We've come across a lot of MCAT test takers who struggle to know for sure if they can achieve a competitive MCAT score while maintaining a part time or full time job during their MCAT prep...
Some people quit their jobs and don't want to risk it. Others don't have a choice and have to keep their jobs.
In this MCAT success case study article, you'll hear from a top scorer who not only worked for an average of 30 hours a week during her MCAT prep, but also managed to increase her MCAT score by 12 points...
All in the same amount of prep time that it generally takes the average student studying full time for the MCAT!
With that, we'd like to introduce you to Morgan Saiko, a 511 scorer...
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Later in this article Morgan shares her biggest piece of MCAT prep advice for you and other members of the MCAT Mastery Community who want to score over a 510...
But first, we asked her to share a little bit about her journey, her biggest challenges, and how she overcame them:
"My biggest struggle during my time studying was that I worked in a hospital during the summer of taking the MCAT. Which meant that I would work 10-12 hour shifts. I would take my study materials with me to work but sometimes we were so busy I never got to open a book.
Then when I would get home, I would be so tired there was no way I could study!
I overcame this issue by creating a schedule for myself. I went day-by-day and scheduled around my shifts so that I would be able to get through all my materials and practice MCATs prior to taking the real thing.
On days that I worked, I would not study at all or I would assign a chapter from a book that was shorter or I believed I would remember well from my undergraduate studies. When it came to practice MCAT time, I would just count work days as off days.
This made me more relaxed knowing I was on track with my schedule and didn't have to stress about not getting through a lot of material at work. It also made my job much more enjoyable!"
Everyone's situation is different, but this truth remains the same...
When it's time to prepare for the MCAT, the MCAT gets priority over everything else.
Top scorers realize this and don't try to fit MCAT prep into their life, instead they fit their life into MCAT prep.
They make whatever changes necessary in their life to make sure they invest enough time into their MCAT prep, which means learning strategies to maximize their studying time, their efficiency, so that they're not tempted to cut corners!
Morgan also shares her biggest MCAT prep advice:
"The test taking was the best strategy booster because it gives you a sense of time management and what kind of questions you will be asked come time for the real deal.
My biggest piece of advice for someone would be to study the way they believe is best for them!
Do not be persuaded to study a certain way because you read their success story online and how they studied. Just because they studied a certain way does not mean that way is going to be the best for you."
Very important point here! A lot of premeds just copy the same MCAT prep process of a high scorer, which isn't a good idea.
We've mentioned before that there are patterns to the strategies that all top scorers use - if you're going to copy anything from these top scorers, those are the strategies you want to copy and incorporate into your own MCAT prep.
Which is why we believed it was a good idea for there to be someone who could do the research and provide premeds with the highest leverage, most common, most proven MCAT prep strategies of 90+ percentile scores, that you could blend into your MCAT studying, which would inevitably skyrocket your MCAT score.
When we realized no one was doing this and nothing like this was available, we decided to do it ourselves and created a strategy guide filled with the best top MCAT scorer strategies.
At the end of the day, realize that every top scorer's prep system was tailored to fit their lives, their studying habits, their strengths and weaknesses. You need to do the same for yourself. There are strategies to figure that out for yourself as well, which we also cover in our guide.
We also asked Morgan for more specifics of how she studied and what materials she used...
"I studied on my own. I used the Kaplan books that were given to me by a professor to use for the summer. I studied for 10 weeks. I started with one full length MCAT to get my baseline. Then for the first 8 weeks I studied everything from the books. The last two weeks was all test taking.
I would take a full length test one day, then take the rest of the day off. The next day I would go back through the entire test I had taken the day before. I would also take any extra question packs that I had.
I used the AAMC practice tests and question packs as well as the Next Step practice exams and question packs. The MCAT really intimidated me, but the tips inside of the Top Scorer MCAT Strategy Guide really helped me to calm my nerves and helped me to set up my schedule. It gave me confidence in my schedule and the route that I was taking to study.
I recommend the guide to anyone who is just starting to think about the MCAT or stuck in the middle of their studying! It is great for all stages of the process. It especially helped me in realizing that when I looked at my scores from my practice exams, I needed to focus on the sections that were lowest.
It gave me anxiety not reviewing the subjects from my higher sections. But following the strategy guide and switching my thinking helped bring my lower sections up to the same level as my higher sections, and it showed in my real MCAT score! I could not be more thankful for the help the guide gave me in such an uncertain and stressful time!"
Almost every premed is struggling with something or another that's holding their score down. For Morgan, her biggest challenges were her schedule, the way she was reviewing, and her level of stress and anxiety. Luckily, she found her answers in the Top Scorer MCAT Strategy Guide.
