Just how ridiculous is this post-bacc plan I just came up with at 3 a.m.?

[geneexpression]

Money concerns are making it really difficult for me to be a good little pre-med right now. I've applied to at least 100 jobs and haven't found anything yet. The fact that I need money more than I need good grades or volunteer hours is always at the back of my mind and always stressing me out. If I'm studying, I'm thinking, "What on Earth are you doing? You're about to lose your apartment, and you're studying chemistry instead of looking for a job?!" Then when I'm looking for a job, I'm thinking, "You have a chemistry test tomorrow, and you're filling out job applications instead of studying? What are you doing?! One unerasable low grade on your transcript, and you're stuck with it forever!" It's just too much. I also feel like being in school is also severely impeding my ability to find a job in this town with a high unemployment rate to begin with because it limits the hours I can work.

So...I was thinking maybe I can cut out school for several months, during which time I will move back in with my parents (it wouldn't be ideal, but there's a bed there for me), use that time to find a stable source of income and set some savings aside, shadow some doctors and such, AND... teach myself everything I need to know for the MCAT with review books (Kaplan, EK, and/or Princeton Review).

I'm scheduled to take Gen Chem II over the summer and figure I might as well go ahead and take it since my lease isn't up until the end of the summer anyway. After the summer semester is up, my plan would be:

August-December: self-study MCAT materials and work on building my savings again.

January: Re-enroll in school to finish up my pre-reqs and hopefully take the MCAT in time for the last administration of the current version. I would take Organic I and Physics I this semester.

June 2015-if possible, begin applying to med schools. I'm unclear on whether I can apply while I still haven't taken Organic II and Physics II despite having already completed this MCAT at this point, though.

Summer or Fall 2015: Finish up my prereqs with Organic II and Physics II.

-----------------------------

So yeah. Just how crazy am I? I will say that, when it comes to sciences, I'm a complete self-teacher. There are exceptions, but I'm typically not someone who gets a lot from lecture. I learn best when I'm allowed to just sit with the book and teach myself info. This is why I'm thinking I might stand a chance of just teaching myself all of the concepts. But maybe people who have actually taken the MCAT can comment more on the feasibility and/or absurdity of this plan.

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[EngineerPreMD]

Oh my God that sounds like a horrible way to live. You honestly SHOULD do that. I'm guessing taking out loans isn't an option. It might be better than trying to support yourself as a full-time student, but I don't know your finances. There's honestly no good way to be a full-time student and also fully support yourself without loans unless you're already established in a career that pays well part-time. As someone who didn't go to lecture for 4 years in college, I totally get the "self-teacher" thing. That's fine.

 

[geneexpression]

Oh my God that sounds like a horrible way to live. You honestly SHOULD do that. I'm guessing taking out loans isn't an option. It might be better than trying to support yourself as a full-time student, but I don't know your finances. There's honestly no good way to be a full-time student and also fully support yourself without loans unless you're already established in a career that pays well part-time. As someone who didn't go to lecture for 4 years in college, I totally get the "self-teacher" thing. That's fine.

I've taken out loans to cover my tuition, but taking out private loans to cover my living expenses isn't an option because I don't have a co-signer.

Knowing the way I learn, I feel like doing this wouldn't really be that big of a risk. I'd basically be taking organic chem and physics in advance and then just filling out the tests and assignments for them later on when I actually enroll in the classes. Since I self-teach most science material anyway, I don't personally see much difference between teaching myself beginning in late July/early August and waiting until I'm actually in the classes to teach myself. Plus, actually taking those courses will be a breeze later on since I'll have already taught myself most of the covered topics, so I can focus more time on extracurriculars and the job I'll hopefully have by then during those semesters. I have searched for similar threads, however, and the consensus seems to be that self-teaching any MCAT subject is setting yourself up for failure, so I hesitate a little.

 

[ciestar]

Even if living with your parents isn't ideal, it definitely seems that you have a financial issue, and moving home might relieve some of that stress you're feeling.

However, I am sitting here studying for MCAT. I have already taken all the pre-reqs and working (34 hrs a week) PLUS studying is draining.
I'll just warn you of that. If you're self teaching it might require even more time since the concepts won't all be familiar.

