MCAT a year early?

[EHILGENFELDT]

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I am currently a sophomore and taking Pre-Requisites. By the time the August MCAT comes around I will have already taken the courses deemed necessary to pass the MCAT. Let's say I do well enough on the MCAT in August to be competitive. Would medical schools look down on taking the MCAT two years before applying? To me, it makes sense to take the MCAT when the material is fresh. Medical Schools might see it differently though. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

If taking the MCAT early is acceptable, does anyone suggest taking a MCAT prep class before Organic 2 is taken, meaning that the prep class would cover material that has not been learned? Thanks again for your comments.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

i was planning on doing this same thing, however i talked to the premed advisory comm chair, and he said the basics are not nearly enough to do well on the MCAT. for what it's worth.

 

[riceman04]

I am currently a sophomore and taking Pre-Requisites. By the time the August MCAT comes around I will have already taken the courses deemed necessary to pass the MCAT. Let’s say I do well enough on the MCAT in August to be competitive. Would medical schools look down on taking the MCAT two years before applying? To me, it makes sense to take the MCAT when the material is fresh. Medical Schools might see it differently though. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

If taking the MCAT early is acceptable, does anyone suggest taking a MCAT prep class before Organic 2 is taken, meaning that the prep class would cover material that has not been learned? Thanks again for your comments.

Definitely not!!!!!!
Most kids at my alma mater were instructed to take the MCAT the August following your sophomore year. The average at my alma mater hovers around 32.

 

[Wahina]

i was planning on doing this same thing, however i talked to the premed advisory comm chair, and he said the basics are not nearly enough to do well on the MCAT. for what it's worth.

Don't listen to your premed advisor, he is wrong. Absolutely take it after your soph year if you can. Unless the prereqs at your school don't cover the material well you will be fine. Just get a kaplan book and study it.

 

[DrBowtie]

Join the club. It's the thing to do. Plus it is the last paper and pencil test.

 

[DrHopeless]

yeah I agree get it out now

 

[SuzieQ3417]

This is what I did, but before I signed up for the August MCAT I talked to my advisor and asked her the same question, and she said I would be at no disadvantage. Personally, if you can take it during that time it works out great...you have that entire following year to start securing LORs, working on your personal statement, and focusing on classes. You can submit the AMCAS early and start sending out secondaries early, putting you at a general advantage in terms of interviewing.
An additional note...I disagree with whoever said they heard you won't do well if you only take the basic prerequisites before taking the MCAT. This is all I had, and though my bio score may have suffered slightly (stress slightly...who's to say I would have even done better had I taken more upper level bio), overall I still did well...as did other people I knew who had the bare minimum of classes under their belt.

 

[dajimmers]

As long as you put as much preparation into it (practice tests, review) that you would have for the April exam, you should be fine. Your practice scores will be a good prediction of how you'll do, so if you're doing fine on them, you will do fine on the exam. Plus you have plenty of time to retake it if you need to. Plus you will have plenty of time to choose schools based on your performance. Plus you'll have more time to focus on classwork.

I really wonder why more people don't do this? Just couldn't commit to studying enough in the summer (my excuse)? Oh well, best of luck.

 

[EHILGENFELDT]

Thanks for all of your great advice!

 

[45408]

i was planning on doing this same thing, however i talked to the premed advisory comm chair, and he said the basics are not nearly enough to do well on the MCAT. for what it's worth.

Yeah, he's totally wrong. Take the MCAT as soon as possible, and you DO NOT NEED MORE THAN THE FOLLOWING: 2 semesters biology, 2 semesters general chem, 2 semesters organic and 2 semesters of algebra-based physics. If you have extra time, the only three courses I would recommend are physiology, genetics, and analytical chemistry (in that order - analytical isn't that helpful, but physiology usually is).

EHILGEN - take it early. If you do well, it's a huge burden off your shoulders.

 

[evade]

I concur: take it early if you can, and you feel comfortable doing so. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the format of the test and to take practice tests before the Big Day, but if you take the MCAT shortly after finishing your pre-reqs, you'll save yourself a lot of catch-up work. I took mine after my junior year (I planned to take time off between college and med school), and I found myself doing a lot of review to get back up to speed.

