advice

[bigpharmD]

I am thinking of taking the MCAT this spring or summer. Unfortunately I have not had physics since high-school (10 yrs ago) and did not take O-chemII in college. I am thinking of doing the online kaplan and studying on my own. What do you think? Do I absolutely need to take physics prior to the test?

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[dezokitty]

I think a year of physics with lab is typically required by most med schools... Could be wrong though. But if you have to take it anyway, doesn't hurt to take it before your MCAT. When do you plan on applying?

Another thing you could do is find one of those mock exams that Kaplan/Princeton Review gives. See how you do on each section just to give yourself a starting point.

 

[Law2Doc]

I am thinking of taking the MCAT this spring or summer. Unfortunately I have not had physics since high-school (10 yrs ago) and did not take O-chemII in college. I am thinking of doing the online kaplan and studying on my own. What do you think? Do I absolutely need to take physics prior to the test?

Physics is not a small part of that test. And college physics is a prereq for all med schools. Ochem II played a significant role in the test when I took it, but may not be as prevalent of late -- bear in mind that it is certainly fair game for the test though. So yeah, take the MCAT after you have finished taking all the prereqs. The number one reason that folks fail to get into med school is by rushing things. This sounds like a prime example of this. Get all your ducks in a row and then pull the trigger.


Note -- you list your status to the left as a "resident". In medicine, a resident is someone who has completed med school and been accepted into a residency program, and thus is long past MCATs. Based on your post, it seems unlikely you are a resident.

 

[bigpharmD]

Yeah I know what all the pre-reqs are, but I wont be able to take physics till this summer. Ochem II was not required for me. I had to take med-chem instead, and biochem. I just know quite a few pharmds and one NP who took the mcat without all the pre-reqs and studied on their own with out the class and got 28-32. I was thinking the online class may help. Having to take these two classes is frustrating. Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

*medicine is not the only healthcare profession with residents

 

[DrMidlife]

I am thinking of taking the MCAT this spring or summer. Unfortunately I have not had physics since high-school (10 yrs ago) and did not take O-chemII in college. I am thinking of doing the online kaplan and studying on my own. What do you think? Do I absolutely need to take physics prior to the test?

MCAT aside, high school physics doesn't cover you for med school admissions. There are some exceptions, but even if you got AP credit for high school science coursework, you have to take all the prereqs, with labs, in college.

If there's one big fat mistake to avoid here, it's to avoid thinking that you can skip hoops because they're not important/interesting/relevant to you. Part of the admissions process is proving that you're a good hoop-jumper.

Regardless, you can get some immediate feedback on whether you're ready to take the MCAT by taking a free online practice test at www.e-mcat.com. This should be an eye opener. Two specific things to look for:
1. Your verbal score on a practice test is the most interesting number. Verbal is the hardest number to improve on, and it's most indicative of what's going to happen in the science sections after you're done with test prep.
2. If you see content on a practice test that you've never seen before, such as radiowaves or light refraction or mass spectrometry, etc, then taking a prep course is not the next thing to do. You need to learn the material by taking the classes. Good prep is review.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Law2Doc]

*medicine is not the only healthcare profession with residents

Sure, but if you are going to go down the premed path, you'll want to change that to premed, or you will be confusing people.

 

[Law2Doc]

Yeah I know what all the pre-reqs are, but I wont be able to take physics till this summer. Ochem II was not required for me. I had to take med-chem instead, and biochem. I just know quite a few pharmds and one NP who took the mcat without all the pre-reqs and studied on their own with out the class and got 28-32. I was thinking the online class may help. Having to take these two classes is frustrating. Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

*medicine is not the only healthcare profession with residents

Average MCAT for matriculants these days is a 31. Since many of the folks you know didn't hit that mark, that should be telling. You will have to take Ochem for most med schools regardless of what was required for you for other programs.

 

[dragonfly99]

Agree with law2doc and drmidlife...except the part where law2doc says that you can't be a resident...am assuming that you are a pharmD resident.
Just make sure this (medicine) is what you want to do...not sure I'd be willing to go through med school + residency if I was already a pharmD, which is a good career. Remember, it's not just the 4 years of med school you are looking at, it's 3 (oftentimes many, many more) years of residency that is pretty grueling. If you don't even want to bother with taking the 1 year of physics I'm not sure you're going to want to stomach 4 years of med school...I guarantee they are going to make you do a bunch of stuff that you don't want to do. Not every class and assigned task in medical school and residency is interesting...and some of it is probably just plain unnecessary. But if you want to do medicine you have to toe the line...or someone will MAKE you.

Yes, you need to take 1 year of college physics (the science major kind) with labs in order to go to med school. I would take both semesters before taking the MCAT (or at least be well in to your 2nd semester of physics before you take the test). Organic chem 2 you'll have to take, but given your orgo I, biochem, and pharmacist training you could probably get away with taking MCAT before you've done Ochem II, though I wouldn't personally do that.