Am I giving myself enough time to study for the MCAT? (non-trad Q)

[Droseraceae]

Hey all

Hoping for some advice from seasoned vets around here, especially those who are/were non-trad applicants or can give good advice for folks who are.

I'm trying to decide when to take the MCAT and, concomitantly, how to formulate a study plan. A little about me, objective facts/stats wise: I graduated 2.5 years ago (May 2016) from a top liberal arts school. I did well-- PBK, 3.9+ cumulative. Science/social science double major. Involved in music and other ECs, etc, blah blah. I was abroad with a fellowship for a year after college, working in a small rural hospital in Latin America, and then doing some other stuff for a while. Since then, I've been working in a translational research lab at an ivy med school. I didn't finish all my pre-reqs in undergrad since I wasn't sure about med school, but since I decided I was sure I've been finishing them up at the school I work at. I'm almost done; just taking physics I this sem and physics II next semester.

My dilemma: i'm trying to figure out if I have enough time to prepare for a May MCAT test date in order to apply the 2019 cycle. If not, it'd mean waiting to take the MCAT late summer/sept and applying in the 2020 cycle.

Obviously both options have pros and cons, but the major pro of the former plan is that I get to potentially start school earlier, while its con is the sure-to-be intensity of the next 6-10 months. Particularly between now and the MCAT.

So, I work at least 40 hours/wk (usually not more than 45) and have class+lab 6 hours/wk. Thankfully my physics prof this sem and next is super chill, and the class is relatively low key. That said, it does require work. That also said, thankfully that work is relevant to the MCAT (i.e. studying physics).

But I haven't started studying at all yet aside from that. While I work in an immunology lab and was a bio major, I'm so rusty on so much of the content, especially general chem, orgo, and biochem. I took some of those classes 4-5 years ago. So while it's in there (my brain) somewhere, I know I need some super heavy-duty content review. Also never took a Psych or Soc class, so I need to learn all of that MCAT relevant stuff from scratch.

I'm naturally a very good test taker, so I know I have that going for me, but I can't emphasize enough how rusty I feel on some of the content (seriously, the other day I was trying to remember something-- anything from Ochem and barely could, lol. I know it's in there somewhere, but still...)

So, can anyone give me their thoughts on whether or not it would be foolhardy to try to shoot for a May MCAT given everything else I have going on? I also currently don't have any ECs I'm involved in aside from a rec basketball league and playing music with my friends-- no shadowing or clinical stuff right now, even though i've done a lot of that in the past. Is this an issue for a potential app? Because with studying for MCAT between now and May in addition to classes, I don't think I could possibly take anything else on.

I know that it will be a huge sacrifice and commitment whenever I do it, but I just don't know if it would be truly foolish and self-sabotaging to try to rush and do this.

Any advice would be awesome!!

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[medschoolcoach_]

You should be fine. 2.5 years out of school is not that much time out of school. Students taking the MCAT in their junior/senior year also took pre-med courses 2-3 years ago. Also, you clearly did very well in your undergrad classes. So, you'll mostly be reviewing the material, which should come fairly quickly (compared to other students who didn't do well in their classes and have to actually learn the material correctly for the first time). Just make sure you give yourself adequate time to review the content and complete all of the AAMC practice questions. If you have time, you can watch KA videos and do third-party practice questions from the more reputable sources out there. Set up a schedule with deadlines for each study item you want to complete to make sure you stay on track.

You may want to consider planning to take your MCAT in April. This way if you find that you're not ready by then, you can push your test date back to May and not have it delay your medical school application. If you plan to take it in May and fall behind, pushing your test date back to June will delay your application a bit (though of course not by as much as a July or later test date).