Nothing but studying for the MCAT over the summer--bad?

[EarnestlyWilde]

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Hi! I didn't find a thread addressing this specific question so hope I don't step on toes...

1. I'm worried that if I devote 3-4 months studying for the MCAT next summer it will look unproductive/black hole/bad when I apply. Comments/considerations/advice?

2. My PI is always trying to get me to spend more time in lab (which is great and I like working there but I have a hard time saying no so I would like some advice on where to draw the line in order to (attempt to) do well on the MCAT) so I anticipate she would expect me to be there as much as possible next summer.

What would you recommend to be a good balance (how many specific days and hours /week in lab) that won't hurt MCAT studying?

I don't anticipate it would be necessary to spend ALL of the time on studying, but I'm aware of the cautions of studying with working and would like to avoid burnout (which tends to happen every semester). I'm being optimistic and thinking that being in the lab won't be too energy-consuming since the technical parts of the experiment don't require intense brain usage and can even be a good time to rest and let thoughts wander semi-meditatively (eg, slicing through brains). But then, any responsibility is a responsibility

Thank you for reading all of that and responding! I appreciate the response even if I don't want to take up space with a thank you post 🙂

 

[Member67988]

If I were you, I would definitely continue to work in the lab. It might be ideal to work a few days a week and then take the remaining part of the week to study. I personally think 3-4 months of pure mcat is just a recipe for burnout. I studied for the mcat during a full load of classes and activities and ended up just fine, plus it will look better on apps to have had done something during the summer! but thats just my opinion, you obviously know yourself and your capabilities the best

 

[gettheleadout]

1. I'm worried that if I devote 3-4 months studying for the MCAT next summer it will look unproductive/black hole/bad when I apply. Comments/considerations/advice?

Will not matter.

 

[EarnestlyWilde]

Will not matter.

Seriously? I thought we were supposed to be uber-productive all the time?

I don't know how bad I'll be at the MCAT since I haven't actually tried studying for it yet, so it's difficult to judge my capabilities.
From the earlier reply, it looks like coming in for work about 2 days would be okay...but then in the SN2ed sched's guidelines it says not to work in a part time job--is that just an overstatement?

I'm just trying to get this settled early so I have an answer ready when the time comes. The PI is stressed so one less worry = good haha

Thanks, guys!

 

[earf]

Seriously? I thought we were supposed to be uber-productive all the time?

I don't know how bad I'll be at the MCAT since I haven't actually tried studying for it yet, so it's difficult to judge my capabilities.
From the earlier reply, it looks like coming in for work about 2 days would be okay...but then in the SN2ed sched's guidelines it says not to work in a part time job--is that just an overstatement?

I'm just trying to get this settled early so I have an answer ready when the time comes. The PI is stressed so one less worry = good haha

Thanks, guys!

I would not work and dedicate that entire time to studying. Why handicap yourself in your med school application, of which the MCAT is much more important than research, for just a small contribution to the lab every week?

And I think you might be over thinking the whole über productive thing. Med schools won't look at your application and see, "oh this person took a few months off. Must be a lazy applicant." They'll see your low mcat score if you overcommitted yourself and see "oh this persons stats are too low"

Your PI can handle the lab without your 2 days/week contribution. Don't let his stress affect your future career with a low mcat score. You need to worry about yourself at this time, then when it's over you can worry about your lab or grades or whatever

tl;dr - don't work, study for your MCATs

 

[gettheleadout]

Seriously? I thought we were supposed to be uber-productive all the time?

I don't know how bad I'll be at the MCAT since I haven't actually tried studying for it yet, so it's difficult to judge my capabilities.
From the earlier reply, it looks like coming in for work about 2 days would be okay...but then in the SN2ed sched's guidelines it says not to work in a part time job--is that just an overstatement?

I'm just trying to get this settled early so I have an answer ready when the time comes. The PI is stressed so one less worry = good haha

Thanks, guys!

I'm not commenting on what you should do, just on your concern about how it will look if you apply with a summer where you only studied.

 

[Platonic]

MCAT score is much more important than worrying about a "black hole."

