So I took the old MCAT many moons ago and did not do so hot. Numerous personal factors with family and health, but that's no excuse. I took a break from studying after I got my score. Currently, working full time and doing full time grad school load. Decided to take prep course this time around. I worked my schedule with my boss so I can do my prep course, work full time, and still do my full time courses. However, this leaves me with 3 hours of studying a night and that would be after working 8-9 hours on days I don't have class. Money will be tight if I quit my job, but I can still squeak by for the next few months to devote to studying. Would 3 hours a night for 5 months in addition to my work/course load be sufficient? I took my core courses years ago so it would take me time to refresh on those which is why I am thinking it would be best for me to just focus on studying, giving myself 8 hrs a day of studying. Has anyone done full time schooling, work, and still managed to do well on the test?
Study Plan?
- Thread starter arlo
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Depends on a lot, but I'm going to say "no". Wait until your full time courses are done so you have more time to devote to studying. I understand if quitting work can't be done but this is too much to take on with your other obligations.
The MCAT is the gate keeper - it will open doors as fast as it closes them. You must respect it.
The MCAT is the gate keeper - it will open doors as fast as it closes them. You must respect it.
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I'm sure that others have worked full time and taken classes and has performed well on the MCAT but that doesn't mean that it is wise or advisable to do so. A competitive score for MD schools is in the top 20% of all test takers which means that for every 5 test takers, you need to beat 4 of them. This is not easily done (as statistics continue to show us). Couple concerns with your plan:
- Studies have shown that cognitively demanding tasks are completed most efficiently earlier in the day. By the end of the day, our brains, like some of us, are on the "struggle bus." This leads us to make mistakes in areas that we otherwise may not have which leads to less efficient studying. If anything, studying for the MCAT should occur earlier in the day when you are "fresher."
- The MCAT itself is a 7 hour behemoth in a high pressure, time sensitive environment. You need to be able to perform at your best during the entire test window. If you are averaging 3 hours of prep per day, that leaves you on test day with an additional 4 hours of testing that you have not conditioned for. Ideally, you should be working up to studying and taking practice tests that mirror the actual length of the MCAT.
- With how full your schedule is, another concern of mine would be test prep burnout / fatigue. It happens during test prep all the time.
In my opinion, your best bet is to minimize your obligations during MCAT prep. Ideally you would no longer be taking classes and would be able to either limit your professional responsibilities or schedule them in a way that is least impactful on your test prep. I have some friends who are tax attorneys who have scheduled their test during times when business is slower. For me as a teacher, this means scheduling the test in at the end of August. However, above all else, the key is to only take the MCAT when you are prepared to earn the highest score possible. As the poster above said, the MCAT can open and close doors. It is a test you only want to take once.
- Studies have shown that cognitively demanding tasks are completed most efficiently earlier in the day. By the end of the day, our brains, like some of us, are on the "struggle bus." This leads us to make mistakes in areas that we otherwise may not have which leads to less efficient studying. If anything, studying for the MCAT should occur earlier in the day when you are "fresher."
- The MCAT itself is a 7 hour behemoth in a high pressure, time sensitive environment. You need to be able to perform at your best during the entire test window. If you are averaging 3 hours of prep per day, that leaves you on test day with an additional 4 hours of testing that you have not conditioned for. Ideally, you should be working up to studying and taking practice tests that mirror the actual length of the MCAT.
- With how full your schedule is, another concern of mine would be test prep burnout / fatigue. It happens during test prep all the time.
In my opinion, your best bet is to minimize your obligations during MCAT prep. Ideally you would no longer be taking classes and would be able to either limit your professional responsibilities or schedule them in a way that is least impactful on your test prep. I have some friends who are tax attorneys who have scheduled their test during times when business is slower. For me as a teacher, this means scheduling the test in at the end of August. However, above all else, the key is to only take the MCAT when you are prepared to earn the highest score possible. As the poster above said, the MCAT can open and close doors. It is a test you only want to take once.
You do have some solid points that I have thought about myself. My plan is to study for ~5-6 months which I think would most likely be plausible if I am able to commit more than 3 hours a night. I am not too worried about my courses, they're manageable without taking too much time out of MCAT studying. Some of the courses are prereq for other courses that are only offered once a year so if I were to lighten the course load, I would have to delay my graduation. My work is consistent throughout the year so there really isn't a time that is less busy than others as workload increases later on in the month and decreases early on in the month. I would most likely have to quit in order to commit solely to prepping. After failing to do well on the old MCAT, failing to do well this time around would not look good at all.
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Along this point, do not be afraid to push back the test date if you are not consistently earning your target score on practice MCATs
Target is June/July, but if my scores are inconsistent, I wouldn't mind pushing back to September. I would rather do well in one shot as the new mcat's score would be on a new slate.
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This sounds great. Best of luck to you!
