Most MDCAT study plans look like a school timetable: an equal slot for each subject, repeated every week. This feels fair, but it ignores how the exam actually gives marks.
The exam is not balanced, so your study should not be either
Of the 180 questions, 81 are Biology. Chemistry has 45, Physics has 36, and English and Logical Reasoning have 9 each. So one subject is worth 45% of your score, and two subjects together are worth only 10%.
Think about a common mistake. A student is weak in both Biology and Physics, and gives one week to each. The Physics week can improve at most 36 questions. The Biology week can improve 81. That is the same effort for more than double the result. Biology marks are also often easier to gain, because more of its questions test recall and recognition, not long calculations.
The rule is simple: choose what to study by the marks it is worth, not by giving every subject equal time. A weak Biology chapter is almost always more important than a weak Physics chapter, because it carries more marks.
Why a few marks matter more than they seem
KMU’s published MDCAT 2025 results show why small gains matter so much. About 15,300 of KP’s 38,447 students scored between 100 and 149 (our count from the published bands) — about 3,000 students in every 10-mark band. In this range, five extra correct answers can move you ahead of more than a thousand students. The exam is not decided at the very top. It is decided in this crowded middle, where most students are.
Five questions is the same as fixing one weak Biology topic. It is not five weeks spent on one difficult Physics derivation.
A marks-based plan for the last 4–6 weeks
This is not a fixed timetable. It is a way to balance your own plan:
- About 45% of your study time on Biology, starting with your weakest high-frequency topics. If this feels like too much Biology, that is the old equal-time habit — this plan simply matches the exam.
- About 25% on Chemistry and 20% on Physics, again weakest topics first. Physics questions repeat the same patterns, so practise the common calculation types instead of only re-reading theory.
- English and Logical Reasoning need short, regular practice, not long study blocks. At 9 questions each, a daily 10–15 minutes is enough. Do not spend a whole study day on 5% of the paper.
- Practise in exam conditions. 180 questions in 180 minutes is one minute per question, and there is no negative marking. Train yourself to answer every question and never leave one blank.
One honest note
Studying by the marks does not mean ignoring a subject. You still need the pass mark in the MDCAT, and the merit formula counts your whole result. The point is smaller: when you must decide what to study next — and in the last few weeks you are always deciding — choose the topic that is worth the most marks. In this exam, that is usually Biology.