should I do a research presentation or write the MCATs this summer?

[Addy K]

Once again I have come to the forums in aid of some opinions. So I decided that this summer I was going to tryout the Organic Chemistry and MCAT combo (as so many others have discussed about), however after my job at the hospital (I do research at Toronto Rehab) my supervisor informed me that she was pregnant (I couldn't be happier for her), but than she also told me that she wanted me (by myself) to present our research project at this conference: http://www.ficcdat.ca/TheFestival/Default.aspx?lang=en-US

This is because her delivery will be around that time. I was excited that she had given me such an opportunity. We had submitted abstracts and posters to other conferences, however she did all the presenting (I was second author). I am only in second year, so presenting in front of a scientific community full of graduates, post-grads and scientists is kind of intimating, however I would like to do it. But I told her I would get back to her since I don't think I could manage a MCAT prep course, organic chemistry and a presentation all at once (and I'll still be doing the research). So I have come here to ask, for those of you who have had experiences presenting at conferences, how much work do you have to put into it? Right now our results are still kind of preliminary, and I am no expert in the field (although I have read tonnes and tonnes of articles on our topic and presented the project in front of staff at the hospital). Today they emphasized that my presentation would have to be flawless.

What would you do? Would you put off organic chemistry or the MCAT? I think I could still manage one in conjunction with the presentation, but not both. Or would you do both organic chemistry and MCAT, and forget about the presentation. Thanks guys - any input is much appreciated.

[DeeDoc]

Freaking definitely do the presentation. ARE YOU KIDDING? DEFINITELY FOR SURE DO IT!!! It will be the best thing you ever do! You will learn so much, and it will be something you can talk about at your med interview for sure. Having to overcome a bunch of fears and just sucking it up and how you just gave'er your all. Im sure you can squeeze some time in there for orgochem and MCAT studying. The presentation itself won't be time consuming, it's the time leading up to it that will be stressful. If you think you can do it, by all means. GO FOR IT!

[The Law]

Do the presentation! What an incredible opportunity, especially for a 2nd year undegraduate student. Are you planning on applying to med school in your 3rd year? If you aren't, then you could just do the MCAT after 3rd year. You could possibly handle both, as long as you were very dedicated! I definitely would not let this opportunity slip by.

[Addy K]

Well I'm in no rush, but I was thinking about applying next year to get that 'experience' in terms of writing applications and going through the whole process. But I wasn't realistically thinking about getting in anywhere since first year was bad (not like awful, but bad in terms of med school). And also, I would like to know my MCAT scores before applying, although I heard now that your scores get released fairly quickly since its CBT. I might just put off the MCAT, but have either of you guys, or anyone for that matter, done a presentation at a conference by themselves? How was the experience? How was the preparation in terms of workload?

[007]

Do the presentation.
As for the MCAT and organic chem, I'd do the orgo first since it will help with the MCAT preparation and now the MCAT is offerred many times per year instead of just twice so you have more flexibility in deciding when to write it and can write it multiple times per year.

If you've been involved in the research all along, and have a good grasp on what was done, it shouldn't be much preparation at all. I had done the literature search for a paper, then carried out a study and wrote a paper so when it came time to prepare a presentation, it only took me a few hours to put it together and then a few more hours to revise it after my supervisor's input. Considering you've been fairly involved and have presented the info before, I wouldn't expect that it would be an all-consuming affair or anything even close. That being said, I understand how having to still do research and then continually revise your paper/presentation as a result can take up some time.

Also, something to consider is that the conference is mid-June, so even if you did want to write the MCAT in August, you would still have quite a bit of time to prepare.

Best of luck.