I plan it out with a calendar. Lectures are 4 hours per section. MCQ can take just as long, so 8 hours per section total just to understand the material. After I get through all the material, I plan a few weeks of MCQs, practice exams, flashcard review, and just basically being obsessed with the material.
I watch the lectures and highlight/make notes like they tell me to. I don't just let it wash over me, I really try to understand it. If it doesn't click with me or if I can't relate my own experience to what they just said, then I pause, read it again, watch it again, or do what I have to do so that it at least makes sense to me. I'm not trying to understand 75% of the material. I am trying to understand 100%.
Some things I just know I have to memorize so I start making flash cards as reminders.
I do the MCQ homework and read every explanation to the answers. If I am unsure even a little bit, then I click to re-read that section of the book, and maybe make a note card. I try to think like the exam thinks, and use the same vocabulary to describe things. They don't test you on reality. They test you on their reality.
I rewrite summaries for each chapter or section, trying to get a one page “topic at a glance” so I can look it over quickly as a review daily and right before the exam. I rewrite it, trying to memorize the page.
When its review time, I do the progress tests. I start reviewing the sections that I am scoring the lowest in. Then I progress test again to see how much I improved.
Once progress tests are trending well, then I do the 2 Practice Exams, usually a few days before the exam. It tells me if I need to go back to weak areas, or just chill and review notes.
Walk into the exam confident that you are a rockstar. Meditate, pray or whatever to be calm. A stressed brain forgets everything you learned!
Hope that helps!
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