general question

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bocciball

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hey everyone- I'm new to the forum and and I'm sure I have some typical newcomer questions regarding prepation for medical school.

When should I take the MCAT for the first time (i'm currently a soph undergrad.)?
What books and test-prep classes are recommended for preparation for the MCAT?
Also, what duration before the test date should I begin preparing (I know this is kind of ambigous, just give a round-about)?
How many times should I take the MCAT? I heard that 3 times was the most a given individual was "allowed" to sit the test. Is there any truth to this?

On a side note- I've done a bit of browsing and some medical schools require a full year of english courses and some do not. At this point I've only taken one semester of an english course, is it recommended that I take one more to "play it safe?" .... or does it really not matter too much?

Anyways, thanks for your time reading this post and I would appreciate any responses.

P.S. - Sorry if this has been posted before but I'm knew to the forums and couldn't find the aforementioned posts.

Thanks,
A Hopefull Doctor

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hey everyone- I'm new to the forum and and I'm sure I have some typical newcomer questions regarding prepation for medical school.

When should I take the MCAT for the first time (i'm currently a soph undergrad.)?
What books and classes are recommended for preparation for the MCAT?
Also, what duration before the test date should I begin preparing (I know this is kind of ambigous, just give a round-about)?
How many times should I take the MCAT? I heard that 3 times was the most a given individual was "allowed to sit the tets. Is there any truth to this?

On a side note- I've done a bit of browing and some medical schools require a full year of english courses and some do not. At this point I've only taken one semester of an english course, is it recommended that I take one more to "play it safe?" .... or does it really not matter too much?

Anyways, thanks for your time reading this post and I would appreciate any responses.

P.S. - Sorry if this has been posted before but I'm knew to the forums and couldn't find the aforementioned posts.

Thanks,
A Hopefull Doctor

1. april of junior year
2. i took a kaplan course and it helped a lot, everyone i know took either kaplan or princeton review- pick one and go with it, it'll force you to study
3. the kaplan class i took started in february. this means 3 months of studying prior to the test
4. you only want to take the mcat once! its a 9 hour test, believe me do it right the first time
5. take the other english course, it can only help you later
 
hey everyone- I'm new to the forum and and I'm sure I have some typical newcomer questions regarding prepation for medical school.

When should I take the MCAT for the first time (i'm currently a soph undergrad.)?
What books and test-prep classes are recommended for preparation for the MCAT?
Also, what duration before the test date should I begin preparing (I know this is kind of ambigous, just give a round-about)?
How many times should I take the MCAT? I heard that 3 times was the most a given individual was "allowed" to sit the test. Is there any truth to this?

On a side note- I've done a bit of browsing and some medical schools require a full year of english courses and some do not. At this point I've only taken one semester of an english course, is it recommended that I take one more to "play it safe?" .... or does it really not matter too much?

Anyways, thanks for your time reading this post and I would appreciate any responses.

P.S. - Sorry if this has been posted before but I'm knew to the forums and couldn't find the aforementioned posts.

Thanks,
A Hopefull Doctor

I really like the curriculum at my state school, it has you take Bio I and II, Gen Chem I and II all freshman year, .... Microbiology, genetics, anatomy, O-chem I and II, and Physics I and II second year. Then just take the august MCAT. I think the reason this benefits alot of people is that the information is so fresh, and to be able to excel in that course load you really do need to know the material well.

If you haven't started, look into this.
 
1) take the MCAT at the end of your sophomore year or beginning of your junior year. there are actually more opportunities to take the MCAT each year now.
2) you can take a princeton review or kaplan or examkrackers course or you can buy their books. do what you really feel is necessary since some people don't need prep and others do.
3) the test used to be 8 hrs long, now it's computer based and is shorter from what i hear. check the mcat discussions forum or go to www.aamc.org and look at MCAT.
4) try to shoot for a great score the first time you take it. it's an annoying test to take, and you don't want to take it more than you have to.
5) take another english course just in case.
 
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