MCAT Studying + Course load | Would you do it?

[UTPHS]

Hi SDN,

I'm planning to take the MCAT in January. So I have around 4-5 months to study. I'm planning on studying for the MCAT along with taking courses this semester (which I heard is not a good idea) so I want to get your opinions on my courses.

What do you all think of this course load?

---------------------------------------------------------
Biochemistry (3 hours)
Business statistics (3 hours)
Business communications (3 hours)
Accounting 1 (3 hours)
Management information systems (3 hours)
Introduction to Business (1 hour)
----------------------------------------------------------

I have already completed all the Premed prereqs. I'm more concerned with this schedule and balancing MCAT at the same time.

Any fellow business premeds have some sort of experience with this?

Would you think taking 16 hours can be manageable since this is not 16 hours of pure science courses?

Any help is appreciated!

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[NeuroSpeare]

I'm not aware of your alternatives, but I wouldn't recommend this plan.

It will be extremely difficult to balance a full course load AND study for the MCAT. Pure sciences or not, you just won't be able to devote the time necessary to really be prepared...both your GPA and your MCAT score will suffer.

Summer study is highly recommended...can you put of the test or are there other factors involved?

 

[Amba]

I took last year's January mcat and took 16 credits the semester before (while I was mcat studying). Idk if it's ideal but it's more than doable.

 

[UTPHS]

I'm not aware of your alternatives, but I wouldn't recommend this plan.

It will be extremely difficult to balance a full course load AND study for the MCAT. Pure sciences or not, you just won't be able to devote the time necessary to really be prepared...both your GPA and your MCAT score will suffer.

Summer study is highly recommended...can you put of the test or are there other factors involved?

I am planning on applying next summer (2013 cycle) so I don't think I could put off until next summer. It would be best if I could take the MCAT in Jan for options of retake in March/May if necessary. Do you think 2 hours a day for 4 months would be enough?

I took last year's January mcat and took 16 credits the semester before (while I was mcat studying). Idk if it's ideal but it's more than doable.

Did you follow SN2ed's schedule or take a class on top of your 16 hours? How much hours a day did you study? I feel I may get around 1-2 hours a day.

 

[Nymphicus]

Hi SDN,

I'm planning to take the MCAT in January. So I have around 4-5 months to study. I'm planning on studying for the MCAT along with taking courses this semester (which I heard is not a good idea) so I want to get your opinions on my courses.

What do you all think of this course load?

---------------------------------------------------------
Biochemistry (3 hours)
Business statistics (3 hours)
Business communications (3 hours)
Accounting 1 (3 hours)
Management information systems (3 hours)
Introduction to Business (1 hour)
----------------------------------------------------------

I have already completed all the Premed prereqs. I'm more concerned with this schedule and balancing MCAT at the same time.

Any fellow business premeds have some sort of experience with this?

Would you think taking 16 hours can be manageable since this is not 16 hours of pure science courses?

Any help is appreciated!

Accounting is often a fairly difficult/time intensive class.

I studied for the MCAT during spring semester with a full course load (13 credits including one lab), but I purposefully took the easier classes from my requirements.

Tests roll around and then you fall behind on one or the other, and then have to play catch up. You have to spend all weekend catching up, which can really burn you out if you're not mentally prepared.

It's not ideal.

 

[wizedw]

I did biochem, synaptic transmission, stats, 2 credits in my research lab (10 hours), and Russian Fairy tales... so a fairly similar schedule to your plan. I did fine of the MCAT and got a 3.8 last semester but it was fairly miserable and I had no life.

 

[NeuroSpeare]

Do you think 2 hours a day for 4 months would be enough?

Enough for what? What are your goals in terms of score?

 

[Amba]

Did you follow SN2ed's schedule or take a class on top of your 16 hours? How much hours a day did you study? I feel I may get around 1-2 hours a day.

