MCAT Study Schedule with full time work

[pch]

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Hello, I am preparing for the Aug 2016 exam and balancing a full time 40h/week job. I was wondering if anyone is doing the same and has a study schedule that they're willing to share? At this point, I'm not sure how to fit studying all these topics into my schedule. I would really appreciate any kind of advice from the past 2015 MCAT takers. Thank you!

 

[aldol16]

Hi, I'm not balancing work but I'm balancing school plus research plus extracurriculars, which amounts to 40 hours+ a week. The way I'm trying to do it is to devote 1-2 hours a day minimum to studying. There was a two-week spell in which I probably averaged 3 hours a day but that was just to get through the brunt of content review. I think it's definitely manageable, since you're probably working an 8-5 so you could even spend 3 hours a day studying and still work in time for breaks every week or so (don't burn yourself out!).

 

[pch]

Hi, I'm not balancing work but I'm balancing school plus research plus extracurriculars, which amounts to 40 hours+ a week. The way I'm trying to do it is to devote 1-2 hours a day minimum to studying. There was a two-week spell in which I probably averaged 3 hours a day but that was just to get through the brunt of content review. I think it's definitely manageable, since you're probably working an 8-5 so you could even spend 3 hours a day studying and still work in time for breaks every week or so (don't burn yourself out!).

Thanks for your reply. It is certainly encouraging to hear that there are others out there who are balancing 40h/week of either work or extracurricular activities. Unfortunately my job is not always 8-5. Some days, I have to work in the evenings as well but I'm trying to squeeze in at least 2-3h/day of studying. Today was my first official study day and I still haven't developed a study plan yet.

May I ask how you are studying, aldol16? Which books you're using and how many topics you're covering per day?

 

[aldol16]

I have been using Kaplan's 7-book series for content review (I breezed through three of them because they were in my field of study - I did the questions at the end of the chapter and if I felt confident with the topic, I skipped that chapter). I've also heard of people who exclusively used Khan Academy for review - the benefit of that is that it's free. I think most test prep companies are equivalent with regard to their content review. When I spent 2-3 hours a day doing content review, I would do 2-4 chapters a day, depending on how long the chapters were. You should take a look at whatever books you want to use and divide those up into manageable chunks for each day and then always hit your quota for the day.

I'm also doing FLs from Kaplan just to see which areas I need more review on and have started Section Bank questions. When the test date approaches, I will do both AAMC practice FLs as well.

 

[NextStepTutor_2]

Hello, I am preparing for the Aug 2016 exam and balancing a full time 40h/week job. I was wondering if anyone is doing the same and has a study schedule that they're willing to share? At this point, I'm not sure how to fit studying all these topics into my schedule. I would really appreciate any kind of advice from the past 2015 MCAT takers. Thank you!

What you need is to map out your study schedule. A FT job is a obstacle you will need to account for but since your testing in August, you have plenty of time, even if you study part time. I would recommend you minimize your work hours to <25 / week if you can, starting 2-4 weeks out from your test date.

Next Step offers a few study schedules you can check out in our forum here but the important thing is ORGANIZATION. The less time you have to devote to studying the more efficient/effective it needs to be. Start with a diagnostic exam (both MCAT and just science) to see what areas you are strong/weak in and to diagnose which aspects of the MCAT give you the most trouble (aside from the science of it).

Next, decide on your resources. Quantity =/= quality. Do not just buy 3 sets of books or 20 FL exams. Peruse the available books online or in a local store and then see which type suits your learning style best. You can also mix and match as some companies like NextStep and others, allow you to buy individual books.

Aside from content, you'll need plenty of MCAT practice, and I don't just mean Full length exams. you will need practice passages, section practice, and small quizzes to slowly build your knowledge base and MCAT thinking skills. There are several Strategy and Practice books available, make sure they are for the new MCAT, lots of stuff (like EK 101 verbal, 1001 Bio, 1001 Chem...etc...) was designed for the old exam. If possible, purchase a set of content books that also have lots of MCAT practice Qs in them (EK, Next Step, TPR do this well, Kaplan, not as much) to save $ and make your study more efficient.

Buy all the AAMC materials. You will get 2 practice tests, the section bank, a sample test (1/2 length), and the AAMC questions packs (the least new of their materials but still useful).

You can always sign up for a course to get lots of exams (TPR, Kaplan) or some companies sell them separately (EK, NextStep). I would not buy more than 6-10 exams, and even if you do buy 10 a few of them will be used as smaller practice (section, 1/2 section, passage pairs) sessions.

prioritize and triage your time from now till August. How many hours can you devote, each day, to your MCAT. What time of day? Do not study exhausted. About 10-15 hours is sufficient if you have > 4 months to go, which you do. Set long term goals such as:

When will you be done with your content review
What subjects will you study and in what order?
When will you begin half section or section tests as part of your prep
When will you have nothing left to do but FL exams and review (ideally the last 2-4 weeks of your prep).

Study in places where you can focus, and that there are NO distractions. 3 well-used study hours are worth 8 in a busy Starbucks or with friends in a library or conference room if you are not focused.

You may have to cut some things out of your life for a while (same goes for when your a med student, I promise you). Schedule some down time each week, but long weekends, frequent nights out, will have to take a backseat for now. Believe me, your family/friends will forgive you.