 

[EarnestlyWilde]

I'm not commenting on what you should do, just on your concern about how it will look if you apply with a summer where you only studied.

Sorry, most of the comment was a reply to the other commenter. I guess I'm just surprised it doesn't matter--what with the lengthy SURP thread here and everyone at school scrambling to get a job or internship for the summer. What is the rationale behind it being okay? Just that it takes the same amount of time to study, regardless of which commitments are floating around simultaneously?

And general follow-up: If there is no harm in not working, is there a benefit to working? (Whether app-wise or for change of activity, etc)

 

[Person0715]

I used to have the same mindset as you OP, thinking that it would look bad to do nothing but study MCAT for a whole summer, but as I do nothing but study for the MCAT this summer, I realize that it would be impossible for me to do something on the side while study full time for the MCAT.

Don't underestimate studying for the MCAT.

 

[EarnestlyWilde]

I used to have the same mindset as you OP, thinking that it would look bad to do nothing but study MCAT for a whole summer, but as I do nothing but study for the MCAT this summer, I realize that it would be impossible for me to do something on the side while study full time for the MCAT.

Don't underestimate studying for the MCAT.

Thanks for putting it that way. I decided to take only part 1 of Orgo this summer and after finishing, I can see it was a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be. I'm glad I took the advice to not work. It's good to know MCAT only won't look bad! I guess I can learn to ride a bike in my spare time so I feel accomplished

 

[krogers21]

If you're worried about a blackhole, just set up a schedule with a hospital and do some job shadowing part time while you study. It could prove useful.

 

[SN12357]

I don't know how bad I'll be at the MCAT since I haven't actually tried studying for it yet, so it's difficult to judge my capabilities. From the earlier reply, it looks like coming in for work about 2 days would be okay...but then in the SN2ed sched's guidelines it says not to work in a part time job--is that just an overstatement?

This is extremely dependent on your own abilities and personality.

How did you do on OTHER standardized tests in your life, like the SAT? Were they super easy? super difficulty? did you have to study? How did you do in the prereqs most relevant to the MCAT? easy, moderate, difficult?

Some people need to study full time for three months for the MCAT to break a 30. Some can dip into study materials while working full time and taking a class and breeze to a 35+. There's a wealth of variability between.

Personally, I think it looks bad to do nothing but study for the MCAT. Plus it would have driven me absolutely unambiguously crazy. And, is it turned out, was completely unnecessary.

Take the AAMC 3 and see where you stand. Use your prior knowledge of your abilities to inform your decision.

 

[EarnestlyWilde]

This is extremely dependent on your own abilities and personality.

How did you do on OTHER standardized tests in your life, like the SAT? Were they super easy? super difficulty? did you have to study? How did you do in the prereqs most relevant to the MCAT? easy, moderate, difficult?

Some people need to study full time for three months for the MCAT to break a 30. Some can dip into study materials while working full time and taking a class and breeze to a 35+. There's a wealth of variability between.

Personally, I think it looks bad to do nothing but study for the MCAT. Plus it would have driven me absolutely unambiguously crazy. And, is it turned out, was completely unnecessary.

Take the AAMC 3 and see where you stand. Use your prior knowledge of your abilities to inform your decision.

I did well on the SAT and most of the prereqs without finding them very difficult...but I have a habit of underestimating my abilities, especially with a new area. Plus everyone is always hyping up the MCAT as a formidable beast the likes of which hasn't been seen before so I'm not ready to be confident It makes sense to take a test, I'll do that after finishing orgo 2 next semester. Any reason AAMC 3 specifically?

Thanks for so much advice 🙂🙂

 

[SN12357]

I did well on the SAT and most of the prereqs without finding them very difficult...but I have a habit of underestimating my abilities, especially with a new area. Plus everyone is always hyping up the MCAT as a formidable beast the likes of which hasn't been seen before so I'm not ready to be confident It makes sense to take a test, I'll do that after finishing orgo 2 next semester. Any reason AAMC 3 specifically?

