Re-taking prereqs vs MCAT review books

[otterandgoose]

Hi all,

I'm an ER nurse who is re-visiting the path to medical school. I had taken most pre-reqs (bio, chem, calc, stat, english, psych) about 7 years ago when I was getting my first bachelors in psychology. I ended up going into an accelerated BSN program right after, and have been working as an ER nurse since. I still have orgo, physics, and biochem to complete for pre-reqs, but my issue is: I've been skimming through practice MCAT questions just to get a sense of what will be on it, and I cannot remember anything from my prior pre-reqs (bio & chem, mostly). Should I re-take these pre-reqs to brush up on material? I've read on other forums that TBR gives in-depth review of all the diff components on MCAT, but I'm worried it won't be enough to create a substantial knowledge base of these subjects. I would seriously hate to re-take these classes as it would add on another year, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to do well on the MCAT. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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[tryptamine]

I took the MCAT 12-13 years after bio and gen chem and went into it with similar doubts. I'd highly recommend making a pass through these subjects in review books before deciding to re-take coursework. The MCAT requires substantially less knowledge and mastery than the classes, and I found that even the Kaplan review books covered the material in more depth than necessary. If there are particular topics that you're finding challenging, Youtube/AK Lectures/Khan Academy have compiled resources that are far better than the average lecture. I'd suggest retaking classes only if you really feel that you'll need the structure or 1-on-1 attention to build your understanding to the needed level-- and then only if you can ensure the place you're taking them will be able to provide this.

 

[otterandgoose]

I took the MCAT 12-13 years after bio and gen chem and went into it with similar doubts. I'd highly recommend making a pass through these subjects in review books before deciding to re-take coursework. The MCAT requires substantially less knowledge and mastery than the classes, and I found that even the Kaplan review books covered the material in more depth than necessary. If there are particular topics that you're finding challenging, Youtube/AK Lectures/Khan Academy have compiled resources that are far better than the average lecture. I'd suggest retaking classes only if you really feel that you'll need the structure or 1-on-1 attention to build your understanding to the needed level-- and then only if you can ensure the place you're taking them will be able to provide this.

Thanks for your comment! I'm gonna take your advice and try to refresh through review books before heading that route.

 

[68PGunner]

Take biochemistry and Immuno classes. That will help with your basic science courses in medical school and the MCAT. Everything can be refreshed and relearned by review books.

 

[AnotherLawyer]

Hi all,

I'm an ER nurse who is re-visiting the path to medical school. I had taken most pre-reqs (bio, chem, calc, stat, english, psych) about 7 years ago when I was getting my first bachelors in psychology. I ended up going into an accelerated BSN program right after, and have been working as an ER nurse since. I still have orgo, physics, and biochem to complete for pre-reqs, but my issue is: I've been skimming through practice MCAT questions just to get a sense of what will be on it, and I cannot remember anything from my prior pre-reqs (bio & chem, mostly). Should I re-take these pre-reqs to brush up on material? I've read on other forums that TBR gives in-depth review of all the diff components on MCAT, but I'm worried it won't be enough to create a substantial knowledge base of these subjects. I would seriously hate to re-take these classes as it would add on another year, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to do well on the MCAT. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

You are far better off focusing on the MCAT. The coursework will cover tons of stuff not on the MCAT and will miss stuff that is. If you feel like you need structure, then consider a prep course.

 

[Zenabi90]

5-7 years since my prereqs, I got TBR and it was so good, it taught me things I never properly understood in my undergrad years. MCAT focused materials are far more efficient for MCAT review when compared to taking/auditing traditional classes. I was considering auditing classes at my local college, but I was glad I didn't. Otherwise I'd be sitting in a classroom still, instead of sitting on a great MCAT score.

 

[blueaqua]

Hi, was your mcat the 2015 one? I'm considering trying a similar method.

5-7 years since my prereqs, I got TBR and it was so good, it taught me things I never properly understood in my undergrad years. MCAT focused materials are far more efficient for MCAT review when compared to taking/auditing traditional classes. I was considering auditing classes at my local college, but I was glad I didn't. Otherwise I'd be sitting in a classroom still, instead of sitting on a great MCAT score.

 

[blueaqua]

Hi, did you take the mcat 2015 one with this study method or was it the old mcat?

