What excuse to bring, If I want to temporarly stop my research due to MCAT

[hardworker101]

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Hi
I started at a research lab and I really want to put all my time into MCAT this summer. I am afraid my supervisor might think that I am not a hard orking student and kicks me out of lab if I bring it up.

What excuse is good to bring aside just MCAT, that prevent his anger.
I plan to return to lab after MCAT. Honetly how much can I get done by doing 7 hr /week, I rather not go at all. More hours, I will ruin my MCAT.
Thanks

 

[DoctorPardi]

Hi
I started at a research lab and I really want to put all my time into MCAT this summer. I am afraid my supervisor might think that I am not a hard orking student and kicks me out of lab if I bring it up.

What excuse is good to bring aside just MCAT, that prevent his anger.
I plan to return to lab after MCAT. Honetly how much can I get done by doing 7 hr /week, I rather not go at all. More hours, I will ruin my MCAT.
Thanks

I don't know how much you actually plan on studying but unless you are planning on studying like 6 hours a day then you should be able to do some research. As long as you aren't working full time or doing something that will either leave you exhausted or just take up too many hours you should be fine. Plus if all you had to do all day was study for the mcat you might burn out easier.

 

[cdngirl80]

I would just explain to him why you need to take the time off. I'm sure he won't get angry unless he's very anti-medicine. I took 5 weeks off during my master's degree to study for the mcat and my supervisor was fine and he's totally anti-medicine and can't understand why anyone would want to be a physician. So if he can give me time off I'm sure your supervisor will give you time off. Plus most supervisors are pretty understanding when it comes to following your dreams. And you're also right....if you're only putting in 7hrs/week you really can't get much research done.

 

[DrHuang]

just tell them the truth...its not like theyre paying you! but i agree with the last post, you can do research and study the mcat at the same time.

 

[austinap]

Hi
I started at a research lab and I really want to put all my time into MCAT this summer. I am afraid my supervisor might think that I am not a hard orking student and kicks me out of lab if I bring it up.

What excuse is good to bring aside just MCAT, that prevent his anger.
I plan to return to lab after MCAT. Honetly how much can I get done by doing 7 hr /week, I rather not go at all. More hours, I will ruin my MCAT.
Thanks

Please tell me that you're not thinking about studying for the MCAT 40 hrs a week until August! I'm a proponent of being prepared, but there's a limit! Anyawys, I'd suggest maybe just asking for a slightly lighter load, and tell him exactly what it's for. Even people that didn't go to med-school often realize how beastly the test is.

But really, think about it: there are 168 hours a week. If you sleep 8 hrs a night, that's still 112 hours. If you work 40 hrs a week on top of that, that's still 72 unaccounted hours. If you spend even 10 of these a week studying, you'll be golden.

 

[jace's mom]

If possible, I would suggest you try to do both. My research professor (for a blessedly short time...leaving his lab was one of the best things I ever did for myself) was adament that school/studying not interfere with the lab. He was constantly reminding me that I was expected to make A's in all classes...that it was a given, and that it had better not take me away from my research. He might be extreme, but in that case so were all his colleagues. Like the other posters have said, take a few hours each week to do research. Your brain will probably enjoy the change!

 

[JHUNBC]

I agree with the previous posters. 7 hours/week isn't very much time to detract from your MCAT preparation. Unless you plan on spending 17+ hours studying per day. In which case, I think research isn't your biggest problem.

 

[hardworker101]

thanks all for the feedback.
I am an international student and in my country admission tests are said to be the most important in your life. A friend of mine looked himself all for one year for his exam overseas, and I am planning on doing it for 3 months only.

recently I am reallizing any time outside mcat is a waste. until it's over.
I just want to see what I should tell him to take 3months off.
thanks

Hi
I started at a research lab and I really want to put all my time into MCAT this summer. I am afraid my supervisor might think that I am not a hard orking student and kicks me out of lab if I bring it up.

What excuse is good to bring aside just MCAT, that prevent his anger.
I plan to return to lab after MCAT. Honetly how much can I get done by doing 7 hr /week, I rather not go at all. More hours, I will ruin my MCAT.
Thanks

 

[SLPI]

Disagree, would like to put out there that research looks good on an application but not as good as a 3-5 point bump in your MCAT score. so research if you got the time but crushing the MCAT should be your main priority. 🙂

 

[Rafa]

Disagree, would like to put out there that research looks good on an application but not as good as a 3-5 point bump in your MCAT score. so research if you got the time but crushing the MCAT should be your main priority. 🙂

👍

Unless it's hellainteresting research, I'd skip the drama that entails doing something unnecessary during your time off (summer) and spend it doing something that's almost guaranteed to pay off - studying for ze MCAT.

 

[Apparition]

Just tell the truth, tell him that you are very interested in the research but you've forgotten a lot of material and need a lot of study time. MCAT is very important. You want to know in August that you gave it your all.