Thanks for so much advice 🙂🙂

AAMC 3 just because it's the free one, and the later ones are supposedly more difficult and slightly better for actual test practice. I didn't notice a whole lot of difference between them. If you take it (having done the prereqs) and you get at least an 8 in every section, you're probably golden for the actual thing with targeted review and practice, and should absolutely not feel you need to devote full time to studying.

You should absolutely do a solid review of the MCAT topics and take multiple full length AAMCs in preparation. That still leaves plenty of time for a part-time job, research, volunteering, whatever you like.

I think that the MCAT is overhyped. It does not reward raw memorization particularly well. That's why you need to test yourself on the AAMCs (both the practice tests and I thought the self-assessment package was useful) to see where you stand in terms of the test format and interpretation issues. And trust your history. If you have a consistently easier time with standardized tests than your peers, the MCAT isn't suddenly going to reverse that pattern.

 

[Platonic]

AAMC 3 just because it's the free one, and the later ones are supposedly more difficult and slightly better for actual test practice. I didn't notice a whole lot of difference between them. If you take it (having done the prereqs) and you get at least an 8 in every section, you're probably golden for the actual thing with targeted review and practice, and should absolutely not feel you need to devote full time to studying.

You should absolutely do a solid review of the MCAT topics and take multiple full length AAMCs in preparation. That still leaves plenty of time for a part-time job, research, volunteering, whatever you like.

I think that the MCAT is overhyped. It does not reward raw memorization particularly well. That's why you need to test yourself on the AAMCs (both the practice tests and I thought the self-assessment package was useful) to see where you stand in terms of the test format and interpretation issues. And trust your history. If you have a consistently easier time with standardized tests than your peers, the MCAT isn't suddenly going to reverse that pattern.

I've seen many people who study in a way described in this post, score around 25 on the MCAT, study for it properly for the second attempt, and score 33+. Under-preparing for the MCAT while doing less important activities is high risk, low reward.

 

[SN12357]

I've seen many people who study in a way described in this post, score around 25 on the MCAT, study for it properly for the second attempt, and score 33+. Under-preparing for the MCAT while doing less important activities is high risk, low reward.

No, it's moderate risk, HIGH reward. PIs love people who can juggle many things at once, and show how hard they're able to and willing to work. If this person has a good relationship with their PI now, that will be damaged a bit by having to take a break from the lab and strengthened if the OP can pull off being in the lab and studying at the same time (especially if two days a week work schedule is an option). It's far, far more likely to put them in line for pubs.

This is why I'm emphasizing that the OP should think about how they have done on standardized tests in the past, and take the practice AAMCs.

I scored 36+ on the MCAT two months ago. I worked full time the entire time I was prepping. I am not the only person who prepped for the MCAT this way, from choice and necessity. If I'd done the full SN2 study schedule, it's net value would have been in the 3-4 point range. This would have been in NO WAY worth it considering the huge dividends from maintaining a fuller schedule.

 

[Platonic]

No, it's moderate risk, HIGH reward. PIs love people who can juggle many things at once, and show how hard they're able to and willing to work. If this person has a good relationship with their PI now, that will be damaged a bit by having to take a break from the lab and strengthened if the OP can pull off being in the lab and studying at the same time (especially if two days a week work schedule is an option). It's far, far more likely to put them in line for pubs.

This is why I'm emphasizing that the OP should think about how they have done on standardized tests in the past, and take the practice AAMCs.

I scored 36+ on the MCAT two months ago. I worked full time the entire time I was prepping. I am not the only person who prepped for the MCAT this way, from choice and necessity. If I'd done the full SN2 study schedule, it's net value would have been in the 3-4 point range. This would have been in NO WAY worth it considering the huge dividends from maintaining a fuller schedule.

Your score is irrelevant.The average student doesn't score very high on this test. Which means relatively few people would benefit from this study plan. Also, 3-4 points on the MCAT is absolutely huge. I doubt a summer of extra EC's is anywhere near as valuable as 3-4 points on the MCAT.

