MCAT Before Prereqs?

BU Medical Sciences
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Can I get a 31?

  • Yes

    Votes: 16 21.6%

  • No

    Votes: 58 78.4%
  • Total voters
    74
K

kennyram401

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I have taken Bio in high school Sociology advanced physics and am planning on taking the MCAT after my first or second Chem class. I would be missing College bio, regular physics, and ochem and Calculus or Statistics. If I study for 300 hours do I have a chance?

Please vote above.
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kennyram401 said:
I have taken Bio in high school Sociology advanced physics and am planning on taking the MCAT after my first or second Chem class. I would be missing College bio, regular physics, and ochem and Calculus or Statistics. If I study for 300 hours do I have a chance?

Please vote above.
Click to expand...
No one can really answer this question. It depends on the person. It will probably be difficult. I don't see the advantage in rushing to take a test. You're going to be married to the score.
 
Koprulu said:
No one can really answer this question. It depends on the person. It will probably be difficult. I don't see the advantage in rushing to take a test. You're going to be married to the score.
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Did you vote?
 
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Koprulu said:
No one can really answer this question. It depends on the person. It will probably be difficult. I don't see the advantage in rushing to take a test. You're going to be married to the score.
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Technically I would have taken every type of class for the MCAT by the time I take it. But I would be missing about seven or eight classes.
 
I would think its doable. Are you smart?

Edit: I think it's doable, but very unlikely
 
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kennyram401 said:
Technically I would have taken every type of class for the MCAT by the time I take it. But I would be missing about seven or eight classes.
Click to expand...
Even if, even if, you studied really hard, covered all the material on your own, and did really well on the MCAT without having taken the courses...
You would still have to take the classes to satisfy the med school pre-reqs and this would be a 2+ year process to cover all those courses. SO while you're working on those classes, your MCAT score is expiring.
Maybe you get in one app cycle before you have to take it again, maybe you get lucky and get accepted the first time around. But maybe you don't. And then you have to take the test again, and risk getting a worse score (if it was good to start with).
Why would you do that to yourself? Why not take it when you're most prepared and closer to actually applying?

Also if you still think the scoring is 3-45, then you clearly need to read up more on the test, because that's so 2 years ago.
 
efle said:
No
Click to expand...
Meh--I've seen sophomores at my school get 505+ on practice MCATs before any prep with very few of the pre-reqs under their belt. I think the MCAT is more of an aptitude test than a knowledge test. I don't think it's impossible to get a 510 on your own if you are smart and motivated enough.

With that said, intelligent people capable of doing so DO NOT take a career-defining admissions test unless they are absolutely ready
 
Koprulu said:
Meh--I've seen sophomores at my school get 505+ on practice MCATs before any prep with very few of the pre-reqs under their belt. I think the MCAT is more of an aptitude test than a knowledge test. I don't think it's impossible to get a 510 on your own if you are smart and motivated enough.

With that said, intelligent people capable of doing so DO NOT take a career-defining admissions test unless they are absolutely ready
Click to expand...
Maybe it has changed since the old version I took, but if someone had told me they were going to take the MCAT with a high school Bio and a Socio class and the normal amount of study time, I'd bet my entire savings on them scoring below 83rd percentile
 
really stupid post.
be a college student and relax. take the mcat AFTER college courses
 
OP why do you even want to take it so soon? Med schools require you to take all the MCAT classes anyways
 
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Lol well I have heard of people going to MD school after doing college in just 3 years...but nothing is accelerated by doing the MCAT before the classes!
 
efle said:
Lol well I have heard of people going to MD school after doing college in just 3 years...but nothing is accelerated by doing the MCAT before the classes!
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Some people finish their prereqs after submitting their applications (sometimes even weeks before matriculation), so maybe OP has some kind of plan
 
Koprulu said:
Some people finish their prereqs after submitting their applications (sometimes even weeks before matriculation), so maybe OP has some kind of plan
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Haha he's going to do Ochem, Biochem, Bio, Psych, and Physics all in the summer before matriculation. It's genius really
 
I should rephrase that:

Dude, not in 300 hours

Obviously someone smart could study for a bajillion hours off MCAT prep materials and then do well without technically having taken the prereqs. But the idea that you could teach yourself the background for half a dozen subjects plus do all the necessary practice within a normal prep timeframe is cray
 
efle said:
I should rephrase that:

Dude, not in 300 hours

Obviously someone smart could study for a bajillion hours off MCAT prep materials and then do well without technically having taken the prereqs. But the idea that you could teach yourself the background for half a dozen subjects plus do all the necessary practice within a normal prep timeframe is cray
Click to expand...

Khan Academy videos and passages are the among the best resources. And they are free. For someone who is naturally very smart and already has strong test taking skills (crushing the SAT/ACT, dozens of AP exams etc.), they can self-teach the content needed to do well on the exam by referring to the AAMC content guidelines.

