Taking Semester Off to Study for MCAT

[558363]

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I need an honest now because this is something I'm seriously considering.

I'm currently a senior and I want to apply next year, but I'm just so bogged down classes that I'll need an extra semester anyway (an additional Fall 2014 semester). But I need time to study for MCAT, which will be hard because I have to focus on my coursework, so I was thinking how much do adcoms really care if an entire semester was taken off to study?

To be clear, I still would be other stuff like maybe taking one class, shadowing, and working in my lab part-time.

My plan is to take Winter 2014 (Jan-April) semester off, take the MCAT in May and apply next year's cycle.

Then as a super-senior finish my Bachelors by making up the semester I missed in the Winter by taking those classes in Fall and maybe Winter if necessary.

Will this be an okay plan if I can squeeze out a decent MCAT score?


Tl;dr: How much do adcoms care about an extended period to study for the MCAT (taking a semester off)?

 

[Heday]

I'm not adcom, but taking an entire semester to study for the MCAT is overkill. Most of your peers study for it while being full-time students... so I can't say it would make you stand out for good reasons. If you decide to go that route, I wouldn't want adcoms to know that's why I took time off. I may tell them that during my time off school (for whatever reason), I continued my ECs, research, and studied for MCAT, but I would not say I took time off strictly to study for it.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Do something else as well so you don't have to say that you took the semester off to study for the mcat. That will look bad in my opinion.

Why not just take a summer?

 

[gettheleadout]

Do something else as well so you don't have to say that you took the semester off to study for the mcat. That will look bad in my opinion.

Why not just take a summer?

I reserved the entire summer for MCAT prep, and if OP took off the winter semester and then took summer classes afterward it would effectively be the same thing, wouldn't it?

 

[Bear Grylls]

People say it will "look bad," but imo, beast MCAT >>> any possible negative outlooks on said score

 

[Womb Raider]

You really don't need to take off a full semester to study for the MCAT.

As stated above, a summer should be sufficient unless you didn't pay attention to any of your core classes and you're having to relearn absolutely everything.

If you do take off a whole semester, I'd DEFINITELY volunteer somewhere. There's no way you're going to study so much that you won't have time to volunteer.

 

[ChiapetBrownie]

an entire semester might be a bit much, at least volunteer throughout with one or two places so that will actually seem like the focus of your time off. I did the same for the summer.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

A lot of secondaries ask if you've ever taken extended time off from school (excluding summer and winter breaks) and why. Considering most applicants take the MCAT while taking a full time course load, I can see your plan hurting your application.

I would suggest taking a lighter load than normal, or, if you absolutely can't study with classes going on, taking a gap year.

 

[558363]

I will be retaking a physics course (DO grade replacement) as well as maybe taking another physics class. I will also be doing around 9-12 hours at my lab for research credit. I will also do some shadowing/volunteering, but my main focus is to study hardcore for the MCAT (do the SN2 schedule for 3-4 months).

I am a senior as it is now, and I want to have a chance to apply (even if I'm taking classes as a super-senior in the next Fall and Winter). If I take another full schedule next semester as well, I just won't be able to study till the summer, and then I can't really apply for next year's cycle anyway. I just want to see how I'l do in the application cycle. My GPA isn't very stellar at the moment, but if by the time I apply I can get my MD science GPA to rise about a 3.55 (and my DO above a 3.65), with a 30+ MCAT score hopefully I might as well take my chances and apply broadly and see where I land. I've been told that if I get my GPA to rise a little bit, and get a 30+ on my MCAT, I should have a decent shot at DO schools, and an okay shot at MD schools, so I might as well try.

Believe me, I wish I didn't waste all that time sophomore yr summer, junior yr, and this summer by not preparing for the MCAT or taking more classes. I am pretty behind as it is (having to take additional semesters). But I can't change or worry about the past.

I can't really explain the situation I'm in without a long extended post, but I really do feel this is the best option for me.

I don't want to not apply next year. If I take the MCAT either in September or January 2015, I'm effectively setting myself for a long gap year (and I would be a super-senior graduate at that point). At least if I take classes off next semester, I'll have to take another two terms, in which I just boost my GPA and focus on ECs if I don't get accepted.

I will probably apply to like 30+ schools and see how many interviews I land. I only need one acceptance...

 

[kyamh]

I only need one acceptance...

