Study for MCAT or get publication

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I was planning on possibly studying for my MCAT this summer and taking it in the spring of next year. If I did that, I would do research at my school over the summer, which is a very small time commitment. However, I may have the opportunity to do much more interesting research somewhere else that may lead to a publication (probably will), but it is full time and I won't really have time to study. Which would be better?
 
mimelim said:
If I can study for Step 3 and the VSITE while working 80 hours/week, I think that you can work in an undergrad research lab while studying for the MCAT. But that is just a guess.
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It seems the situations surrounding both are different enough to be comparable. But yeah, I definitely agree that it is very possible to balance the MCAT, fulltime research and other stuff on top of that. This is where efficient studying really comes into play.
 
How would I follow the kinds of study plans that it seems everyone does (8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 3 months, treating it like a full time job) and work 8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week?
 
acetylmandarin said:
How would I follow the kinds of study plans that it seems everyone does (8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 3 months, treating it like a full time job) and work 8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week?
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You ... don't have to study that much. I probably did 3-4 hours/day for 5-6 days/week for around 3 months and did fine. You just have to figure out what works for you. Working 8 hours/day and then studying 4 hours/day on weekdays and studying 6 hours/day on one weekend day means you still have plenty of time to do necessary things like errands, cooking, cleaning, sleeping, eating, etc and still have a real social life at least one night/week.

8 hours/day every weekday for 3 months really seems like overkill for the MCAT, but maybe others have different experiences.

Figure out what works for you and then plan around that. Obviously if it's zero sum, a high MCAT score and research experience but no publication trumps a low MCAT score and a publication.
 
acetylmandarin said:
How would I follow the kinds of study plans that it seems everyone does (8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 3 months, treating it like a full time job) and work 8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week?
Click to expand...

Welcome to medicine. On a serious note, you should prioritize your MCAT studies. You don't need to study 8 hours a day for 3 months straight to do well if you learned anything during undergrad, but you should put in some significant time (3-4 hours per day for at least a month with a few practice tests). Everyone is different, so study as you feel is necessary, just realize your MCAT score will play a far greater role in the strength of your application than a publication or really any research you'll do.
 
WedgeDawg said:
You ... don't have to study that much. I probably did 3-4 hours/day for 5-6 days/week for around 3 months and did fine. You just have to figure out what works for you. Working 8 hours/day and then studying 4 hours/day on weekdays and studying 6 hours/day on one weekend day means you still have plenty of time to do necessary things like errands, cooking, cleaning, sleeping, eating, etc and still have a real social life at least one night/week.

8 hours/day every weekday for 3 months really seems like overkill for the MCAT, but maybe others have different experiences.

Figure out what works for you and then plan around that. Obviously if it's zero sum, a high MCAT score and research experience but no publication trumps a low MCAT score and a publication.
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I guess people exaggerate when they say they study that much....I just see people say that on here a lot. I can't imagine doing that.
 
acetylmandarin said:
How would I follow the kinds of study plans that it seems everyone does (8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 3 months, treating it like a full time job) and work 8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week?
Click to expand...

If you are studying 8 hours a day, you are doing it wrong. For starters, the MCAT, like most standardized tests is mostly on material you should already be familiar with. But, more than that, there are limits to how much information you can cram into your head in a given day and a limit to how much practice problems will help you before you start to burn out by doing them all in one go.
 
I agree with my learned colleague. Adcoms want people who can walk and chew gum at the same time.


mimelim said:
If I can study for Step 3 and the VSITE while working 80 hours/week, I think that you can work in an undergrad research lab while studying for the MCAT. But that is just a guess.
Click to expand...
 
Doing well on the MCAT should be your top priority, but a publication would be nice. All of my friends with high MCAT scores got into medical school, but not all of my friends with publications were able to pull it off.
 
vantheman said:
Doing well on the MCAT should be your top priority, but a publication would be nice. All of my friends with high MCAT scores got into medical school, but not all of my friends with publications were able to pull it off.
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And how many friends did you have who published?
 
acetylmandarin said:
I may have the opportunity to do much more interesting research somewhere else that may lead to a publication (probably will)
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Don't ruin your future over this slim possibility.

