Extra Courses to prepare for NEW MCAT

[Jsor20]

Hello everyone,
I am preparing to take the MCAT at the beginning of 2017. I have one more semester to take a couple extra classes. To anyone that has taken the NEW MCAT, or anyone who has good info, what are the best courses besides the required courses. I am deciding between a physiology course or a cellular biology course, or possibly both if that is the best option. I am trying to create a semi-easy schedule so I can have a good amount of hours every week dedicated to MCAT prep. Would these courses help me, or am I better off just making it an easy semester and spending more time on the MCAT books. Thank you for the help!!

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[goodlord123]

It certainly won't hurt you. However I have worked with students who haven't even taken biochem for the new exam (which is certainly one of the biggest parts of the new exam and I def recommend taking it), and they ended up with great scores, so it is certainly possible to do great without those extra courses. If you have the time and interest, go for it. If not, it will be doable (likely, just student dependent), without them.


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[DRsmartypants]

If I were you, and I did take the 2015 MCAT, I would make sure you have at least biochem I down pat. That is a big part of the exam. There is still a lot of cell bio and physio, and the MCAT like to connect Biochem, physio, cell bio like you will be doing in medical school. So make sure you are prepare to infer connections between discplines. I would take both if I were you, and if you haven't already, take social psych it will help on the MCAT.

 

[efle]

The best way to prep for the MCAT, bar none, is from MCAT prep materials. Hence why everyone studies from prep books instead of their coursework textbooks or notes. Very rarely do classes help at all, since they tend to skip a lot of MCAT relevant stuff and go far too in depth in what they do cover.

So the best thing to do is take an extremely low effort gen ed or no class at all, and pour that time into MCAT prep in Fall instead. A few extra hours of MCAT prep per week will have much better yield than any class.

 

[FutureD.O]

If I were you, and I did take the 2015 MCAT, I would make sure you have at least biochem I down pat. That is a big part of the exam. There is still a lot of cell bio and physio, and the MCAT like to connect Biochem, physio, cell bio like you will be doing in medical school. So make sure you are prepare to infer connections between discplines. I would take both if I were you, and if you haven't already, take social psych it will help on the MCAT.

Psych can be learned quickly if approached right. I was able to get a 129 in psych by self studying. It would probably help to take a social psych, but I'm not sure how much. The biggest issue with psych on the MCAT for me was deciding between the last two available choices, and distinguishing nuances between extremely similar terms/experimental situations.

 

[Jsor20]

Well thank you all so much for the help! I figured the best way would be to choose between either physiology or cell biology, and then dedicate more time into MCAT prep books or a prep course. Ill take biochem in the fall as well, but that will be good prep right before taking it at the first date in january. If you guys have any other tips or tricks for studying for the MCAT, im all ears! I love to get opinions from those who have successfully gone through it all. Thank you again!

 

[AirplaneFruit]

Aren't undergrad physiology courses BS? I don't think top undergrads even offer them. They're like "Communications"


Better to learn about cell bio than those.

 

[efle]

WashU has two popular physio classes (physiological control systems, and human physiology). They're basically an overview of hormones/transmitters and their mechanisms and pretty legit classes

 

[efle]

Here's an example hour long test

http://www.nslc.wustl.edu/courses/bio3058/stein/exams/2013Bio3058exam2.pdf

It is one of the easier upper level bio classes though, medians on tests were usually like 22/25

 

[Jsor20]

So do you think that it would even help with the mcat?


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[efle]

Might help a small amount but like I said time spent studying from prep books >> any coursework

 

[GrapesofRath]

Here's an example hour long test

http://www.nslc.wustl.edu/courses/bio3058/stein/exams/2013Bio3058exam2.pdf

It is one of the easier upper level bio classes though, medians on tests were usually like 22/25

I like how this professor basically just gives up half way through writing the test and stops trying. First 10 questions are like PhD dissertations in length, after that it is all memory regurgitation and recalling a couple facts per question. The extent to which professors despise any test that cant be graded through a scantron is amusing also with the 8 multiple choice questions.

I agree this isnt that hard of a test but this also kind of highlights how useless these classes are taking for the MCAT. The content is just a byproduct of whatever the professors research is on or what he personally finds interesting/relevant which varies widely. Way too much focus on detail; even the conceptual questions at the beginning require you to know alot of facts. Most helpful for anybody trying to take the MCAT is to take a class that requires you to read and analyze science literature.

Ill also couldnt help thinking looking through this that I agree it isnt that hard of a test but even at a pretty good state school(like where I went) I dont think the median would be higher than low 70s on this.

 

[efle]

Yeah my take on his tests was that he was doing his best to get a little thinking involved in a subject matter that's tough to do so in. Much like anatomy it's all about memorization