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Lately Ive been receiving emails from several of the freshman pre-meds at my campus asking me about scheduling for next year and in particular if it is a good idea to take Physics as a sophomore instead of a junior. Since this is the route I took, and since this enabled me to take the MCAT early after my sophomore year in August instead of my junior year in April (when most take it), I wrote back a lengthy email to these people with the pros, cons, and my opinions. I figured that I might as well share the information with other freshman pre-meds, as I dont know if anyone actually discusses these things with you. Plus, not many people I know take this path for some reason, which frankly baffles me. Okay, so heres the email I sent out to the others, hope it helps!
- - - - -
I can basically say that taking Physics as a sophomore was probably the smartest scheduling decision that I've made here at college. I'm surprised more professors don't recommend it...heck, not many people that I know of in my grade even considered it.
Okay, so here are the advantages:
Since you will have completed all the basic courses you need to take the MCAT (Gen Bio I/II, Gen Chem I/II, Organic Chem I/II, and Physics I/II) by the end of your Sophomore year, you'll be all ready to take in it August before school starts up again. This gives you all summer to study for the exam, which is a HUGE advantage when you consider what the other option is, which is study during the school months of Dec, Jan, Feb, and Mar while you have other tests and classes going on. Trust me, I've seen my fellow Juniors trying to study for the MCAT right now, and by watching them I know firsthand that it's difficult to balance time between schoolwork and the MCAT. It's nice to have the entire day (besides for work, volunteering, ect) in the summer to sit with the review books and just study without worrying about other obligations. Plus, you wont risk any of your grades suffering because of your preoccupation with the MCAT.
Another advantage is that the information you will be studying will be as fresh in your head as it can be before you start reviewing. Think about this logically. You will have just taken Organic and Physics as a Sophomore, and since both of those class exams are usually cumulative, you'll feel like you're only studying for the finals all over again. If you decide to take the MCAT April of junior year, you will have been done with Organic for about 7 months before you start reviewing again in Dec, which makes it harder to recall all that youve lost mentally over the summer months and first semester. In addition, the Physics class you will be in won't be done before you take the MCAT, which means that you'll have to study a few concepts on your own because the teacher won't have covered them (in my case this was Lens/Mirrors and Radioactive/Nuclear physics).
Now lets look at the timeframe for applying to med schools and how this may affect your situation when that time arises. Most people take the exam in April of their junior year. Applications for med school, which is one single application you fill out on the AAMC website, can be sent out on June 1st the earliest. Now, since it takes almost exactly two months for MCAT scores to be returned to you, and because most med schools will not consider your application for admission until they have received your MCAT scores, the soonest that April MCAT takers can apply to med schools is around the 15th of June. If you took you MCAT in August you would have your scores in October, allowing you many months to prepare and send out your application right on June 1st. This gets your app to med schools a whole two weeks before the majority of the rest of your classmates (aka the competition). This may not seem like such a big deal, but unlike applying to colleges, prompt delivery of your app makes a tremendous difference in getting into the med school of your choice. You could have a 37 on your MCAT, but if you apply in late November your school of choice may have already filled up their available spots with other candidates, leaving you out in the cold. Trust me when I say youll want any advantage you can get when you start applying to school, and getting invited to one of the first interview sessions at a med school can be considered a huge plus. Additionally, you usually find out if youve been accepted earlier than your peers, which can make this whole process a lot shorter and less stressful than other would have you believe.
Of course, theres always the chance that you might not do as well on the MCAT as you had hoped. Well, just take it again in April when all your classmates are taking it for the 1st time. Suppose you still dont do so well. Take it a third time in August right before you senior year. Most med schools will put you on a wait list if your app looks promising but your MCAT isnt up to snuff. As soon as they get your August scores they can reevaluate your app and see if youre still up for admission. And if you dont do well after three MCAT exams, then you should consider the possibility that other career goals would probably suit you better.
Okay, now possible disadvantages:
Some people worry about the course load. For me, this meant Organic Chem I, Physics I, Microbiology, and a general education course my 1st semester, and Organic Chem II, Physics II, Genetics, and another gen ed my 2nd semester. Its a good idea to take Genetics sometime during your sophomore year, as much of what you learn is valuable for the MCAT. I chose Microbiology as my upper level bio course, but a different biology course (physiology especially) would probably suffice as well. Its up to you to determine what load you think you can handle. I managed just fine in Organic, Genetics, and Microbiology, but Physics was my pain in the butt class, as math really isnt my strong suit. I took Calculus here as a freshman and didnt have any trouble, but for some reason Physics here was a hell of a lot harder than my high school Physics class. I pulled off A/Bs both semesters, but it took some heavy work. All in all, this schedule is entirely do-able, and itll make your Junior and Senior years a cakewalk in comparison.
