How Much Is Too Much?

[almo88]

I don't know if I can handle all this! I'm sure most of you have been in my position, so I would really like some advice on how to proceed.

THIS SUMMER:
offered a research position (30hrs/wk)
part in a musical which has a lot of rehearsals (10hrs/wk)
taking Organic Chem I and a humanities course (at least 20hrs/wk)
volunteering at local hospital (20hrs/wk)

THIS FALL:
Organic II with lab (4)
Microbiology with lab (5)
Physics II with lab (4)
2 Humanities (5)
Research and volunteering continues (50hrs/wk)

Needless to say, I think I'll be overwhelmed this summer and fall. Did I mention I need to study for the MCAT on top of all that?

My Question: Is it possible to do all this stuff and still be successful in all my classes, or do I have too many irons in the fire?

THANKS!

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[Dookter]

It depends on you. I wouldn't want to do it that way. Why are you volunteering so many hours?

EDIT: Not to say that I haven't been there before....but I didn't sleep much...ha ha. I sleep, exercise, relax, etc., more in medical school than I did at times in college.

 

[jochi1543]

WOAH! Slow down there, dude. Drop the hospital volunteering this summer to something more manageable. I volunteered 20 hrs/wk, but when I had no school.

Second, am I tripping or are you saying you're gonna be working and volunteering 50 hours a week on top of a FULL courseload? Are you NUTS? Please tell me I'm misinterpreting this.

 

[almo88]

It depends on you. I wouldn't want to do it that way. Why are you volunteering so many hours?

How many hours do I need total before I apply? I just started volunteering this week, so I am afraid I wont have enough hours by May.

 

[almo88]

WOAH! Slow down there, dude. Drop the hospital volunteering this summer to something more manageable. I volunteered 20 hrs/wk, but when I had no school.

Second, am I tripping or are you saying you're gonna be working and volunteering 50 hours a week on top of a FULL courseload? Are you NUTS? Please tell me I'm misinterpreting this.

I have to work 30hrs/wk to keep the volunteer position, I am thinking about cutting back on my volunteer work though...

 

[mongrel]

Yah, that's a pretty rough schedule...

What about having a summer?

 

[jochi1543]

I looked at your posting history - why don't you just chill and graduate in 4 years, like a normal person? Cuz all you're doing right now is shooting yourself in the foot. You'll just stress yourself out to death, **** up your grades, and probably **** up the MCAT, too.

 

[TheRealMD]

How many hours do I need total before I apply? I just started volunteering this week, so I am afraid I wont have enough hours by May.

There is no magic number. Don't believe people when they tell you X number of hours is necessary. You just need to have been in a hospital long enough to actually gained some knowledge about what you're getting into.

Easiest way to figure this out is if you have to struggle to think of volunteer-related examples for when you are going to write your personal statement. if you have none, then you obvoiusly haven't volunteered enough.

 

[almo88]

Yah, that's a pretty rough schedule...

What about having a summer?

No time! ha! No, I'll have Fridays off...and if Organic doesn't take up all of my time, I'll still have those Fridays!

 

[almo88]

There is no magic number. Don't believe people when they tell you X number of hours is necessary. You just need to have been in a hospital long enough to actually gained some knowledge about what you're getting into.

Easiest way to figure this out is if you have to struggle to think of volunteer-related examples for when you are going to write your personal statement. if you have none, then you obvoiusly haven't volunteered enough.

Great advice! Thank you!

 

[twohearted]

I don't think its possible to do a full load and 50 hrs a week of work/volunteer. You have to factor in commuting/train time to work too. Plus you said you are studying for MCAT. Yeah, i'd try to drop the work volunteering down to 25 hrs. tops, because that's a tough course load just by itself and you'll be studying your a@# off.

 

[diosa428]

Really, there is no need to be volunteering so many hours. Most volunteer departments let you do a couple hours a week. Don't do more than that, you're not going to get a lot out of it and it's going to eat up a lot of your time. I volunteered for 6 months before applying (4 hours/week) and no one said anything to me. I think you will have plenty of other experiences (research, etc) that you will also be able to write about in your PS (unless this volunteer position is really cool - what is it? If it's just hospital volunteering, it probably won't be too exciting). How you'll do with all this stuff depends upon you. Can you take the MCAT in the spring? Or at least in January, when you'll have all of Xmas break to study? I studied for the MCAT on top of classes/research/practice/volunteering and I was REALLY burned out by the end, so if you can get a solid month in during Xmas break, when you have nothing else going on, that would probably help. Good luck!

 

[almo88]

I don't think its possible to do a full load and 50 hrs a week of work/volunteer. You have to factor in commuting/train time to work too. Plus you said you are studying for MCAT. Yeah, i'd try to drop the work volunteering down to 25 hrs. tops, because that's a tough course load just by itself and you'll be studying your a@# off.

mmmk. Thanks.

 

[smeagol]

Your summer seems okay but I don't know about the fall.

In 5 days/week you have 120 hrs

If you sleep an almost healthy 6 hrs a night, you are left with 90 hrs.

Research/volunteering is -50 hrs for you, so now you're down to 40 hrs.