I don't know whether all this can be done in 300 hours/normal timeframe. I'm showing it's possible to do well without taking any prereqs.
 
I agree with @efle .
And just because someone exceptional with a lot of time on their hands can do something, doesn't mean it is a good idea or should be encouraged, especially for the average, unexceptional person, who probably can't. And for whom it would be a terrible idea.
 
Lawper said:
Khan Academy videos and passages are the among the best resources. And they are free. For someone who is naturally very smart and already has strong test taking skills (crushing the SAT/ACT, dozens of AP exams etc.), they can self-teach the content needed to do well on the exam by referring to the AAMC content guidelines.
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I taught myself most of physics from prep materials while all the other sections were review. The pace you move at is so much slower for unfamiliar subject matter. Again I think it can be done, just not on a normal study schedule.
 
oh don't do it.


EDIT: absolutely no chance. You would be learning 75% of the material that's on the exam.
 
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efle said:
I taught myself most of physics from prep materials while all the other sections were review. The pace you move at is so much slower for unfamiliar subject matter. Again I think it can be done, just not on a normal study schedule.
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i agree there.

kraskadva said:
I agree with @efle .
And just because someone exceptional with a lot of time on their hands can do something, doesn't mean it is a good idea or should be encouraged, especially for the average, unexceptional person, who probably can't. And for whom it would be a terrible idea.
Click to expand...

i'm only saying it's possible to do so for only naturally intelligent test takers who have a history of crushing standardized tests.
 
Lawper said:
i agree there.

i'm only saying it's possible to do so for only naturally intelligent test takers who have a history of crushing standardized tests.
Click to expand...
possible =/= probable
and OP has not demonstrated either of those qualities to our knowledge.
 
kraskadva said:
possible =/= probable
and OP has not demonstrated either of those qualities to our knowledge.
Click to expand...

i know, i wasn't making any recommendation with that post. all i said is it's possible to do well on the exam without prereqs. average test takers usually don't have prior history of crushing standardized tests, so they will do badly if they take the exam without the necessary background knowledge. but for exceptional test takers who got 2400 SAT/36 ACT and a strong aptitude for tests, they can fill their content gaps by self-teaching using Khan Academy videos. they can then crush the critical thinking/analysis parts of the exam (which are strongly emphasized) using their innate aptitude.
 
Lawper said:
i know, i wasn't making any recommendation with that post. all i said is it's possible to do well on the exam without prereqs. average test takers usually don't have prior history of crushing standardized tests, so they will do badly if they take the exam without the necessary background knowledge. but for exceptional test takers who got 2400 SAT/36 ACT and a strong aptitude for tests, they can fill their content gaps by self-teaching using Khan Academy videos. they can then crush the critical thinking/analysis parts of the exam (which are strongly emphasized) using their innate aptitude.
Click to expand...
You may not have deliberately been making a recommendation, but it could very well be read that way. Especially since OP was not asking "is this possible?" but "is this a good idea?" And the Dunning Kruger effect almost guarantees that a poor test taker will read your words as encouragement to go ahead with that plan.
I just want it to be perfectly clear to the OP that taking the MCAT without the pre-req classes is a bad idea for >99% of people. And that s/he falls into that crowd.
 
kraskadva said:
You may not have deliberately been making a recommendation, but it could very well be read that way. Especially since OP was not asking "is this possible?" but "is this a good idea?" And the Dunning Kruger effect almost guarantees that a poor test taker will read your words as encouragement to go ahead with that plan.
I just want it to be perfectly clear to the OP that taking the MCAT without the pre-req classes is a bad idea for >99% of people. And that s/he falls into that crowd.
Click to expand...

yep that's true. i think OP and people like them should be self-aware and understand their own strengths and weaknesses. getting a score like 520+/37+ is something only very few can achieve, and these high scorers almost always have strong analytical skills and strong content background. getting scores in the top 2% is something very difficult, and many people can study for the exam for months to years and still fail to crack 500. there are controllable and noncontrollable factors involved in the exam, and what's possible for a very small group of highly intelligent test takers may not apply for the large group of average and below average test takers.
 
I would say it's doable but it's going to take a lot more than 300 hours. I would buy 2 or 3 review book sets and read through one book a week. I would study new topics with khan academy before reading them. Orgo is going to be tougher without the prereqs because it is amostly concepts and mechanisms. I would do 6 months of study with around 30-40 hours of study a week with multiple practices tests a week for the past two months.
 
kennyram401 said:
I have taken Bio in high school Sociology advanced physics and am planning on taking the MCAT after my first or second Chem class. I would be missing College bio, regular physics, and ochem and Calculus or Statistics. If I study for 300 hours do I have a chance?

Please vote above.
Click to expand...

Is it possible? Yeah
Is it likely? Nah
If you're serious and highly motivated I'd suggest that you abandon your original 300 hour study plan , and be a little more practical. SDN has tons of resources to help you preform highly on your MCAT without cramming everything into such a tight window. Good Luck!
 
