Opinions on my plan for working full-time and studying for the MCAT?

[Lost Complex]

Hi everyone!

I have taken the MCAT exam twice and both times I was unable to fully study everything due to running out of time. Physics is my main weakness as I didn't learn anything when I took the class.

I am currently working full-time.

Since I can't take the time off from work or switch to part-time, my plan is to start studying in June and then take the exam in November. This would give me a little over 5 months.

Study Materials Available:
Nova Physics
TBR: Orgo Chem, Gen Chem, Physics, Biology
Examkrackers: Biology, 101 Verbal, Orgo Chem, Gen Chem, Physics, 1001 Physics, 1001 Orgo Chem, 1001 Gen Chem, 1001 Bio
TPR: Hyperlearning Verbal

The books in bold are those that I will for sure go through in their entirety. I also plan to go through Nova Physics first before going through TBR physics.

I counted the number of chapters total for the books in bold (verbal will be kept separate).
Total Chapters: 53 chapters

If I were to do 3 chapters a week:
53/3 = 17.6667 weeks
17.6667 weeks/4 = approximately 4.41 months

If I were to do 4 chapters a week:
53/4 = 13.25 weeks
13.25/4 = approximately 3.125 months

What's your opinion on doing 3 chapters a week vs. 4 chapters a week or on any of this? I personally think that doing practice questions, practice tests and reviewing any weak subjects during the month before the exam would be more beneficial to me.. Especially since during my last 2 attempts at the MCAT I ran out of time just doing content review.

I am also planning to try and give myself a break every 4 days, as the last thing I want to do is burn myself out again.

For verbal I was thinking that I could start studying for it about 2 months before the exam:

144 passages total if you add both TPR and Examkrackers/8 weeks = 18 passages a week

To be honest though, I'm not really sure what to do for verbal. A little bit of background on me for verbal: I received a 10 the first time I took it (practiced verbal some), however it dropped to an 8 my second time (fully neglected verbal).

Any opinions or advice on all of this would be very much appreciated!

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[petyr_baelish]

You got burnt out before? Try 3 chapters a week and see how you feel. If it was good, try upping it the following week. Putting your plan into practice is the best way to see if it works. Then tweak it. It looks pretty reasonable, btw.

 

[christinalouise]

How does it compare to your plan the last two times? Did you give yourself a lot less time and pushed to get it done a lot sooner or did you span it over a too-long period and were burnt out because of the length of the commitment?

I think it looks reasonable. I'm in the middle of a similar schedule except I did a chapter from each of the P/GChem/OChem/Biol a week and once I was done the first set of books (TBR) I followed up with a week of reviewing each book and doing another 1/3 of the questions from each chapter. I'm done the whole set of TBR with two months to review, start on some VR, and taking the practice tests.

 

[Lost Complex]

You got burnt out before? Try 3 chapters a week and see how you feel. If it was good, try upping it the following week. Putting your plan into practice is the best way to see if it works. Then tweak it. It looks pretty reasonable, btw.

Thanks! That's a good idea.

And yes. Both times I have taken the MCAT I did not get to take any breaks due to the time constraints (was working during both of those times, too). Of course that was my fault, which is why I'm putting together a plan this time that will give me plenty of time to study and that I will be able to handle alongside working full-time.

Would you happen to have any opinions on Verbal? Because I'm not sure how long I should practice it in order for it to improve my score.

How does it compare to your plan the last two times? Did you give yourself a lot less time and pushed to get it done a lot sooner or did you span it over a too-long period and were burnt out because of the length of the commitment?

I think it looks reasonable. I'm in the middle of a similar schedule except I did a chapter from each of the P/GChem/OChem/Biol a week and once I was done the first set of books (TBR) I followed up with a week of reviewing each book and doing another 1/3 of the questions from each chapter. I'm done the whole set of TBR with two months to review, start on some VR, and taking the practice tests.

Thanks! If I do 4 chapters a week I could very well do 1 chapter from each subject. The only thing is that because physics is such a weakness for me, I want to do an additional book of physics in order to make up for it.

Compared to my last 2 schedules: It gives me a lot more time to study; it gives me an opportunity to actually complete reading the books and spend some time reviewing, doing practice questions and exams; and it gives me opportunities to take breaks. The 1st time I took the MCAT I crammed everything into 3 weeks while working part-time. The 2nd time I took it I studied for 2 months while working full-time. Both of these times I never fully finished reading through the books, however the 2nd time I at least got to review a good chunk of the content the day before the exam, which I feel helped me.

 

[christinalouise]

Thanks! That's a good idea.

And yes. Both times I have taken the MCAT I did not get to take any breaks due to the time constraints (was working during both of those times, too). Of course that was my fault, which is why I'm putting together a plan this time that will give me plenty of time to study and that I will be able to handle alongside working full-time.

Would you happen to have any opinions on Verbal? Because I'm not sure how long I should practice it in order for it to improve my score.



Thanks! If I do 4 chapters a week I could very well do 1 chapter from each subject. The only thing is that because physics is such a weakness for me, I want to do an additional book of physics in order to make up for it.

Compared to my last 2 schedules: It gives me a lot more time to study; it gives me an opportunity to actually complete reading the books and spend some time reviewing, doing practice questions and exams; and it gives me opportunities to take breaks. The 1st time I took the MCAT I crammed everything into 3 weeks while working part-time. The 2nd time I took it I studied for 2 months while working full-time. Both of these times I never fully finished reading through the books, however the 2nd time I at least got to review a good chunk of the content the day before the exam, which I feel helped me.

