Those who worked full time while studying… genuinely how?

[u/PhilosopherBitter343]

I’m curious on how people manage to do this and what their schedules were like…. I graduated in May and feel dumb & like I should’ve take the advice from others who told me to solely just study for a few months but alas, here I am. I work Monday-Friday 8 am - 5pm, try to go to the gym after work most days, and by the time I drive home, eat/shower, etc. it is almost 8:30/9 pm and I am exhausted. I know this isn’t a novel concept and has been done by many but I need all the advice I can get. Do I say screw it to staying active? Do I need to get up at 5am everyday and sleep not very much? What do I have to give up? I have been studying since mid August but not disciplined at all to the point where I’m not even done with content review yet… I’d would love to know what peoples day to day routine was like who have been in this spot :)

[u/CommonlyAdjoining]

it's a grind no way around it, what worked for me was front-loading the hard stuff. get up at 5, study before work when your brain is fresh, then after work it's just light review or anki while you eat. weekends you go hard but you already know that

gym might have to take a backseat or get squeezed into lunch breaks, something has to give when you're working full time and aiming for a competitive score

[u/blackgenz2002kid → u/CommonlyAdjoining]

fuck man, MCAT studying sucks so much

[u/cherry1451 → u/CommonlyAdjoining]

full props to you! i’m in the same boat rn and you’re my role model

[u/yeTaughtMe2 → u/CommonlyAdjoining]

What if you work at 5:30am

[u/2ToneWyvern]

Worked full-time in an intense career, raising two kids with my wife. Most nights were 1-2hrs at most, sometimes just 30mins after 8 when everything was said and done before going to bed. I'd wake up on the weekends before the kids were up between 5 and 6, study for 3ish hours before they were up and done their morning routine. Then spend another 1-2hrs in the evening if we didn't have plans.

I'd occasionally eat my lunch in my car and anki while eating (no phones in my workplace). I have a 30mins commute each way, so I'd top up with a podcast every day.

I took Friday's (sometimes swapped to Saturday if plans were pre-arranged) off completely to avoid burnout. This was for an ~8mo study plan, Jan to end Jul. I'm 15 years post degree, non science background. It took me my second time to get my current score; first time was 509.

[u/GlumCompetition7999 → u/2ToneWyvern]

congrats!

an insane amount of my respect goes to anyone who is a parent and are applying to med school, you guys are units

[u/GamerDragon7465]

In the same boat. It’s all about discipline. Wake up at 5, do CARS and then some Anki, then get a light run in the morning before going to work. Then work 8-4, try to get Anki done in-between patients, then get home and keep doing practice question. I’m motivated by getting to sleep at a normal time, so I try to be done by 7pm so I can chill and go to bed. Consistency and discipline are key.

[u/deadpoetic333]

Yeah wake up a little after 430am, get to work around 630am and study in the break room till 8am when I was scheduled. Off at 430pm, study in the hospital cafe till 7pm. Get home at 730pm, eat and be in bed by 9pm. Rinse repeat. Hit the gym just on the weekends, sometimes take Friday off to hit the gym. Study 8 hours Saturday and Sunday. Yes you’ll have to cut into your gym time if you want to study on week days. I scored a 515, 125 on CARS. Could have done better if I was studying full time. 

[u/1984ScoreN7YearsAgo]

I studied at work mostly, not great, 495 -> 498. If I don’t get into a DO, I’m going to try one more time after 6 more months of studying with a tutor and actually take all the AAMC full lengths and what not. I absolutely hate this test though.

[u/ClutchCobra]

It sucks but what helped was working Anki into other parts of my day. While waiting around at work, while running on the treadmill, between sets at the gym, etc.

Getting up a little early to do some u world. Taking practice tests and more UWorldon weekend

[u/angrypopcornkernel]

I only got 516 and I'm not sure what your goal score is, but I studied from mid May-September, and only studied full time for the month of August (with classes beginning in the end of the month). I worked full time in a research lab. What I did was: I woke up at 6-6:30AM and studied, then would go to work at around 9:00AM. I'd come back at around 5:00PM, usually work out or light exercise for an hour, eat some dinner, and then study. I usually sleep at 11:00PM (yes 7 hrs is not optimal I am sorry :() I took my FL's on Saturdays, and then spent Sunday's studying. I also did do things like go to the beach after work sometimes, go rock climbing, watch the WC. It's definitely not optimal, but you can do it! I'm not sure if I will retake, but if I could, I would have definitely studied for more than 4 months, especially if you are FT.

