MCAT Prep Advice

[WhiteCoatSyndrome]

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Ok, so here is my situation that I have been up against. I go to a small liberal arts college in Indiana which is touted to have a pre-medical program that is tailor-made to get students into IU School of Medicine. This is all fine and well, however for the past couple years, students have been doing god awful on the MCAT. Students with 3.7-3.8 GPAs scoring low 20s. The Biology education is superb, but where students have been lacking is in Physics and Verbal Reasoning. Physics due to our Physics Professor's unorthodox teaching style, which makes it difficult to actually learn the information.

Here is where I personally stand. I am currently finishing my sophomore year with a 3.9184 GPA that will go up after this semester because I expect to achieve a 4.0 for the semester. I will have all of my MCAT pre-requisites finished at the end of the semester. I feel comfortable with my biology/Organic chemistry courses, and I feel as though with enough practice I could do well on the verbal reasoning section as well. What worries me is the Physics section. I have been doing my best to learn the information and not just pass exams, and I believe I have been doing a good job of it. However, when it comes time for the MCAT that will be the point I must hit the hardest.

Having said that, I didn't know if there was any advice anyone could offer me. Perhaps there are others in a similar situation? I just have put way too much effort into my studies to achieve a high GPA and hopefully prepare myself well enough to get a good MCAT score to wind up being another inflated GPA-poor pre-med student.

 

[da8s0859q]

Having said that, I didn't know if there was any advice anyone could offer me.

Two things: tailor-made review books (like Kaplan's), and practice questions.

LOTS of practice questions.

My MCAT score was probably the weakest part of my medical school application, and my relative lack of practice questions is what I wish I did differently. I never did that sort of thing for my college classes (or rarely did, anyway), so I think I underestimated how useful they can be. I think you'd be very well served by resorting to things like the exams available over at e-mcat.com and getting lots of exposure to what you're going to face on the real thing.

The USMLE Step 1 and the MCAT are in no way comparable beyond being important standardized exams, but there is a reason why we all heavily use the major question banks for Step -- like what I'm doing right now. Repetition, repetition, repetition.

After doing enough questions, you get to the point where you start to be able to answer things, or rule out incorrect answer choices, because you remember being tested on similar things previously -- not because of more passive studying from class, or review texts, or whatever else. Again, the MCAT and Step are VERY different exams, but I think it might be worth your while. And it'd help you benchmark yourself and see what you need to improve.

 

[Mazdave]

I would personally suggest Nova physics...good overview of concepts with decent practice questions. Since you feel okay on everything else, review as needed with something like EK and do practice tests. Also, unless you have some compelling reason not to, I would highly recommend studying for the MCAT this summer and taking it in August. Since you have your prereqs done, there's no reason to wait, and you're probably better off not trying to study while taking college classes at the same time if you don't have to.

 

[MilkIsGood]

i used princeton review for physics, and it was pretty good. i had a crappy physics II class. i feel the physics on the mcat is pretty basic

 

[StudyShy]

Just supplement with review books. Get at the very least Nova Physics which is like 30 dollars. Get the BR books and practice, practice, practice. There's also the Khan academy if you want to view movies.

 

[WhiteCoatSyndrome]

I would personally suggest Nova physics...good overview of concepts with decent practice questions. Since you feel okay on everything else, review as needed with something like EK and do practice tests. Also, unless you have some compelling reason not to, I would highly recommend studying for the MCAT this summer and taking it in August. Since you have your prereqs done, there's no reason to wait, and you're probably better off not trying to study while taking college classes at the same time if you don't have to.

I actually just accepted an REU to do research at a major public university this summer, but I do agree with the fact that it would be easier to study during the summer. Would you have any other suggestions for studying during the school year? I would rather study during the summer, but I wouldn't want to end up having to wait a year after college to go to medical school because I waited too long to take my MCAT.

 

[StephenMaturin]

I am currently finishing my sophomore year with a 3.9184 GPA...

Maybe your classmates are missing all the significant digits chem questions.

 

[jsh52]

I understand. The professor who taught our Physics course was eventually paid his full salary for 5 years + receive all his retirement benefits, just to leave immediately, because he was so bad. He just randomly assigned grades and there were no tests. I've been studying with the Kaplan books, basically teaching myself, and they are pretty good. I recommend them, and also a lot of practice q's.

 

[Mazdave]

I actually just accepted an REU to do research at a major public university this summer, but I do agree with the fact that it would be easier to study during the summer. Would you have any other suggestions for studying during the school year? I would rather study during the summer, but I wouldn't want to end up having to wait a year after college to go to medical school because I waited too long to take my MCAT.

It may still work better to study over the summer, since even if you're putting in a lot of hours in the lab, you're not trying to learn things for 4-5 other classes at the same time. If you do wait, you might want to schedule an easier load for fall, study for the MCAT just like another class, and then take it in January. The MCAT physics is not so bad that you shouldn't be able to pick up it relatively quickly, especially if your GPA accurately reflects your ability to study.

 

[Pierson5]

Maybe your classmates are missing all the significant digits chem questions.

👍

 

[RomanCandle]

Go with Kaplan. I'd recommend the online course but not the actual in class thing (Its like $800 more expensive and not that helpful). The practice tests are where its at.

 

[WhiteCoatSyndrome]

Go with Kaplan. I'd recommend the online course but not the actual in class thing (Its like $800 more expensive and not that helpful). The practice tests are where its at.

This is where the right route to go with preparation becomes difficult. I have heard many people praise Kaplan and their prep class, but I have also heard many people denounce it. I have also heard many people say that as far as their practice material is concerned, their physical science questions are not reflective of the actual MCAT.