Should I take the MCAT before taking Physics 2

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omegaz50

omegaz50

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I am a Junior and I wanna take the January MCAT but I'm not gonna finish Physics 2 until the end of my junior year (taking it in the Spring semester). Can I study for physics 2 on my own so I can take the January test? I wanna take it in January because I have an easy fall semester that I can use to study for the MCAT whereas the spring semester will be hell for me.

If I have to take it in March/April, is it advisable if I do all my studying in the fall semester and not studying in the spring semester as I won't have time?

I know I should've taken physics 2 my sophomore year... but don't most premeds take it in their Junior year? That's the case in my school.
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A couple questions need to be answered before your question can properly be answered:

1) What's your goal score? If you are shooting for the upper 30's or into the 40's, you probably should wait.

2) Are you taking a prep course? Prep courses are no substitution for the actual class, however they are great preparation if you take extra time out of class to focus on the material that you don't understand. I recommend using Khan Academy for any topics that you haven't had a class on.

3) Have you taken any physics that covers electricity and magnetism before? Most people can BS their way through Newtonian Mechanics, but electricity and magnetism are a little bit more complex (although the MCAT doesn't get into much depth).

Best of luck!
 
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omegaz50 said:
I am a Junior and I wanna take the January MCAT but I'm not gonna finish Physics 2 until the end of my junior year (taking it in the Spring semester). Can I study for physics 2 on my own so I can take the January test? I wanna take it in January because I have an easy fall semester that I can use to study for the MCAT whereas the spring semester will be hell for me.

If I have to take it in March/April, is it advisable if I do all my studying in the fall semester and not studying in the spring semester as I won't have time?

I know I should've taken physics 2 my sophomore year... but don't most premeds take it in their Junior year? That's the case in my school.
Click to expand...


Was physics 1 an easy A for you? If yes, then maybe. If no, then definitely not.
 
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omegaz50 said:
I am a Junior and I wanna take the January MCAT but I'm not gonna finish Physics 2 until the end of my junior year (taking it in the Spring semester). Can I study for physics 2 on my own so I can take the January test? I wanna take it in January because I have an easy fall semester that I can use to study for the MCAT whereas the spring semester will be hell for me.

If I have to take it in March/April, is it advisable if I do all my studying in the fall semester and not studying in the spring semester as I won't have time?

I know I should've taken physics 2 my sophomore year... but don't most premeds take it in their Junior year? That's the case in my school.
Click to expand...

I think you can study yourself and do just as good. If you have the books, why don't you study couple chapters of tbr and test yourself? The material is pretty easy to learn, at least for me. I have a B.S in mechanical engineering.
 
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omegaz50 said:
I am a Junior and I wanna take the January MCAT but I'm not gonna finish Physics 2 until the end of my junior year (taking it in the Spring semester). Can I study for physics 2 on my own so I can take the January test? I wanna take it in January because I have an easy fall semester that I can use to study for the MCAT whereas the spring semester will be hell for me.

If I have to take it in March/April, is it advisable if I do all my studying in the fall semester and not studying in the spring semester as I won't have time?

I know I should've taken physics 2 my sophomore year... but don't most premeds take it in their Junior year? That's the case in my school.
Click to expand...

Possibly. Practice test scores are your best indicator.

Examkrackers might be a good option given the timeframe.
 
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omegaz50 said:
I am a Junior and I wanna take the January MCAT but I'm not gonna finish Physics 2 until the end of my junior year (taking it in the Spring semester). Can I study for physics 2 on my own so I can take the January test? I wanna take it in January because I have an easy fall semester that I can use to study for the MCAT whereas the spring semester will be hell for me.

If I have to take it in March/April, is it advisable if I do all my studying in the fall semester and not studying in the spring semester as I won't have time?

I know I should've taken physics 2 my sophomore year... but don't most premeds take it in their Junior year? That's the case in my school.
Click to expand...

Two months to teach yourself physics and review everything else? Probably not going to result in a high score. I would just take a summer test and study as much as possible during the semester and then pick it up during the summer.


Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.
 
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DoctorWhoo said:
A couple questions need to be answered before your question can properly be answered:

1) What's your goal score? If you are shooting for the upper 30's or into the 40's, you probably should wait.

2) Are you taking a prep course? Prep courses are no substitution for the actual class, however they are great preparation if you take extra time out of class to focus on the material that you don't understand. I recommend using Khan Academy for any topics that you haven't had a class on.

