Any reason why I cant get a jump start on the MCAT?

[Orthomaybe?]

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Hey guys, I am currently a high school senior who will be attending the university of Florida in the fall. My major of choice is computer science and I'll obviously be adding pre med reqs to that. Im convinced that medicine is what I want to do with my life and I'm also convinced that I would like to get out of Florida ASAP. While in undergrad, I plan on locking down a solid gpa (like every one else). Im confident in my ability to do so since I believe that I have prepared myself to be able to succeed in undergrad thanks to my extremely challenging high school course load. What I AM worried about though is my MCAT score. So much rides on such a relatively small test and I'd obviously like to score well so that I can go to med school somewhere without this florida humidity.

I was wondering if it is reasonable to begin preparation now, or at least early next year as a freshman, in order to start introducing myself to the test? In my experience, standardized tests like the SAT have more to do with knowing the test like the back of your hand and studying accordingly than it does with raw intelligence. I realize that the MCAT is a different Beast, but does this observation apply to the MCAT as well? If so, it seems to me that I should start studying now. I'll be graduating with 14 AP classes including AP Physics 1&2, AP Calculus 1&2, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry. These classes definitely dont cover all of the material on the MCAT but it seems to me that I probably already know a significant chunk of the required material. Is this true?

Thanks for the feedback!

Also, I am aware that alot more than GPA and MCAT scores go into a successful med school application. I wont let this early studying get in the way of obtaining research experience or clinical experience. Im just hoping that It will strengthen my App.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Totally unreasonable. Here's why

1. You'll run out of study material very quickly. Practice is the most important thing for the MCAT and if you run out of practice material, you'll be in bad shape in the couple of months preceding the MCAT
2. Regardless of what you did in high school, you'll likely not have nearly enough knowledge to make preparation at this point worthwhile. AP classes are bare bones compared to what you need to know for the MCAT (which is several orders of magnitude away from the amount of information in medical school)
3. You'll run out of steam pretty quickly
4. You haven't hit the transition to college yet. Trying to transition and study for the MCAT at the same time means you'll do worse at both than if you did them individually. It's much harder and more expensive to fix a GPA than it is to take a semester or year off to study for the MCAT

The best thing you can do right now is make the transition to college smoothly and start out with a strong GPA. If you're really eager, there's some CARS reading material posted frequently in the MCAT forum that you can start (slowly) going through to get yourself used to reading those types of passages. But don't start doing questions until you're max 6 months out from the test.

 

[Lawpy]

Simple:

 

[thebigdawg]

Shouldn't you be studying for your ACT?

 

[AsianPersuasion]

Totally unreasonable. Here's why

1. You'll run out of study material very quickly. Practice is the most important thing for the MCAT and if you run out of practice material, you'll be in bad shape in the couple of months preceding the MCAT
2. Regardless of what you did in high school, you'll likely not have nearly enough knowledge to make preparation at this point worthwhile. AP classes are bare bones compared to what you need to know for the MCAT (which is several orders of magnitude away from the amount of information in medical school)
3. You'll run out of steam pretty quickly
4. You haven't hit the transition to college yet. Trying to transition and study for the MCAT at the same time means you'll do worse at both than if you did them individually. It's much harder and more expensive to fix a GPA than it is to take a semester or year off to study for the MCAT

The best thing you can do right now is make the transition to college smoothly and start out with a strong GPA. If you're really eager, there's some CARS reading material posted frequently in the MCAT forum that you can start (slowly) going through to get yourself used to reading those types of passages. But don't start doing questions until you're max 6 months out from the test.

I agree. OP, you're so young! Just focus and really figure out if this is really the path you want to take. College is your chance to explore and solidify your choices.

 

[Glandzburg]

MCAT prep in high school, I've seen it all.

 

[baratheonfire]

Totally unreasonable. Here's why

1. You'll run out of study material very quickly. Practice is the most important thing for the MCAT and if you run out of practice material, you'll be in bad shape in the couple of months preceding the MCAT
2. Regardless of what you did in high school, you'll likely not have nearly enough knowledge to make preparation at this point worthwhile. AP classes are bare bones compared to what you need to know for the MCAT (which is several orders of magnitude away from the amount of information in medical school)
3. You'll run out of steam pretty quickly
4. You haven't hit the transition to college yet. Trying to transition and study for the MCAT at the same time means you'll do worse at both than if you did them individually. It's much harder and more expensive to fix a GPA than it is to take a semester or year off to study for the MCAT

The best thing you can do right now is make the transition to college smoothly and start out with a strong GPA. If you're really eager, there's some CARS reading material posted frequently in the MCAT forum that you can start (slowly) going through to get yourself used to reading those types of passages. But don't start doing questions until you're max 6 months out from the test.