 

[edgerock24]

Regardless if you choose to proceed with this plan or not, test prep books will not teach you new material very well. They are made to simply review concepts that you've already learned. You'd have to use more in depth resources to actually learn/understand material that is new to you for the MCAT.

 

[infinitessimal]

I'm a little confused, what year in college are you in? Will you be able to complete everything for graduation by May 2016? Because that's the only way this plan is physically possible... Keep in mind that most schools have an English requirement, many require a certain # hours of social science/humanities courses, and some have a calc/stat requirement.

Based on your post, I'm assuming you have already taken bio? You can apply without completing the prereqs as long as you finish them before matriculation, but consider how much weight adcoms will give your sGPA without grades from orgo or physics.

As for the MCAT - based on my experience, if you want a great score, the only way you can entirely self-teach the concepts is if you start studying when you wake up and finish just before going to bed, for three months. Many people (myself included) make the wrong assumption before they start studying that it's an exam that tests your knowledge, like class exams. It's not. Alongside learning the content, you have to be comfortable enough with the content to quickly apply critical thinking and integrate new information from the passages. You'd have to become intimately familiar with the structure of the MCAT, like learning a new language - this comes from dozens of practice tests. The reason everyone recommends taking the prereqs prior to the MCAT is so you'd have years to become familiar with the content before doing a speed review in the months before the exam. I also feel I learn much better by self-teaching rather than lecture, but this is a beast of different proportions.

If you are still unsure, check out some MCAT study plans, plenty on this forum - for the content review portion, most of them have some sort of chapter-a-day schedule. Try getting your hands on a review book, you'll probably find some in your college's library, and see how long it takes you to get through a chapter (read, outline [which I'd recommend], do practice passages) in a science you haven't yet covered. Then imagine doing that every day while working full time.

Also keep in mind you would have to explain to adcoms why you took a semester off college. It will only be justifiable if your plan works perfectly. If you don't get a good MCAT score, which in my honest opinion is not very likely, it will look like bad planning on your part. The best thing to do would be stay in school, finish the prereqs, and take the new MCAT when you are truly ready. Is it possible to get a "private loan" from your parents while you are in school? Of course I don't know your situation, so forgive me if the means are lacking.

 

[ponyo]

Regardless if you choose to proceed with this plan or not, test prep books will not teach you new material very well. They are made to simply review concepts that you've already learned. You'd have to use more in depth resources to actually learn/understand material that is new to you for the MCAT.

I agree with this. I'm not familiar with the new MCAT but if the depth is anything like the old one, you'll need at least some textbooks. When I studied for it I also hadn't taken a course that gave me much of the knowledge, so I read the relevant chapters in textbooks and also on wikipedia and other random online sources, of course taking the time to make sure the information is correct. You have to digest and not only memorize the information, which is much harder when you are self-teaching. It's definitely doable if you are consistent though. I was working at a lab at the time and used evenings to study, but it was a very stress-free job and I imagine that if you have more responsibilities it would be more difficult.

Good luck!

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Can you apply for work study at your school? Have you gone to your career center and had people go over your resume/cover letter

Rushing the new mcat will be a challenge. maybe consider adding a gap year to your plan

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

There are many things you need to have happen to get onto a better mind-set (in addition to being asleep at 3:00am!) Move away from all the non-important stresses right now. That is, take care of your immediate nees first - food and shelter. Appeal for financial help where you'll be most successful: at your school's FA office (for a work-study job), your parents (if that's available). Do not even go there: worrying about when to take the MCAT, going to a post-bacc program, $ needed to apply to med school. Do these steps slowly, so they're well thought out will save you lots of time and money down the road. This isn't a race; it's a plan.

 

[geneexpression]

I'm a little confused, what year in college are you in? Will you be able to complete everything for graduation by May 2016? Because that's the only way this plan is physically possible... Keep in mind that most schools have an English requirement, many require a certain # hours of social science/humanities courses, and some have a calc/stat requirement.

