Summer study and January MCAT?

[tuzry]

Hi everyone,

I've been prowling around this forum for a while and finally decided to make a post. I'm an incoming 4th year.

I'm in a dilemma. I want to take the MCAT in January so that I can apply for medical school this upcoming cycle. Now before there are any judgements for my rushing, it is because my mom was recently diagnosed with liver cancer. Thus I want her to see me get accepted into a medical school before she goes. I'm not sure how long she has and so I want to go through this process as early as possible.

My plan right now:
Online Princeton Review MCAT course from July 11th-August 25th
Self-study during Fall quarter (will be taking Biochem class so I'm hoping that will keep me fresh in that matter - otherwise done with all other pre-reqs except sociology, which I may also be able to take during Fall)
Set myself down and study nonstop during the 4 weeks of winter break + 2 weeks of Winter quarter
Take the MCAT in January

If you do not at all think this is possible, please don't be afraid to let me know. This isn't what I planned for but a lot of things happen unexpectedly and you just got to roll with the punches right? If no one thinks this is a good plan I might just end up taking 2 years.

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[choudhza]

Hey tuzry,

I'm actually taking the MCAT in January too and just started studying as well and I also am taking courses in the fall. While I don't have any extenuating circumstances such as yourself, I actually consulted a lot of people at my school who said taking it in January was the best thing they'd ever decided on due to a number of reasons. Some advantages you might have would be having biochem right before taking the MCAT (which is pretty heavy on the MCAT now), having a good number of weeks in the winter to hardcore review right before the MCAT, and pacing your studying over a good amount of time and having ample time to review without burning yourself out. As long as you have somewhere around 15 hours, I think you should have plenty of time to study for the MCAT, especially if you plan on taking a course. I definitely know it's possible as I've seen a lot of people do the same thing and come out with a good score.

P.S. - definitely try to take sociology over the fall - should be an easy class and will also look good to medical schools that you took the prereq; if you can, also try to fit in any related classes like cell bio, molecular bio or genetics but try to stay around 15 hours.

Good luck and best wishes!

 

[tuzry]

Thank you so much for your advice choudhza.

As of right now my principle concern is the length of time between the end of my MCAT prep course and taking the test. Will the three months where I am focusing on school work (namely Biochem) be detrimental?

 

[choudhza]

It's possible to study for MCAT along with your coursework, but it is harder. From what I've heard, motivation is key, and you need to develop a good self-study schedule after your course to keep you on top of everything - content and tons of practice. You might have to spend some more money on getting more practice tests, but it'd probably be worth it.