I feel like MCAT Physics/Chem is easier than the respective AP tests

 

[WedgeDawg]

I feel like MCAT Physics/Chem is easier than the respective AP tests

Perhaps, but if you get 10 wrong on the AP test, you still get a 5. You get 5 wrong on the MCAT, and your score drops by 3-4 points. Difficulty of questions have to be weighed against the weight they're given in scoring.

 

[ZPakEffect]

I don't recommend studying for the MCAT in high school. I think that's a waste of your time. What you should be doing is studying for Step 1 instead.

 

[baratheonfire]

Perhaps, but if you get 10 wrong on the AP test, you still get a 5. You get 5 wrong on the MCAT, and your score drops by 3-4 points. Difficulty of questions have to be weighed against the weight they're given in scoring.

True. Does 5 questions really translate to 3-4 points though?

 

[darknecrosforte]

I feel like MCAT Physics/Chem is easier than the respective AP tests

SN2 reactions are less hard than AP Chem? lmfao

 

[WedgeDawg]

SN2 reactions are less hard than AP Chem? lmfao

Honestly, I thought organic chemistry was by far the easiest part of the MCAT, so maybe. Organic chemistry is "hard" because it's not multiple choice. Restrict the possible solutions and it becomes a lot easier.

 

[darknecrosforte]

Honestly, I thought organic chemistry was by far the easiest part of the MCAT, so maybe. Organic chemistry is "hard" because it's not multiple choice. Restrict the possible solutions and it becomes a lot easier.

But AP chem was at MOST covering only 60% of what is covered in only gen chem with basically no electrochemistry. That leaves non-buffer acids/bases, stoichiometry, mass action, solubility rules, and other basic algebraic crap. There are no rate laws, equilibrium work, ionic solids, and barely any nuclear chemistry. And then you add biochem and ochem on top of that, which makes the comparison of AP course/test difficulty to what is on the MCAT seem unreasonable. I've only taken the new MCAT, so if we're talking about the old one, I may be wrong.

Physics is just applied math so they'd be similar.

 

[baratheonfire]

But AP chem was at MOST covering only 60% of what is covered in only gen chem with basically no electrochemistry. That leaves non-buffer acids/bases, stoichiometry, mass action, solubility rules, and other basic algebraic crap. There are no rate laws, equilibrium work, ionic solids, and barely any nuclear chemistry. And then you add biochem and ochem on top of that, which makes the comparison of AP course/test difficulty to what is on the MCAT seem unreasonable. I've only taken the new MCAT, so if we're talking about the old one, I may be wrong.

Physics is just applied math so they'd be similar.

I don't know, I did all that stuff in AP chem. But biochem and O chem are straight college stuff.
I was just comparing gen chem to ap chem and mcat physics to ap physics.

 

[Mwooster]

Here ya go, OP! MCAT Prep in HS... gunners gotta gun

Before you do, make sure you get a permit doe

 

[piii]

You know all of those awesome people that score in the 90+ % on the MCAT? They only study for like 2-6 months. You aren't discovering some crazy new way to ace the MCAT by studying years in advance. Just relax. Have fun in college but keep your grades up. Choose the right study method, the right schedule, and stay dedicated. 2-6 months will be enough time.

Part of being a med student and a doctor is knowing how to make the right decisions on how to use your time efficiently and effectively. Starting to study any time soon for the MCAT would be a strike against your decision making skills. You're clearly ambitious, and that's great. But don't let naïveté bring you down.

 

[Goro]

That's nothing. I've seen posts by college freshmen who wanted to start studying for Boards!!!

MCAT prep in high school, I've seen it all.

 

[fawkes94]

How do you know you'll be going to UF? I thought decisions don't come out until sometime in February

 

[efle]

I would like to get out of Florida ASAP

Then why are you going to UF? Plenty of merit scholarship aid out there for the kind of high schooler that takes 14 APs and wants to study for the MCAT before college!

Don't actually do that, though. Completely unnecessary. You can get yourself fully prepared in a single summer/semester.

