Is two months enough time to study for this beast?

[studmuffin]

Before everyone jumps on the "Depends on the person" bandwagon, i'll give you some backround. I won't be doing anything else. My parents are nice enough to support me for 2 months while I study. I would eat, sleep, and breathe MCAT. I would go for 3 months (all summer), but then I start to be at a disadvantage as far as applying early goes. I'm thinking since class ends after the first week of May, I could take the thing early to mid July. I am motivated like a sperm racing for an egg, so I could study 8+ hours a day, 6 days a week. I am trying to strike a balance between putting everything I've got into it, with nothing else on my plate, and at the same time not being too late with my app. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can submit the AMCAS primary application without having an MCAT score, right? Finally, am I putting myself at a disadvantage with a early/mid july test date? I am on pace to be a very strong applicant btw. Thanks guys.

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[Axon hillock]

Before everyone jumps on the "Depends on the person" bandwagon, i'll give you some backround. I won't be doing anything else. My parents are nice enough to support me for 2 months while I study. I would eat, sleep, and breathe MCAT. I would go for 3 months (all summer), but then I start to be at a disadvantage as far as applying early goes. I'm thinking since class ends after the first week of May, I could take the thing early to mid July. I am motivated like a sperm racing for an egg, so I could study 8+ hours a day, 6 days a week. I am trying to strike a balance between putting everything I've got into it, with nothing else on my plate, and at the same time not being too late with my app. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can submit the AMCAS primary application without having an MCAT score, right? Finally, am I putting myself at a disadvantage with a early/mid july test date? I am on pace to be a very strong applicant btw. Thanks guys.

I personally think six weeks is more than enough for this test. 2-3 weeks of content review. Followed by 3 weeks of practice. So I think 2 months would be fine. However, 8+ hours a day, six day a week is unreasonable. You will never study that much in week.

 

[thomallama]

Definitely give yourself some breaks. If you wake up and begin studying with your mind in shambles, you are worthless, and you will continue to be worthless until you give yourself a break.

 

[deep122]

Two months seems reasonable if you have no other responsibilities. However, even though you might say you could study 8+ hours a day, you'll probably change your mind once you start doing that. Burning out is not fun and is tough to recover from.

 

[Gnomes]

Before everyone jumps on the "Depends on the person" bandwagon, i'll give you some backround. I won't be doing anything else. My parents are nice enough to support me for 2 months while I study. I would eat, sleep, and breathe MCAT. I would go for 3 months (all summer), but then I start to be at a disadvantage as far as applying early goes. I'm thinking since class ends after the first week of May, I could take the thing early to mid July. I am motivated like a sperm racing for an egg, so I could study 8+ hours a day, 6 days a week. I am trying to strike a balance between putting everything I've got into it, with nothing else on my plate, and at the same time not being too late with my app. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can submit the AMCAS primary application without having an MCAT score, right? Finally, am I putting myself at a disadvantage with a early/mid july test date? I am on pace to be a very strong applicant btw. Thanks guys.

Two months full-time is definitely enough time for a person who did reasonably well in the prerequisites (Got As or Bs in them) to study for the MCAT.

I would be a little uncomfortable with not having scores until August. If I were in your shoes, I would review a bit in May, take a couple of AAMC practice tests, and if you're in the right ballpark, move your test date forward into mid-June if possible. (Of course, depending on where you are, that might force a non-ideal test location.)

Some people would probably say that July is too late to have scores, but I think that as long as you're all complete and verified and submitted before the first interview dates, you're probably reasonably okay...

Good luck with the MCAT and admissions. Don't burn out and take lots of AAMC practice full-length MCATs.

 

[Flamen04]

I take my MCAT next week, and I have been only studying since early May. I'm scoring around a 35 on my practice tests so it's definitely possible.

 

[sc4s2cg]

8hours a day, 6 days a week is not burnout.

I study from around 10am-6pm and don't study at all on Sundays. Its just like a normal semester..

 

[Axon hillock]

8hours a day, 6 days a week is not burnout.

I study from around 10am-6pm and don't study at all on Sundays. Its just like a normal semester..

To each his own. But I'm willing to bet that if you look back at your studying, there is no way you do 10-6 everyday straight through. Even if you don't take several breaks your mind definitely does it for you.

 

[sc4s2cg]

I do take around a half hour break every 3 hours or so.

It gets the job done. 🙂

 

[btown8908]

Yes, I took a semester with studying for MCAT + School, but I had to review some of the material in-depth again at the end because of finals. Basically, I took all my practice MCATs and content review in roughly 3 weeks. It was enough for me to feel confident and prepared for test day. If you're just as motivated as I am, 2 months should be plenty of time to grasp the concepts and learn how to take the test. Good luck! 🙂

 

[studmuffin]

Thanks for the great responses guys and gals. To redirect this a bit, what do you guys think of the timing? I would be complete by august. Now this will depend on the school obviously, but if you are complete before the first round of interviews goes out, you're basically in the same boat as someone who was complete in June, correct?

 

[fastlane]

You'll definitely be good.

Don't worry 3 months every day hitting it hard like that, you'll be golden. 🙂

P.S. I am studying for 3 months too, but while working full-time. And I think I might be okay.

 

[paul411]

3 months of carefully spent full-time MCAT review is more than enough to dominate the MCAT.

 

[MDminded]

8hours a day, 6 days a week is not burnout.

I study from around 10am-6pm and don't study at all on Sundays. Its just like a normal semester..

I second this. I study closer to 8-12 hours a day, depending on how I'm feeling each day. I have a gift for maintaining attention, though I do take 5-10 minute breaks every few hours. It's totally doable.

If it were me, though, I'd freak out about having so little time. If you are not starting from scratch (aka you remember most of the material from your pre-reqs), you should be fine. I had to start from scratch, and that has taken me 3-4 months. If you can really commit, 2 months may be enough for you. (Analyze how long it'll take you to get going - finding starter fuel was hard for me)

 

[studmuffin]

Thirds. What do you think med school will be like?