Lab associate offer... Take it or studying mcat full time

[bluecabinet]

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Recent college grad...I got a chance to work at this corporation that especializes in clinical diagnostic tests. They test things like vit d lvl and metabolism intermediates in thr urine ect and report results back to doctors.... Would working here reflect positively for medical school? I mean it isnt exactly the hospital environment..no "direct" patient contact.. Pay is pretty good (31k) but i would have to greatly sacrifice my time for studying mcat..I dont know if i should take the job or not..any full time workers who studied for mcat successfully??

 

[candav]

Every school will ask you what you are doing in your gap year; studying full-time for your MCAT is not a satisfactory response. I spent three months studying for my MCAT while working full-time over the summer. Totally doable. Take the job. Good luck!

 

[bluecabinet]

Looking at your profile it seems like you are one of those geniuses... Im no genius.. Gpa ~3.8 from a respectable uni but got that through a lot of effort... Ill be happy if i can break 30 for mcat...what to do what to do...im half way through studying bk review set... Registered for jan 27th... Maybe take the job and try one more in may??

Option 1: take jan mcat as a practice..void if not done well..highly likely if i take the job.. So dont take the job and bet all with 28days i have and do well (no guarantee but more likely)

Option 2: take jan mcat as a practice..void if not done well..take the job and try mcat again in may

 

[varsityblue]

You don't need to study for the MCAT for more than 5 hrs/day anyway. Take the lab associate offer and study for the MCAT either before or after you're required to be there.

 

[DrCaliBoy]

yeah, i would suggest taking the job and studying for the MCAT. Its absolutely manageable.

 

[Narmerguy]

31K ain't good pay unless you're living with your parents 🙁

 

[StoicJosher]

31K ain't good pay unless you're living with your parents 🙁

Definitely depends on where you live.

 

[Akr]

That's what I did... Full-time lab job making 30ish K, studying MCAT, also threw in some other things (hospital volunteering, EMT classes & work, shadowing... ). Scored decently well on a March MCAT, applied to med school a few months later and got my first acceptance that winter. Admittedly that application year was quite miserable... but I probably could have done things to make it less so. Or just had a better attitude about it. Anyway, it was worth it in the end! I'd encourage you to take the job AND study hard for the MCAT... take some practice tests beforehand and don't psych yourself out. Try to relax during the test and you won't have to void, then you'll have at least a whole month (waiting for the scores) to just be committed to that valuable work experience. I'm sure I could have scored better had I not worked, but it might not have been enough to get me into med school... Rumor has it that my admissions dean has actually seen a 45 on an application, been greatly underwhelmed by the rest of it, and thrown it in the trash without sending a secondary.

 

[huanlina]

yeah, i would suggest taking the job and studying for the MCAT. Its absolutely manageable.

Yes, I agree with you.

 

[SellerAl]

I studied full time instead of research. If I hadn't have scored in the high 30s as a result I wouldn't have been accepted. MCAT is important make sure you max out your score. Maybe do both, it'll suck but be worth it?