I am taking the MCAT in September, and I’m using a pre-made deck of ~7000 cards as I go about my studying. Each time I read a chapter, I am unsuspending the cards that correspond to that chapter, so most of the cards are currently suspended. I am using FSRS with desired retention 90%, and I’m finding that cards I started a few weeks ago have now graduated to intervals of 4 and 5 months! I have only been using the “again” and “good” buttons. My test date is in a little under 3 months, and I am thinking I’d like to see each card once more before I test, as I may want a refresher 2.5 months from now. Is it a bad idea to change the maximum interval using FSRS? I have heard that this can mess up the algorithm- should I trust that I will remember everything without a refresher? Thanks in advance for any advice!
Yes, that’s a bad idea. Not because you’re using FSRS, but because you shouldn’t use the max interval to work toward a deadline. It won’t work.
Unless you’re going to keep lowering your max interval every day, cards will still be scheduled after your exam. And if you are going to keep lowering it, forcing all of your cards to have shorter and shorter intervals as the exam approaches … you can see how that’s the opposite of what spaced repetition is trying to do.
All that will do is hold your easier cards down under an artificial ceiling and ensure that you’ll spend too much time on them – time that you should be spending on your harder cards. You want those intervals for easier cards to get longer.
If you’re doing everything else you need to do – using optimized parameters and re-optimizing monthly, grading your answers honestly and accurately – and your retention outcomes are close to your Desired Retention (DR) – then you should just let FSRS schedule your cards
When your exam gets closer, you can boost your confidence by using Filtered decks to study cards that you haven’t seen in a while or that aren’t due for a while.
77 new cards a day? Even if there was just one word on the card, that’s a lot of work. I’m not counting reviews, which are mandatory when studying. So, for the entire three months, you should only study and nothing else.
You’re right to recommend filtered decks, as the help specifically states that they’re optimal for exam preparation for review purposes. So study as is, but set up a filtered deck every day and study from it.
I don’t know how many subjects you have… although the AI tells me: “The MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) includes 7 core academic subjects, grouped into 4 sections.” Then I’d split it into 4 decks and set each deck to study 25 cards. Then, in 70 days, I’ll have completed everything and have 20 days to purely review everything using the filtered deck. When there are a lot of cards or multiple decks per day, it makes sense to break the day into sections: the first half of the day is good for studying, and the second half is for reviewing (filtered decks), since a person is already tired. Also, reviewing today’s cards before bed and reviewing everything studied the previous day after sleep is also recommended. Since there are four hours in the morning for studying, and it’s good that there are four decks, you study only one deck (25 cards) at each hour. Most likely, there will be a 20-minute break, which is very good, since without a break, you shouldn’t start studying another deck and its 25 cards. Here’s my advice, as I do myself: when studying, I can always press the “Good” button, but if I’ve already studied one and it’s simple, I set a green flag. If I realize I barely managed it or have made mistakes on it before, I set a red flag. I very rarely set an orange flag—when I can’t figure out how difficult a card is for myself, meaning I didn’t recall it right away, but I don’t think I’m making any mistakes…that’s the average situation. I can always change the flag; for example, from orange to red if I’ve started to forget. Why would I need this? Then, once 70 days have passed and you need to prepare more effectively (using filtered decks), you’ll focus on the red cards first, which will make up about 25 percent of the exam time, which significantly reduces your time. Then you can review the rest, and before the exam itself, you can review those problematic red cards again.
Consider this simply advice on how to manage your time to cope with a large amount of information. You may have your own study strategies, you may have your own routine when you memorize most effectively (you can see this in Anki statistics if you study at different times for extended periods). Some people are active in the morning, while others really enjoy studying at night (I like two hours in the morning, but I also like two hours in the evening (when it’s quiet)… although when I was preparing for exams, I sometimes studied almost until the early hours… and when I was working on work projects, I could sometimes work on them until 5 a.m. and then go to sleep for two or three hours).
It’s all individual.
I hope you cope with this workload and pass your exam!
A little 0.02 (having taken the MCAT not too terribly long ago):
This is normal, for a number of reasons
You can always use filtered decks for targeted review before your exam date. That being said, you also don’t have to do that. Anki is pretty fantastic at making sure you’re likely to remember the things it determines that you’re likely to remember.
As others have noted, the max interval isn’t intended for use as a deadline adjustor. It’s not recommended, in part bc it just won’t work in that way
An important distinction for the MCAT will always be: given the volume of information and timeline involved you, like most folks, will likely be time-limited in preparation. Is that time better spent re-reviewing cards that statistically you’re not terribly likely to have forgotten? For most folks the answer will be ‘no’ and that time can be better spent on practice questions, or full-length exams, or hoping and praying to the Ether Gods.
The smarter option is likely to use the tags that are likely present in the deck and do some targeted review with filtered decks in the week or so before the exam. No harm in touching base on amino acids, or whatever vexing subtopic, as rehearsal before the Big Day. 
Thank you so much for the help! With the grading accurately- I have seen it recommended to just use “good” and “again” with FSRS, especially when preparing for a big exam like this one. What are your thoughts on that?
Thank you so much for the advice! Yes, I have made studying my full-time job for the next three months, other than some volunteering. I’m able to get through a lot of new cards and all my reviews each day without it taking too long, so I’m not so concerned with the workload. I’ve been doing my reviews first thing in the morning and learning new cards at night, so I’m glad that aligns with what you suggested. I might try the flag method, thanks!
Thank you so much for the advice!
There’s nothing about FSRS that requires you to only use Again/Good. And nothing about preparing for a big exam that would change that.