How much physics is needed?

[allied32]

I plan on taking the MCAT in the winter/spring of next year. However, I'm sort of in a bind. I really want to be a camp counselor at a camp for disabled children over the summer. If I do that, I would have to take either physics or calc online over the summer. If I take calc, I would have 1 semester of physics before taking the MCAT (I have to have calc to take physics at my school). I plan on studying a lot for the MCAT and was wondering if that would help me in the physics section. If you think taking a couple semesters of physics is very important then I will just skip the camp and take physics over the summer.

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[efle]

Prereqs are bad prep for the MCAT - it is always more efficient to self study from MCAT specific prep materials. I self-taught a semester of physics material during the summer I was studying for the MCAT and it was 100% doable and effective. Just make sure you leave yourself adequate time!

 

[Cawolf]

I disagree, but everyone learns differently. I found having a deep understanding of the prerequisite courses the most valuable part of my preparation. I personally did not take Organic 2 before the MCAT and wish I had. It would've bumped my score up another point in BS. The only reason I did that was to get in a test in January of the last MCAT.

You should look at the E & M material, then proceed from there. If you are confident you can learn it on your own, then your decision will be easier.

 

[efle]

Did you heavily self-study/teach yourself the Orgo 2 topics though? I don't see how studying by proxy through a prereq could ever beat out direct studying of the MCAT topics

 

[Cawolf]

I barely did any content review for the sciences and focused on passage based attack. I would gather I had the 95%+ of the content I needed from recent prereqs over the year prior to the exam. The main content I focused on was Orgo 2, because I was clueless as to the mechanisms.

The best path (IMO) is prereqs followed by self studying. It is sub-optimal to to do either independently. So when people ask me how they should prepare, I always stress that a solid mix of prereq knowledge base and intensive preparation is a path to success.

I just think that if the choice is one or the other, the course is more useful. Personal preference though of course.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

I think you can learn the physics better from the prep books than a lot of college physics classes actually.

 

[efle]

@Cawolf you must have had the perfect MCAT-tailored prereqs then; mine often didn't even mention several topics critical to the MCAT and reviewing prereq exams would never in a billion years be more beneficial than prep book work

 

[Cawolf]

I agree that everyone will succeed on a different path, but I didn't review any material from my pre-req courses. I simply took them as close to the MCAT as possible and used that knowledge base to quickly move through TBR books.

Prep book work is definitely more valuable that reviewing course material, but I find that people without a background in the subject often flounder and only superficially understand the material they are reading. This again, may just be my personal preference. I seek a conceptual understanding of anything I am trying to learn.

I am assuming you did well, as did I; that supports that fact that there is no "one right way" to prepare for the MCAT.

 

[efle]

Agreed there's no right way, just my .02 that some ways tend to be much more efficient than others