3) Have you taken any physics that covers electricity and magnetism before? Most people can BS their way through Newtonian Mechanics, but electricity and magnetism are a little bit more complex (although the MCAT doesn't get into much depth).

Best of luck!
Click to expand...
1. 30 or higher
2. No prep course, just Kaplan and ek prep sets
3. Did learn electricity and magnetism, but don't remember much.

Thanks
 
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MedPR said:
Was physics 1 an easy A for you? If yes, then maybe. If no, then definitely not.
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I had the worse teacher (according to ratemyprofessor) in the physics department for physics 1. Absolutely hated the class, ended up getting a b-. Did Well in the 3 midterms but bomb the final.
I took honor physics 1 for engineering majors.
Do you think this isn't so bad considering I got this b- in my freshman year. Medical school take that into account right?
 
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omegaz50 said:
I had the worse teacher (according to ratemyprofessor) in the physics department for physics 1. Absolutely hated the class, ended up getting a b-. Did Well in the 3 midterms but bomb the final.
I took honor physics 1 for engineering majors.
Do you think this isn't so bad considering I got this b- in my freshman year. Medical school take that into account right?
Click to expand...

Some do, some don't. It more depends on your other semesters and if that one semester was a fluke.


Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.
 
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BABSstudent said:
Some do, some don't. It more depends on your other semesters and if that one semester was a fluke.


Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.
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1st semester: all A's
2nd semester: 2 B's, one of the B is a B- in physics 1 as mentioned above.
For the rest of the semesters, the worse I've gotten is one B in a semester.
 
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omegaz50 said:
1st semester: all A's
2nd semester: 2 B's, one of the B is a B- in physics 1 as mentioned above.
For the rest of the semesters, the worse I've gotten is one B in a semester.
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If the worst you have gotten is a B, then you don't have much to worry about. I have a C on my transcript and a super bad semester of like a 3.0 and still had an acceptance on the first day they could go out. You will be fine.


Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.
 
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BABSstudent said:
If the worst you have gotten is a B, then you don't have much to worry about. I have a C on my transcript and a super bad semester of like a 3.0 and still had an acceptance on the first day they could go out. You will be fine.
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What was your gpa when you applied? Cause my cgpa is 3.75, sgpa of 3.63. However, I got a B in orgo 1 and a D+ in orgo 2....but got a B+ when I retook (my orgo prof was riddiculous). Is this a huge red flag to adcoms?
 
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O Grady said:
What was your gpa when you applied? Cause my cgpa is 3.75, sgpa of 3.63. However, I got a B in orgo 1 and a D+ in orgo 2....but got a B+ when I retook (my orgo prof was riddiculous). Is this a huge red flag to adcoms?
Click to expand...

You will have to have an explanation for that grade. And check out my mdapps for my GPA


Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.
 
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My early assurance program only requires that I make a 25. Taking the January MCAT without Physics 2 or Orgo 2 seems like it would be the bet option given the demands on my program during both the semester and the summer. Anybody had success (25+ for my case) without Physics 2?
 
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In my opinion, with the exception of fluids, I encounter PhysII topics way more than Phys1 topics on my mcat practice exams. I'd say a 3:1 ratio.
 
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Rop said:
My early assurance program only requires that I make a 25. Taking the January MCAT without Physics 2 or Orgo 2 seems like it would be the bet option given the demands on my program during both the semester and the summer. Anybody had success (25+ for my case) without Physics 2?
Click to expand...


I made a 26 (7/11/8) without Phys 1 or 2. I would not call that success, but if it's all you need, it's definitely an attainable 'goal'. I would still recommend taking a practice test before hand so you know what you're going up against.
 
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Ironman322 said:
I made a 26 (7/11/8) without Phys 1 or 2. I would not call that success, but if it's all you need, it's definitely an attainable 'goal'. I would still recommend taking a practice test before hand so you know what you're going up against.
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Thanks for the response. I don't want people to think im lazy by any stretch. At this point I (along with the admissions committee at my med school obviously) am fully aware that I can handle to med school curriculum and all that good stuff etc. It's just that with my course load (800 level graduate medical courses, undergrad, summer courses, seminars etc etc) that comes with EAP's it makes it next to impossible to devote full time studying for the MCAT for more than a month. That's why I think it's great that many EAPs don't require the MCAT at all. I think I'll take Orgo 1 and Physics 1 this upcoming semester, start studying during the semester in October, go full time all the way in for my 5 weeks of Winter break and take the MCAT in January with a goal of 25+ given my circumstances.
 
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