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[pch]

What you need is to map out your study schedule. A FT job is a obstacle you will need to account for but since your testing in August, you have plenty of time, even if you study part time. I would recommend you minimize your work hours to <25 / week if you can, starting 2-4 weeks out from your test date.

Next Step offers a few study schedules you can check out in our forum here but the important thing is ORGANIZATION. The less time you have to devote to studying the more efficient/effective it needs to be. Start with a diagnostic exam (both MCAT and just science) to see what areas you are strong/weak in and to diagnose which aspects of the MCAT give you the most trouble (aside from the science of it).

Next, decide on your resources. Quantity =/= quality. Do not just buy 3 sets of books or 20 FL exams. Peruse the available books online or in a local store and then see which type suits your learning style best. You can also mix and match as some companies like NextStep and others, allow you to buy individual books.

Aside from content, you'll need plenty of MCAT practice, and I don't just mean Full length exams. you will need practice passages, section practice, and small quizzes to slowly build your knowledge base and MCAT thinking skills. There are several Strategy and Practice books available, make sure they are for the new MCAT, lots of stuff (like EK 101 verbal, 1001 Bio, 1001 Chem...etc...) was designed for the old exam. If possible, purchase a set of content books that also have lots of MCAT practice Qs in them (EK, Next Step, TPR do this well, Kaplan, not as much) to save $ and make your study more efficient.

Buy all the AAMC materials. You will get 2 practice tests, the section bank, a sample test (1/2 length), and the AAMC questions packs (the least new of their materials but still useful).

You can always sign up for a course to get lots of exams (TPR, Kaplan) or some companies sell them separately (EK, NextStep). I would not buy more than 6-10 exams, and even if you do buy 10 a few of them will be used as smaller practice (section, 1/2 section, passage pairs) sessions.

prioritize and triage your time from now till August. How many hours can you devote, each day, to your MCAT. What time of day? Do not study exhausted. About 10-15 hours is sufficient if you have > 4 months to go, which you do. Set long term goals such as:

When will you be done with your content review
What subjects will you study and in what order?
When will you begin half section or section tests as part of your prep
When will you have nothing left to do but FL exams and review (ideally the last 2-4 weeks of your prep).

Study in places where you can focus, and that there are NO distractions. 3 well-used study hours are worth 8 in a busy Starbucks or with friends in a library or conference room if you are not focused.

You may have to cut some things out of your life for a while (same goes for when your a med student, I promise you). Schedule some down time each week, but long weekends, frequent nights out, will have to take a backseat for now. Believe me, your family/friends will forgive you.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Thank you for your detailed response! It's interesting that you mentioned practice questions because I've heard time and time again that practice q are the most important part of the studying process. However, I read somewhere that for this new exam, we should first have a solid understanding of the material BEFORE doing the questions. Is this true? Given that this is a thinking exam and most of the ques are based on passages they give us, how important is it for me to know the details?

I bought the EK 9th ed set and the brand new TPR (feb23 2016) set. I'm mostly using the 2016 TPR books but because their explanations are so detailed, I'm going through the material really slowly and I frequently end up going through the whole chapter of a topic and then be too exhausted to attempt the practice passages. Some days, I get so exhausted I'm only able to cover one topic (even though my goal is to cover at least 2). Given the number of topics that are covered on this new exam, should I focus my studying on the practice questions or going through the material from the books first? I'm hoping I can finish learning all the material by the end of June so I can have 1.5-2 solid months of practice, FL exams and going over concepts I don't understand or have forgotten.

 

[yeasureyoubetcha]

Hello, I am preparing for the Aug 2016 exam and balancing a full time 40h/week job. I was wondering if anyone is doing the same and has a study schedule that they're willing to share? At this point, I'm not sure how to fit studying all these topics into my schedule. I would really appreciate any kind of advice from the past 2015 MCAT takers. Thank you!

I took the 2015 MCAT. I was in the same boat as you a year ago and I had to fit volunteer and shadowing in as well. As for a study schedule recommendation aside from the widely circulated topic lists I would say wherever you can fit time in but by late May you should be mainly focusing on practice passages. What I found worked was.....study at work. Its a gamble you'll have to make. I decided a future in medicine was more important to me than my bonus and a future in biopharma. I would literally hide in the lab behind 5 stacks of HPLCs and work through practice passages and books on the computer. My mentor (a manager at work) supported this. I also took a PR in person class (in hindsight online would have sufficed) and recorded the lectures onto one of those little recording devices that holds like 130hrs of audio. Back and forth to work in the car every day I plugged it in through the aux in port and listened to the lectures again. I think I did a practice test just about every other weekend up until my test because that was when I had large blocks of uninterrupted time to sit for the whole practice test. Don't forget to go out with friends every now and then. It really helps to avoid burnout

 

[NextStepTutor_2]

...and then be too exhausted to attempt the practice passages. Some days, I get so exhausted I'm only able to cover one topic (even though my goal is to cover at least 2). Given the number of topics that are covered on this new exam, should I focus my studying on the practice questions or going through the material from the books first? I'm hoping I can finish learning all the material by the end of June so I can have 1.5-2 solid months of practice, FL exams and going over concepts I don't understand or have forgotten.

If time is a factor, you can always do a content quiz before doing anything to see to what extent you need to brush up on a topic for your studies. As a rule of thumb, a content review should always precede practice MCAT questions.

Good luck & keep studying!