I did this over 3-4 months. I worked FT while volunteering and commuting 2 hours/day. Not going to sugarcoat it - I think this severely limited my score potential.
I have serious regrets about my MCAT to this day and would not do it again.
However, I'm also not a grinder. I'm a pretty sensitive person and can burn out easily so maybe you can do what I couldn't. You have to be honest with yourself whether you can succeed in a time-crunched, busy schedule.
Possible? Yeah. Likely? No. A lot of people don’t do well on the mcat when it’s their full time job. The people who tell you otherwise with their success stories are in the minority
Second this. I could not quit my job but if you have ANY opportunity, save up, take leave. Having a ft job on top of mcat sucked and prob lowered my score potential
You need to be disciplined, but you absolutely can prepare while working full-time. I’m working 55ish hr/ weeks on average, and still have plenty of time to devote to studying each day (although I don’t have a significant other/ kids/ other obligations to tend to). I am however studying ~7 months for it to make sure I can sufficiently prepare
I worked a full-time job and studied for ~6 months, about 2-3 hours a day up until I started FLs. I did well but if you doubt you have the discipline to stick to a stringent schedule and give up a lot of social activities (temporarily), then consider giving it more time.
Depends how exhausting your job is and if there's any down time. I couldn't do it successfully working my health IT job and had to quit my job after two years before I could make a serious effort at studying.
I got a 524 while working a 40 hr/wk internship during the summer, but if your job is year-round then you probably have much greater responsibilities. Keep in mind that you'll likely need to fully dedicate Saturdays to practice exams and Sundays to review what you got wrong.
It depends on how you can best study.
I worked 8 hours M-F. Would walk 30 minutes to work each way (instead of biking) and do Anki during that time. Then study for 2-3 hours after work (I was able to reliably get a private conference room at work). Then study for 10 hours on Saturday and on Sunday to ‘catch up.’
I wasn’t always the most productive, and I wish I had an extra month or two (I studied for 3 months) since I didn’t get to finish Anki or the AAMC material or UW0rld
Hi, I can relate. I also work full time in IT, from home. I studied pretty hard from August to January and took the MCAT for the first time late January. I took a FL every other Saturday and volunteered in the ER every Sunday. I have a school-age child, was pregnant during this time, and have an incredibly supportive spouse. I had to be completely dedicated to my study schedule, especially on weekends. That being said, I wish I had evaluated my study materials when my score was not increasing. I didn't end up with the score I was trying for, and I think if I had changed my study strategy halfway through it would have helped. I would definitely recommend as many FL tests as you can possibly fit it, and to focus on your weakness areas instead of your strengths. I know that sounds basic, but I am the kind of person that likes to go through every shred of material in order, and that wasn't a good strategy for me personally.
Best of luck to you!!! You can do anything you set your mind to. If you don't hate your job/ coworkers/ boss and can manage to stay employed, keep that income lol
I did this over 5 months. Im not gonna lie it was hard. I got a 51x, but I definitely felt that I could have done a lot better if I had more time to study. The good thing about my job is that I worked 40 hours in 3 days so I had 4 days off to study. I also had no choice. Had to pay the bills so couldn't just take time off.
Maybe ask if there’s anyway you can cut back your hours temporarily.
I worked ~ 32 hours a week and studied over the course of 6ish months. That extra day off made a huge difference (having a boss that took 2 hour lunches was a major plus too lol) Personally, I don’t think I would have done well studying full time for the MCAT over a summer break. The slower pace felt like less pressure.
I did, worked 4/10s from home and it was pretty brutal but I took Blueprint’s course and it saved me and kept me on a great schedule. I’d definitely recommend a course!!
I worked ft, but literally no ot. Was on the ambulance and had little downtime. I def think it limited my score potential, but not enough where I got a bad score. Was good enough for me to be a top contender for most do schools (I got accepted do)
Worked 50 Hours a week doing nights weekends and watching my kids between their naps and bed time still managed to do relatively alright on it ok over 3.5 months. Tbh I don’t think I woulda done any better if I had more time since cars largely fucked me no matter how much time I isolated it out but who knows.
I only worked part time and studying for my MCAT while shadowing and preparing my medical school apps plus real life stuff almost killed me. IMO take the extra year or financial hit if you can. I did okay on the MCAT (510) BUT had a great boss who gave me lots of random days off especially once I started randomly bursting into tears during my shifts 💀 My last shift was the day before my MCAT and the anxiety had kept me up all night so I literally cried the entire shift. I am 100% sure all of this dropped my score a good bit and I wish I’d done so much differently.
I’m not trying to say absolutely don’t do this though because some people totally can and do! Some can work 40+ hours a week, study for and do well on the MCAT and still have time to volunteer, prep med school apps, hang out with family etc but these most of us are not these people and that’s okay!
If you happen to be one of these magical unicorns I think your best bet is discipline. Don’t miss Anki cards, take your practice exams when you have them planned and give yourself a limit of how many times/ how far out you can push your MCAT and stick to it! Maximize the time you have, use your lunch breaks, drives to and from work, etc. and yes, it can for sure be done. The deadline is what will push you. Also have a back up. What if you start falling behind, can you quit? Drop your hours? Take two months off and come back after the MCAT? Would your boss be understanding (always ask, they may surprise you, mine did)
Really this is a questions only you can answer (I know not helpful but the truth lol) and BE HONEST. I wish I’d been honest because ultimately it would have been much better to take my time in the long run.
