NSERC USRA + MCAT in summer = doable?

[naspec]

I pulled off a summer of full-time research along with a (unrelated) correspondence course, but the course ended about a month before the MCAT. I did pretty well. It's definitely possible, but during the week, every waking hour that wasn't spent eating, showering, or going to and from work was spent studying. I was able to spend time with friends on weekends, but as soon as the conversation started getting silly or pointless, out came the MCAT books.

[copacetic]

its doable yeah. alot of people do it. but it also depends on the lab. the work i was doing was not wet lab stuff so i had flexibility...though i procrastinated anyways and didnt get to real studying till 3 weeks before the exam. I pretty much told my PI 'see you in 3 weeks' but he was cool with it cause he was an MD and not a PHD and got that the MCAT was kinda important. I always advise people to do research with MDs if possible and not their school profs. MDs tend to have a positive attitude towards you wanting to get into med school and are more supportive.

[NewfieMike]

I did it.

NSERC 9-5. Princeton course 6-9. Didn't study the books at all from May-August. Stopped working in the lab on August 11th, spent 14 days in isolation preparing, wrote on August 26th.

[SolitaireAddikt]

Originally Posted by Leon

I have to decide whether this is feasible. I don't like the idea of spending 4 months on nothing but the MCAT. But I don't want to kill myself with overwork.

Has anyone tried this or know anyone that did?

I did something similar to what you're describing. 12 week research program, 9-5. Commuted 3 hours each day. Worked 10 hours on Sundays (cut this down to 5 about half way through the summer). Self-studied for the MCAT (EK + Berkeley Review). In August (the month I had off) I went on a vacation for a week, but I managed to cover MCAT physics while I was away. Last 2-2.5 weeks before the MCAT I went into lock down. Came out with 33S

The only thing I'm disappointed about is my verbal score (10)- I don't think this score had anything to do with my study plan (I was constantly on the cusp of 10/11 in my practice tests leading up to it, so I knew it would swing either way). However, I do think I could have done a little bit better overall. If I were to do it all again, I would have stuck to my 9-5, dropped the weekend shifts entirely, and I would have been more efficient with my studying (I had only gotten through 1/3 of the material by August, and I could have studied on the Go Train home). I really do not regret working though- I had an amazing time, got to
meet new people and kept myself sane...

I just wanted to add that depending on what techniques you use for your summer project, you may have a lot of downtime. I used to use downtime to work on chemistry. Also, if you have to commute, you can use that time as well to study (unfortunately I didn't realise this until the end of the summer- I have motion sickness and so I thought this wouldn't be possible).

[Leon]

Awesome. Thanks everyone. I'm going to talk to the supervisor before deciding but I'll probably do it.

[thatonekid]

Tsk tsk Leon. I thought you of all people whould have used the search function on here for this question.



Anyway, it's totally doable. I did it, plus took an MCAT class and did fine on the actual exam. Like Newf, I took time off before the exam though. For 2 weeks I left my project and focused only on the MCAT. You need to make sure your supervisor is cool with you doing that though.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by thatonekid

Tsk tsk Leon. I thought you of all people whould have used the search function on here for this question.



Anyway, it's totally doable. I did it, plus took an MCAT class and did fine on the actual exam. Like Newf, I took time off before the exam though. For 2 weeks I left my project and focused only on the MCAT. You need to make sure your supervisor is cool with you doing that though.

lol! I did search but we've got a lot of new members and I anticipated new input.

[Singh]

I did NSERC USRA and MCAT this past summer. I started working in a biological chemistry lab in late April (immediately following exams). I studied for about 2 weeks at night, and then wrote my MCAT Mid-Late May. It's definitely doable, but I'd recommend writing the MCAT in late August/ early September (unlike my plan). I managed to score 39 S (on a wing and a prayer), but it was pretty damn stressful.

[emma3]

Last summer I did nserc and my mcat and i found it was fine. i did well on my mcat and i published a paper! the only problem was around november of last semester i started to feel pretty burnt out from no break..

[thursdays_child]

I completed an NSERC USRA at a university in Ontario as part of an exchange (I'm completing a degree in Atlantic Canada), and I wrote the MCAT that summer. I enjoyed working and did not take a course- I simply studied myself and did practice tests, mostly in the month before I wrote, in early August. I did moderately well on the MCAT, and also got to enjoy another city and lab group. It's definitely doable. However, I'm a chemistry honours student, which meant that I didn't study for gen chem, and my organic studying time was limited.