👍

 

[ChemEngMD]

A lot of secondaries ask if you've ever taken extended time off from school (excluding summer and winter breaks) and why. Considering most applicants take the MCAT while taking a full time course load, I can see your plan hurting your application.

I would suggest taking a lighter load than normal, or, if you absolutely can't study with classes going on, taking a gap year.

+1

If you have to explain to an ADCOM that you took an entire semester off to study for the MCAT when the majority of applicants will be doing it with a full-time job or a full-time course load, I have to imagine it will be looked down upon. Time management is crucial in medical school and pulling a 32 while enrolled full-time and keeping up with your ECs is more impressive than a 35 while doing nothing but studying for the MCAT, IMO.

 

[gettheleadout]

+1

If you have to explain to an ADCOM that you took an entire semester off to study for the MCAT when the majority of applicants will be doing it with a full-time job or a full-time course load, I have to imagine it will be looked down upon. Time management is crucial in medical school and pulling a 32 while enrolled full-time and keeping up with your ECs is more impressive than a 35 while doing nothing but studying for the MCAT, IMO.

Except that your EC's will be most likely be irrelevant at top schools because your 32 will keep you out. Depends on goals, obviously.

 

[558363]

Except that your EC's will be most likely be irrelevant at top schools because your 32 will keep you out. Depends on goals, obviously.

I don't care if I get into DO or MD, wherever will take me...

Obviously it would be nice to get into somewhere in Michigan (especially MSU, MSUCOM, Wayne, Oakland, Western), but really I don't mind wherever.

 

[kyamh]

I second all the posters who say that a whole semester is overkill. You may be happier taking more classes now and having a very light fall semester when you apply so that you have more time to work on secondaries. If you plan to apply to many schools and put individual effort into each application (minimal recycling) then the work adds up really quickly. How much can you drop your course load while still being a student? If you can take some easy courses and only a few credits, then you don't have to fill out the "disruption in your education" essay.

Have you taken a practice? How is your verbal? That's the hardest one to raise, I think. The reason that it's nice to take time off during MCAT studying is that you can take full length tests in a real setting (start at the same time you will on test day, etc). Can you find that time without stopping school? If you can't, then maybe taking a semester off will be a good idea.

 

[ChemEngMD]

Except that your EC's will be most likely be irrelevant at top schools because your 32 will keep you out. Depends on goals, obviously.

Fine, I'll be that guy who references his ~32 and his 4 top 25 interviews 🙄

There are plenty of people in the 31-34 range that get into top 20s every year. It's not all about numbers.

 

[558363]

I second all the posters who say that a whole semester is overkill. You may be happier taking more classes now and having a very light fall semester when you apply so that you have more time to work on secondaries. If you plan to apply to many schools and put individual effort into each application (minimal recycling) then the work adds up really quickly. How much can you drop your course load while still being a student? If you can take some easy courses and only a few credits, then you don't have to fill out the "disruption in your education" essay.

Have you taken a practice? How is your verbal? That's the hardest one to raise, I think. The reason that it's nice to take time off during MCAT studying is that you can take full length tests in a real setting (start at the same time you will on test day, etc). Can you find that time without stopping school? If you can't, then maybe taking a semester off will be a good idea.

I'm planning to retake Physics II: E&M because I got a C+ first time, and I want the DO grade replacement. I'll be taking that, as well as another Physics course (it's apparently an 'easy' course). I'll also be working for about 3 credits (10-12 hours) in my lab (but no homework/exams).

I mean, that's about 10 credits right there. I don't think it would seem I'm taking a disruption from education. I'll also be trying to gain some clinical exposure/shadowing so I can add that to resume before I apply.

I definitely want to do the SN2 4 month plan (Jan-end of April), and take the MCAT whenever it's open in May, thereby allowing me to apply and get everything by June to med schools.

 

[gettheleadout]

Fine, I'll be that guy who references his ~32 and his 4 top 25 interviews 🙄

There are plenty of people in the 31-34 range that get into top 20s every year. It's not all about numbers.

You are not the typical applicant. Futhermore, advising others should not be grounded in exceptions or minority cases, but odds.

 

[gumdrops]

+1

If you have to explain to an ADCOM that you took an entire semester off to study for the MCAT when the majority of applicants will be doing it with a full-time job or a full-time course load, I have to imagine it will be looked down upon. Time management is crucial in medical school and pulling a 32 while enrolled full-time and keeping up with your ECs is more impressive than a 35 while doing nothing but studying for the MCAT, IMO.