The other big worry most people have is that they wont have taken enough upper level biology courses to be adequately prepared for the MCAT. Well, seeing that the only biology courses that I took besides for Gen Bio were Micro and Genetics, I had similar doubts. Youll be happy to hear that I found that there isnt much that you would learn from any more advanced bio courses that would help you dramatically on the exam. Sure, a deeper understanding of cell biology or especially systemic physiology might make the occasional passage easier to comprehend, but you have to remember that there are English and Philosophy majors who take the MCAT and do well also, so a complete understanding of all things biology isnt necessarily paramount.
I would recommend getting a review book from a company like Kaplan or Princeton Review to help you will your studies. I used the Kaplan book and my notes for my studying, and I found that these were sufficient as far as need-to-know information is concerned. The only material I needed to teach myself was some basic physiology regarding the production and effects of various hormones, but this was all included in the Kaplan book and only required a few days of extra study.
Those are the only disadvantages I can really think of. As you can tell, Im greatly in favor of people taking Physics as a Sophomore. Sure the next two semesters might suck, but suck it up and plow through it and youll be glad that you did later on. I did well enough on the MCAT that I wont be taking it again this April, so you can see that this technique is entirely possible. To tell you the truth, I didnt even have to study all summer like the world was going to end either. I was abroad from June to July in Spain and read up on Organic Chemistry while I was there. When I returned I had about one and a half months to plow through the rest of the subjects. Of course, I would recommend as much MCAT studying as possible, but its not so extreme that it would have to ruin your summer vacation. Your sophomore summer is also a great time to get involved in volunteering or research, so you shouldnt plan on studying MCAT all the time.
Well this turned out longer than I expected. Hopefully you didnt fall asleep reading it and now have some insight as to what decisions you will have to make down the road. If you have further questions regarding this decision, ask some of your upper class peers who might have gone down this same road. If you do well enough on the August MCAT you can laugh at your friends as they hit the books on Friday nights while you spend it out with your non MCAT-studying buddies. If you have any other questions, which you shouldnt after reading this monster, than feel free to post them here. Well, take it easy everybody. And good luck with the scheduling!
- - - - -
I can basically say that taking Physics as a sophomore was probably the smartest scheduling decision that I've made here at college. I'm surprised more professors don't recommend it...heck, not many people that I know of in my grade even considered it.
Okay, so here are the advantages:
Since you will have completed all the basic courses you need to take the MCAT (Gen Bio I/II, Gen Chem I/II, Organic Chem I/II, and Physics I/II) by the end of your Sophomore year, you'll be all ready to take in it August before school starts up again. This gives you all summer to study for the exam, which is a HUGE advantage when you consider what the other option is, which is study during the school months of Dec, Jan, Feb, and Mar while you have other tests and classes going on. Trust me, I've seen my fellow Juniors trying to study for the MCAT right now, and by watching them I know firsthand that it's difficult to balance time between schoolwork and the MCAT. It's nice to have the entire day (besides for work, volunteering, ect) in the summer to sit with the review books and just study without worrying about other obligations. Plus, you wont risk any of your grades suffering because of your preoccupation with the MCAT.
Another advantage is that the information you will be studying will be as fresh in your head as it can be before you start reviewing. Think about this logically. You will have just taken Organic and Physics as a Sophomore, and since both of those class exams are usually cumulative, you'll feel like you're only studying for the finals all over again. If you decide to take the MCAT April of junior year, you will have been done with Organic for about 7 months before you start reviewing again in Dec, which makes it harder to recall all that youve lost mentally over the summer months and first semester. In addition, the Physics class you will be in won't be done before you take the MCAT, which means that you'll have to study a few concepts on your own because the teacher won't have covered them (in my case this was Lens/Mirrors and Radioactive/Nuclear physics).