 

[m2regen]

Hey guys, I am currently a high school senior who will be attending the university of Florida in the fall. My major of choice is computer science and I'll obviously be adding pre med reqs to that. Im convinced that medicine is what I want to do with my life and I'm also convinced that I would like to get out of Florida ASAP. While in undergrad, I plan on locking down a solid gpa (like every one else). Im confident in my ability to do so since I believe that I have prepared myself to be able to succeed in undergrad thanks to my extremely challenging high school course load. What I AM worried about though is my MCAT score. So much rides on such a relatively small test and I'd obviously like to score well so that I can go to med school somewhere without this florida humidity.

I was wondering if it is reasonable to begin preparation now, or at least early next year as a freshman, in order to start introducing myself to the test? In my experience, standardized tests like the SAT have more to do with knowing the test like the back of your hand and studying accordingly than it does with raw intelligence. I realize that the MCAT is a different Beast, but does this observation apply to the MCAT as well? If so, it seems to me that I should start studying now. I'll be graduating with 14 AP classes including AP Physics 1&2, AP Calculus 1&2, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry. These classes definitely dont cover all of the material on the MCAT but it seems to me that I probably already know a significant chunk of the required material. Is this true?

Thanks for the feedback!

Also, I am aware that alot more than GPA and MCAT scores go into a successful med school application. I wont let this early studying get in the way of obtaining research experience or clinical experience. Im just hoping that It will strengthen my App.

To answer your question directly, no, there is no reason why you can't get a jump start. I agree with the others on this thread that there are probably better uses of your time, but if you really want to, there are more than enough study materials out there. The MCAT format has changed significantly, but I can agree with what was said above that the MCAT is something you "practice" for rather than study. Since it is mostly passage-based, you actually don't need to know a whole lot of advanced science knowledge going in, but you need to know how to extract and comprehend knowledge quickly from passages and then make judgments based on that information. If you are interested, go to your local bookstore and look as some of the passages in the prep books to get yourself familiar with the format at least. Another thing to remember is that the test is administered on the computer, so when you start to practice seriously in the months leading to the exam, I would highly recommend doing practice tests on the computer and not in a book.

 

[PugsAndHugs]

The best thing you can do if you want to start studying for the MCAT this early is to read books. This was help with your reading speed and comprehension and will benefit you greatly for the CARS section. I would't start taking practice tests just yet, take the pre-reqs first.

 

[raiderette]

Agree with @PugsAndHugs. CARS is the most difficult part to improve. Explore humanites journals, read books and think critically. As for the rest of the test, do well in your chemistry sequence so prep is easier and know biochem cold. It is on two sections of the test. Take sociology and psychology for gen ed and don't treat them as blowoff classes.

 

[dreee]

Hey guys, I am currently a high school senior who will be attending the university of Florida in the fall. My major of choice is computer science and I'll obviously be adding pre med reqs to that. Im convinced that medicine is what I want to do with my life and I'm also convinced that I would like to get out of Florida ASAP. While in undergrad, I plan on locking down a solid gpa (like every one else). Im confident in my ability to do so since I believe that I have prepared myself to be able to succeed in undergrad thanks to my extremely challenging high school course load. What I AM worried about though is my MCAT score. So much rides on such a relatively small test and I'd obviously like to score well so that I can go to med school somewhere without this florida humidity.

I was wondering if it is reasonable to begin preparation now, or at least early next year as a freshman, in order to start introducing myself to the test? In my experience, standardized tests like the SAT have more to do with knowing the test like the back of your hand and studying accordingly than it does with raw intelligence. I realize that the MCAT is a different Beast, but does this observation apply to the MCAT as well? If so, it seems to me that I should start studying now. I'll be graduating with 14 AP classes including AP Physics 1&2, AP Calculus 1&2, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry. These classes definitely dont cover all of the material on the MCAT but it seems to me that I probably already know a significant chunk of the required material. Is this true?

Thanks for the feedback!

Also, I am aware that alot more than GPA and MCAT scores go into a successful med school application. I wont let this early studying get in the way of obtaining research experience or clinical experience. Im just hoping that It will strengthen my App.

The MCAT is much more than content. Yeah you have a ton of APs which is admirable, but that doesn't mean you'll do well. Don't study for the MCAT from high school. You'll get burned out. Take your premed classes and an MCAT prep course 3-6 months before your exam. I can't imagine you learning anything more in high school that you can't learn in 6months of prep before the test.

I also went to UF. Their biochem class hosted by the College of Med is imo the closest testing-wise to the MCAT btw.