 

[SN2ed]

Schools won't care that you took a summer to study for the MCAT. It's somewhat expected that you'll take some time to study. Nor will they care if you do poorly on the MCAT while doing other things. All they'll see is a bad MCAT score. Although you can use part of your application to explain why you did poorly, that's a situation that should be avoided. It also doesn't necessarily hold much weight because you could have rescheduled/cancelled if something happened. Furthermore, you'll have plenty of time to build up your ECs, but your MCAT score stays with you good or bad.

 

[SN12357]

Your score is irrelevant.The average student doesn't score very high on this test. Which means relatively few people would benefit from this study plan. Also, 3-4 points on the MCAT is absolutely huge. I doubt a summer of extra EC's is anywhere near as valuable as 3-4 points on the MCAT.

I think your 'relatively few' people is more than you think, and all of my advice is structured around the OP figuring out if they ARE the 'average person'. If they are, they should study full time. If they aren't, then they're screwing themselves over by underestimating themselves. People come on these boards all the time asking questions and getting back advice based on the 'average person'. This is meaningless if you aren't average.

And 3-4 points is huge if you're below a 30. Once you hit 35 it's almost meaningless (as the admission statistics show).

It's not a bad thing if the OP does need to take the summer to study, but he/she seems to be asking if it's possible to not do that, and the answer is a resounding YES, it is possible to not study for the MCAT full time and do just fine.

 

[earf]

I think your 'relatively few' people is more than you think, and all of my advice is structured around the OP figuring out if they ARE the 'average person'. If they are, they should study full time. If they aren't, then they're screwing themselves over by underestimating themselves. People come on these boards all the time asking questions and getting back advice based on the 'average person'. This is meaningless if you aren't average.

And 3-4 points is huge if you're below a 30. Once you hit 35 it's almost meaningless (as the admission statistics show).

It's not a bad thing if the OP does need to take the summer to study, but he/she seems to be asking if it's possible to not do that, and the answer is a resounding YES, it is possible to not study for the MCAT full time.

Yeah, once you hit 35 you're already in the 95th percentile. I agree with SN12357 in that it is possible to work while studying for the MCAT, but most people, even when they study full time, will not get a 35+ balancing work and studying. Doesn't mean it's not impossible, but it means that you should dedicate as much time as possible to studying unless you know for sure that you can balance.

Remember, working = you having an obligation to do something and isn't your own time. This can make it limiting on your learning potential, or it can be a nice break from studying. It's up to you to know yourself and your limitations of what works, what doesn't, and what really matters in the long run.

 

[rodmichael82]

You should study solely for the MCAT over the summer. No medical school will care at all. However, your MCAT preparation will make a huge impact on your application to medical school.

 

[Platonic]

I think your 'relatively few' people is more than you think, and all of my advice is structured around the OP figuring out if they ARE the 'average person'. If they are, they should study full time. If they aren't, then they're screwing themselves over by underestimating themselves. People come on these boards all the time asking questions and getting back advice based on the 'average person'. This is meaningless if you aren't average.

I think you would agree that for scores between 0-35, a few points on the MCAT significantly affects the competitiveness of the applicant. So for people in this range, it would be unwise to sacrifice MCAT study time for less important activities. 97.4% of test takers scored 0-35 in 2012. MCAT score becomes less important for scores higher than this, but few people score that high anyway. Most importantly, it's very risky to assume you can score in the high 30's based on a practice test score that's lower than the high 30's. For example, someone that gets a 30 on AAMC 3 shouldn't just assume they will score significantly higher on the real deal with a little bit of studying. They may be correct, but it's unnecessarily risky. Again, high risk, low reward to truncate MCAT study time and commit to the less important activities.

 

[Member67988]

I think there's a lot of exaggerating going on in this thread. The vast majority of people do not have the luxury to just take 3-4 months off for the mcat. Most people have responsibilities that don't magically disappear. The test is hard and takes a lot of preparation, I would never dispute that. But burnout is a real thing and it happened to me when I had less than 3 weeks of pure mcat studying. It is totally possible to work, take classes, and go out with friends and still perform very well. Whatever your definition of "well" is.