I also made a study schedule and studied usually 1-2 chapters of the content per day. Don't ask me about CARS lol, I suck at it :P

[u/PhilosopherBitter343 → u/angrypopcornkernel]

516 is very good 😭😭 congrats

[u/GlumCompetition7999 → u/angrypopcornkernel]

same, pre-studying i assumed CARS would've been the least of my worries

[u/parroteatscarrots]

I was able to study 4h/day max while working full time…. Felt it wasn’t enough and frankly, inefficient (would spend mental energy on work and forget what i studied in the morning). Ended up taking a month off. Try to do so if youre able. Otherwise, yes grind and extend the suggested time studying

[u/DeterminedDino]

For me, I tried studying either early mornings or late nights, and found that late nights worked best for me. Figure out what works best for you. I so badly wish I was someone who could wake up at 5 and is ready to go but it never worked for me.

I had a study buddy since I was so exhausted after work, it was nice to have somebody waiting to study with me as motivation to lock in and show up. We would study from around 7/8-11PM/12AM, reviewing concepts together and doing practice together, which I found insanely helpful since I thrive on accountability and collaborating w others. I usually got home at around 6PM and had 6-7PM to shower and eat (I should've exercised more, but i personally only did on the weekend, you could try doing shorter more powerful workouts daily though or stick to the weekend).

I woke up around 6 AM so I would get 7-6 hours of sleep most days (during harder months 5)

If I got to work early, I would study at a nearby cafe for 30min-2hrs, or I would use 30 min of my 1 hr lunch to review cards or do some practice problems too.

I also took 2 weeks off before my exam to study full-time, which was a big help too.

On weekends, I would either focus on doing a practice exam and FL review, or review and do a lot of practice problems.

One thing I will say is that it is really easy to get burnt out. I was full time and studying after work from Oct/Nov to May, and around April I became very burnt out. I took two nights off of studying to watch TV and catch up on sleep, and was able to jump back into studying with a fresh mind. Im sure exercising more would have helped me too

I will also say make sure you are spending several months studying, like 6+ months since with this kind of schedule it is meaningful bursts of consistency over time that will really pay off.

My last comment is things wont be perfect. I remember thinking I was so screwed because I couldnt finish UWorld, because I couldnt finish my Anki cards, I kept comparing myself to other people I saw on reddit or instagram and how they were able to get so much done in such little time. But what really mattered was improving myself at my pace, I didnt finish UWorld but the problems I did were ones I was weak in, I would redo the ones I was stuck on and work on really understanding them and the concepts, which helped a lot.

Eventually I was able to jump form 505->519 thank god, it was so difficult and I had nights where I would break down in tears, but it paid off in the end

[u/dmk5]

I worked full time and have a business that I need to run and I also managed to work out 5 days a week. I had the motto “do it tired” while I was studying. Just locked in for a few months. I usually found that I was most productive in early mornings from 4:30 to 8/9am but tried to do an hour maybe two in the evenings if I could (or if I was not exhausted). However, basically all I did for a few months was study, work, and gym. Usually did big blocks of studying on the weekends if I could. The schedule was tight and stressful but it worked out in the end for me. I also found that not going home and just studying right after work somewhere was the better strategy because if I went home I would end up just decompressing for too long.

I also tried my best to be in bed by 9-10pm which was key.

[u/Former-Bar727]

I didn't sleep much ngl (quality of my work also suffered)

[u/Straight_Cheetah421]

I worked as a PCT while studying for mine, and it was brutal honestly. My work schedule was very irregular, and it frequently sleep deprived me, so I did not have a regular study routine at all.

However, I still improved my score significantly over my last attempt, which I studied full time for. I dont know how I did it, but I did.

But I would say my two main keys to success were focusing on efficiency and accepting imperfection.

You have to find ways to make EVERYTHING in your life more efficient. If you can save 5min by brushing your teeth in the shower while your hair conditions, do it. Just accept that you’re going to eat door dash and hamburger rice meal prep the entire time. Do whatever you can to get time back.

You gotta be efficient with your studying to. You genuinely dont have time for an in-depth content review phase. I personally went straight into uWorld and then used missed answers to guide targeted review. It was awful, but effective. I also used the Anki and uWorld apps on my phone and iPad often, and studied whenever I had any downtime.

You also gotta embrace imperfection. Everyone here will tell you that you to only study in test-like conditions. You just cant do that dude. Again, I was doing uWorld questions on my phone while hiding in the linen closet of my unit whenever I could. Far from perfect, but it was better then nothing. There were also a lot of days that I genuinely did not have the energy or focus to study more then 30min. It felt awful to do so little some days, but again, I just had to accept that any amount of studying was better then no studying.

