How hard would the MCAT be if I've never taken psychology or sociology class?

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I haven't really looked at how much the MCAT has for this subject and I might not be able to fit them in my schedule before I take it next year. Would it be difficult if I take it without taking the actual classes and just studying from practice books?
 
Not hard at all. If you wanna get a leg up, start looking over the content for psych and soc now so it will be second nature when exam time
 
I haven't really looked at how much the MCAT has for this subject and I might not be able to fit them in my schedule before I take it next year. Would it be difficult if I take it without taking the actual classes and just studying from practice books?
I took one intro psych class two years before I started studying for my MCAT. I didn't remember any of the material in the class at all. I also hadn't yet completed the biochemistry sequence. It is definitely possible to do well without the class, but I think I would have done better having taken the courses. I used a lot of khan academy for that section and I got a 130 on it.
 
I felt like it was the easiest section. I put 1/4 of the effort into the psych/soc section as i did into the others and I still got a 126 in the section. I also never took sociology
 
I think it depends on the type of learner you are...I would recommend sticking to concepts and principles of things like behavior/conditioning as well as going through a prep book for content/themes. I used the Kaplan set and scored 130 with only some intro psych classes 5 years ago. It was a good source and honestly, practice is your best friend in my opinion. Best of luck to you!


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The psych section for me required the most memorization but also at the same time common sense. If your study schedule involves 3+ months you can easily memorize important psychologists and theories. As for the common sense part.... just have some.

I relied heavily on Khan Academy and it paid off because I ended up in the 97th percentile.
 
Same approach and same score as @ready2go2

Memorize your book of choice (I used TPR), watch KA videos, and think a little. I believe bringing outside knowledge in would've hurt my score.
 
Sigh. All I can say is, don't underestimate this section. I obliterated the hard science sections, thought this section wouldn't be too bad, and it bit me (probably would've scored 520+ otherwise). On a side note, I've noticed many who scored high in the P/S used Khan, so go with that.
 
For those that used Khan academy, was that your primary means of studying? Or did you supplement it with something else?
 
Self study should be totally sufficient if you're diligent! I never took a psychology or sociology course in college or high school, and managed a 132 using TPR materials. It's quite a bit of memorization but you can do it!
 
I haven't really looked at how much the MCAT has for this subject and I might not be able to fit them in my schedule before I take it next year. Would it be difficult if I take it without taking the actual classes and just studying from practice books?
Very easy! I never took psych and my soc class has almost no overlap and I scored in the 97th percentile for that section. Buy a review book and just go for it!
 
I took one intro psych class two years before I started studying for my MCAT. I didn't remember any of the material in the class at all. I also hadn't yet completed the biochemistry sequence. It is definitely possible to do well without the class, but I think I would have done better having taken the courses. I used a lot of khan academy for that section and I got a 130 on it.



Did you only use khan for psy section if not what else did you use. I want to use khan and then do problems. What was your strategy?
 
Self studied for a 131 on that section. Exam Krackers for content, Khan for passages (didn't watch any videos), and made flashcards for every term/theory/famous person I encountered while doing practice passages / FL's.
 
How did you all know what to make notecards of? Was it just the terms from KA?

Edit: gurby just saw your post thanks that sounds like a good idea!
 
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It requires study but it's a lot of memorizing facts that you might not even encounter is a psych or soc class. I never took a soc class, took a couple of psych classes ages ago, used TPR, studied my ass off for the MCAT, and aced this section.
 
I wrote a post on the 509+ thread (should be within the last few pages) which included how I studied for this section with only 1 intro CC psych class years ago (129 score).
 
I didn't take either, and found both Kaplan and EK insufficient on the sections. I watched the Kahn videos on double speed, and scored a 132 on the section.


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It had been 8 years since my psych class and have never taken sociology. I studied from TPR and KA and did fine. Easiest section to study for (imo).

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I wish I took a psych class before writing! You can definitely do it without, but of course having the class will make it easier.
 
Not hard, just study the material using test prep materials and/or class materials. Test prep stuff is probably good enough but more boring.

And practice, practice, practice.
 
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