 

[gettheleadout]

And 3-4 points is huge if you're below a 30. Once you hit 35 it's almost meaningless (as the admission statistics show).

Biggest joke in this thread.

 

[Platonic]

Biggest joke in this thread.

There's a little truth in what he's saying. If you look at the official MCAT guide, it shows that, for 3.2+ GPAs, students with 36-38 get into med school at roughly the same rate as students with 39-35. Of course, not shown here is the caliber of schools attended by these groups. Still though, I imagine score gets less important up high. The gap between a 29/31 is larger than 39/41.

 

[gettheleadout]

There's a little truth in what he's saying. If you look at the official MCAT guide, it shows that, for 3.2+ GPAs, students with 36-38 get into med school at roughly the same rate as students with 39-35. Of course, not shown here is the caliber of schools attended by these groups. Still though, I imagine score gets less important up high. The gap between a 29/31 is larger than 39/41.

Yes, but there's a big difference between getting into medical school and being a highly competitive applicant with choices, scholarships, etc., and there's a big difference between a 35 vs 39 and 39 vs 41.

If you're just concerned with getting in somewhere, then yeah, probably not a big deal.

 

[Synapsis]

Yes, but there's a big difference between getting into medical school and being a highly competitive applicant with choices, scholarships, etc., and there's a big difference between a 35 vs 39 and 39 vs 41.

If you're just concerned with getting in somewhere, then yeah, probably not a big deal.

Eh, yea and no in my opinion. The difference between a 39 and 41 could be two questions, which means that difference could've just been solid luck. When you get up to around 39 and 40, you get to the point where, depending on your distribution, every question is pretty much an MCAT point. Obviously if your distribution is something like 15/10/15, that's still more than one question per point, but you get what I mean. I actually know quite a few people who have gotten into Harvard/JH/Stanford with 36s on the MCAT. It's easy to make the mistake and think that only 38+ scorers get into those schools, and while a higher MCAT score is certainly gorgeous on an application, I'm quite sure that adcoms are so used the steep curve (at the higher end) that it's possible that they don't look at a 43 much more favorable than they might look at a 40 or 39. Yeah a 43 is definitely indicative of someone who destroyed this exam, but only slightly more so than a 40. There's a subconscious satisfaction in the first number being a 4, but we all know how steep this curve is. Could go either way in my opinion.

So I wouldn't go so far as to say that 35+ scores are all effectively the same, because that's completely false. But there is still room for differentiation up there.

As for a reply to OP, I spend virtually my entire day studying, and I do part-time research. I think it's nice to have something going on on the side. Frankly if I were on an adcom and saw that someone did nothing but study for the MCAT over the summer, I'd be expecting nothing short of a tremendous score.

 

[gettheleadout]

Eh, yea and no in my opinion. The difference between a 39 and 41 could be two questions, which means that difference could've just been solid luck. When you get up to around 39 and 40, you get to the point where, depending on your distribution, every question is pretty much an MCAT point. Obviously if your distribution is something like 15/10/15, that's still more than one question per point, but you get what I mean. I actually know quite a few people who have gotten into Harvard/JH/Stanford with 36s on the MCAT. It's easy to make the mistake and think that only 38+ scorers get into those schools, and while a higher MCAT score is certainly gorgeous on an application, I'm quite sure that adcoms are so used the steep curve (at the higher end) that it's possible that they don't look at a 43 much more favorable than they might look at a 40 or 39. Yeah a 43 is definitely indicative of someone who destroyed this exam, but only slightly more so than a 40. There's a subconscious satisfaction in the first number being a 4, but we all know how steep this curve is. Could go either way in my opinion.

So I wouldn't go so far as to say that 35+ scores are all effectively the same, because that's completely false. But there is still room for differentiation up there.

Sorry, I should have been more explicit in my statement; I was trying to say that there is a big difference between [35 vs 39] and [39 vs 41]. I agree with everything you've said here completely.

As for a reply to OP, I spend virtually my entire day studying, and I do part-time research. I think it's nice to have something going on on the side. Frankly if I were on an adcom and saw that someone did nothing but study for the MCAT over the summer, I'd be expecting nothing short of a tremendous score.

