Does it look shady to drop ECs when studying for the mcat?

[Imogen]

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I'm currently trying to decide if it would be ok to drop some ECs while studying for the MCAT. I've just graduated from college and I work full-time right now along with tutoring (about 4-5 hrs a week), volunteering at a nursing home (2 hrs), and also volunteering with a health care program for the homeless (3 hrs). My main problem is that I need to do a LOT of review for the MCAT, and I feel like I'm getting really stressed trying to cram everything in. I'm not sure if I should drop an extracurricular to focus on the MCAT for the next few months... would that look bad? If I were to drop anything, I was thinking of dropping the nursing home. I feel like I already have a fair amount of clinical experience and my health care program volunteering also provides me with some extra patient interaction (plus I like it more).

Do you guys think it would be safe to cut back on my current ECs? Any thoughts on whether or not I should cut back on more than just the nursing home?

 

[ronaldo23]

I'm currently trying to decide if it would be ok to drop some ECs while studying for the MCAT. I've just graduated from college and I work full-time right now along with tutoring (about 4-5 hrs a week), volunteering at a nursing home (2 hrs), and also volunteering with a health care program for the homeless (3 hrs). My main problem is that I need to do a LOT of review for the MCAT, and I feel like I'm getting really stressed trying to cram everything in. I'm not sure if I should drop an extracurricular to focus on the MCAT for the next few months... would that look bad? If I were to drop anything, I was thinking of dropping the nursing home. I feel like I already have a fair amount of clinical experience and my health care program volunteering also provides me with some extra patient interaction (plus I like it more).

For reference, these are my ECs thus far (over the course of my college career and whatnot):
*ER patient assistant
*TA for various classes (3 years)
*tutoring (4+ years)
*research assistant for fibromyalgia study
*community service group (2 years)
*nursing home volunteer (1 year)
*administrative assistant for hospital (5 months)
*patient care tech (140 hrs total)
*in a band (lead singer!)

Do you guys think it would be safe to cut back on my current ECs? Any thoughts on whether or not I should cut back on more than just the nursing home?

No...it won't matter at all. Personally I dropped almost everything in terms of ECs for the 2 to 3 month period of studying for an MCAT. The test is a beast, and one of the most important components of your application.

 

[Imogen]

Yeah... well I guess part of the problem is that since I am applying this upcoming cycle and most likely taking the MCAT in March, I feel like if I drop ECs now I won't have enough time left to augment my ECs before apps. I guess I just can't decide if what I already have for extra-curriculars is good enough.

 

[barcoderider]

Nevermind the EC's, it's going to be hard enough to study with a full time job. When I was studying for the MCAT I was working ~20 hours a week and doing EC's about 10, and I felt like I had just enough time and energy to study (about 5 hours a day).

My friends who were working full time admitted that they couldn't motivate themselves to study much after a long day of work. Maybe you're better at juggling these things. Just make sure that you put in the time and effort the MCAT requires. I would personally prioritize the MCAT, even if that meant cutting down on those EC's. You can always go back to them, but you don't want to have to retake the MCAT.

 

[coup de chance]

Hell to the no! Drop away. As far as your future is concerned, MCAT trumps any EC during your study time.

If you're over-committed and get a bad score. You WILL be screened out by certain schools. Most top-tier will not look at apps below their cut-off. After you're cut, no amount of EC will save you.

So be selfish and take all the time you need. Drop the volunteering, the clubs, the leadership, and even the work if you can do without the money.

Drop EVERYTHING and study the hell out of that exam. And then on exam day, beat the crap out of the MCAT.
(Caveat: by dropping a lot of stuff, it'll free you up to relax in between your studying. Most people need relaxation for maintaining sanity and not burning out before the actual exam.)

Good luck!

Nevermind the EC's, it's going to be hard enough to study with a full time job. When I was studying for the MCAT I was working ~20 hours a week and doing EC's about 10, and I felt like I had just enough time and energy to study (about 5 hours a day).

My friends who were working full time admitted that they couldn't motivate themselves to study much after a long day of work. Maybe you're better at juggling these things. Just make sure that you put in the time and effort the MCAT requires. I would personally prioritize the MCAT, even if that meant cutting down on those EC's. You can always go back to them, but you don't want to have to retake the MCAT.

BTW your extracurriculars are fine even if you don't do anymore before graduation.
But just for completeness sake, you might want to do a little (at least at half-capacity) AFTER your MCAT. At the very least so you can answer questions about them during your interview.

If anything is lacking for most undergrads, it's research. So you can do some of that in a field you like -- even if non-med/non-sci. Work for a lab where you're likely to publish.

And as I always like to say, consider applying to backups and research years with a reputable fellowship.

Good luck on the MCAT! Kill that test.

 

[PremedGunner]

I'm currently trying to decide if it would be ok to drop some ECs while studying for the MCAT. I've just graduated from college and I work full-time right now along with tutoring (about 4-5 hrs a week), volunteering at a nursing home (2 hrs), and also volunteering with a health care program for the homeless (3 hrs). My main problem is that I need to do a LOT of review for the MCAT, and I feel like I'm getting really stressed trying to cram everything in. I'm not sure if I should drop an extracurricular to focus on the MCAT for the next few months... would that look bad? If I were to drop anything, I was thinking of dropping the nursing home. I feel like I already have a fair amount of clinical experience and my health care program volunteering also provides me with some extra patient interaction (plus I like it more).

For reference, these are my ECs thus far (over the course of my college career and whatnot):
*ER patient assistant
*TA for various classes (3 years)
*tutoring (4+ years)
*research assistant for fibromyalgia study
*community service group (2 years)
*nursing home volunteer (1 year)
*administrative assistant for hospital (5 months)
*patient care tech (140 hrs total)
*in a band (lead singer!)

Do you guys think it would be safe to cut back on my current ECs? Any thoughts on whether or not I should cut back on more than just the nursing home?

oxymoron

 

[StephBee]

Drop them! I didn't, (was doing a summer internship 40 hrs/week) and I didn't do great on the test cause I didn't have the time/energy to really study as much as I would have liked!

 

[Catalystik]

Adcomms like to see you carry a heavy load and have good time management skills. Part of that is correctly prioritizing your activities. Cut them to the bone if you have to do well on your first (and hopefully only) attempt at the MCAT. Consider changing some activities to every other week or once monthly, but then returning to them after you take the test.