Evidence-based strategies, clear plans, and smart practice that fit your life.
Six weeks is the comfortable number. Two weeks is the common one, because the test date came round faster than expected. It is workable, but only if you accept the trade: you are not going to cover the blueprint, so you are going to cover what pays.
Days 1 to 2: find out where you actually are
Sit one timed section from each of the four subjects. Do not study first. You want an honest picture, and studying first gives you a flattering one. Write down every missed question's topic. That list, not the blueprint, is your syllabus for the next twelve days.
Days 3 to 9: work the list, heaviest first
Rank your weak topics by two things: how far below target they are, and how many questions the section carries. Science is 50 questions and about half of it is anatomy and physiology, so an A and P gap is worth more than a punctuation gap even if both look equally red.
Each session: 20 to 30 practice questions on one topic, then read the rationale for every option, then a cheat sheet on that topic. Not the reverse. Reading first feels productive and teaches far less than answering first and reading to repair.
Day 10: one full-length attempt, timed, in one sitting
All four sections in order, no phone, one short break. You are rehearsing stamina, not learning content. Expect the score to be lower than your section practice suggested; that gap is exactly the thing this day exists to expose.
Days 11 to 13: fix only what the mock exposed
Resist restarting the syllabus. Take the mock's three worst topics and work only those. Three topics done properly beats ten skimmed, and at this stage skimming is all ten would get.
Day 14: stop
Light review of your weak-topic list in the morning, then stop. Pack your identification, check the location and the start time, and sleep. Nothing you learn on the final evening will outweigh arriving tired.
What to cut, explicitly
- Topics you already pass. Rereading them is comfort, not study.
- Note-making. Copying a cheat sheet by hand feels like work and is the slowest way to learn a fact you will be asked to recognise, not produce.
- Chasing every rare topic. Two weeks does not buy completeness. It buys a better score on the parts that carry the most questions.
If you have longer than a fortnight, use it properly: the six-week plan. If you are not sure what you are aiming at, start with the score your programme needs.