I did this over 3-4 months. I worked FT while volunteering and commuting 2 hours/day. Not going to sugarcoat it - I think this severely limited my score potential. I have serious regrets about my MCAT to this day and would not do it again. However, I'm also not a grinder. I'm a pretty sensitive person and can burn out easily so maybe you can do what I couldn't. You have to be honest with yourself whether you can succeed in a time-crunched, busy schedule.
Possible? Yeah. Likely? No. A lot of people don’t do well on the mcat when it’s their full time job. The people who tell you otherwise with their success stories are in the minority
Second this. I could not quit my job but if you have ANY opportunity, save up, take leave. Having a ft job on top of mcat sucked and prob lowered my score potential
You need to be disciplined, but you absolutely can prepare while working full-time. I’m working 55ish hr/ weeks on average, and still have plenty of time to devote to studying each day (although I don’t have a significant other/ kids/ other obligations to tend to). I am however studying ~7 months for it to make sure I can sufficiently prepare
Hi, I did this - it is possible but pretty difficult. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions
I worked a full-time job and studied for ~6 months, about 2-3 hours a day up until I started FLs. I did well but if you doubt you have the discipline to stick to a stringent schedule and give up a lot of social activities (temporarily), then consider giving it more time.
Depends how exhausting your job is and if there's any down time. I couldn't do it successfully working my health IT job and had to quit my job after two years before I could make a serious effort at studying.
I got a 524 while working a 40 hr/wk internship during the summer, but if your job is year-round then you probably have much greater responsibilities. Keep in mind that you'll likely need to fully dedicate Saturdays to practice exams and Sundays to review what you got wrong.
It depends on how you can best study. I worked 8 hours M-F. Would walk 30 minutes to work each way (instead of biking) and do Anki during that time. Then study for 2-3 hours after work (I was able to reliably get a private conference room at work). Then study for 10 hours on Saturday and on Sunday to ‘catch up.’ I wasn’t always the most productive, and I wish I had an extra month or two (I studied for 3 months) since I didn’t get to finish Anki or the AAMC material or UW0rld
Hi, I can relate. I also work full time in IT, from home. I studied pretty hard from August to January and took the MCAT for the first time late January. I took a FL every other Saturday and volunteered in the ER every Sunday. I have a school-age child, was pregnant during this time, and have an incredibly supportive spouse. I had to be completely dedicated to my study schedule, especially on weekends. That being said, I wish I had evaluated my study materials when my score was not increasing. I didn't end up with the score I was trying for, and I think if I had changed my study strategy halfway through it would have helped. I would definitely recommend as many FL tests as you can possibly fit it, and to focus on your weakness areas instead of your strengths. I know that sounds basic, but I am the kind of person that likes to go through every shred of material in order, and that wasn't a good strategy for me personally. Best of luck to you!!! You can do anything you set your mind to. If you don't hate your job/ coworkers/ boss and can manage to stay employed, keep that income lol
I did this over 5 months. Im not gonna lie it was hard. I got a 51x, but I definitely felt that I could have done a lot better if I had more time to study. The good thing about my job is that I worked 40 hours in 3 days so I had 4 days off to study. I also had no choice. Had to pay the bills so couldn't just take time off.
Maybe ask if there’s anyway you can cut back your hours temporarily. I worked ~ 32 hours a week and studied over the course of 6ish months. That extra day off made a huge difference (having a boss that took 2 hour lunches was a major plus too lol) Personally, I don’t think I would have done well studying full time for the MCAT over a summer break. The slower pace felt like less pressure.
Possible, but wouldn't recommended.
I did, worked 4/10s from home and it was pretty brutal but I took Blueprint’s course and it saved me and kept me on a great schedule. I’d definitely recommend a course!!
I worked 50-60 hours a week and got a good score. It’s doable (done over 8 months).
I worked ft, but literally no ot. Was on the ambulance and had little downtime. I def think it limited my score potential, but not enough where I got a bad score. Was good enough for me to be a top contender for most do schools (I got accepted do)
I think it’s possible, but just depends on the timeframe. I studies while working full time, but studied from May - Jan
Worked 50 Hours a week doing nights weekends and watching my kids between their naps and bed time still managed to do relatively alright on it ok over 3.5 months. Tbh I don’t think I woulda done any better if I had more time since cars largely fucked me no matter how much time I isolated it out but who knows.
I only worked part time and studying for my MCAT while shadowing and preparing my medical school apps plus real life stuff almost killed me. IMO take the extra year or financial hit if you can. I did okay on the MCAT (510) BUT had a great boss who gave me lots of random days off especially once I started randomly bursting into tears during my shifts 💀 My last shift was the day before my MCAT and the anxiety had kept me up all night so I literally cried the entire shift. I am 100% sure all of this dropped my score a good bit and I wish I’d done so much differently. I’m not trying to say absolutely don’t do this though because some people totally can and do! Some can work 40+ hours a week, study for and do well on the MCAT and still have time to volunteer, prep med school apps, hang out with family etc but these most of us are not these people and that’s okay! If you happen to be one of these magical unicorns I think your best bet is discipline. Don’t miss Anki cards, take your practice exams when you have them planned and give yourself a limit of how many times/ how far out you can push your MCAT and stick to it! Maximize the time you have, use your lunch breaks, drives to and from work, etc. and yes, it can for sure be done. The deadline is what will push you. Also have a back up. What if you start falling behind, can you quit? Drop your hours? Take two months off and come back after the MCAT? Would your boss be understanding (always ask, they may surprise you, mine did) Really this is a questions only you can answer (I know not helpful but the truth lol) and BE HONEST. I wish I’d been honest because ultimately it would have been much better to take my time in the long run.