I don't think that is true at all. Plenty of friends of mine who took the traditional route did nothing but study for a semester or reduce their course load to say, three english classes, and cut all research and volunteering. Those killer MCAT scores they pulled got them into Top 20 schools, EC's be damned.

Beast MCAT score >>>>> all.

 

[ChemEngMD]

I don't think that is true at all. Plenty of friends of mine who took the traditional route did nothing but study for a semester or reduce their course load to say, three english classes, and cut all research and volunteering. Those killer MCAT scores they pulled got them into Top 20 schools, EC's be damned.

Beast MCAT score >>>>> all.

Tell that to the ~125 applicants over 3 years who were above 3.8 and scored a 39 or better and received 0 acceptances.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/2012factstable24.pdf

All I'm saying is that numbers do not guarantee acceptances to medical school and that top schools often take other things into account (i.e. leadership experience). There are applicants each year with awesome scores who don't get accepted because they showed no leadership abilities.

Either way, OP says he doesn't care about where he gets into school as long as he gets in, so he can do what he wants. All I'm saying is that if he goes below full-time enrollment he will HAVE to explain it on some of his secondary essays.

 

[gettheleadout]

Tell that to the ~125 applicants over 3 years who were above 3.8 and scored a 39 or better and received 0 acceptances.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/2012factstable24.pdf

All I'm saying is that numbers do not guarantee acceptances to medical school and that top schools often take other things into account (i.e. leadership experience). There are applicants each year with awesome scores who don't get accepted because they showed no leadership abilities.

Either way, OP says he doesn't care about where he gets into school as long as he gets in, so he can do what he wants. All I'm saying is that if he goes below full-time enrollment he will HAVE to explain it on some of his secondary essays.

No one said otherwise?

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

I don't think that is true at all. Plenty of friends of mine who took the traditional route did nothing but study for a semester or reduce their course load to say, three english classes, and cut all research and volunteering. Those killer MCAT scores they pulled got them into Top 20 schools, EC's be damned.

Beast MCAT score >>>>> all.

There's a difference between taking a semester off and continuing to take 3 classes (ie be a full-time student). Furthermore, the EC gap probably wouldn't be noticeable since one can just neglect to clarify that there was a semester-long interruption in their ECs (and since AMCAS only just this year introduced a feature into the activities section that lets you split up your time in an EC into segments, an applicant in the past couldn't even be faulted for trying to hide it if they somehow got called out).

I also think that people overstate the importance of the MCAT and GPA. You can have a 4.0 and 45 but you won't get in anywhere if your ECs aren't up to snuff. In contrast, you can have a 3.4 and 29 and still get into some good schools if your ECs are amazing. I would go so far as to say that as long as your GPA is 3.6+ and your MCAT is 30+, everything else in your app is more important, even for top schools.

 

[558363]

When does the "disruption in education" essay come into play? If I'm a part-time student, would I still have to answer the question (like if I had 7-10 credits next semester). I know a lot of people study for their MCAT from May-August in the summer using the SN2 plan or some variant of it, but I effectively want to shift this plan over to next semester so I will be able to take the MCAT in April or May so I can apply early in June and try my luck in the application cycle.

DO and MD are both fine for me (FYI: my "projected" science GPA, if all goes well, is 3.6 [MD] and 3.77 [DO]). I know I'm on the lower end for MD schools, but hopefully with an MCAT of 30 or higher, I can have a chance for the DO schools if I apply early.


Basically many people study MCAT from May-August in the summer. I'm a senior already and want to be able to apply next year, so I'm basically wanting to move that summer schedule of May-August to Jan-April.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Tell that to the ~125 applicants over 3 years who were above 3.8 and scored a 39 or better and received 0 acceptances.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/2012factstable24.pdf

All I'm saying is that numbers do not guarantee acceptances to medical school and that top schools often take other things into account (i.e. leadership experience). There are applicants each year with awesome scores who don't get accepted because they showed no leadership abilities.

Either way, OP says he doesn't care about where he gets into school as long as he gets in, so he can do what he wants. All I'm saying is that if he goes below full-time enrollment he will HAVE to explain it on some of his secondary essays.

People who apply late, apply too top heavy, have no typical pre-med ECs (shadowing, volunteering), or very socially awkward.