How to use Maren

How each part fits together — and the one thing that matters most per surface.

The 2-minute version

Maren turns your misses into a map. You log what you got wrong and why; Maren finds the patterns and tells you what to work on next.

Day one: set your test date in Plan, add a resource or two you're using, then log your first missed question in Study. Everything else builds from there.

Plan — where you're going

Goals: test date, target score, baseline, weekly hours, per-section goals. Maren uses all of these to pace you and to calibrate the daily tip.

Full Lengths: every full-length practice test by section, plotted over time. Section trends are the single highest-signal metric in MCAT prep — log every one, including ones you don't want to think about.

Resources: your personal library. Only add what you're actually using — the AAMC inventory tracker catches burning AAMC content too early, which is the most common self-inflicted prep mistake.

Study — what to do today

Log a Question: paste or screenshot a missed question. Tag why it went wrong (conceptual gap, misread, careless, timing, etc.). Optionally build a flashcard from THIS miss and push it straight to Anki.

Quick Practice Quiz: Maren writes 3–15 MCAT-style questions targeting your weakest areas, then logs your results back into your history. Rate your confidence per question — that signal powers the trend chart on Review.

Log a Session: record a focused block of content review, FL review, or any study work. Builds your streak and feeds the day × hour heatmap on Sessions.

Review — find the patterns

Every question you've logged, with filters by section, topic, tag, date, and confidence. Click any row to expand and edit.

Three panels at the top matter most: Error Patterns (what kind of mistakes dominate), Confidence Trend (which topics are actually getting stronger), Weak Areas (the ranked list Maren uses for quiz generation).

Bulk-select rows and apply tags to backfill pre-tagging data — takes two minutes, dramatically sharpens every analytics view afterward.

Chat with Maren

The Chat tab is your AI coach. Maren sees everything you've logged — questions, full-length trends, error patterns, sessions, AAMC progress, Anki health if connected — and the advice is specific to you.

Use the floating Maren button to chat from any page without leaving what you're doing. Paste images directly into the chat if you want Maren to walk through a specific question.

Dashboard

Your snapshot. Test countdown, streak, latest FL, AAMC inventory, section mastery, weekly activity, top weak areas. No actions live here — it's status only. Use the top nav to actually do things.

Plans

Free. Track: unlimited analytics, calendar planner, session tracking, full-length logging, Anki sync (read-only), up to 59 logged questions. AI features are Pro and Max only. The free tier is the tracker, not the tutor.

Pro ($39/mo). Coach: everything in Free plus unlimited questions, Maren AI chat (200/mo), question explainer (20/mo), practice-quiz generator (30/mo), image-scan + auto-fill, auto-classify new questions, smart reschedule, daily personalized tip.

Max ($59/mo). Unlimited daily use of every AI feature. Maren chat, worked-solution explainer, practice quizzes, photo capture, Smart Replan, all without monthly caps. Flashcard generation is Max-only: AI-built decks from your weakest topics, no other tier gets this. Built for the final 4 to 8 weeks of prep when daily use is the norm. (Fair-use ceilings sit well above any realistic student volume; they exist to block scripted abuse, not to meter your prep.)

Connecting Anki

Optional, and entirely local: Maren reads your deck health — cards due, mature cards, leeches — and can push AI-built flashcards straight into your decks. It all runs on your own computer, so Anki has to be open. Here is the one-time setup:

  1. 1. Install Anki desktop (free, from ankiweb.net) and open it. Keep Anki running while you use Maren.

  2. 2. In Anki, open Tools → Add-ons → Get Add-ons, paste the code 2055492159 (AnkiConnect), click OK, then restart Anki.

    Anki's Tools menu open with Add-ons highlighted
    Anki → Tools → Add-ons

  3. 3. Open Tools → Add-ons again, select AnkiConnect in the list, and click Config.

    The Anki Add-ons window with AnkiConnect selected and the Config button
    Select AnkiConnect, then click Config

  4. 4. In the config, make webCorsOriginList include both Maren addresses, then click OK:

    AnkiConnect config
    "webCorsOriginList": [
    "https://www.joinmaren.com",
    "https://joinmaren.com"
]

  5. 5. Restart Anki one more time, then click Test connection. Your decks appear here once it connects.

Anki must be open on this computer for Maren to read your decks. Card health syncs only while Anki is running. You only do this setup once — the addresses stay saved.

Stuck on something specific? Open Chat and ask. Maren has full context on your data and can walk you through any question, concept, or strategy.

Something broken, billing question, or feedback?

Maren Chat is the right place for study help. For anything else, like bugs, billing, a feature idea, or a data-access request, email us directly. We read every message.

General support

support@joinmaren.com

Privacy / data requests

legal@joinmaren.com

FAQ

Questions you might have

The objections we hear most often. Plan-and-billing questions live on the pricing page.

Is using Maren during MCAT prep considered cheating?
No. Maren is a study tool. It coaches you on practice questions you have already missed; it does not take your exam for you. The MCAT itself is closed-book, in-person, and proctored, so there is no way Maren could be used during the test. Outside the test room, you are allowed to study with any resource you want, including AI.
Does Maren use official MCAT content?
No. We never license, scrape, or store questions from official practice products or third-party question banks. You paste your own missed questions in your own words; Maren reads them and coaches you through the underlying concepts. We treat exam-maker intellectual property the way every premed should: hands-off.
Do you train AI models on my data?
No. Your logged questions, study sessions, chats, and notes are never used to train models. Our AI provider does not train on API inputs by default, and we do not opt in. Your data stays your data.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
Your account stays active on the Free tier. Your question history, plan, and analytics are preserved, and you can export everything from Settings any time. If you fully delete your account, your data is removed from our database. The full retention schedule is in the Privacy Policy.
How is Maren different from a general AI chat tool?
A general chat tool starts every conversation from zero. Maren reads your test date, your full question history, your error tags, your weak topics, and your study calendar before answering. Every response is personalized to what you have already missed and what is coming up on your plan.
What if Maren gives me wrong information?
Email support@joinmaren.com with the question and Maren's answer. We review every report, and the correction lands on your record so Maren learns it the next time you log a similar question. Sanity-check high-stakes answers against official sources. Maren is a coach, not a guarantee.
Can AI really replace a $200-an-hour MCAT tutor?
For most students, the question is not replace, it is reach. A real tutor at $200 an hour for 8 hours a month runs $1,600. Max is $59. Maren will not match a great human on judgment calls about your specific weak spots, but it can read every question you log, every miss you make, and every full-length you take, and surface patterns no tutor working 8 hours a month would catch. The smart move is Maren full-time plus a real tutor for the last few weeks if your budget allows.