How stupid would it be to try to self-study in time to take the current MCAT?

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Elizabethx89

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I'm in a weird timing crunch. I'm taking Calc I and Gen Chem II over the summer and then taking O-Chem I and Physics I in the fall. So by the time January 2015 rolls around, I'll have taken all of my prereqs plus Calc and Genetics with the exception of O-Chem II and Physics II.

If I wait until I've already completed O-Chem II and Physics II, the new MCAT will be out, and I will need Biochem for it as well, which I won't be able to take until summer 2015 at the earliest and likely fall 2015 because my school often doesn't offer Biochem in the summer. My school flat out refuses to let me take Biochem without having finished O-Chem II. I tried cutting Calc I out of my summer schedule and instead taking Gen Chem II and O-Chem I over the summer, but I can't because my school isn't offering O-Chem I during the second term.

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I'm sorry if I just confused people. Essentially, if I wait until I finish my prereqs to take the MCAT, the new MCAT will be out, at which point I will need to take another semester just for Biochem, which would push me back an entire application cycle. Of course, then if I don't get in on the first try, that would add on yet another year before I can begin med school, and that one course can cause me to wind up matriculating 2 years later than I would have if I didn't need it.

So...on a scale on 1 to 10, how idiotic would it be to try to cram everything I need to know, including two classes worth the coursework I haven't taken yet, into my head by January 2015 so I can take the current MCAT?

Also, would it be a bad idea to take the current MCAT without having taken biochem? I know there's no specific biochem section, but my advisor maintains that there's no way I'll do well without exposure to biochem.


I can attest to this with so much experience it would blow you away (hopefully). I was just like you, except I didn't have the time pressure of trying to take the old MCAT before 2015. I was a sophomore and wanted to be ambitious and take the MCAT prior to finishing my ochem's and physics classes. I even took a summer test prep course (abbreviated test prep - I think it was 8-10 weeks). Let me tell you, I did not do well on the exam, and here's why:

1) I was cramming semesters worth of material (one OChem class, two physics calsses) into a short 2 months (yes, I studied for 2 months) for the first time. For me, this was a disaster although it seemed like it was going well. The MCAT is meant to be a 'recall what you learned', so the more time you spend with the original material, the better you'll do.

2) I lacked enough motivation. I knew I still had another year if I 'messed this up' to take the MCAT, so I was kind of in 'cruise mode' which didn't help.

3) Learning new material by yourself is tough! Physics was my toughest area (although I did fine on my real MCAT). Trying to teach yourself physics with a combination of YouTube, prep books, and podcasts is difficult but doable.


Despite those things I aced my classes the following semester, but did poorly on the MCAT. I did so poorly in fact I was asked about it in one of my interviews (despite that I still had a 100% acceptance rate post interview for all the schools I applied to). Moral of the story? Take the MCAT when you're ready and do not rush it. If you have to take it in 2015 so be it. You and everyone else will be in the same boat and you will succeed.
 
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I don't think you'll be able to learn all the material from organic 2 and physics 2 on your own if you haven't taken the introductory classes yet. Even if you did you'd have no time to review any of the material and brush up on weak areas before taking the MCAT. Organic 2 especially would be very difficult to learn if you don't have a foundation developed by organic 1. Some people will tell you organic isn't emphasized on the current MCAT, but when I took it there were quite a few organic questions, including some I'd just learned at the end of organic 2. I guess you could try taking the current MCAT without taking the classes first, but your score is going to suffer. That might be all right if you have a high GPA, great ECs and you're planning on going to a DO school out of an interest in osteopathic medicine, but in all other circumstances I'd recommend waiting until you're almost done with the last of your prereq classes.

Would it be possible for you to go to a different school over the summer? Lots of state schools give instate tuition for everyone over the summer, and you might be able to find one that has organic at the time you need. I had to take general chem over the summer at one school and the rest of my postbac at another to make the scheduling work. I suppose you could also take biochem two summers from now in an early summer session, take the MCAT immediately after you finish it, and have your application ready to submit as soon as you get your MCAT score back. That would delay your application a little, but probably not too bad. Again it might mean going to a different school. Taking biochem online through a different college during next spring semester might also work, if it wouldn't overload your schedule.
 
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Biochem is absolutely key.

I would try to study 1000+ hours for the MCAT if you can (I'm not kidding). You are competing against science majors who have probably taken their lower division classes at much harder schools than you're currently taking your classes at (just assuming you're like most of us non-trads) and they've also probably taken many upper division classes. In addition, they're studying for hundreds of hours as well.

I think taking the MCAT without having taken all your pre-reqs is a terrible idea unless you're going to be happy with a score of like 25 (and even a score that high will likely require a good amount of MCAT studying).
 