Also, adcoms think nothing of 2-year-old scores. I took the August '02 MCAT and applied in 2004, and no one said anything about it. I did fine, and you will too. 🙂

 

[QofQuimica]

OP, I agree that you should take the MCAT in Aug. since you will have finished the pre-reqs by then. If you want to take a prep course, it's fine to do that while you're taking Organic II, but you don't have to take one. Like many of these posters, I also took the MCAT a year early in Aug., and the only downside was that I had to wait eight months after getting my scores before I could actually apply. 😉 Finally, if you haven't seen it already, you may also want to check out the MCAT Study Questions subforum; we have a general questions thread in there that may be helpful to you.

 

[Centinel]

I recommend taking it in April of your Junior year. It's what I did, and I have zero regrets. I took a lighter course load (3.5 classes) and spent a lot of time prepping. It's easier for me (and for others I'm sure) to study when you're in the routine of studying for other things. That is, I'd have a hard time getting motivated to study over the summer, but doing extra studying during the school year is pretty simple.

The added benefit is that I had extra coursework (biochem, pchem, advanced biology courses, etc.) which help. No, they're not directly covered. Yes, they do inform your basic science knowledge, helping you better understand *why* things are the way they are (which ultimately helps you remember things better and rationally choose answers on the MCAT).

 

[t33sg1rl]

First of all: The basic science classes are sufficient, BUT advanced coursework, especially in biology, WILL help you get a few more discretes.

so the question is, will getting 2-3 more questions correct (out of 77) change your score?

The answer: Depends on your score... in the middle of the normal distribution (Bio score of 9-11), 3 extra points will NOT boost you-to get from a 9 to a 10, you generally have to answer about 10 more questions correctly. In the top of the curve, especially 13 and over, 3 extra points could make a difference.
It's just math and strategy. The Physics curve is the most generous, and Verbal is the roughest. If you get 1 question wrong on Verbal, you're down to a 14... 2 questions wrong and you're a 13. On Physics you can get 5-6 wrong and still get 14-15. Biology is in the middle.

My final advice: Do NOT take the MCAT without studying "just to see". If you are going to take the test, give it everything you've got.

 

[zero2hero]

Defintely take the MCAT as early as possible. I took it sophmore year and was able to get most of the application materials done very quickly. The only disadvantage I think is that you may not be able to take courses such as Biochemistry and Genetics that MAY help on the test.

 

[wildcat05]

I am currently a sophomore and taking Pre-Requisites. By the time the August MCAT comes around I will have already taken the courses deemed necessary to pass the MCAT. Let’s say I do well enough on the MCAT in August to be competitive. Would medical schools look down on taking the MCAT two years before applying? To me, it makes sense to take the MCAT when the material is fresh. Medical Schools might see it differently though. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

If taking the MCAT early is acceptable, does anyone suggest taking a MCAT prep class before Organic 2 is taken, meaning that the prep class would cover material that has not been learned? Thanks again for your comments.

I took the mcat the august after my sophomore year and I am really glad I did. Not only was it less one thing to worry about later on in college, but I think I did a lot better taking it right after I had taken all my premed classes. I am currently doing fine getting interviews at med schools so I really don't think med schools look down on taking it early. I don't know about taking a prep course before organic, but taking the kaplan mcat review course after I had finished all my premed classes worked out fine for me. It refreshed everything I needed to know right before the MCAT. Plus, the MCAT just tests basics in subjects like organic so its not that hard to review the basics after you have learned everything in organic and before the exam.

 

[prana_md]

I would definitely take the MCAT as soon as you are ready. That brain ain't gettin' any younger! The only upper division biology I wish I had had was human physiology, but I think Kaplan or Princeton Review can give you what you need. I took the MCAT in April 04, and I was so wiped out by six months of studying that my application -- which I started in June 04 -- really suffered for it. Now I'm a reapplicant!