Do I have enough time to study?

[SirocN]

Hey Everyone

I am wanted to do my MCAT exam middle of August.
I was wondering if you guys think I have enough time to study for the MCAT exam knowing this:

I started studying 2 weeks ago and so far have been taking notes on the KAPLAN textbooks. (chose not to do online KAPLAN course, just ended up getting the textbook and self studying)

I have a Physics Course starting from beginning of July until middle of August (Fast track 6 week course)

Knowing this, do you guys think it is possible to do well on both the MCAT and Physics course or is too much to handle in your opinions? And if it is possible would that mean 8+hours studying a day?

To anyone that has the the MCAT prior, your comments would be appreciated as you guys experienced the whole study journey!

Thank you!

P.S
I understand you can do anything if you "push" yourself to or you're determined enough, but I am genuinely looking for other opinions and passed experiences.

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[Rusrus]

Hey Everyone

I am wanted to do my MCAT exam middle of August.
I was wondering if you guys think I have enough time to study for the MCAT exam knowing this:

I started studying 2 weeks ago and so far have been taking notes on the KAPLAN textbooks. (chose not to do online KAPLAN course, just ended up getting the textbook and self studying)

I have a Physics Course starting from beginning of July until middle of August (Fast track 6 week course)

Knowing this, do you guys think it is possible to do well on both the MCAT and Physics course or is too much to handle in your opinions? And if it is possible would that mean 8+hours studying a day?

To anyone that has the the MCAT prior, your comments would be appreciated as you guys experienced the whole study journey!

Thank you!

P.S
I understand you can do anything if you "push" yourself to or you're determined enough, but I am genuinely looking for other opinions and passed experiences.

I honestly believe that it is possible (from personal experience, I studied about 2 months and my score was >515); however, I think it is heavily dependent on your basic foundations in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, psychology and sociology. In my opinion, if you have yet to take biochemistry and/or cell/molecular biology, I would recommend you do so before sitting for the MCAT as it will make the B/B section much easier.

The best means of figuring out where you stand would be taking a diagnostic test and go from there. If you score say around a 500, then I would recommend studying for a couple of weeks and then taking another diagnostic test in early-mid July to see if you've made progress. It's important that you also go through practice problems and not solely content.

Keep in mind that with your current timeline, it is a realistic possibility that you may have to delay the MCAT. Additionally, if you are planning on applying this cycle with that MCAT, then I would strongly recommend against it as your score can make or break your application on top of your application being late (as you would receive the scores in mid-September.) Best of luck!

 

[SirocN]

I honestly believe that it is possible (from personal experience, I studied about 2 months and my score was >515); however, I think it is heavily dependent on your basic foundations in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, psychology and sociology. In my opinion, if you have yet to take biochemistry and/or cell/molecular biology, I would recommend you do so before sitting for the MCAT as it will make the B/B section much easier.

The best means of figuring out where you stand would be taking a diagnostic test and go from there. If you score say around a 500, then I would recommend studying for a couple of weeks and then taking another diagnostic test in early-mid July to see if you've made progress. It's important that you also go through practice problems and not solely content.

Keep in mind that with your current timeline, it is a realistic possibility that you may have to delay the MCAT. Additionally, if you are planning on applying this cycle with that MCAT, then I would strongly recommend against it as your score can make or break your application on top of your application being late (as you would receive the scores in mid-September.) Best of luck!

I have a background in Biology because of my Human Biology Major.
I am looking to apply to a Caribbean school and they have a cycle and acceptance happening January.
Thank you for you reply, very informative!

 

[maplecookie]

I have a background in Biology because of my Human Biology Major.
I am looking to apply to a Caribbean school and they have a cycle and acceptance happening January.
Thank you for you reply, very informative!

Agree with the first responder.
Is there a particular reason you're already jumping to Caribbean schools? There's a lot of good reasons against going there for med school unless it is your absolute last option and you are aware of the many high risks involved

 

[SirocN]

Agree with the first responder.
Is there a particular reason you're already jumping to Caribbean schools? There's a lot of good reasons against going there for med school unless it is your absolute last option and you are aware of the many high risks involved

First two years of Undergrad went horrible. Picked myself back up last two years, but still not good enough for schools here in Canada or the USA.
Therefore, Caribbean is my only choice even though it has high risk.
Thanks for the input

 

[Chromium Surfer]

First two years of Undergrad went horrible. Picked myself back up last two years, but still not good enough for schools here in Canada or the USA.
Therefore, Caribbean is my only choice even though it has high risk.
Thanks for the input

Look into DO schools! They have much better March rates and are more lenient with acceptance stats

 

[SirocN]

Look into DO schools! They have much better March rates and are more lenient with acceptance stats

Hey, yeah I have. However still a lot of them need a 3.0+ gpa.
Trust me when I say first two year of undergrad went horrible.. I mean it lmao!

 

[Chromium Surfer]

Hey, yeah I have. However still a lot of them need a 3.0+ gpa.
Trust me when I say first two year of undergrad went horrible.. I mean it lmao!

gotcha but I would still look into any option other than carib schools! It would be a shame for all your hard work to go to waste. I've also heard that DO schools reward reinvention somewhat and look favorably on upward trends. I would ask @Goro he is very knowledgeable about these things. At the end of the day, the common practice is to do everything possible to avoid carib schools.

 

[SirocN]

gotcha but I would still look into any option other than carib schools! It would be a shame for all your hard work to go to waste. I've also heard that DO schools reward reinvention somewhat and look favorably on upward trends. I would ask @Goro he is very knowledgeable about these things. At the end of the day, the common practice is to do everything possible to avoid carib schools.

What other options are there other than DO schools? I thought Carib Schools were the next thing?

 

[Chromium Surfer]

What other options are there other than DO schools? I thought Carib Schools were the next thing?

There are are numerous DO schools so I would exhaust your options with them first. They have MUCH better match rates than Carib schools. If you are going to go into all that debt then you might as well give yourself the best chance!