Hey guys, Need a bit of advice. I have taken all of my premed courses except for physics II. And I was hoping to take the MCAT's in august. Being my junior year I don't want to delay my application for a year just because of physics II. Thus I was wondering can i learn the physics needed in a kaplan or princeton review course while preparing for the MCAT's? Or is taking physics II course really important? I was planning on taking physics II over the summer right before the MCAT's but that would reduce my studying time for the MCAT's by a lot. Thanks in advance for the advice. Laterz.
Depends. If you are takin non-calculus physics, some universities cram E&M, relativity, and basic quantum into physics II (two of which could appear on the MCAT). If you are taking physics with calculus, I see no reason you would have to take it. You'll basically be missing out on a bunch of integrals that you will never need. It also depends on how strong a chem student you are. In gen chem II, you learn all about the hydrogen atom, nuclear decay, half life, etc. The same material is usually covered in non-calculus physics. If you are weak in this, you may want to learn it again in physics II. Honestly, though, I see no reason you cannot learn this stuff from Kaplan (it's not THAT complicated at all, you if you have a good foundation from physics I, you should be fine).
I'm going to have to disagree with rxfudd on this one, no offense. I feel that Physics II is vital to MCAT success. Physics II covers topics like Electric fields, circuits, Magnetic fields, and optics. These topics among others are vital to MCAT success. The Kaplan and PR will give you a basic background with them, however I feel that you should have a better understanding, one which would come through taking the course. These topics aren't that easy, frankly, I find optics confusing. Hope this helps. Mossjoh