It looks like you have 4 credits of lab. Assuming they're 3 hrs / credit, thats another -12 hrs and you now have 28 hrs left.

If you're going to try to go to your regular classes, you'll spend about 14 hrs a week doing that.

You have 14 hrs left. But remember that you probably spend at least 5 minutes a day excreting liquid & solid waste. That's 25 minutes a week. You don't want to stink either so if you shower daily for 15 mins thats another 75 minutes a week. Maintaining oral hygiene takes at least 5 minutes a day so thats another 25 mins. If you take a break twice a day to feed for 30 mins, thats another 5 hrs a week.

There are probably a number of things unaccounted for so lets say you have about 5 free hrs left in your weekdays. If you're an earthling you can easily lose that just by sleeping 7 hrs a day instead of 6.

In summary, I'd probably drop one of your humanities courses

 

[TheRealMD]

I don't think its possible to do a full load and 50 hrs a week of work/volunteer.

Even if you weren't going to school. 50 hrs/week would come to 10 hrs/day for working only on weekdays or 7 hrs/day on a weekly basis.

There's one word for that. Crazy.

This is why I didn't have a chance to do research. You shouldn not try to be Superman. Doing well does not mean doing impossible things because med schools can't be subjective in their admissions process to the degree that you are asking for.

I'd stick with 10 hrs/week for any extra curricular activity, maybe more as the semester goes on. But the numbers don't even add up!

50/168 = 30% of your time doing extracurriculars
56/168 = 33% of your time sleeping (can either be in bed or class, but it will be somewhere)
15-18/168 = 10% of your time IN class
15-18/168 = 10% studying for those classes
30/168 = 16% time relaxing somehow

All your time has disappeared! And what happens when you need extra time to study? Start skipping meals? Reduce sleep time? Have no fun? Dangerous way to approach the semester, pal.

 

[almo88]

Really, there is no need to be volunteering so many hours. Most volunteer departments let you do a couple hours a week. Don't do more than that, you're not going to get a lot out of it and it's going to eat up a lot of your time. I volunteered for 6 months before applying (4 hours/week) and no one said anything to me. I think you will have plenty of other experiences (research, etc) that you will also be able to write about in your PS (unless this volunteer position is really cool - what is it? If it's just hospital volunteering, it probably won't be too exciting). How you'll do with all this stuff depends upon you. Can you take the MCAT in the spring? Or at least in January, when you'll have all of Xmas break to study? I studied for the MCAT on top of classes/research/practice/volunteering and I was REALLY burned out by the end, so if you can get a solid month in during Xmas break, when you have nothing else going on, that would probably help. Good luck!

Yes, I plan to take it in Jan, I may even postpone it until April, because my Spring schedule is not nearly as hectic. Thank you so much!

 

[blues91776]

i think your concerning variable is how you'll be handling organic and physics. What I mean is that those subjects are easier for some people than others.

I would also prioritize and know which to drop out of should you need to. And because **** always happens for reasons out of our control, it's always good to have a safety plan.

 

[almo88]

Even if you weren't going to school. 50 hrs/week would come to 10 hrs/day for working only on weekdays or 7 hrs/day on a weekly basis.

There's one word for that. Crazy.

This is why I didn't have a chance to do research. You shouldn not try to be Superman. Doing well does not mean doing impossible things because med schools can't be subjective in their admissions process to the degree that you are asking for.

I'd stick with 10 hrs/week for any extra curricular activity, maybe more as the semester goes on. But the numbers don't even add up!

50/168 = 30% of your time doing extracurriculars
56/168 = 33% of your time sleeping (can either be in bed or class, but it will be somewhere)
15-18/168 = 10% of your time IN class
15-18/168 = 10% studying for those classes
30/168 = 16% time relaxing somehow

All your time has disappeared! And what happens when you need extra time to study? Start skipping meals? Reduce sleep time? Have no fun? Dangerous way to approach the semester, pal.

Very true. Thanks.

 

[almo88]

i think your concerning variable is how you'll be handling organic and physics. What I mean is that those subjects are easier for some people than others.

I would also prioritize and know which to drop out of should you need to. And because **** always happens for reasons out of our control, it's always good to have a safety plan.

I love physics! It has been my favorite class so far. I just started Organic last week, so we soon shall see! But, I always do well in Chemistry. It's very easy for me. Well, General Chem I & II were...

I do know how to make a schedule! I couldn't function without my daily planner. I think I will drop a few of my volunteer hours. Probably down to 10 or less.

 

[almo88]

Mmmk! I just called the hospital and they said that I have to work at least 6hrs/wk. So that is exactly what I'll do. I think my schedule will be much easier to manage then:

THIS SUMMER:
offered a research position (30hrs/wk)
part in a musical which has a lot of rehearsals (10hrs/wk)
taking Organic Chem I and a humanities course (at least 20hrs/wk)
volunteering at local hospital (6hrs/wk)

THIS FALL:
Organic II with lab (4)
Microbiology with lab (5)
Physics II with lab (4)
2 Humanities (5)
Research and volunteering continues (36hrs/wk)

Better?

Thank you for your advice!