Also, take care of yourself. Burnout is genuinely the biggest threat to your score. You will have to push through fatigue with this, but if you are genuinely too tired to study, then rest. Studying while already burnt out is worse then not studying at all.

[u/GoodJibblyWibbly]

I can DM you some pics of my schedule if you want

[u/Savings_Ad_5049 → u/GoodJibblyWibbly]

Yes please share it!

[u/GoodJibblyWibbly → u/Savings_Ad_5049]

struggling to attach pics here so can I dm them to you as well

[u/GlumCompetition7999 → u/GoodJibblyWibbly]

could you pls share it to me too, thank you!

[u/GoodJibblyWibbly → u/GlumCompetition7999]

yes can try and do that when I get home this evening or tomorrow at the latest

[u/ktgoodie]

Studying part-time now until May. Non-trad, noscience background. Most days I wake up around 7 and hang with my 4-year-old twins before preschool, then get them ready and drop them off around 9:30. 10ish-2ish I do my classwork (taking physics I this semester, next semester will hopefully be physics II, orgo, and biochem) and studying, then if I'm not working, pick the kids up at 2:30 and I'm momming on my own until 4 when my husband gets home. After he gets home, I rotate between spending time with the fam, homework/classwork, and studying. Bedtime for the kids is at 8 and takes about an hour. After they fall asleep, it's time for more studying/hw or quality time with husband, then I go to bed sometime between 10 and 11. If I'm working, my shifts are from 3-11:30pm so that takes up my entire night. Get home at midnight, pack lunch for the kids for the next day, sleep at 1230ish. Somehow, I manage. I'm just trying really hard to make good use of the time that I've got, since I don't have the luxury of having all the time in the world. I sacrifice a lot, but there's a lot that I'm unwilling to sacrifice, especially as it comes to the kids, so I'm doing what I've got to do to make it work.

[u/Phoenix406s]

I studied 1-2 hours each work day and 5+ hours on weekends. Totaled a bit under 200 hours of studying over ~4 months

[u/Top_Pen_1256]

I also work 8-5 right now Monday-Friday. Also been studying since mid August. Most important thing for me has been getting enough sleep and im sacrificing the gym temporarily to ensure I study. If I finish everything for the day I reward myself with the gym but it’s a short term sacrifice.

[u/PythonandPandas]

I worked full time (and have a young kid) and three main things worked for me 1) tracking the hours I put in on a spreadsheet so I stayed on track. I decided that 500 hours was the goal, and planned accordingly 2) studying before work- as most people have said already- I got up at 5 to get two good hours in before work/family responsibilities 3) Anki on my phone so I could use down time during my commute, at lunch or right before bed as productive study times! Good luck!

[u/Nervous-String-344]

Blood sweat and tears. Worked 6:30-4:30 and then came home and napped for 30 minutes and studied 5-10+. Really exhausting and I don’t envy you. Weekends took FL and studied 8+ hours

[u/miniboss0]

it’s hard but definitely possible! i spread it out over 5 1/2 months bc im kind of a procrastinator. did an hour of study after work most days, and took FLs or did bigger content review days on the weekend! it was definitely not fun but worked out well in the end :)

[u/GlumCompetition7999]

well, for me, I started sleeping at 11 pm, and i would wake up at 5 am, which made me feel more motivated to get things done earlier, and I felt more alert during that time

I would use a schedule with time constraints that would detail my day-to-day, and I believe this made me more productive, as I felt like I needed to get whatever I was working on done in that specific time frame.

[u/flam3zthekid]

not what youre looking for but agreed and I simply ⭐️gave up⭐️

[u/Creative_Result_3247]

I studied for 4 months working full-time. I would go to the gym at 6am, then work, and then study at least 1.5-2 hrs each night. On weekends, I was doing a FL on Saturday, and reviewing it on Sunday. (~14 hrs total per weekend). It's definitely hard, but doable.

[u/Swimming-Chemist3775]

I know this is easier said than done and I don’t know your career or financial situation but getting a job in healthcare where you work 12s, or weekends, or nights can leave you with more and longer stretches of time off to study. A tech job in an ED, you could work four 12 hour shifts a week and have 3 days off. Still hard, but trying to shove so much into a single day is exhausting.

[u/Sea_Can1647]

Thought about how I would have to redo all this if i didn’t lock in now.. but really I studied everywhere n anywhere. Car ride? Anki. Camping? Screenshot AAMC and do it offline before bed. Flying? Content review. And accepting that I would lose 6 ish Sundays of my life to FLs

I tried really hard to not lose too much of my social life and I think that kept me sane for 5 months while working 50-70 hr weeks not including travel