Based on your post, I'm assuming you have already taken bio? You can apply without completing the prereqs as long as you finish them before matriculation, but consider how much weight adcoms will give your sGPA without grades from orgo or physics.

As for the MCAT - based on my experience, if you want a great score, the only way you can entirely self-teach the concepts is if you start studying when you wake up and finish just before going to bed, for three months. Many people (myself included) make the wrong assumption before they start studying that it's an exam that tests your knowledge, like class exams. It's not. Alongside learning the content, you have to be comfortable enough with the content to quickly apply critical thinking and integrate new information from the passages. You'd have to become intimately familiar with the structure of the MCAT, like learning a new language - this comes from dozens of practice tests. The reason everyone recommends taking the prereqs prior to the MCAT is so you'd have years to become familiar with the content before doing a speed review in the months before the exam. I also feel I learn much better by self-teaching rather than lecture, but this is a beast of different proportions.

If you are still unsure, check out some MCAT study plans, plenty on this forum - for the content review portion, most of them have some sort of chapter-a-day schedule. Try getting your hands on a review book, you'll probably find some in your college's library, and see how long it takes you to get through a chapter (read, outline [which I'd recommend], do practice passages) in a science you haven't yet covered. Then imagine doing that every day while working full time.

Also keep in mind you would have to explain to adcoms why you took a semester off college. It will only be justifiable if your plan works perfectly. If you don't get a good MCAT score, which in my honest opinion is not very likely, it will look like bad planning on your part. The best thing to do would be stay in school, finish the prereqs, and take the new MCAT when you are truly ready. Is it possible to get a "private loan" from your parents while you are in school? Of course I don't know your situation, so forgive me if the means are lacking.

Apologies. I was going to explain my situation more in depth, but I didn't want to type a novel no one would read lol.

I'm a career-changer post-bacc with a BA in English. Therefore, I have more than fulfilled the English requirement, as well as the social science requirement since I minored in psychology. There are five psychologies and two sociologies on my transcript and plenty of English courses as you can imagine. I have also already completed statistics, and yes, bio 1 and 2. I took all of those classes as an undergrad. The only pre-reqs I didn't take as an undergrad were Gen Chem I & II, Organic I & II, and Physics I & II. By the end of the summer, I will have completed Gen Chem I & II (as well as Principles of Genetics and Calculus I; my school strongly pushed me into taking them, and I went ahead and enrolled), so the only mandatory courses I will have left to completely self-study are Organic and Physics.

To answer your question about private loans from my parents, no, they don't have the money to give me. They've already done what they can to help me (for example, my dad paid my car insurance for me and paid the fee for me to have my taxes looked over by a professional), but there's not any money to cover all of my living expenses in my apartment.

If review books won't be enough to teach me what I need to know of Organic and Physics, I could find some more comprehensive books. I hear Organic Chemistry as a Second Language is good. I don't think that should pose too much of a problem since it would only be two subjects for which I needed to do full, from-scratch reviews.

If I can't apply for med school without completing Organic II and Physics II, I guess my only option would be to put off application for a year. It would suck, but there's not much in my power I can do about the application timeline.

Hopefully that clarifies things a bit.

 

[carparker]

Fellow non-trad here about 2/3 finished with post-bacc. Move back in with you parents! It's not worth the stress over finances, and it's a temporary solution until you get your acceptance.

 

[geneexpression]

The thing about moving back in with my parents is they don't live near my school. I honestly think taking the 5 months off to focus on studying for the MCAT (and job hunting) would be a good idea for me given how I learn, but there's always the possibility that I'm wrong.

 

[infinitessimal]

I see. Regarding the coursework, organic chemistry is a second language. There's a reason adcoms expect a dip in GPA during the ochem year - it's the key weed-out class. It's very possible to excel, but it takes dedication. Your saving grace might be that there isn't a lot of orgo on the MCAT as the BS passages tend to be experimental bio, but there can always be tricky discretes. Physics can get very difficult as well, and if you mostly haven't been exposed to the physical sciences, physics can often seem counterintuitive.