Having worked in research, I will tell you that publications are not correlated with how much work you put in. Take a look at graduate students who are putting in 40-60 hours of work during their PhD programs. Are they publishing? May be. They might publish a handful (if things go well), but this takes years. Also, many projects end up as failures and lessons to avoid, rather than as published results in top journals.

I would therefore study for the MCAT if I were you, and not worry about research until you get a good score. While the MCAT is an essential part of the application process, publications are not, so I would recommend that you focus on what's most important.
 
I also worked full time in the lab and studied for the MCAT, then took it at the end of summer and did really well. So it's definitely possible to do both if research is important to you! Just do a couple hours when you get home on weekdays, and a little more on weekends. I still was able to have somewhat of a social life, but it was definitely a busy summer. I also recommend bringing your books to the lab and studying during breaks/waiting for things to run because that helped me a lot as well.

8 hours a day is ridiculous and would probably just cause you to burn out, so regardless of which research position you take, don't do that.
 
If you can balance both, then do both. If not, focus on what you think will help you the most
 
Everyone's advice has been excellent. I just want to emphasize that getting Research published is a long drawn out process. The fastest I've ever seen a paper get out was exactly 1 month. The longest nearly 9 months and on average about 2-4. Don't expect that even if things go well you will have the publication accepted by the time you apply.

Disclaimer: I have 7 pubs with involvement in various capacities.

The times I've listed is after the final draft of the paper. Drafting a paper can take months to years unfortunately
 
If you aren't working on a project already or would be finishing up one, you need to know that research never pans out the way you want it. Takes longer and more grief that you ever initially anticipated, but I'm probably being a little pessimistic.
 
Chemistry>Physics said:
Waaaaaait a second.

What's your definition of study for the MCAT.
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You can easily manage 2 hours per day working 8-9 hours/day. I feel like you shouldn't be studying more than 2 hours per day anyway for the first few months: the knowledge you retain will drop precipitously after a certain point. Even more important than content review is questions, and questions must be taken in a timed manner.

MCAT content review can often be given in bite-sized flashcards. Reviewing your flashcards shouldn't take hours. For questions, give yourself exactly the same amount of time per question you have on the real MCAT to take them.
 
Shirafune said:
If you aren't working on a project already or would be finishing up one, you need to know that research never pans out the way you want it. Takes longer and more grief that you ever initially anticipated, but I'm probably being a little pessimistic.
Click to expand...


True - whenever I thought I may finish up a project in a few months, it turned out to be 1 yr+...
 
Chemistry>Physics said:
Waaaaaait a second.

What's your definition of study for the MCAT.
Click to expand...

As I stated earlier, 3-4 hours a day, 5-6 days a week for around 3 months is plenty. I did that for about 2 months then did 2 practice tests per week for a month before my exam with no other studying for that month. It's completely doable.
 
mimelim said:
If I can study for Step 3 and the VSITE while working 80 hours/week, I think that you can work in an undergrad research lab while studying for the MCAT. But that is just a guess.
Click to expand...
thanks for the perspective, you must be a real genius (not being sarcastic) #respect
 
Do you study 8 hours a day productively? Probably not. Do your research and study for the MCAT at the same time.
 
acetylmandarin said:
How would I follow the kinds of study plans that it seems everyone does (8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 3 months, treating it like a full time job) and work 8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week?
Click to expand...

Those types of study plans probably aren't necessary, and probably aren't productive for many people. You are not going to be studying 8 hours a day and be productive.
 
Just give yourself more time in advance. One advantage you have on the MCAT is that nobody will ask how long in advance you studied for it. If you studied for six months and got a 519, you look just as smart as someone who studied for six days and got a 519.
 
I am more concerned with your timeline. Studying in the summer and then taking it in the spring is not a wise strategy.
 
Do both but take time off from research shortly before the test to really get focused.
 
I took it during the semester, and honestly the more dedicated time you have to prepare for the MCAT, the better you will do.

A bad MCAT will keep you out of medical school. Lack of a publication won't. Ideally you could get both, but you know your own skills/strengths, so go on from there.
 
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