General questions

[vmc303]

I'm planning to apply next cycle. I just finished my first semester of post-bacc work, and I'll be finished with all of the requirements by the end of spring.

1). Is the advantage of taking the MCAT in April simply that it allows you to retake in August if you flub it? Or do some schools actually require it that early?

2). Is the MCAT like the SAT in the sense that you can take it a few times to no real detriment? Or is it more like the LSAT, where you should really only take it once? (For the LSAT, most schools average all your tests, so you don't want to take it unless you're maximally prepared.)

3). I'm only taking the minimal requirements for med school -- bio, chem, o-chem, and physics. I was a philosophy major as an undergrad, so I don't have a science background. I've always done very well on standardized tests though. Should I be studying extensively on my own to make up for my lack of biochem, genetics, physiology, etc.?

4). Finally, I'm a bit confused as to the exact nature of the MCAT. A lot of people say that it's heavily knowledge-based. However, I've heard others say that it's mostly analytical. From what I've seen of the test, it seems like you're given a technical passage and you have to answer questions from it. At the very least, this would suggest that it's not simply a test of regurgitating what you learned in courses. Is this correct? I'm mainly concerned about encountering a term I've never seen before (say, a concept that was covered in biochem) and then simply having no way of even attempting to answer it. If it's mostly questions from passages though, this wouldn't seem to be as much of a problem.

Thanks a lot.

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[DrBowtie]

1.) It is to your advantage to take in April since your app won't be delayed for August scores. Most schools are rolling so the earlier the better.

2.) Try to take it only once.

3.) You should be preparing extensively with practice tests/passages

4.) Take a practice and find out for yourself. Discrete questions are really where your knowledge comes in.

 

[McGillGrad]

1.) It is to your advantage to take in April since your app won't be delayed for August scores. Most schools are rolling so the earlier the better.

2.) Try to take it only once.

3.) You should be preparing extensively with practice tests/passages

4.) Take a practice and find out for yourself. Discrete questions are really where your knowledge comes in.