Teaching MCAT Prep as a medical student

[CheerBear11]

What do you all think -- is it doable if you only teach like two subjects for example, for one class??

I look forward to your thoughts

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[mudphudwannabe]

I think it could be doable -- are you talking about teaching for Kaplan, or somewhere else? I was going to do this before I started med school 2 years ago, but after going through the first training session for Kaplan, I really didn't agree with their teaching philosophy or the insane cost of their course. The curriculum is very regimented -- for example, you actually have to read lessons out of a book and you are not supposed to answer any questions that don't pertain directly to the test, which I really had a problem with (after all, these people are going to be doctors someday..if they have basic questions about biology, etc, I would like to be able to answer them). If your med school offers its own MCAT prep class, that might be a bit better..I'm not sure. I also felt like I wouldn't actually be helping the students that much -- it seems like people who can afford to take the class (I couldn't) would probably be sufficiently prepared that they'd do well anyway. No offense to anyone who teaches Kaplan -- this was just my experience, and I really wanted to do it mostly for the teaching experience rather than for the money.

As far as the time commitment, it would be a bit rough, but if you are efficient with your study time it could be doable. I can't recall if they had a specific requirement for how many classes per week -- I think it was something like 2 evenings a week or an evening and a weekend day. I got the feeling it wouldn't be very flexible as far as getting time off if you had an exam coming up, but again, I'm not sure about that since it was so long ago now.

In my opinion, free time is precious during med school, so I wouldn't recommend doing something like this just for the money. Live frugally and you won't go broke on loans. If you're interested in teaching, though, it might be a good experience. Just make sure you know what you're getting into.

 

[SomeDoc]

What do you all think -- is it doable if you only teach like two subjects for example, for one class??

I look forward to your thoughts

I taught for Kaplan before starting med school, and will not do it again. I can only speak on behalf of Kaplan (not sure about Princeton Review's material), but the teachers edition (PS,BS)has extremely poor examples for problems, and I kept finding errors (calculations/facts/wrong answer choices marked as correct) that I had to contact admin to fix for their later editions. Also, they'll pay you around 17/hr and about 10/hr for prep time, but its not worth it if its only for a few hours a week to teach anxious/borderline scary pre-med students (although there were some nice ones who I enjoyed teaching for, but they were the minority). Also, the teacher training was a waste of time, but its more of a required formality- probably for legal reasons.

RE teaching for two subjects*, personally I advise against it unless you really want to do it: I think it would be a good idea to do one subject first just to get your feet wet and to see if it's something you like doing. Eight/twelve in-class hours/week for two subjects doesn't sound like a lot, but note that that doesn't include spending time prepping for those classes.

Post edit: *subject=section.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I did this until I figured out that there is way more money in finding a rich premed to tutor.

 

[gatrandy]

I currently teach for the Princeton Review (I am an undergraduate mind you), but instructors create their own lesson plans. I know several Medical Students/Residents that are Master Trainers (train the instructors) and they get very well paid for their time. We have a syllabus, but otherwise I have the freedom to entertain my class as I wish – it is a great arrangement. It is a very casual company (too casual at times) - but PR is always looking for instructors.

PS I work maybe 6 hours a week. 18/hr (I live in a small market area)



-Andy

 

[Ladyfingers]

I taught for Princeton Review while I was getting my masters and I thought it was all right. I was thinking of doing it again as well. The biggest negative for me was the sometimes fanatical students who asked off the wall questions all the time ( as mentioned above ) and the fact that we go for 2 1/2 hours. I was paid something like $22/hour to teach just biology. You have a fairly structured class in the sense of what you need to teach but you could do it pretty much however you want it.

 

[SomeDoc]

...The biggest negative for me was the sometimes fanatical students who asked off the wall questions all the time...

We were warned in advance about this category of students during teacher training...

There were other teachers who taught for other graduate-level standardized tests who also taught MCAT VR; I learned from them that their student bodies were very different- much more laid back, less high strung.