Sounds like you are going about it the smart way for sure. I also struggle with Physics big time. I didn't even take a Physics course in high school (I'm Canadian and Uni level Physics is only required at two or three schools here) so it has been a steep learning curve. But I have an additional Physics and Math book I'll use to fill in any gaps now that I'm done TBR.

But it sounds like you'll have it lined up perfectly this time!

 

[dutchie000]

I feel your pain... Working and studying for this beast is super hard. If this plan works for you let me know since I may end up in the same boat as you after this may!!

 

[BrawnsNBrain]

This is a subjective question.

I would hate to study for 5 months for one exam. That would just not fly with me, period. I went HAM for ~1-2months and took it and moved on with my life.

EDIT: boards are different because each class/exam I take is towards the boards and I'm not really 'studying' if that makes sense...i'm studying for the class. Maybe some of you will understand this, but it's just how I function

 

[Lost Complex]

Sounds like you are going about it the smart way for sure. I also struggle with Physics big time. I didn't even take a Physics course in high school (I'm Canadian and Uni level Physics is only required at two or three schools here) so it has been a steep learning curve. But I have an additional Physics and Math book I'll use to fill in any gaps now that I'm done TBR.

But it sounds like you'll have it lined up perfectly this time!

Thank you! And good luck to you as well!

I feel your pain... Working and studying for this beast is super hard. If this plan works for you let me know since I may end up in the same boat as you after this may!!

It is.. I mean trying to study while working full-time for those 2 months took a lot of work. My brain was fried after taking the MCAT.

Maybe what I can do this is just bump this thread back up after taking the MCAT and receiving my results to let others know how it worked out for me.

This is a subjective question.

I would hate to study for 5 months for one exam. That would just not fly with me, period. I went HAM for ~1-2months and took it and moved on with my life.

EDIT: boards are different because each class/exam I take is towards the boards and I'm not really 'studying' if that makes sense...i'm studying for the class. Maybe some of you will understand this, but it's just how I function

I don't like it at all either, and I'm not looking forward to it. But I'm not going to let an exam get in my way of being accepted to med school.

Definitely looking forward to moving on with my life after taking the MCAT though. Glad it worked out for you!

 

[CW 2010]

I am working 40+ hrs and studying for the MCAT, so I definitely know how you feel. Physics (and math is general) is also my weakest area. I'd go with 3 chapters a week. And try to give yourself breaks here and there, because it's very hard to keep the same pace and productivity all the time. I work a double shift on the weekends, so oftentimes on Mondays I let myself sleep in and kind of take it easy before I start studying and working again on Tuesday.
Good luck!

 

[ciestar]

I applaud you, OP. I had to cut back hours at work since I couldn't manage both. That being said, I understand your work load. Definitely stick to 3 chapters a week. Don't overwhelm yourself. Also, I'd get a copy of the TPRH Science Workbook. Wonderful practice, IMO.

 

[dutchie000]

I applaud you, OP. I had to cut back hours at work since I couldn't manage both. That being said, I understand your work load. Definitely stick to 3 chapters a week. Don't overwhelm yourself. Also, I'd get a copy of the TPRH Science Workbook. Wonderful practice, IMO.

I'm scared it'll come to that too if I don't do well this first go around....

 

[Chimichica]

I know this post is old but what did you score the first 2 times? Also I totally get ya. the first time i took it i had the flu on test day, worked 40-50 hrs/wk, and had been 3 months into my separation from my husband scored an 11 (ouch!) so i waited until my mental was more stable and took it again this april. But i was still working full time and i got burned out and it was hard to study. I even thought of maybe asking my doctor for adderroll but i would rather not put that drug in my system since i have depression issues. I prefer natural remedies. Anyway, I dont feel like i did that well especially since the feedback from other people on here was like it was easy. So i applied for a part-time weekends only job. so i will have mon-fri off to study. I am hoping i can exercise more and im sure that will only have positive effects on my body. Also i am going to study at my university so if i have questions i can ask for help from professors or tutors. i mean i am alumni.

 

[Chimichica]

the number of chapters/week doesnt matter if you cant get thru the material fast enough. Thats what kept happening to me. I wanted to thouroughly understand all the concepts, examples, and multiple ways to solve the problems so i eneded up stretching out a chapter longer than i should. which worked but i didnt cover nearly as much material as i wanted and then hardly any of what i put so much emphasis on was on test.

 

[ciestar]

I'm scared it'll come to that too if I don't do well this first go around....

That was entirely my fear. So I made the decision to work as little hours as possible. I came to the realization that the mcat mattered so much more than my job at cvs. I'm just thankful I have a fiancé who is able to work and allow me to do this. Still might be applying late or next year though, I'll see soon enough.

 

[dutchie000]

That was entirely my fear. So I made the decision to work as little hours as possible. I came to the realization that the mcat mattered so much more than my job at cvs. I'm just thankful I have a fiancé who is able to work and allow me to do this. Still might be applying late or next year though, I'll see soon enough.

Yeah I wish I could reduce mine, but I'm a 40 hour employee so can't even go down a little :/ I may bail on the full-time job and pick up more hours at the part-time (I do it like 2-3x a month right now) and I just picked up another part-time job that's per diem, so maybe with the combination of two flexible part-time jobs I may be better off if I have to give it another go. Life is so complicated sometimes!!!