This a great way to be posting in a few months about how competitive you are with a 485. No 485 is not acceptable for DO (answering your future question in advance)
 
This is a terrible idea. Taking the MCAT when you haven't satisfied so many pre-requisites is equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot before a race and then running it backwards. Can somebody in the world do it? Probably. Is that person you? Most likely not. Don't do it.
 
kennyram401 said:
I have taken Bio in high school Sociology advanced physics and am planning on taking the MCAT after my first or second Chem class. I would be missing College bio, regular physics, and ochem and Calculus or Statistics. If I study for 300 hours do I have a chance?

Please vote above.
Click to expand...
Why?

Every third you've started is attempts/questioning ways to half ass through your medical education (also how to do cardio fellowship at same time as IM).

There are no shortcuts for medical school in the US.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using SDN mobile
 
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You can self-teach, but most med schools are going to require Bio and OChem at a minimum so you'll have to take the courses anyways. Why not take the classes THEN take the MCAT and give yourself the best possible chances?

If you have X number of hours to study, you're better off working practice exams than trying to teach yourself something you are going to learn in a semester or two.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
What year are you? Because it doesn't make sense to take the MCAT so early and waste the time since it expires after 3 years. It should be taken January to July at the latest of your junior year of college.

And I also do NOT recommend taking it before pre-req's. That's counterintuitive and since you have to take them anyways, take the MCAT after, especially biochem more than any other class. Take Biochem right before the MCAT. Will save you a TON of time.
 
It's not impossible, just very difficult. If you are really set on this approach, take a practice test and see how you do. In general though I'd say that there's a lot of material to master.
 
kraskadva said:
Even if, even if, you studied really hard, covered all the material on your own, and did really well on the MCAT without having taken the courses...
You would still have to take the classes to satisfy the med school pre-reqs and this would be a 2+ year process to cover all those courses. SO while you're working on those classes, your MCAT score is expiring.
Maybe you get in one app cycle before you have to take it again, maybe you get lucky and get accepted the first time around. But maybe you don't. And then you have to take the test again, and risk getting a worse score (if it was good to start with).
Why would you do that to yourself? Why not take it when you're most prepared and closer to actually applying?

Also if you still think the scoring is 3-45, then you clearly need to read up more on the test, because that's so 2 years ago.
Click to expand...
I am taking the MCAT after I take Chem in the summer and I will take BIO OChem and Physics in the Fall and Spring. Done? Maybe?
 
Turkishking said:
Why are you in such a rush?
Click to expand...
I'm already 25 and I'm not getting any younger. So I will take Chem in the summer and Physics Ochem and Bio in the Fall and again in the Spring. Leaving the summer of next year for any extra classes that are required but not the main MD classes (ie. Math, Biochem, Genetics.) I am not a Science major so I have to go out of my way to take these classes in some sense when considering that I will graduate with about 150 credits.
 
Doctor_Kat28 said:
What year are you? Because it doesn't make sense to take the MCAT so early and waste the time since it expires after 3 years. It should be taken January to July at the latest of your junior year of college.

And I also do NOT recommend taking it before pre-req's. That's counterintuitive and since you have to take them anyways, take the MCAT after, especially biochem more than any other class. Take Biochem right before the MCAT. Will save you a TON of time.
Click to expand...
I am an impatient Junior. I made a mistake by taking 74 credits in CC when only 58 transferred last fall.
 
kennyram401 said:
I'm already 25 and I'm not getting any younger. So I will take Chem in the summer and Physics Ochem and Bio in the Fall and again in the Spring. Leaving the summer of next year for any extra classes that are required but not the main MD classes (ie. Math, Biochem, Genetics.) I am not a Science major so I have to go out of my way to take these classes in some sense when considering that I will graduate with about 150 credits.
Click to expand...
Medical schools aren't going anywhere...
 
IAmTetris said:
It's not impossible, just very difficult. If you are really set on this approach, take a practice test and see how you do. In general though I'd say that there's a lot of material to master.
Click to expand...
Every time I take a practice test I get around 50% right. I have around a 3.7 GPA right now when I will be applying. I spoke with some schools and they said that they put students cgpa on their stats not when they get accepted but instead when they graduate. If that's the case I can get it in the 3.8 range (Harvard) so all I need is a passible MCAT. I would cry if I got a 33.
 
kennyram401 said:
Every time I take a practice test I get around 50% right. I have around a 3.7 GPA right now when I will be applying. I spoke with some schools and they said that they put students cgpa on their stats not when they get accepted but instead when they graduate. If that's the case I can get it in the 3.8 range (Harvard) so all I need is a passible MCAT. I would cry if I got a 33.
Click to expand...
Turkishking said:
Medical schools aren't going anywhere...
Click to expand...
 
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