ek chemistry

[moneyking]

Hello,
I would like to know whether ek chemistry will be sufficient for the MCAT. I have only taken first year chem, no organic chem. I also have kaplan gen chem and org chem books. So which one would be a better option? EK or Kaplan?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

Are you dead set on taking the MCAT without orgo? I would suggest not as some versions seem to be heavy on this area. And it can be a difficult class to learn even with structured lectures. You only want to take the MCAT when you are the most ready. You'll have to do orgo eventually anyway, so don't rush it. Just my two cents.

 

[moneyking]

Are you dead set on taking the MCAT without orgo? I would suggest not as some versions seem to be heavy on this area. And it can be a difficult class to learn even with structured lectures. You only want to take the MCAT when you are the most ready. You'll have to do orgo eventually anyway, so don't rush it. Just my two cents.

Yes I am dead set. so from here what would you suggest?

 

[Bleu]

Why? You need ochem to apply to med school. Even if you do OK on the MCAT which would be tough using prep books it would waste one of your eligible app yrs. The test at most schools is only good for 3 yrs. You would have to sit on your scores for a yr while you take ochem and if you don't get in on the first try that gives you only one more chance before having to retest.

 

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

Yes I am dead set. so from here what would you suggest?

I did not use EK books so I'm not sure for them, but Kaplan o-chem seemed pretty detailed, as did their biochem. Have you done biochem? The MCAT seems to mesh these together so I would suggest hardcore studying of Kaplan biochem and orgo since they both read like a textbook. And then lots of practice problems too. When are you scheduled to take it?

 

[Apollo1]

Too many uncertainties/risks for OP to take the MCAT without taking lectures first; I'm probably not the only one thinking that you stand a greater chance of bombing right now with your mindset. Take the courses before you take the MCAT.

Your knowledge base right now is sand, and you're wanting to build the walls of your house on it. Not advisable.

 

[moneyking]

Why? You need ochem to apply to med school. Even if you do OK on the MCAT which would be tough using prep books it would waste one of your eligible app yrs. The test at most schools is only good for 3 yrs. You would have to sit on your scores for a yr while you take ochem and if you don't get in on the first try that gives you only one more chance before having to retest.

Organic chem isn't a prereq in canada

 

[Bleu]

Organic chem isn't a prereq in canada

Based on the Canadian posters a 515 is so moneyking go for it! Natural selection will take care of the rest.

 

[GoljansRightBicep]

Hello,
I would like to know whether ek chemistry will be sufficient for the MCAT. I have only taken first year chem, no organic chem. I also have kaplan gen chem and org chem books. So which one would be a better option? EK or Kaplan?

Definitely not. I finished the EK chemistry book, and I thought their gen chem was pretty good. Their Ochem is weak though! I ended up relying on my ochem notes from my undergrad.

If you're not going to take ochem before the MCAT, do NOT rely on review material that isn't thorough such as EK. I like EK questions, but their ochem review was weak sauce (1 chapter...)

 

[moneyking]

Definitely not. I finished the EK chemistry book, and I thought their gen chem was pretty good. Their Ochem is weak though! I ended up relying on my ochem notes from my undergrad.

If you're not going to take ochem before the MCAT, do NOT rely on review material that isn't thorough such as EK. I like EK questions, but their ochem review was weak sauce (1 chapter...)

Are there any other resources for suggestion to prepare?

 

[GoljansRightBicep]

Are there any other resources for suggestion to prepare?

Sorry, I haven't used anything else besides EK and my notes first-hand. Ochem significantly changed since the old test, so any old materials will cover way too much ground (unless you want to be over-thorough). If I were you, I'd start with the newest Kaplan book you have, that may be good enough.

 

[Neutrophil2016]

If you haven't had organic chemistry yet then that probably means that you never took a biochemistry course either. Although the amount of orgo questions has been reduced, biochemistry is the MOST important content area of the new test. If you are insistent about taking the test without these courses then you should go on iTunesU and watch courses for a full year of organic and 1-semester of biochem. I cannot imagine doing this myself, but it is the only option (aside from waiting until you have the courses in undergrad). I truly do not believe you can learn these challenging topics on your own and without them you will score VERY badly. People who have taken all of these classes still sometimes make poor scores; so, you are really building a ship to wreck here.

The Kaplan books are really poor when it comes to organic. They do a good job explaining the lab techniques like separation, distillation, recrystallization etc. You can also probably learn nomenclature well from them, but reactions and spectroscopy are not covered thoroughly enough. Acidity, polarity and general structural characteristics are also not well covered.

 

[El-Rami]

You need a pretty solid base in orgo to understand biochem, so don't neglect it. Even taking orgo three years ago and not reviewing it is a lot better than reviewing without taking the classes, in my opinion.