I have to work. Can I still successfully complete Sn2Ed?

[LawMed7]

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Hi all,

I'm new to this forum. I read on this forum that it is nearly impossible to do the three month Sn2Ed plan if you work or take classes. My issue is I have no choice. I can work half time over the summer, but I have to work. I have to pay my bills and eat and without working, I will not be able to so it's not possible to just take off 3 months to do nothing but study for the MCAT. I can't study for the MCAT until May. I plan on taking it in August. I am a full time graduate student who works a part-time job currently and this semester I am taking far too great a course load to study before May. Does anyone have any suggestions for ways I can still successfully complete the most ideal MCAT study plan?

Thanks!
Cheers

 

[Czarcasm]

I guess it depends on the individual. Several people have succeeded in a similar situation to yours. It's all about how you manage your time, avoiding burn out, and doing as much practice as you can. That said, SN2ed's schedule should be treated as a full-time job. Very few people are capable of finishing a day's with of material with other obligations, even working part-time. You can try and see if it works for you, but at the end of the day, you'll likely have to modify it to something more realistic. That's essentially what I had to do because I go to school part-time (taking 3 high level courses) and studying for the MCAT when and as much as I can. I plan to take my exam in May, but based on how things are going now, I probably won't get around to testing until July. Good luck 🙂

Feel free to join our MCAT Skype group (request: dbeats88). I'll add you to the discussion. So far, there's over 100 people in the group and growing everyday. It's a great place to seek support, input, and ask questions.

 

[xBODOMx]

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[dragonthalyne]

Hello! I'd just like to agree with what was said above in that it really does depend on the individual. I did the exact same thing you did: the three month plan, started in May, took the MCAT in August, and I was studying while on an archaeological dig abroad and then kept studying during a full time internship. It's doable. I ended up skipping a good number of my rest days, and spent less time than suggested on material I was more familiar with (I sometimes combined two bio days, for example). I also didn't do quite as many full practice tests as I would have liked, but I still did well on the test (35+). Best of luck with everything!

 

[LawMed7]

I guess it depends on the individual. Several people have succeeded in a similar situation to yours. It's all about how you manage your time, avoiding burn out, and doing as much practice as you can. That said, SN2ed's schedule should be treated as a full-time job. Very few people are capable of finishing a day's with of material with other obligations, even working part-time. You can try and see if it works for you, but at the end of the day, you'll likely have to modify it to something more realistic. That's essentially what I had to do because I go to school part-time (taking 3 high level courses) and studying for the MCAT when and as much as I can. I plan to take my exam in May, but based on how things are going now, I probably won't get around to testing until July. Good luck 🙂

Feel free to join our MCAT Skype group (request: dbeats88). I'll add you to the discussion. So far, there's over 100 people in the group and growing everyday. It's a great place to seek support, input, and ask questions.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful reply! It was very informative. How does the MCAT Skype group work?

 

[LawMed7]

Hello! I'd just like to agree with what was said above in that it really does depend on the individual. I did the exact same thing you did: the three month plan, started in May, took the MCAT in August, and I was studying while on an archaeological dig abroad and then kept studying during a full time internship. It's doable. I ended up skipping a good number of my rest days, and spent less time than suggested on material I was more familiar with (I sometimes combined two bio days, for example). I also didn't do quite as many full practice tests as I would have liked, but I still did well on the test (35+). Best of luck with everything!

Thanks for the thoughtful reply! That was especially helpful because it looks like you successfully did exactly what I plan on doing. I am stronger in biology and less strong on the physical sciences. It is possible for me to start reviewing a little content this semester though before I dig my teeth into the MCAT in May - even if it's just a couple of hours a week. I'll just have to sacrifice a little sleep!

 

[LawMed7]

If you can work half-time, it is most likely doable. I believe Sn2ED estimates a need of around four hours a day, but I believe this is a very conservative estimate. When I went over the few chapters I did, it took 6-8hours to cover the content thoroughly. It just depends how fast you can learn the content. Do a chapter and find out.

Thank you!

 

[plumhill]

Because I have to work part-time over the school year and full-time over the summer in order to not be homeless, I chose to spread my studying out over a larger period of time (9-10 months). I'm focusing more heavily on content review right now based on a couple of diagnostic tests, and I'm planning to spend May-beginning of September focusing on practice tests/questions. So far it's worked and I've shown a little improvement over the last 2 months, so hopefully its sustainable. Maybe something simialr could work for you? Just FYI the AAMC has just announced new test dates in October, November and another one in January.

 

[LawMed7]

Because I have to work part-time over the school year and full-time over the summer in order to not be homeless, I chose to spread my studying out over a larger period of time (9-10 months). I'm focusing more heavily on content review right now based on a couple of diagnostic tests, and I'm planning to spend May-beginning of September focusing on practice tests/questions. So far it's worked and I've shown a little improvement over the last 2 months, so hopefully its sustainable. Maybe something simialr could work for you? Just FYI the AAMC has just announced new test dates in October, November and another one in January.

That's very helpful! Thank you. I understand what you're going through. I might have to do that. I decided to delay my test date a little and maybe try to squeeze more hours in before May. I like the idea of doing a few hours of content review per day for a few months then focusing on practice tests/questions.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

That's very helpful! Thank you. I understand what you're going through. I might have to do that. I decided to delay my test date a little and maybe try to squeeze more hours in before May. I like the idea of doing a few hours of content review per day for a few months then focusing on practice tests/questions.

As others are saying, it is doable based on how well you interact with the material. For example, I worked 40+ hours a week and did Sn2ed, but I did the 4-month variation. I felt like I had enough time/wasn't completely suffocating with MCAT and ended up doing well on the test itself. Good luck!