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There have been far too many threads of late with people rushing to take the MCAT with a full course-load. Attempting to take the MCAT with a heavy school workload is not a good idea. What usually happens is that the person gets a sub-par GPA and MCAT. Thus, they are locked into retaking the MCAT through both a poor first attempt and now because their GPA is lowered. Why does this happen? You simply only have so many hours in a day. Taking even 10 hours a week for MCAT studying takes 10 hours a week out of studying for your classes. While this may seem obvious, it's something that people can forget when the MCAT is looming up ahead. Sadly, 10 hours a week for the MCAT isn't even enough for the vast majority of people.
Another problem with studying for the MCAT while in school is burnout. You hear about burnout all the time when people study non-stop for the MCAT. Combining school and the MCAT increases the chance of burnout. Again, the reason behind this isn't complex, it is just overlooked. Let's look at a hypothetical school day of someone aiming for 3 hours of MCAT studying a day.
9:00 am – 12:00 am: Classes
12:00am – 1:00 pm: Lunch
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Classes
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm: MCAT
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Dinner
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm or later: School work
Notice anything? There are only breaks for food and some free time after one's school work is done. Considering that this schedule doesn't calculate lab time, tests, or papers, I think it is fairly obvious that your brain is working in studying/class mode almost the entire day. That is precisely the situation people get into while studying for the MCAT non-stop that leads to burnout.
In response to the above, people normally post two responses. I'll go into both of these frequent points.
1. I'll just study a few hours a week for the MCAT, but study over a long period of time (6+ months).
By the time your test date comes around you'd have forgotten the material you studied and taking practice problems wouldn't help because they were completed so far in advance. You need concentrated studying, not something dragged out over 6+ months. Additionally, only studying a few hours a week limits the amount of practice tests one can complete. One practice test is around 5 hours, plus the time needed to thoroughly analyze your results (should be at least 4 hours). Now think about how many practice tests are necessary for proper preparation.
Another way to look at this is through one's own schooling. In college, a person usually studies various subjects for 10+ hours each subject (time includes homework + class), every week. Image if, at the end of your school year (Sept – Dec + Feb – May = 8 months), you were given a cumulative final. Could you have gotten away without additional studying time? I think most people would have to study like mad to prepare for the test. Although the situation isn't the exactly same for the MCAT, I hope you get the general idea.
2. Isn't this the same as being in school while holding a part time job? There are many students who do that and are fine. What about non-trads who study for the MCAT along with their job?
Not really. Most jobs are not study oriented. In other words, you aren't studying during that time. I think this mixes up one's day such that their brain isn't in study mode the entire time. Even if the part time job is tutoring, that still isn't the same. In that case, your job focuses more on helping students understand the material and not on you studying the material. Again, the problem isn't the time limits involved, it's the amount of hours studying that causes burnout. For instance, the chance of burnout would be lower for someone working 9-5 on top of studying for the MCAT than someone going to school full time and trying to study for the MCAT.
People, you do NOT need to take the MCAT during your school year. If your school workload is too much, then take the MCAT during your summer break. Should you be unable to do that, then wait until after your senior year. The common rebuttal to this statement is that you won't be able to apply early enough. What that person forgets is that taking the MCAT does not force you to apply the same year. Most schools accept MCAT scores that are three years old. Taking the MCAT one year and applying EARLY the next, still leaves one with another reapplication before needing to retake the MCAT. Furthermore, the extra year can be used to strengthen your application with better ECs. The goal is to take the MCAT once and give it everything you've got. So, STOP RUSHING TO TAKE THE MCAT.
Another problem with studying for the MCAT while in school is burnout. You hear about burnout all the time when people study non-stop for the MCAT. Combining school and the MCAT increases the chance of burnout. Again, the reason behind this isn't complex, it is just overlooked. Let's look at a hypothetical school day of someone aiming for 3 hours of MCAT studying a day.
9:00 am – 12:00 am: Classes
12:00am – 1:00 pm: Lunch
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Classes
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm: MCAT
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Dinner
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm or later: School work
Notice anything? There are only breaks for food and some free time after one's school work is done. Considering that this schedule doesn't calculate lab time, tests, or papers, I think it is fairly obvious that your brain is working in studying/class mode almost the entire day. That is precisely the situation people get into while studying for the MCAT non-stop that leads to burnout.
In response to the above, people normally post two responses. I'll go into both of these frequent points.
1. I'll just study a few hours a week for the MCAT, but study over a long period of time (6+ months).
By the time your test date comes around you'd have forgotten the material you studied and taking practice problems wouldn't help because they were completed so far in advance. You need concentrated studying, not something dragged out over 6+ months. Additionally, only studying a few hours a week limits the amount of practice tests one can complete. One practice test is around 5 hours, plus the time needed to thoroughly analyze your results (should be at least 4 hours). Now think about how many practice tests are necessary for proper preparation.
Another way to look at this is through one's own schooling. In college, a person usually studies various subjects for 10+ hours each subject (time includes homework + class), every week. Image if, at the end of your school year (Sept – Dec + Feb – May = 8 months), you were given a cumulative final. Could you have gotten away without additional studying time? I think most people would have to study like mad to prepare for the test. Although the situation isn't the exactly same for the MCAT, I hope you get the general idea.
2. Isn't this the same as being in school while holding a part time job? There are many students who do that and are fine. What about non-trads who study for the MCAT along with their job?
Not really. Most jobs are not study oriented. In other words, you aren't studying during that time. I think this mixes up one's day such that their brain isn't in study mode the entire time. Even if the part time job is tutoring, that still isn't the same. In that case, your job focuses more on helping students understand the material and not on you studying the material. Again, the problem isn't the time limits involved, it's the amount of hours studying that causes burnout. For instance, the chance of burnout would be lower for someone working 9-5 on top of studying for the MCAT than someone going to school full time and trying to study for the MCAT.
People, you do NOT need to take the MCAT during your school year. If your school workload is too much, then take the MCAT during your summer break. Should you be unable to do that, then wait until after your senior year. The common rebuttal to this statement is that you won't be able to apply early enough. What that person forgets is that taking the MCAT does not force you to apply the same year. Most schools accept MCAT scores that are three years old. Taking the MCAT one year and applying EARLY the next, still leaves one with another reapplication before needing to retake the MCAT. Furthermore, the extra year can be used to strengthen your application with better ECs. The goal is to take the MCAT once and give it everything you've got. So, STOP RUSHING TO TAKE THE MCAT.
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