Steps
1. Take the MCAT (seriously, without this, 40% of your app is up in the air).
2. Open AMCAS/AACOMAS in May of your application cycle. You'll be able to put all your EC's, PS and references in there. Oh BTW, have your personal statement and LOR's finalized before the app opens. You do not want to be writing your PS from scratch on May 1st and then not submitting an amazing PS.
3. Submit, wait for secondaries.
4. Complete secondaries <2 wks of time (should hopefully have all secondaries done by August/September ideally, October at the latest for MD's)
5. Wait for interview (In the meantime, maybe do a mock interview with your school's academic center or whatnot)
6. Interview
7. Accepted
Now all this is MUCH easier said than done. What activities do you have on your resume? Do you have significant hours to able to talk about your experiences? Your rank should be :
1. Clinical Experience (Scribe, EMT, Hospice)
2. Community Service
3. Research
4. Shadowing
Now answering your other questions:
1. Is it hard to study and work? Depends on you and depends on what you're doing/how many hours. If you're only studying and maintaining a 3.5/3.6 GPA, I would only work 9-15 hours a week (1-2 shifts) if that so you can do well in school. I worked 27-30 hours/wk while doing undergrad and it burned me out quickly but I still did well. If you can time manage then it's possible. But again, you can only answer this question
2. How hard MCAT to get high score ? MCAT is an extremely challenging exam esp with the new sections added in biochem/soc/psych. You need to dedicate a significant portion of your time (3-4 months of solid studying IMHO) to do very well unless you have an extremely strong background in science from your masters. In that case the time frame does shorten a little but you still need to dedicate time to study the exam, learn what the exam is like, take multiple multiple practice tests to gauge where you're at and to develop mental fortitude to take a 7-8 hour long exam. There are multiple threads on here that can lead you in the right direction on how to study for the MCAT, useful tips, resources, ect.
3. I am planning on getting home in Texas so I can pay in state tuition ? I have no idea the answer to this question so I will have to defer. But if you're buying a house solely to be In-State in Texas then you're going to regret that decision in the future.
