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What do you think?
Advice for an English major?
- Thread starter mcataz
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hey there,
I'm in the same boat, was a history major, and have been doing post-bac in biology. I too am having a hard time with physical sciences, which I took about 2 years ago and feel very rusty in. The advice I have been given is to get all the formulas memorized and then to practice as much as possible. The EK 1001 questions in Physics and Chemistry were recommended to me as ways to practice some questions that aren't in MCAT format but will emphasize the basics and drill them into your head. I have also been tyring to use my textbooks to supplement the TPR notes when I feel they are lacking. As for Berkeley Review, all I can tell you is that I have heard their Chem book is very good and that their stuff worked well for a friend of mine. Anyway, good luck and I'd be interested to see what advice others post.
I'm in the same boat, was a history major, and have been doing post-bac in biology. I too am having a hard time with physical sciences, which I took about 2 years ago and feel very rusty in. The advice I have been given is to get all the formulas memorized and then to practice as much as possible. The EK 1001 questions in Physics and Chemistry were recommended to me as ways to practice some questions that aren't in MCAT format but will emphasize the basics and drill them into your head. I have also been tyring to use my textbooks to supplement the TPR notes when I feel they are lacking. As for Berkeley Review, all I can tell you is that I have heard their Chem book is very good and that their stuff worked well for a friend of mine. Anyway, good luck and I'd be interested to see what advice others post.
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Hi
I really liked the ek physics book. when i took the mcat (april 2002), it had been about 4 yrs since physics/orgo as well. I was a biochem major in college, but feltlike i never really learned physics. I used the EK physics book plusthe 1001 physics. I really learned it too. I went from a 7 to a 12 in the physical science section. (7 on aamc 3 to 12 on real mcat 2 months later). feel free to PM me.
bonnie
I really liked the ek physics book. when i took the mcat (april 2002), it had been about 4 yrs since physics/orgo as well. I was a biochem major in college, but feltlike i never really learned physics. I used the EK physics book plusthe 1001 physics. I really learned it too. I went from a 7 to a 12 in the physical science section. (7 on aamc 3 to 12 on real mcat 2 months later). feel free to PM me.
bonnie
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Thankfully, I have deboarded this boat. I was a religion/philosophy/greek major - no time at all for sciences as an undergrad. Now I'm getting a master's in Molecular Cell Science. I took the MCAT last spring and ended up with a 10VR, 12PS, 10BS - having just finished organic chem. and genetics. I had not had most of the physics, and it had been some time since I had taken general chemistry. I studied by butt off in those subjects, however, and ended up doing better in phys. sciences than in Biol. sciences, subjects in which I had had more formal education.
I didn't take any review classes; I bought the Kaplan textbook and memorized every subject that they said appears on the Physical science section...all the formulas in the MCAT book. I cut-up index cards into 1/4 sections (1.5x2.5 inches) and wrote all the formulas and constants on them, punched a hole in the top left corner of each card, and put the cards on rings arranged by subject area. I carried one of these around with me everyday and would go over the material whenever I had to wait in line, sit in an elevator, etc.
If there were any subject area for which I felt I didn't understand the concepts I would pull out my textbooks (Cutnell and Johnson Physics - might as well be "for idiots"; and General Chemistry by Hill and Petrucci). I'd review the chapters and make sure I could work a few of the problems given. If you devote a few hours, you can easily knock a chapter off in a night (given a few hours) - that's a whole subject...if you make the little cards you can keep reviewing.
For me, the practice tests were more important for getting me used to the MCAT format and timing, etc.
I didn't take any review classes; I bought the Kaplan textbook and memorized every subject that they said appears on the Physical science section...all the formulas in the MCAT book. I cut-up index cards into 1/4 sections (1.5x2.5 inches) and wrote all the formulas and constants on them, punched a hole in the top left corner of each card, and put the cards on rings arranged by subject area. I carried one of these around with me everyday and would go over the material whenever I had to wait in line, sit in an elevator, etc.
If there were any subject area for which I felt I didn't understand the concepts I would pull out my textbooks (Cutnell and Johnson Physics - might as well be "for idiots"; and General Chemistry by Hill and Petrucci). I'd review the chapters and make sure I could work a few of the problems given. If you devote a few hours, you can easily knock a chapter off in a night (given a few hours) - that's a whole subject...if you make the little cards you can keep reviewing.
For me, the practice tests were more important for getting me used to the MCAT format and timing, etc.
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