Studied by myself (no class). Didn't use SN2ed's plan but used the same materials. If you want more details, hit me up on PM or find my post in the 30+ thread (I'd link it but I'm currently on my phone).

 

[UTPHS]

Accounting is often a fairly difficult/time intensive class.

I studied for the MCAT during spring semester with a full course load (13 credits including one lab), but I purposefully took the easier classes from my requirements.

Tests roll around and then you fall behind on one or the other, and then have to play catch up. You have to spend all weekend catching up, which can really burn you out if you're not mentally prepared.

It's not ideal.

How many hours were you able to devote to MCAT a day?

I did biochem, synaptic transmission, stats, 2 credits in my research lab (10 hours), and Russian Fairy tales... so a fairly similar schedule to your plan. I did fine of the MCAT and got a 3.8 last semester but it was fairly miserable and I had no life.

Did you follow SN2ed's schedule?

Enough for what? What are your goals in terms of score?

I'm hoping for a 33+. The last month I'll be taking and reviewing solely AAMC FLs where I will have a lot more time.

 

[GeauxTime]

It's not ideal.

This.

 

[La Presse]

No. When I start my in depth MCAT prep, I need some time; therefore, I am expecting to only take about 6hrs.

 

[xoxx]

How is it possible to study for the MCAT over the summer and NOT take a gap year??

 

[BK2681]

How is it possible to study for the MCAT over the summer and NOT take a gap year??

I am planning on studying next summer. I will have completed 1 semester intro bio, 2 semesters general chemistry, 2 semesters Organic, and 2 semesters physics by summer 2013. Completed bio and gen chem my freshman year and am taking organic and physics my sophomore year.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I kind of effed around while studying for the MCAT, didn't follow any schedule but just went through a prep book, and ended up with a reasonable score. You have to know yourself and take enough practice exams that you know where you stand. I think some people could easily get away with a full semester of classes and an hour or two of MCAT studying, five days a week. Other people need several hours of studying a day for several months with no real distractions. Are you a good standardized test taker? Did you do well in the pre-reqs and have you taken them recently? Can you commit to a certain amount of smart, focused studying per day? Can you build an MCAT studying schedule with enough flexibility to allow for your class exams? You have to answer these questions honestly to determine whether you can get a good MCAT score while taking 16 credit hours.

If I were you, in any case, I'd drop biochem and simply take 13 hours of business courses.

 

[blueshockey]

I wouldn't think that the coursework would be the problem. I had my mcat on June 21st, for which i started studying in the first week of april. It was a huge time sink and made my difficult schedule that much worse. I ended up with 2 A-'s and a 34 on my mcat, however, so if I had to do it over I think I would. But that April was absolutely miserable because I never got the chance to go out, constantly studying for either the MCAT or my classes. If I were to take a (much) easier set of classes and only have one science class, I think it would work out well. Planning around exams would suck but other than that I don't see how it wouldn't work. Don't expect to have much of a life though

 

[TheShaker]

I did it and I came out fine. You will have to take breaks to worry about your other classes though. It will be a busy semester for you and you should only do it if you are diligent and can motivate yourself. If you succumb to burn out easily, then it might be a problem.

 

[UTPHS]

Thanks for the replies. Also, does anyone have experience in taking a TPR course BUT using TBR/SN2ed's schedule for passages? Basically attending the lectures but use TBR for passages instead of TPR's HW?

Ideally it would be best to do both but has anyone done the above and would recommend it?

Any more comments/suggestions about my schedule or anything is still greatly appreciated!

 

[Praefectus]

Accounting is often a fairly difficult/time intensive class.

Yeah, it's pretty awful. It's basically the Organic Chem of business (although not as difficult). Try to take it in a different semester.

 

[UTPHS]

Yeah, it's pretty awful. It's basically the Organic Chem of business (although not as difficult). Try to take it in a different semester.