Now lets look at the timeframe for applying to med schools and how this may affect your situation when that time arises. Most people take the exam in April of their junior year. Applications for med school, which is one single application you fill out on the AAMC website, can be sent out on June 1st the earliest. Now, since it takes almost exactly two months for MCAT scores to be returned to you, and because most med schools will not consider your application for admission until they have received your MCAT scores, the soonest that April MCAT takers can apply to med schools is around the 15th of June. If you took you MCAT in August you would have your scores in October, allowing you many months to prepare and send out your application right on June 1st. This gets your app to med schools a whole two weeks before the majority of the rest of your classmates (aka the competition). This may not seem like such a big deal, but unlike applying to colleges, prompt delivery of your app makes a tremendous difference in getting into the med school of your choice. You could have a 37 on your MCAT, but if you apply in late November your school of choice may have already filled up their available spots with other candidates, leaving you out in the cold. Trust me when I say youll want any advantage you can get when you start applying to school, and getting invited to one of the first interview sessions at a med school can be considered a huge plus. Additionally, you usually find out if youve been accepted earlier than your peers, which can make this whole process a lot shorter and less stressful than other would have you believe.
Of course, theres always the chance that you might not do as well on the MCAT as you had hoped. Well, just take it again in April when all your classmates are taking it for the 1st time. Suppose you still dont do so well. Take it a third time in August right before you senior year. Most med schools will put you on a wait list if your app looks promising but your MCAT isnt up to snuff. As soon as they get your August scores they can reevaluate your app and see if youre still up for admission. And if you dont do well after three MCAT exams, then you should consider the possibility that other career goals would probably suit you better.
Okay, now possible disadvantages:
Some people worry about the course load. For me, this meant Organic Chem I, Physics I, Microbiology, and a general education course my 1st semester, and Organic Chem II, Physics II, Genetics, and another gen ed my 2nd semester. Its a good idea to take Genetics sometime during your sophomore year, as much of what you learn is valuable for the MCAT. I chose Microbiology as my upper level bio course, but a different biology course (physiology especially) would probably suffice as well. Its up to you to determine what load you think you can handle. I managed just fine in Organic, Genetics, and Microbiology, but Physics was my pain in the butt class, as math really isnt my strong suit. I took Calculus here as a freshman and didnt have any trouble, but for some reason Physics here was a hell of a lot harder than my high school Physics class. I pulled off A/Bs both semesters, but it took some heavy work. All in all, this schedule is entirely do-able, and itll make your Junior and Senior years a cakewalk in comparison.
The other big worry most people have is that they wont have taken enough upper level biology courses to be adequately prepared for the MCAT. Well, seeing that the only biology courses that I took besides for Gen Bio were Micro and Genetics, I had similar doubts. Youll be happy to hear that I found that there isnt much that you would learn from any more advanced bio courses that would help you dramatically on the exam. Sure, a deeper understanding of cell biology or especially systemic physiology might make the occasional passage easier to comprehend, but you have to remember that there are English and Philosophy majors who take the MCAT and do well also, so a complete understanding of all things biology isnt necessarily paramount.
I would recommend getting a review book from a company like Kaplan or Princeton Review to help you will your studies. I used the Kaplan book and my notes for my studying, and I found that these were sufficient as far as need-to-know information is concerned. The only material I needed to teach myself was some basic physiology regarding the production and effects of various hormones, but this was all included in the Kaplan book and only required a few days of extra study.
Those are the only disadvantages I can really think of. As you can tell, Im greatly in favor of people taking Physics as a Sophomore. Sure the next two semesters might suck, but suck it up and plow through it and youll be glad that you did later on. I did well enough on the MCAT that I wont be taking it again this April, so you can see that this technique is entirely possible. To tell you the truth, I didnt even have to study all summer like the world was going to end either. I was abroad from June to July in Spain and read up on Organic Chemistry while I was there. When I returned I had about one and a half months to plow through the rest of the subjects. Of course, I would recommend as much MCAT studying as possible, but its not so extreme that it would have to ruin your summer vacation. Your sophomore summer is also a great time to get involved in volunteering or research, so you shouldnt plan on studying MCAT all the time.
Well this turned out longer than I expected. Hopefully you didnt fall asleep reading it and now have some insight as to what decisions you will have to make down the road. If you have further questions regarding this decision, ask some of your upper class peers who might have gone down this same road. If you do well enough on the August MCAT you can laugh at your friends as they hit the books on Friday nights while you spend it out with your non MCAT-studying buddies. If you have any other questions, which you shouldnt after reading this monster, than feel free to post them here. Well, take it easy everybody. And good luck with the scheduling!