Your posts are coming off with a bit of a "yeah but I'll be different" attitude. Everyone feels this way early on. Also, if you "honestly feel ___ would be a good idea" no matter what people reply to this thread, it sounds like you've already made up your mind and are perhaps seeking approval. If my opinion is of any worth at this point, the biggest pothole in this plan is taking the MCAT without completing two entire prerequisites while studying for ~4 months and working full time. I think that's biting off more than anyone can chew.

 

[geneexpression]

I see. Regarding the coursework, organic chemistry is a second language. There's a reason adcoms expect a dip in GPA during the ochem year - it's the key weed-out class. It's very possible to excel, but it takes dedication. Your saving grace might be that there isn't a lot of orgo on the MCAT as the BS passages tend to be experimental bio, but there can always be tricky discretes. Physics can get very difficult as well, and if you mostly haven't been exposed to the physical sciences, physics can often seem counterintuitive.

Your posts are coming off with a bit of a "yeah but I'll be different" attitude. Everyone feels this way early on. Also, if you "honestly feel ___ would be a good idea" no matter what people reply to this thread, it sounds like you've already made up your mind and are perhaps seeking approval. If my opinion is of any worth at this point, the biggest pothole in this plan is taking the MCAT without completing two entire prerequisites while studying for ~4 months and working full time. I think that's biting off more than anyone can chew.

Well, I honestly believe it would be a good idea knowing how I've learned subjects and just operated academically in general in the past. I'm not 100% convinced it will work. It just seems like it would work from my perspective, and I was asking for others' perspectives.

Maybe I can begin self-studying over the summer while I'm taking gen chem II, and maybe that will allow me to get more of a feel for whether I can handle studying by myself.

I do think studying while working full-time sounds more doable than studying while working full-time and taking classes, which is what I'd have to do if I didn't take the semester off unless I wanted to set aside time after I finished my prereqs, but that would cause me to have to delay my application a cycle. Not the end of the world, but I'd like to avoid it if I can since I'm already starting later than traditional students.

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

Work full time and take classes. Finish classes. Work full time and study for MCAT. Take MCAT. Work full time and apply to med school. Quit working. Go to med school.

You have to take the courses no matter what. Why rush the MCAT?

 

[edgerock24]

Apologies. I was going to explain my situation more in depth, but I didn't want to type a novel no one would read lol.

I'm a career-changer post-bacc with a BA in English. Therefore, I have more than fulfilled the English requirement, as well as the social science requirement since I minored in psychology. There are five psychologies and two sociologies on my transcript and plenty of English courses as you can imagine. I have also already completed statistics, and yes, bio 1 and 2. I took all of those classes as an undergrad. The only pre-reqs I didn't take as an undergrad were Gen Chem I & II, Organic I & II, and Physics I & II. By the end of the summer, I will have completed Gen Chem I & II (as well as Principles of Genetics and Calculus I; my school strongly pushed me into taking them, and I went ahead and enrolled), so the only mandatory courses I will have left to completely self-study are Organic and Physics.

These 2 classes are useless and unnecessary for a non-trad post-bac premed. You should absolutely take the required prereqs before taking these courses. Even if you want to apply to a med school that requires these classes, you can still be invited for an interview, and even be accepted without having taken them. You simply would have to take them before matriculation at some point. Until then, do not waste your time or money.

 

[geneexpression]

These 2 classes are useless and unnecessary for a non-trad post-bac premed. You should absolutely take the required prereqs before taking these courses. Even if you want to apply to a med school that requires these classes, you can still be invited for an interview, and even be accepted without having taken them. You simply would have to take them before matriculation at some point. Until then, do not waste your time or money.

Well, I've already taken them now...almost finished taking anyway. I wasn't able to move any further with the chemistry sequence anyway, so it wasn't like I could have placed Organic Chem in the place of Genetics. I was warned not to take Physics until taking Calc, so I went ahead with the Calc; maybe that was unnecessary.

 

[youmed]

Please don't think you can "teach" yourself organic chemistry and physics for mcat. There's a reason we pay tuition to take classes at college. Professors exist for a reason. Postpone mcat, finish prereq, and then think if you still want to pursue medical school. I'm not trying to discourage you but if you are switching from English to STEM, then I'm willing to bet that science isn't your best subject.