I've been hearing that a lot recently. What makes accounting so difficult? Is it the concepts? The calculations? A special new way of thinking like synthesis in OChem?

 

[TipToad]

It's difficult, but not impossible. You just have to be really driven. Nobody here knows your work ethic but you. I had Advanced Biochemistry, Advanced Cell Biology, Physics II Calc-based, Gender Studies and 6 hours volunteering/week while studying for the MCAT from Jan-May and did well in both coursework and the exam. It's entirely up to you.

 

[UTPHS]

It's difficult, but not impossible. You just have to be really driven. Nobody here knows your work ethic but you. I had Advanced Biochemistry, Advanced Cell Biology, Physics II Calc-based, Gender Studies and 6 hours volunteering/week while studying for the MCAT from Jan-May and did well in both coursework and the exam. It's entirely up to you.

How much time did you spend on your MCAT on average per day? I usually have a great work ethic (in terms of not slacking off and getting work done) but I tend to study very inefficiently. For example, I remember spending like 4-5 hours a day for the SAT for 3 months during the summer and barely broke a mediocre/average score in the 1900-2000s (Yeah.. I know). I don't know what else to describe it... I have 3.7+ GPA in all my prereqs and classes but I always seem to do things the hard way. Would being able to spend 1-2 hours a day during the semester and 5+ hours a day during the last month be enough to score in the 30+ range?

 

[TipToad]

How much time did you spend on your MCAT on average per day? I usually have a great work ethic (in terms of not slacking off and getting work done) but I tend to study very inefficiently. For example, I remember spending like 4-5 hours a day for the SAT for 3 months and barely broke a mediocre/average score (1900-2000s). I don't know what else to describe it... I have 3.7+ GPA in all my prereqs and classes but I always seem to do things the hard way. Would being able to spend 1-2 hours a day during the semester and 5+ hours a day during the last month be enough to score in the 30+ range?

If you study smartly, it should be. For the first 2-3 months when I was doing mostly content review, I probably did about 1.5 hours/day on average. The more time passed, the more I studied, often reaching 2-3 hours/day. I studied full-time during Spring Break (while drugged from wisdom teeth removal, not fun). After finals (first week of May), I studied full-time again (8-10 hours/day). My test was on May 24.

 

[RockMed Doc]

I took my MCAT in January and studied over fall while taking Tissue Engineering, Protein Engineering, Genetics, and Abnormal Psychology. I got a solid score and good grades, so I think it is definitely doable, especially with your classes. While not ideal, I liked that it provided me a chance to retake if need be (I didn't). I took a prep class and studied a few hours per week outside of that class, maybe 5-7. The last few weeks were a little mor intensive and were the start of my next quarter, so I just put those classes on hold for a bit. I think if you treat it as another class and you retained a lot from your prereqs you'll be fine. Good luck!

 

[Praefectus]

I've been hearing that a lot recently. What makes accounting so difficult? Is it the concepts? The calculations? A special new way of thinking like synthesis in OChem?

The concepts aren't bad, but you just don't have a natural intuition with balance sheets and the categorization of different cash flows and liabilities. It's not a difficult class if you have free time to do practice problems, but I doubt you would have that time with MCAT studying and everything.

 

[DietSexy5000]

Studying for the MCAT and taking a full semester depends entirely on you. It comes down mainly to your time management skills, how much you already know (actually know cold, not vaguely recall) and how well you do on standardized tests. In my experience, I was able to take 5 classes (physics major so it wasn't some bush league semester) and score 37+ on the exam and keep a semi-alive social life. However, that's just me and I had retained lots of info from the prereqs. The best way to get a feel is to take AAMC #3, untimed, and see how you do. Look at the score report and get a sense for where you suck and where you're ok. Then from there see if you can manage studying and classes.

PS -- My second degree is in business and I was taking Derivatives and Corporate Valuation as 2 of my 5 classes. Both are upper level accounting/finance courses and they didn't pose a problem more than any other class.