But I disagree with this. I think that's expecting a bit too much, but if someone reading applications wants to think that I can't stop them. Meh.

 

[SN12357]

But I disagree with this. I think that's expecting a bit too much, but if someone reading applications wants to think that I can't stop them. Meh.

They think this because they have plenty of applications on their plate that are examples of people killing the MCAT while maintaining other activities. Do you really expect them to pass over someone who can clearly balance multiple commitments for someone who needed to slam the breaks on their life for 3-4 months to pass the MCAT? Enough people do that that it's certainly ok for admission if it's needed, but if you don't have to, then by all means do something else.

And in terms of scholarships, a brief whirl through the school-specific threads and the threads where this question gets asked again and again show that the MCAT is not the only (possibly not even the most important) factor in deciding them (once a certain threshold is met).

The types of candidates who schools are likely to offer big scholarships to are exactly the people who didn't need to (or weren't able to) cloister themselves for the MCAT.

 

[earf]

They think this because they have plenty of applications on their plate that are examples of people killing the MCAT while maintaining other activities. Do you really expect them to pass over someone who can clearly balance multiple commitments for someone who needed to slam the breaks on their life for 3-4 months to pass the MCAT? Enough people do that that it's certainly ok for admission if it's needed, but if you don't have to, then by all means do something else.

And in terms of scholarships, a brief whirl through the school-specific threads and the threads where this question gets asked again and again show that the MCAT is not the only (possibly not even the most important) factor in deciding them (once a certain threshold is met).

The types of candidates who schools are likely to offer big scholarships to are exactly the people who didn't need to cloister themselves for the MCAT.

Most of them will NOT notice that there is a few months of missing activity over the summer, especially when the OP is taking summer classes. Physicians have bigger things to evaluate on your application than a couple of months of inactivity over the summer that they'll probably overlook anyways - one of these WILL be your mcat score.

 

[SN12357]

Most of them will NOT notice that there is a few months of missing activity over the summer, especially when the OP is taking summer classes. Physicians have bigger things to evaluate on your application than a couple of months of inactivity over the summer that they'll probably overlook anyways - one of these WILL be your mcat score.

But if you can actually DO something with your summer, they certainly will see that on your application. That's definitely better than not-having that thing. And the OP didn't say anything about having to take classes.

Look, I'm pretty much done with this conversation. I think the OP has seen enough back and forth to make his/her own decision. But lots of people matriculate every year who had to support themselves continuously while either doing a post-bacc or studying for the MCAT. Taking 3-4 months off to do nothing but study is a luxury no matter how you slice it, and luxuries aren't necessities.

 

[earf]

But if you can actually DO something with your summer, they certainly will see that on your application. That's definitely better than not-having that thing. And the OP didn't say anything about having to take classes.

Yes but high mcat+nothing > lower mcat+something

Look, I'm pretty much done with this conversation. I think the OP has seen enough back and forth to make his/her own decision. But lots of people matriculate every year who had to support themselves continuously while either doing a post-bacc or studying for the MCAT. Taking 3-4 months off to do nothing but study is a luxury no matter how you slice it, and luxuries aren't necessities.

Yes and he has that luxury. He's in the lab for it to look good on his application, not for the money if i recall correctly. He should take advantage of this luxury to make sure he has the best possible chance of having great options for medical school

 

[sunflower18]

I just want to put in my two cents. I thought I could totally handle working parttime and studying fulltime this summer. I absolutely regret it. Hopefully it'll still end up okay for me, but I think I could do much better if I wasnt working. Also, it's been so stressful and exhausting.

I love my job (scribe), and I didn't have the option of quitting for the summer because I want to continue scribing until I go to med school and they don't allow breaks. So I had to do what I had to do. Still have to do, I guess. But if you can avoid it, I would.

I was also concerned about the black hole thing. I guess I won't have any blank spots, but I probably won't have an incredibly high MCAT score either. Time will tell, but I know that I'm frustrated with how studying has gone so far for me.

Good luck with your decision!