ACS General Chem Exams VS MCAT Chemistry

[omega_703]

Has anyone taken the ACS Gen Chem exams? My school administers it for our Gen Chem finals and I was wondering how does it compare with the MCAT Chemistry.

If you don't mind sharing, what was your ACS Gen Chem exam percentile and your MCAT chemistry (Physical Science) score?

I want to see if there is a correlation between the two figures.

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[govikings10]

Has anyone taken the ACS Gen Chem exams? My school administers it for our Gen Chem finals and I was wondering how does it compare with the MCAT Chemistry.

If you don't mind sharing, what was your ACS Gen Chem exam percentile and your MCAT chemistry (Physical Science) score?

I want to see if there is a correlation between the two figures.

MCAT questions are passage based and often contain a lot of extraneous data that you have to sort through. ACS Gen chem gives you what you need directly in that question. Its been awhile since i've taken the gen chem test, but if memory serves be correct they are quite different.

 

[smuwillobrien]

MCAT chemistry questions aren't going to be nearly as pointed as those on a formal test, but, the information from the latter will be just as useful on the former. Use whatever you can get your hands on. 🙂

 

[Tangent]

i took both the acs gen chem and ochem tests and found the ochem one to be the most helpful on the MCAT the acs study guide was perfect fot MCAT prep

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

i took both the acs gen chem and ochem tests and found the ochem one to be the most helpful on the MCAT the acs study guide was perfect fot MCAT prep

I didn't know there was an ACS study guide - I'm sure it would get you well-prepared for the MCAT. I had to take the ACS at the end of each general chemistry and organic chemistry course - I think my school wanted to be sure that their quality was comparable nationally - which is admirable, although I hated the ACS tests. I think it's safe to say that MCAT tests more general concepts than does the ACS test, which is quite detailed.

Remember that MCAT only tests selected concepts (which are actually listed on the MCAT website). Unless you have a lot of time, I'd get a good prep book that is going to focus on the topics that MCAT has listed as "fair game" and ignore the rest. I thought the Examkrackers general chemistry review book was particularly good. For instance, you can count on having an electrochemical cell question in the gen chem section, and you can definitely count on having a titration question or two. I think using a prep book that knows which subjects are going to be emphasized is helpful.