studying and working full time

[tentwentykat]

long time lurker, getting ready to take my MCAT hopefully late July/early August of this year. Two years out of undergrad with a science major, working in research now full time. I've started my content review, but having a hard time sticking to a schedule that I feel comfortable with. My job entails that I'm at work around 6-6:30am, and I can leave about 2-3pm. I come home and take an hour nap, and then study from 5-9pm. However, this is starting to take a toll on me. How have you guys studied working full time? Taking time off is not an option for me right now.

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[aromatic substitution]

I'm also studying and working full time. My tentative schedule amounts to approximately 36 hours a week for studying over the course of 14 weeks. I work evenings so my plan is to wake up at 8 and begin studying after breakfast. I have only done light review so far since its finals week.

 

[Asteri]

Hey tentwentykat,

I was in a somewhat similar situation. I took the September MCAT last year, and started review in mid to late May. I was in a research lab full time while studying for the MCAT as well. I am still in school however, so the content was fresher in my mind and I probably needed a little less content review than someone who has been out for 2 years.

I would suggest trying to find an activity you can do to de-stress for half and hour to an hour every day to try to prevent burnout. I was in lab from 9am-6pm most days, went home and made food, then studied 8pm until 10pm or midnight most days at the beginning, and I crashed hard and burnt out towards the beginning of July and basically took a week and a half off of studying. I then went back to studying, but kept around an hour a day to watch Netflix, Youtube, or play video games with friends to keep a sustainable pace, even if I hadn't finished my chapter for the day. I also cut down on studying on weekends from 8-9 hours a day to about 5, and tried to hang out with friends or at least get out of my apartment. For me, quality of studying (i.e. not burned out) worked better than sheer quantity in this regard. Note that with this method I was only reaching about ~25 hours of content review a week, which may be less than what you want. I then transitioned to practice tests in August, which gave me a lot more time on my hands, especially as the school year started up.

A few disclaimers, the content was reasonably fresh in my mind as I had taken a lot of MCAT related courses the previous semester. Also I don't need large amounts of entertainment to keep me sane, I'm not sure if 0.5-1 hours a day of break time will help you as much as it did for me. Recuperating on the weekends also was a big help for me.

A few questions, is there a particular reason why late July/early August would work best for you (i.e. applying this cycle or anything like that)? Also, do you study or work on weekends, or take them off?

Edit: I also used a all-in-one review book (it worked for me but I'm not sure if it is the greatest idea overall) so I had less content to review than if I used a box set as well, which is one reason reduced hours didn't majorly affect my overall plan

 

[ServiceFirst]

It's certainly possible, I studied for the MCAT while working 10-15 hours part-time, 18-unit course load, and maintaining my involvement in EC's during the winter. It all comes down to how well you manage time. I found it helpful to set aside 1-2 hours a day doing content review, with 3-4 hours during the weekend. When it came to section banks and practice exams, I spent about 1-2 hours a day working with these.

I did this all during about a 3 month schedule, and as you can see I didn't spent an extreme amount of time daily for studying, but if you do a little every day, study time adds up. Considering early August is still a little under 3 months away, it could be realistic to complete studying in that timeframe.

 

[teenyfish]

I'm in the same boat! Good luck.

 

[tentwentykat]

Thanks!
I'd like to take it in late July/early August because my work schedule bumps up a bit starting in September, and I have to move. I'd also like to have time for a retake if I need it! I was planning on applying this year, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen unfortunately.

I'm currently feeling super burnt out/depressed and anxious to get my studying going. I know that I can do well, but I'm just overwhelmed by the lack of time that I ended up having, or feel like I have.

 

[ServiceFirst]

Thanks!
I'd like to take it in late July/early August because my work schedule bumps up a bit starting in September, and I have to move. I'd also like to have time for a retake if I need it! I was planning on applying this year, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen unfortunately.

I'm currently feeling super burnt out/depressed and anxious to get my studying going. I know that I can do well, but I'm just overwhelmed by the lack of time that I ended up having, or feel like I have.

In my opinion, burnout is more dangerous to your performance than what you already know content-wise. Be sure that you take care of yourself!

 

[Asteri]

Thanks!
I'd like to take it in late July/early August because my work schedule bumps up a bit starting in September, and I have to move. I'd also like to have time for a retake if I need it! I was planning on applying this year, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen unfortunately.

I'm currently feeling super burnt out/depressed and anxious to get my studying going. I know that I can do well, but I'm just overwhelmed by the lack of time that I ended up having, or feel like I have.

I definitely second @ServiceFirst here, burnout affects performance as well as mental health. This is especially true during content review in my opinion, as (at least I find) it is difficult to solidify content knowledge while under lots of stress/anxiety. If you do not end up applying this cycle you don't really need to worry about having time for a retake, as you could push the MCAT back to September (work allowing) or even January 2018 and still have plenty of time for a retake in March/April if needed - well in time for the next cycle. While you may feel anxious to get all the content under your belt rapidly, your mental health is a lot more important! A sustainable pace designed to prevent burnout will help a lot more in the long run, and make you feel a lot better!

 

[tentwentykat]

I didn't realize what burnout felt like and how it just creeps up on you. I started serious content review about 1.5 months ago, doing about 3-4 hours a day after work and then 8 each weekend day. Looking back, most of them were productive for about half of the time because I was pretty pooped. Just this past week or two I've just hit a wall and can't get myself going and I think I'll take a couple days off. I took a diagnostic about a month ago and got a 499, which I suppose isn't awful?

So with looking at work which really ramps up until about October with patient visits, I think I'd probably be best to take it in January of 2018. That being said, I now would have 8 months for studying... is that way too much? I'd like to put in about 25-30 hours per week, 3 per weeknight and 10-12 total on the weekends. I'm just worried about forgetting a lot of content during that long timespan, has anyone done it?

 

[DameJulie]

Always amazed to those who studied for MCAT while full-time working.

That being said, I now would have 8 months for studying... is that way too much?

I personally think 8 months is too long...most people won't study for more than 6 months. But, if you can only have 1-2 hours per day to study and want to take more break days, I guess 8 months is the way to go.

 

[tentwentykat]

Yeah, I'm really worried about retaining information but I've been doing some searches on here and have found that some people have gotten 520+ by spreading out their study time. I guess it will just be up to me to keep myself dedicated.

 

[Asteri]

Yeah, I'm really worried about retaining information but I've been doing some searches on here and have found that some people have gotten 520+ by spreading out their study time. I guess it will just be up to me to keep myself dedicated.

I had a more compact study time (late May - September) but what really helped me retain information is that I made an outline of all the content I learned. It was condensed information, so I could basically read over all of the sections (BB, PS mainly; CARS I didn't study for outside of passages/FLs and Chem/Phys was an equation sheet) in roughly three to four hours. This made sure everything was fresh in my head, as if I had forgotten something I could review it there, or refer back to the original chapter for more in depth information. Even during the last month when I was mainly doing FLs and passages, I could easily skim over all the content to make sure everything was still well retained. I don't know if outlining stuff helps you, but it at least made my life easier so I offer it as food for thought.