The MCAT is the exam most medical schools use to compare applicants. It has 230 questions in four sections: Chemical and Physical Foundations, Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS), Biological and Biochemical Foundations, and Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations. Study Scheduler builds a plan from the subjects those sections test. Subjects with more questions get more of your time, CARS gets steady practice, full-length practice tests are reserved first, and the whole plan is paced to an official test date or your weekly hours.
Your schedule combines topic study, review, mock practice, and time away. Actual blocks depend on your exam, study budget, and days off.
Make it your own →Rest days stay part of the plan.
230 questions · 6 h 15 min of testing (about 7 h 30 min seated)
Computer-based at test centers on official dates, January to September. Every test date starts at 8:00 AM. Optional breaks of 10, 30 and 10 minutes fit between sections. Each section is scored 118 to 132 and the total is 472 to 528, with percentile ranks. Scores are released 30 to 35 days after the test.
About 300–500 hours over 3–6 months (prep-industry convention)
Most students plan on about 300 to 500 hours, usually over 3 to 6 months. Where you land depends mostly on how recently you finished your prerequisite courses.
The AAMC publishes no required study time. The figures you see quoted come from prep companies and student forums, so treat them as a starting budget to adjust, not a target to hit.
The test runs in four sections, in this order. Chemical and Physical Foundations has 59 questions in 95 minutes. CARS has 53 questions in 90 minutes. Biological and Biochemical Foundations has 59 questions in 95 minutes. Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations has 59 questions in 95 minutes.
The three science sections mix subjects. Chemical and Physical Foundations is 30% general chemistry, 25% physics, 25% biochemistry, 15% organic chemistry and 5% biology. Biological and Biochemical Foundations is 65% biology, 25% biochemistry, 5% general chemistry and 5% organic chemistry. Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations is 65% psychology, 30% sociology and 5% biology.
CARS is different. Its passages are half humanities and half social sciences, and answering them needs no outside content knowledge. It is a reading skill you build with steady, timed practice, so Study Scheduler spreads it through your plan instead of saving it for the end.
Your science and psychology courses are recent. Most of your time goes to practice questions, repairing weak spots and several full-length practice tests.
You remember most of the material but some courses are a while back. Expect a full first pass plus extra time on the subjects with the most questions.
Plan on relearning content as well as practicing. Give Biology and Biochemistry room for two full passes.
These are the starting budgets Study Scheduler suggests in setup. Every budget is adjustable, and the plan re-paces itself around whatever number you settle on.
Three calendar shapes cover most students. Choose the one that matches the hours you can protect each week, not the one that finishes soonest.
A summer or break with no classes in the way.
A fast first pass through the sciences, then daily practice for CARS and mixed question sets. Full-length practice tests fall on weekends, and the last one is at least a week before your test date.
A lighter schedule, or a part-time job alongside your prep.
Two passes through the sciences, with mixed practice in the second half. Each full-length practice test is followed by a review day.
Studying during a normal semester.
A slow first pass with plenty of spaced review, then timed practice and full-length tests in the final weeks. The longer runway leaves room for several practice tests.
You do not have to pick one of these. Choose an official test date and Study Scheduler works out the hours per day you need. Or give it your weekly availability and it suggests an official date you can be ready for.
A review book gives every chapter the same attention. Study Scheduler decides from the shape of the test instead, so your hours go where the questions are.
The AAMC publishes each science section’s subject percentages. Study Scheduler turns them into our estimate of each subject’s share of the test, then weighs each subject by how much study it usually needs. CARS is practiced steadily all the way through.
If you have taken the MCAT before, type in your section scores. The plan shifts time toward the sections where you scored lowest compared with your own other sections.
Practice tests take 7.5 hours, so they are placed on weekends before the rest of your study time is spread, with the last one at least a week before your test date. Plans snap to official test dates, so you always pick a real date.
Ranked by question count weighted against the spec's own difficulty rating — not question count alone, since a smaller topic rated harder can be worth more study time than a bigger, easier one.
Humanities passages · Social science passages · Foundations of comprehension · Reasoning within the text
Gene to protein · Heritable information and genetic diversity · Cells and cell assemblies · Prokaryotes and viruses
Amino acids and proteins · Enzymes · Bioenergetics and metabolism · Lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids
Every subject on the MCAT, with its number of questions and share of the test. CARS has 53 questions of its own. The AAMC publishes each science section’s subject percentages, not question counts, so the figures marked ≈ are our estimates from those percentages. Study Scheduler allocates your study hours in this same proportion automatically.
Many students plan on about 300 to 500 hours, usually over 3 to 6 months. The AAMC sets no required study time, so treat that as a starting budget. Choose how recent your prerequisites are in setup and Study Scheduler suggests a number, which you can change freely.
You can only pick official AAMC test dates, and Study Scheduler lists them with the date scores are released. There are 35 official dates in 2027, from January 15 to September 11. Registration for 2027 opened October 20 to 22, 2026, and you need to register by the 10-day deadline. Think about when your applications go in. Most medical schools want scores no more than three years old.
CARS passages are half humanities and half social sciences, and they need no outside content knowledge, so there is nothing to memorize. The skill improves with steady, timed passages and careful review of the ones you miss. Study Scheduler gives CARS regular practice throughout the plan instead of one block near the end.
The AAMC sells six scored full-length practice exams, and the first is free. It also offers a free unscored sample test. Many students take several full-length tests in the final weeks. Choose how many in setup. Each one is a 7.5-hour day on a weekend, and the last is at least a week before your test date.
Yes. Enter your four section scores in setup, each from 118 to 132. Study Scheduler compares each section only to your own other sections, so the plan puts more time into your lowest ones. You can take the MCAT three times in a year, four times in two consecutive years and seven times in a lifetime. Voids and no-shows count toward those limits, and every scored attempt is released to AMCAS automatically.
There is no passing score. Each medical school decides what it expects from applicants, so check the schools you are applying to. Study Scheduler does not predict your score. It tracks your practice results so you can see where you are improving.
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