MCAT Question - My Timetable for studying:

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Neuro Advocate

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Hello everyone!

I have a question to ask in regards to studying for the MCAT. First, please allow me to provide some background information:

1) I volunteer 5 hours a week at a hospital, and shadow another 4 a week (different physicians in various fields in both the MD and DO distinction).
2) I am employed, working 25 hours a week and helping provide for my ailing parents whom I take care of.
3) I am a dual-degree student, taking on an additional minor. I will be graduating with two separate Bachelor's degrees, and one of them will have a minor attributed to it.
4) I am doing independent research and research with a faculty member.
5) I do not have the funds to pay for a professional study course, such as the Princeton Review.
6) I take classes year round - Winter, Fall, and Summer.

With all of that background information, you can see I'm extremely busy, with most hours of most days already allocated to some responsibility or duty. Now, I intend to take the MCAT in April of 2013. Most of my friends studied many hours for many days of 3 months. I do not have the luxury of dedicating that many hours to such a short period of time. I also believe studying over a longer period of time would help the material stick better, please correct me if you believe otherwise in regards to the MCAT.

I intend to study 2.5 hours a day, no matter what obstacle gets thrown my way. I intend to begin this studying from September 1st of 2012 through the first 10 days of April of 2013. That would total to 555 hours of independent study time. I understand that hours studied alone is not a great factor in determining MCAT success, which is why it is important I add that I will be taking diagnostic exams and many practice exams to try and simulate the real MCAT. In addition to my 2.5 hours a day, my goal is to simulate the real MCAT conditions and take a full-length, timed practice test at least once a month, totaling to 8 total imitation MCATs.

Please let me know if you think my plan seems appropriate, or if I should omit or add to it. I appreciate all of your comments in advance, and thank you for your time! :bow:

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I think the most important question is: When are you applying?

Busy schedules + MCAT = don't go well together.

Having 2.5 hours to study =/= Studying for 2.5 hours. Everyone who makes these kinds of threads are so emphatic about being able to not get off task, but its sorta impossible to follow a schedule so precisely.
 
Would you mind elaborating, please? Thank you.

Since you asked very politely, I will.

Essentially, the number one reason why your long-term plan will likely fail is because when you study for MCAT along with other things on the plate like volunteering, working, taking classes, etc... your studying for MCAT will become at the end of list when you get calls unexpectedly, have exams to study for, etc... In other words, you will not be fully dedicated to MCAT consistently, and this will affect your score.

So what's going to happen is, you will come back a month after your MCAT and put a question on What Are My Chances, saying, "I messed up my MCAT but I have good (include other stuffs). Now what?" You just made a bigger hole for yourself because now, you have to "prove" yourself to adcoms.

The exception is: if you are naturally good test-taker, near 4.0 person, and has taken a lot of science courses with research experiences (and I don't mean pipetting, actual hands-on thinking based research), you may still get away OK because you will already have critical thinking needed for MCAT.
 
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