If you're not scoring what you should be scoring by now, there's something that's holding you back (that you probably haven't even identified yet).
Sometimes it's hard to see where we're messing ourselves up. Or maybe you know what your challenge is but can't figure out how to get over it. Everyday that goes by without you figuring out how to solve this struggle, med-school gets further.
Chances are there's been a top scorer who's struggled with exactly what you're going through, and has come up with a strategy (or several strategies) to overcome it. If you're going to find that solution anywhere, it's going to be in the Top Scorer MCAT Strategy Guide, we can almost guarantee it.
During MCAT prep, obstacles show up one after the other. Solve your current one ASAP. Why waste another day, allowing it to hold you back? You need to move forward.
We asked Morgan what her lowest practice test score was and she said it was a 499 score.
For Morgan, she got exactly what needed from the strategy guide which enabled her to increase her MCAT score by 12 points in just 10 weeks! Plus it was a well-balanced score across all sections. Plus she self-studied. Plus she was working 30 hours per week!
If she can do it, so can you.
Knowing and using MCAT strategy gives you leverage like you can't imagine unless you see for yourself.
Download the MCAT strategy guide here and lets get you your competitive MCAT score you deserve.
You got this,
The MedLife Mastery Team
Your "MCAT Success" Mentors
Additional Reading -- MCAT Success Stories:
- How Jennifer Increased Her MCAT Score By 10 Points In Less Than 30 Days
- A 17-Point MCAT Score Increase: 496 to 513! (ft. Stephanie Hayes)
- From 490 To 511 On The MCAT: His 21 Point Score Increase
- Siraj’s 3-Month 523 MCAT Study Plan As A Full-Time Student
- From 485-495 Plateau + 4 MCAT Attempts To 514 (1.5 Years Later!)
- 41-Year-Old Accountant and Father Dominates The MCAT With a 520!
- Noah’s MCAT Success Story: From 496 To 510 On The MCAT In Less Than 30 Days!
- 19 Point MCAT Score Increase In 6 Weeks While Working Full Time
- From 500 Plateau to 516 in Less than 30 Days (ft. Abbi Shrontz)
- How I Went From 500 To 513 on the MCAT In 4 Weeks
- From 501 Plateau To 513 On The MCAT
- From 499 to 512 on the MCAT in 24 Days
- Melissa’s MCAT Scores Kept Going Down, But She Didn’t Give Up
- How Tanmay Scored 514 On The MCAT In Just 3 Months!
- How Peter Went From 499 To 513 On The MCAT In 8 Weeks
- From 494 (2015) to 502 (2019) to 513 on the MCAT (ft. Jennifer Nagel)
- From 498 To 514 WITH A Busy Schedule!
- From 499 To 511 In 4 Weeks On MCAT Retake!
- From 500 To 512 (Exact Goal Score) In 30 Days!
- From 500 To 514 On The MCAT (2.5 Years Later)
- From 501 To 514 In The LAST 2 WEEKS Before The MCAT!
- From 64th Percentile To 98th Percentile On The MCAT In Less Than 30 Days
- How He Increased His MCAT Score From 499 To 512 In 3 Weeks
- How Kayla Scored 131 In Psych/Soc on the MCAT (MCAT Case Study)
- From 489 To 509: How Miriam Improved Her MCAT Score By 20 Points
- 6 Point Score Increase In the Last Week Before the MCAT
- How Melanie Increased Her MCAT Score By 12 Points (From 505 to 517)
- Interview with a 519 Scorer, Re-Taker, and MS1: Julia Meguro
- MCAT Master Interview With A 100th Percentile Scorer: Priya Swaminathan
- Best MCAT Bio/Biochem Strategies – Top Tips From A 131 Scorer
- From 499 To 515 On The MCAT In 7 Weeks!
- Hope’s MCAT Retake Story: I Went From 500 to 514 In 6 Weeks!
- How Oleksandra Retook The MCAT and Scored 510
- How Suman Scored Over 510 The Second Time
- From 503/505 To 511 In The FINAL 2 Weeks!
- How Sara Scored 522 On The MCAT
- Taylor’s Secret To Scoring 131 On CARS and 511 on the MCAT
- Tara’s MCAT Study Advice Based On Her 510 MCAT Score
- Jenny’s Motivational MCAT Success Story: From 499 To 511 In 3 Weeks
- A Non-Traditional Applicant’s 514 (91st Percentile)
- How Lindsay Scored 513 On The MCAT While Working Two Jobs
- 10-Point MCAT Score Jump in 2 Weeks: From 503 to 513!
- Can You Have A Social Life During MCAT Prep? (ft. two 515+ scorers!)
To help you achieve your goal MCAT score, we take turns hosting these 