I took the MCAT 12-13 years after bio and gen chem and went into it with similar doubts. I'd highly recommend making a pass through these subjects in review books before deciding to re-take coursework. The MCAT requires substantially less knowledge and mastery than the classes, and I found that even the Kaplan review books covered the material in more depth than necessary. If there are particular topics that you're finding challenging, Youtube/AK Lectures/Khan Academy have compiled resources that are far better than the average lecture. I'd suggest retaking classes only if you really feel that you'll need the structure or 1-on-1 attention to build your understanding to the needed level-- and then only if you can ensure the place you're taking them will be able to provide this.

 

[Zenabi90]

Hi, was your mcat the 2015 one? I'm considering trying a similar method.

Yes. See my post in the 509+ thread, I put a more detailed description of what I did there.

 

[tryptamine]

Hi, did you take the mcat 2015 one with this study method or was it the old mcat?

Yep, 2015. I sat for the exam in August this year.

 

[DSM_302.0]

Echoing others! Work through practice questions. You'll likely get a ton wrong! The magic happens when you dig into the material to figure out *why* you got it wrong, then learn what you need to learn to fill in that knowledge gap. I've been on a slow DIY post-bac and I studied for the MCAT earlier this year when I had taken ChemI ~4 years prior already. My strategy was to get through my classes, then prep for the MCAT. Ideally the former would prepare you for the latter, but I've found it productive to instead think of them as separate beasts to slay.

I *loved* Khan and AK Lectures. Good luck!

 

[thinkchangeflow]

Hi all,

I'm an ER nurse who is re-visiting the path to medical school. I had taken most pre-reqs (bio, chem, calc, stat, english, psych) about 7 years ago when I was getting my first bachelors in psychology. I ended up going into an accelerated BSN program right after, and have been working as an ER nurse since. I still have orgo, physics, and biochem to complete for pre-reqs, but my issue is: I've been skimming through practice MCAT questions just to get a sense of what will be on it, and I cannot remember anything from my prior pre-reqs (bio & chem, mostly). Should I re-take these pre-reqs to brush up on material? I've read on other forums that TBR gives in-depth review of all the diff components on MCAT, but I'm worried it won't be enough to create a substantial knowledge base of these subjects. I would seriously hate to re-take these classes as it would add on another year, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to do well on the MCAT. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I was in a similar situation.....I did not want to retake prereqs b/c it seem inefficient and expensive so I self studied for the mcat with review books and practice questions....found it difficult to grasp concepts I had learned so long ago so I decided to take a content heavy prep course....it worked awesome and I moved my science scores from ~30%tile --> ~80%tile. What prep company are you using and what is your strategy for review of content so far?

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[otterandgoose]

I was in a similar situation.....I did not want to retake prereqs b/c it seem inefficient and expensive so I self studied for the mcat with review books and practice questions....found it difficult to grasp concepts I had learned so long ago so I decided to take a content heavy prep course....it worked awesome and I moved my science scores from ~30%tile --> ~80%tile. What prep company are you using and what is your strategy for review of content so far?

I'm also having a difficult time understanding concepts as it's been 7 years since gen chem (bio is much easier for me). I have the princeton review set and so far I'm tackling one book at a time. First book is gen chem as it's dispersed in the other topics (bio, orgo, biochem) heavily. Which prep course did you take? Congrats on improving your scores!

 

[inajeT02]

I also took the MCAT ~ 7 years after taking Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I would say that MCAT books are your best best. Knowing the information is only half the battle on the MCAT. Practice + application is much more important. For me, I didn't get a lot of questions wrong because I didn't understand the material, but rather because I didn't understand their applications. Like everyone has mentioned, the material is pretty basic. You should be good with just a quick review.

Good luck!

 

[thinkchangeflow]

I'm also having a difficult time understanding concepts as it's been 7 years since gen chem (bio is much easier for me). I have the princeton review set and so far I'm tackling one book at a time. First book is gen chem as it's dispersed in the other topics (bio, orgo, biochem) heavily. Which prep course did you take? Congrats on improving your scores!

I tried Kaplan and TPR. Kaplan was disorganized and not content heavy at all. TPR was good for content review for Chemistry and Biology but not good for CARS or P/S. TPR also does not focus enough on Biochemistry. Examkrackers has solid reviews for the old exam but I am unsure about their content review for the new exam. I recommend to start doing the AAMC Qpacks in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics and seeing if you understand the underlying fundamental concept of each question. If you understand the concepts from the Qpacks, then I would focus more on practice rather than content review while thoroughly reviewing a Biochemistry review book from a prep company.

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