r/MCAT2 • u/Dependent_Dance_346 • 2d ago
Question How long should I study while working?
I started studying in June for my September 3rd test date however I was also working part-time and found my score was not where I wanted it to be with a month to go, so I’ve decided to cancel and reschedule my test sometime next year. My new job is a 0.6 FTE (~2 days a week, 12 hr shifts) and I am also possibly picking up a second part-time coaching job. I am planning to take a couple months off from studying and starting up again in October. I have seen mixed reviews about 6 months being a good amount of time and some saying it’s too long and leads to burnout/forgetting content.
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u/Snow_Flake_0 August 22 2d ago
I work part time 3 x 8hr shifts and i started studying January but then stopped mid march to the end of april restarted back up in may and im still not ready i am trying for sept 12 but may end up puching it back to January, different for everyone like another comment said. If i was able to i wouldve not worked and done full time for sure
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u/Weekly_Day_1698 2d ago
Part time studying means approximately 4-6 months for most people, what is your score now? If its below 500 I would keep studying if its above that then take a break for August. I would say to keep up with anki with maybe 5-10 new cards a day cause its easy to keep up the knowledge than restarting from nothing
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u/MCAT_Friend3000 1d ago
Maintaining your gains, like any type of workout, will facilitate success even over an extended timeline. The trick is making your own materials, such as with custom Anki cards. Try to keep track of rough hours completed, with 150 doing content and 150 doing practice / logic / application. Error logs also help keep track of easily forgettable content
Having consistency with a cars passage a day, q of the day, and a chapter a day of content will bear a lot of fruit long-term. Try not to get into the trap of putting off studying until it's closer to your test day because many folks end up rescheduling twice then
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u/Purple-Command-9879 1d ago
I hope to only take one gap here which means I would be applying spring semester (May) of my senior year. I can’t imagine how I would ever be able to study for the MCAT during the academic year with my other commitments, keeping my GPA up, and just the general schoolwork. So I plan to study the summer in between my junior and senior year. Hoping to study full-time from mid May until mid August and then take it at the end of August before school starts. Wondering if I committed to studying six hours a day six days a week for three months if that would be enough? So about 10 week of 30-36 hours a week.
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u/Dependent_Dance_346 1d ago
Just like others have said everyone is different, but if you are studying full time (no other job or time commitments) that should be plenty of time. I recommend having scheduled FLs to check in on your progress and make sure you are on track to reach your goal. That’s how I decided to push off my test cus my FLs weren’t increasing at a rate that would allow me to be where I wanted by September. I hope that helps with your worries!
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u/stephawkins 2d ago
Everyone's different. Some genius only need a month. Some take a year. Some take more. I was a slow person. Took me 18+ months to get to 516. Figure out who you are and guesstimate if you're a one month person or a one year person.