It may be possible but it will be very tough. Physics two seems to be fairly hard even for people who have taken the course, seeing the material for the first time and teaching yourself is far from ideal in this case. Plus you will probably want to combine the self study period with a course load that is not too heavy. Ochem 2 - there is plenty of material there as well. I would say that there are only a couple of important concepts, applied to a long list of situations. In a way, that might be a bit easier to manage on your own, at least compared to physics 2. You don't need biochem for the current MCAT. I had only intro bio when I took it and did fairly well (12), and I'm fairly certain I lost more points to o-chem questions then to bio.

It is still only March. Unfortunately, it is hard to start on the second parts of Physics/OChem until you take the first part which leaves you with nothing much to do for half a year. Do you need to take all these courses at your university? Can you take a different version somewhere at a CC or online? If you are concerned about legitimacy of CC/online, you can still retake it later at your Uni, but you'd be able to start moving through the material now instead of 6 months from now. Or you can start self-studying for physics and ochem right now, starting from part 1. Which would be hard, very hard. And will depend greatly on how good you are at self study. But you can try for a couple of weeks and see how well it goes and how much time it takes you?
 
I think this may be doable if you are quite smart (relative to the average MD/DO applicant, not just the average person), willing to work very hard (again, relative to the average pre-med who already works pretty hard), and you start with a high GPA and are willing to go DO. Try to figure out how hard you can work and how intelligent you think you are. If you think you can spend 70-80 hours a week studying and volunteering without burning out (note: MCAT studying gets quite dense, so burnout is pretty likely), then it might be worth really making a go for this MCAT. I think for the majority of people that would be a bad idea though, so you'll have to try to figure out if you think you're an exception.

Also realize if you can make this work, you'll have to think if you're going to be ok going to a more expensive DO school in an area you're less excited about when maybe you could have gotten that MD at a more exciting school if you took an extra year or two. There really won't be a "perfect" option here, whatever you decide will have some pros and cons. Best of luck in whatever you decide.

Side Note: What is your ethnicity and state of residency? This can have a very large impact in how difficult it is to get into an MD school as well as how much it will cost.
 
I think this would be a really bad idea. I took the MCAT having completed the classes you would be missing (Physics II and Ochem II), and then took biochem afterwards. It made me realize how valuable biochem would have been. I would highly recommend taking biochem BEFORE the MCAT, and wouldn't even dream of taking the MCAT without Ochem II and Physics II.
 
I'm in a weird timing crunch. I'm taking Calc I and Gen Chem II over the summer and then taking O-Chem I and Physics I in the fall. So by the time January 2015 rolls around, I'll have taken all of my prereqs plus Calc and Genetics with the exception of O-Chem II and Physics II.

If I wait until I've already completed O-Chem II and Physics II, the new MCAT will be out, and I will need Biochem for it as well, which I won't be able to take until summer 2015 at the earliest and likely fall 2015 because my school often doesn't offer Biochem in the summer. My school flat out refuses to let me take Biochem without having finished O-Chem II. I tried cutting Calc I out of my summer schedule and instead taking Gen Chem II and O-Chem I over the summer, but I can't because my school isn't offering O-Chem I during the second term.

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I'm sorry if I just confused people. Essentially, if I wait until I finish my prereqs to take the MCAT, the new MCAT will be out, at which point I will need to take another semester just for Biochem, which would push me back an entire application cycle. Of course, then if I don't get in on the first try, that would add on yet another year before I can begin med school, and that one course can cause me to wind up matriculating 2 years later than I would have if I didn't need it.

So...on a scale on 1 to 10, how idiotic would it be to try to cram everything I need to know, including two classes worth the coursework I haven't taken yet, into my head by January 2015 so I can take the current MCAT?

Also, would it be a bad idea to take the current MCAT without having taken biochem? I know there's no specific biochem section, but my advisor maintains that there's no way I'll do well without exposure to biochem.


So you haven't quit?
 
So you haven't quit?



btw o-chem is very low yield on the current MCAT. Make sure you get good review books. Berkeley review for physical sciences, and Princeton review for biosciences and you could self study and do fine.
 
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Its just that a few weeks ago you made these dramatic post about how you were gonna quit pre med.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ow-before-i-embarrass-myself-further.1052733/

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/alternative-career-paths.1061552/

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...fund-their-expenses-during-post-bacc.1059380/

JUst wanted to see if you were serious or if you wanted attention. I don't think you're gonna quit. You will probably get into med school and become a great doctor. Probably a bit melodramatic though.
 
I'll admit I don't think I'm "quite smart" compared to average MD/DO applicants. I make almost exclusively As in classes, but I work a lot harder than most people in order to get them. I'm far from the type of person who can glance over my notes for 20 minutes before an exam and make a 100.

I live in Georgia, and I'm half Puerto Rican. I assume that qualifies me as a URM, although I don't really look the part. Everyone thinks I'm just white--got more of my mom's genes.

If you have made "I want to quit post" or "I am finding basic chem difficult" posts then I think this is a **really** bad idea. After reading your other posts I would strongly recommend against doing this, as physics and o-chem are both significantly harder than chemistry and trigonometry.

