mcat time off? hELP

[pizza1994]

Hi guys,

So Im planning to take the mcat now change my august date to a date in november. And to study for it I was planning to take the first semester of school off....but I'm not sure.

Does anyone have any advice or input on this?

I currently have too many commitments for the summer with research and Ec's, and am finding that I can't study enough.

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[KMCAT]

I don't know too much background on your situation but perhaps talk to your school's premed Advisor(s). I haven't heard of any of my peers doing this.

As you know, taking time off from school (for anything) is serious - so don't take this lightly. But, depending on your flexibility and prior course work, maybe you can go part-time in school taking 6-9 credits instead of taking the whole semester off. So, talk to your advisor. Additionally, sometimes, scholarships or aid can be affected so if you decide to take time off - TALK to the Financial Office Early on (haha - they're always a delight right?)

As for the time, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to study for the MCAT from now until November (even with Commitments).

Good Luck! Ask around as well!

 

[NextStepTutor_2]

This is a very personal question. Not everybody comes to the MCAT with the same experiences and everybody has a different way of handling the preparation required for MCAT. The MCAT can be done during school or full time work but be ready to make sacrifices. Other commitments are a real concern. You will get lots of advice from us here but ultimately you must reflect on your own situation. Do you know where you currently stand? If not, take a diagnostic. Then set a goal. If you've been studying for some time now, you'll have an idea of what it will take to get there, for you personally. Use these guidelines to make an informed decision.

 

[itsgonnabeok]

Someone who posted recently on the 30+ thread did this and had a really good experience. If I could do it again, I would have graduated a semester early or taken a semester off to have some stress free study time and make things less miserable for myself. Do what you feel you have to do to get this done. You don't want to be in the position where you are getting ready to apply but haven't taken the MCAT yet because you haven't been able to put in the time to study for it. Just because some premeds have been successful in juggling a whole bunch of things at the same time in addition to the MCAT, doesn't mean that you have to as well.

 

[bambam92]

Research and ec's consume my time during the school year, and during the summer it is usually work consuming my time (have to make $$ somehow). If the research is volunteer; I say phase it back if it is not allowing you to study for the MCAT. No reason why ec's and research should fry your whole summer if you have MCAT to take. I am taking 8/27, but couldn't imagine just re-scheduling to novemeber!? What have you just not studied at all?? Good luck.

 

[pizza1994]

Research and ec's consume my time during the school year, and during the summer it is usually work consuming my time (have to make $$ somehow). If the research is volunteer; I say phase it back if it is not allowing you to study for the MCAT. No reason why ec's and research should fry your whole summer if you have MCAT to take. I am taking 8/27, but couldn't imagine just re-scheduling to novemeber!? What have you just not studied at all?? Good luck.

K so its not like I havent studied at all. But I'm on a good pace with everything right now (except verbal) but I need lots and lots of time to do questions becasue thats where I always go wrong and then need to take my time to review concepts and its just a really crappy situation for me.

My mcat is in august 15 but I really feel like I will be needing more time and most likely am thinking of taking a semester off.....ughhh so confusing

 

[Alucard6]

It will not look well on your transcript if you took a semester off. If you interview, or if it is in a secondary, they will ask you why you did so. Personally, saying you took the time off to study for the MCAT will not look too nice because they will think you could not manage everything. Unless you get a stellar score, like 36+, it would not be worth it. I say this because I am sure people study for the MCAT during the year while taking classes and do well, but I imagine it is really stressful.

If you ultimately decide to take the semester off, you will have to knock it out of the park to show to ADCOMs that it was the correct decision and you showed it with your score. At that point I would not judge that person at all, since it obviously paid off.