Does taking time off for the MCAT look bad?

[AliZ]

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Hello all,

I'm a first time post-bac applicant and I have a BA in psychology. I finished up my pre-reqs during my post-bac and have a few upper-division courses to go to meet the requirements for most med schools. I'm planning on taking those during my application year.

I've already taken 1 quarter off to study for the April MCAT and I still don't feel completely ready. I would love to take Spring quarter off too but I'm afraid that it will haunt me later during interviews or what not. So my question is, would taking 2 quarters off to study for the MCAT look really bad to admissions? Any advice would help me out tremendously as I'm developing heart palpitations as I type this 🙁

 

[medic170]

Hello all,

I'm a first time post-bac applicant and I have a BA in psychology. I finished up my pre-reqs during my post-bac and have a few upper-division courses to go to meet the requirements for most med schools. I'm planning on taking those during my application year.

I've already taken 1 quarter off to study for the April MCAT and I still don't feel completely ready. I would love to take Spring quarter off too but I'm afraid that it will haunt me later during interviews or what not. So my question is, would taking 2 quarters off to study for the MCAT look really bad to admissions? Any advice would help me out tremendously as I'm developing heart palpitations as I type this 🙁

Getting a high MCAT score is much more important than the way taking time of to do it will look. If you think you need to take time off to study for that damn test, DO IT!!! Now, if you take 2 quarters off and then get a low score you may have some explaining to do.

 

[Reckoning]

Getting a high MCAT score is much more important than the way taking time of to do it will look. If you think you need to take time off to study for that damn test, DO IT!!! Now, if you take 2 quarters off and then get a low score you may have some explaining to do.

True. But I wonder what you are going to accoplish taking another quarter off. If you know exactly what you are going to do with that quarter and you think it critical to your performing well, go for it. But if you are panicking right now, taking three months off to chase your tail fulltime about the MCAT is not going to help.

I always find that having few things going on forces me to structure my time better. Take some diagnostic MCATs and map out exactly what you need to do to improve, THEN decide if you need to clear off another quarter. Maybe you've already done this, but in any case good luck to you! 👍

 

[AliZ]

Yeah. I decided to take the quarter off. Turns out right after the MCAT ends, the first round of mid-terms for the quarter start so I really don't want to jeopardize both. I've been studying for this thing since January so I'm not panicking as much as I'm trying to block off a few weeks to do about 6 full length practice exams I've been stocking up on 😉

Thanks for the input guys. Hopefully this doesn't come back to haunt me later and my score is decent in the end 🙂

For you re-applicants, did you find that during the interview process the issue of you taking time off came up? If so, how did you respond?

 

[Beastboy_MD]

For you re-applicants, did you find that during the interview process the issue of you taking time off came up? If so, how did you respond?

My MCAT score is the weakest part of my application and the fact that I took a semester off to study for the MCAT never came up in any of my interviews.

But then again, that could be the reason I find myself in the "re-applicant" forum writing this post right now..... 😕

 

[fahimaz7]

that's why I took it in august

 

[virilep]

Hello all,

I'm a first time post-bac applicant and I have a BA in psychology. I finished up my pre-reqs during my post-bac and have a few upper-division courses to go to meet the requirements for most med schools. I'm planning on taking those during my application year.

I've already taken 1 quarter off to study for the April MCAT and I still don't feel completely ready. I would love to take Spring quarter off too but I'm afraid that it will haunt me later during interviews or what not. So my question is, would taking 2 quarters off to study for the MCAT look really bad to admissions? Any advice would help me out tremendously as I'm developing heart palpitations as I type this 🙁

So I was in a similar situation last summer. the best thing to do is study full time but do some volunteering or some other work 4-6 hours a week. they want to make sure that you stay involved with the health related field. and plus it'll be good for you. I studied 9-6 every day with an hour break for like 2.5 months. it paid off. but I also did other stuff on the wkends and such. gluck!