MCAT prereqs

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

melc1

New Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
May 25, 2015
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
I just finished my first year at LSU. I've taken:
Bio 1 & 2
Chem 1 & 2
Psychology
Sociology

In the fall of my sophomore year (next semester) I'm scheduled to take:
Micro
Organic I
Statistics

In the spring of my sophomore year I'm scheduled to take:
Organic 2 +lab
Genetics

I was planning on taking the MCAT the summer after my sophomore year in order to give myself enough time to take it again if I don't get a good enough score the first time without having to take a year off.
1) Is that too early to take it for the first time?
2) If not, I wanted to try to squeeze in another MCAT prereq class before next summer. Should I take biochem or physics?

Any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I barely know anyone who has done the premed course so I could use any kind of advice!
 
1. Many med schools only take MCATs that are 2-3 years old. If you eventually find the need for one or more gap years, taking the exam so early may require you to retake it before you actually apply.
2. Definitely take physics 1 and 2. I'm not sure how much the physical science section of the new MCAT has changed, but when I took it in 2014, about half of the section was on physics. From what I hear, biochem is also beneficial. On the 2014 exam, the enzyme portion of my biochem class proved useful. Also, I don't really see anybody else saying this, but I would recommend taking a human physiology course before the exam. It was required for my major, and in my opinion it was more useful on the biological sciences section than bio 1 and 2.

I would wait until after your first semester junior year at least. What I did was take a practice test (scoring only a 28) at the beginning of my junior year and scheduled the exam for the end of that January (the week that classes resume). That gave me a full month during winter break to study without having to deal with class, allowing me to take every AAMC and every Kaplan practice exam. As a result I, scored in the 100th percentile overall and in both sciences, and 95th percentile in VR.
 
Last edited:
I would say biochem is much more than beneficial. A huge portion of the new exam is biochem, so I would say biochem is absolutely necessary. I would not suggest attempting the new exam without having taken biochem.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jih
Top