You also have no idea if you'll burn out when you push yourself this hard. You won't burn out studying 4 hours a day for the MCAT the first week, but you might the 22nd week. It is much harder to study 4 hours of organic chemistry than it is to volunteer 4 hours at a hospital, so don't make the mistake of thinking just because you can find 4 hours a day to study exclusively for the MCAT this will be doable.
 
Ochem I topics such as SN1, SN2, stereochemistry, etc. are the most tested Ochem topics on the MCAT, so while not taking Ochem II will not be a huge issue, it can still limit you in achieving your full potential. I'd just suggest purchasing a few practice MCATs (in addition to the free one) from AAMC and taking them to see if it is manageable. But seeing how you wouldn't even have taken Ochem I by the last test date of the year which is usually in Sept., it may not help much taking it early and scoring lower than your potential vs. just taking the new test with everyone else.
 
It depends on the individual.

Honestly, I believe that it isn't mandatory to first take the prerequisites in order to do well on the MCAT.

Let's be honest. How many of us retain 100% of what we have learned in these courses before we start prepping for the MCAT?

The last test date for the old MCAT is Jan 2015, not Sept 2014.

As for Orgo and Physics, it depends on the individual. I personally believe that you can learn everything that you need for Physics I and II in 2-3 weeks. It's not bad assuming that you are number oriented.

Orgo is going to be time consuming regardless. If you take the UNE class and push yourself, you can do it in 10 weeks. That's my current pace right now while taking two other science courses. If I can do it, you can do it.
 
only you truly know if you can handle this and score well
 
Biochem is absolutely key.

I would try to study 1000+ hours for the MCAT if you can (I'm not kidding). You are competing against science majors who have probably taken their lower division classes at much harder schools than you're currently taking your classes at (just assuming you're like most of us non-trads) and they've also probably taken many upper division classes. In addition, they're studying for hundreds of hours as well.

Who studies for the MCAT for 1000+ hours?

I don't think you could even hit 1000 hours doing SN2ed's schedule...
 
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Who studies for the MCAT for 1000+ hours?

I don't think you could even hit 1000 hours doing SN2ed's schedule...

If you think about how much more time the average traditional science major will spend on his classes relative to the average non-trad the just does 2 years of basic pre-reqs, you'll have still spent a lot less time learning biochemistry/molecular bio/anatomy/etc than your competition even if you spend 1000 hours studying for this test. That said, it of course depends on how quickly you learn or what you need to score.
 
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I think it depends entirely on you. Are you generally someone who doesn't work hard but learns easily and gets good grades with minimal effort? Do you test well? Do you learn from your mistakes well? What score are you shooting for? Some will need huge amounts of study time for the MCAT. I watched chad's videos on coursesaver.com in the three months leading up to the MCAT (mostly gen chem because I'd recently had ochem and physics) and had recently taken biochem and genetics, then I just crammed for 9 days straight for the test, taking 1 to 2 practice tests per day, analyzing them and reviewing concepts I missed or correcting silly testing mistakes I made (like changing answers I want sure about. Always a bad idea) and came out with an alright score. Nothing amazing, but definitely enough to get me in. Had I wanted a great score (30+), I would have needed a lot more time.
 
I just wanna say that what you want to do is doable. I consider myself a smart person, above average intelligence. Went to a top 3 school and taught myself enough Ochem to get 11-12s on most practice test on the bio section. I took ap physics when I was in HS so that wasn't too much of a problem. Id say it all depends on how dedicated you are. I'm one of those people that can usually put 10 hours a day into something until I'm number one at it. Be realistic with yourself and how hard you are willing to work for it.


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Anonymous internet advice is all well and good, but it's your life, so at some point you have to make the decision for yourself. At least make it an informed decision...
1) go to e-mcat.com and take the free practice mcat (#3) from the aamc. Do it timed, all in one go, skip the writing section. Definitely do the review breakdown afterwards.
2) go here and look up your odds of acceptance with that score and your current gpa.

Keep in mind that #3 is the oldest and easiest of the official practice mcats. Decide if you can study enough in the next 5 months to get a score that gives you a reasonable chance of acceptance. It's possible to do what you want to do, but what no one here can really tell you is whether it's possible for you, because we don't know you beyond what you post here.

Best of luck.
 
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5 months is more than enough time to score well on the MCAT... if you've taken the pre-reqs. You'd have to be extremely disciplined and smarter than the average pre-med to learn Physics II all by yourself in that short time frame, IMO. Electricity and Magnetism are a completely different side of the Physics coin compared to the concepts covered in Physics I (Kinematics and forms of energy). To be fair, E&M seems to be a lot easier for people to grasp. The problems are all solved pretty similarly.
 
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Answer to question in title: First I don't know why you're using a "stupidity scale" to measure this. Second, you should take an AAMC practice test to figure out roughly where your score is now. Then study for a month and take another AAMC practice test. This, or a carefully modified version of this, should give you some idea of where you are, and at what rate you are improving.

The answer to this question varies from person to person.
 
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