Will I be putting myself at a major disadvantage by taking the MCAT without having finished the second part of Physics? I'm taking Physics I this spring and was thinking of spending the summer studying for the MCAT so that I could take it in august or so before I'd taken part 2.
MCAT w/o Physics II
- Thread starter Drogba
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There was alot of physics, both 1 and 2, on my MCAT. That being said, if it is convenient to take at the end of summer after you've been studying hard, then it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.
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depends on if you are good at physics type stuff.....or if you've covered similar material in hs? Cuz.....it's kind of hard to learn by yourself. If you can do it tho.... by all means take it in the summer. But it would def be on the PS section.
All I remember from the sept MCAT was wishing I could remember how to do falling body and acceleration problems. The rest was just reading it seemed. Flipping through the EK books after the test I got the feeling that everything I would have needed was probably in there. So if you've studied, go for it.
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I studied for the MCAT while concurrently taking Physics I, I took the MCAT without having taken Physics II, and I got a 13 on PS. It's certainly possible and not even all that difficult.
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Absolutely you will be at a disadvantage. You could get lucky, like the previous posters, and not get questions that you haven't been exposed to, but I wouldn't bet on it. Without Physics II, you will be missing electromagnetism, optics, circuits, among others. All of these things are fair game for the MCAT. You will need to become fluent in them one way or another.
I watch a lot of people from my school take this test "just to see" without really taking it seriously. Many of them end up discouraged enough to abandon medicine. You do not want to be in a position of retaking to correct a poor grade. Your aim should be to only take this test one time. That said, if you are scoring in the mid 30s on practice tests (even better 35+ -- you should assume that your real score will be a few points shy of your best practice score) and you have taken ALL of the AAMC practice tests, and you are happy with your score without physics two, then go ahead and take it. Not until.
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i guess i will give my story:
i hadnt taken physics II when i took the mcat and got royally screwed.
with most of my practice tests i was averaging 8s which isnt good but what i was expecting since that was my weakest area... and well my test had all physics two stuff like not one kinematics question all magnetism optics and circuits... so yea needless to say my score was ****... dont do it without all the prereqs would be my advice. =)
i hadnt taken physics II when i took the mcat and got royally screwed.
with most of my practice tests i was averaging 8s which isnt good but what i was expecting since that was my weakest area... and well my test had all physics two stuff like not one kinematics question all magnetism optics and circuits... so yea needless to say my score was ****... dont do it without all the prereqs would be my advice. =)
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I'd like to think it wasn't just luck that helped me through. After all, I did have an entire passage on optics!
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That's fine. You managed to learn optics on your own. Great. Actually, of all the topics in Physics 2, optics is the easiest, and probably the best self study candidate. But you do a disservice to prospective test takers when you say that it's doable to take the test without physics 2, and that it's not even that hard. I hate to see people taking this test without adequate preparation because someone they know said don't worry about it. This test needs to be taken seriously if it is to be taken at all. For every one person who cut corners and made out ok, there are another 10 who bombed it, probably on similar bad advice. It's great if it worked out for you. Understand, however, that this is not the norm.
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Unless you are in the situation where you did not take Physics II and took the MCAT, I don't think that you're really qualified to answer the OP's question. Who's qualified? Most of the "lucky" people you referenced above. I'm sure your opinion is well thought-out and probably the result of a lot of blood, sweat, and tears from dealing with the MCAT, but the people in this exact situation are truly the ones who should respond with their own personal story; everything else is just conjecture, plain and simple.
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Alright , You should be able to learn the stuff yourself if you didn't take physics II.
I didn't take physics II before I took the mcat, I didn't do that bad in the physical sciences section (PS: 12) , but then again I took the kaplan course which went over the physics II parts relevant to the mcat. Still, studying physics II parts were a pain. Unless you are good at studying outside of class and if you are willing to spend alot of extra time learning physics II by yourself, you should just take the mcat without taking the class.
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I will be in physics II when I take the test in May. Am I at a disadvantage if I do this? The class will be nearly over by May...
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By that time, you will have been exposed to most of the material, so likely not at a disadvantage.
General rule of thumb: take all the pre-reqs before taking the MCAT. There will always be people who beat the odds, but it's not a gamble I'd suggest taking.
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I kind of feel like making a post going "MCAT w/o prerequisites", and asking whether I can take the MCAT without taking any of the premedical prerequisites... seriously, you could gamble and hope that Physics II or Orgo II topics won't be on the MCAT, but... you're not being a real pre-med if you're trying to get by without taking the pre-requisites before the MCAT. You need to live up to the hardcore pre-med stereotype! But in all true honesty, my best advice to you guys is to take the test only when you feel ready, and not anytime before doing so.
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I would strongly recommend not taking the MCAT w/o physics II. I had to either take it w/o the second semester or delay the MCAT and my app a whole year. I tried it and got an 8 on PS...then again I am not so great at the other part of PS either. I may have to end up reappying next year and retaking the MCAT 🙁
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Sure there are a few success stories of people rushing into the MCAT without pre-reqs, and somehow coming up with good scores. But that is the minority. I don't understand why there is such a desire to take the MCAT without prereqs. Like, what is the rush people? The MCAT is a test that you only want to take ONCE. As such, you should be as prepared as you possibly can be.
Sometimes you can "figure out" the answers to passage questions without really knowing the material. Sometimes you get lucky. But think about on the standalone science questions - it really helps to have the concepts down cold. For example, let's say you get a question that asks, "Which of the following figures depicts a uniform magnetic field?" Someone who took physics and did lots of problems with magnetics and took a midterm covering that concept will instantly see the correct figure and mark the right answer. Someone who "self studied" physics II might have to spend precious time figuring it out, or they may not even get it. I think it will be advantageous to have the solid grasp of concepts that you get from taking the course.
Sometimes you can "figure out" the answers to passage questions without really knowing the material. Sometimes you get lucky. But think about on the standalone science questions - it really helps to have the concepts down cold. For example, let's say you get a question that asks, "Which of the following figures depicts a uniform magnetic field?" Someone who took physics and did lots of problems with magnetics and took a midterm covering that concept will instantly see the correct figure and mark the right answer. Someone who "self studied" physics II might have to spend precious time figuring it out, or they may not even get it. I think it will be advantageous to have the solid grasp of concepts that you get from taking the course.
