remember that material two or three years later for your MCAT test date? Research has shown us that the key to long term recall is spaced repetition, the idea that you need to review things at regular and increasing intervals in order to store those facts in your long-term memory. If you simply cram for an exam, and then never review the material again, you will probably forget everything you “learned” shortly after your semester is over. That would certainly not be the best test prep strategy, especially for this important standardized test.

Anki Flashcards and MCAT Flashcards

You might be wondering how you can compile your ever-growing set of binders/folders/hard drives worth of concepts learned in class, in a way that doesn’t make reviewing them regularly a prohibitively time-consuming ordeal. The answer is simple: MCAT flashcards. Pro tip: You can get over 1600 free MCAT flashcards from Blueprint MCAT right now!

Additionally, Anki, a free flashcard software that has everything you need to begin developing a set of killer flashcards to help you ace the MCAT and set a study schedule. Learning how to use Anki isn’t too difficult, but here’s how you can start using it now as a freshman prepping to study for the MCAT.

You make your electronic flashcards based on your class/textbook notes. While it may take some time to create, these flashcards will help you on your current tests and quizzes, as well as the actual MCAT later. Following the AAMC topics list and the syllabi in your classes, you can begin tagging flashcards that cover MCAT topics with the tag “MCAT.” Once your semester ends you can compile all of the different MCAT topic flashcards to a single deck of cards and continue to review those as you move into your next semester. You can even use the flashcard as a practice question! You now have a manageable database of high-yield flashcards, created by you, for you, for free, as a student.

Freshman MCAT Prep Action Plan

To recap, freshman MCAT prep does not include a steady stream of MCAT practice tests or content review. Rather, this is the time to set the foundation for your future success!

Freshman MCAT Prep Action Plan

Step One: Download a copy of the AAMC MCAT topics list.

Step Two: Use the topics list in conjunction with your syllabi to track when you will be covering topics that will show up on the MCAT—and please don’t skip those classes.

Step Three: Use Anki to begin developing a set of high yield flashcards that you can review regularly.

Step Four: Relax knowing you will be quite a few steps ahead of the game once you really begin your dedicated MCAT prep.

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t close out with this: don’t forget to have fun! You’re only a freshman once, which gives you something of a “free pass” to make mistakes only college newbies can make. Trust us, you’ll be all the wiser and better for them. When the time comes where you actually have to take the MCAT, we’ll be right here to help you with your MCAT prep with the most representative Blueprint MCAT practice exams and the best online MCAT prep course. Until then, take school seriously but don’t forget to enjoy your college experience.

Written By: Steve Lawless, Blueprint MCAT Tutor