MCAT question....

[Gutierrez001]

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Okay ,my question is that i just finished my 2nd year of college. But i have only taken bio I and chm I, and from what i have seen in other threads is that most stundent take their MCAT their junior year. With all the subject in the MCAT i wont have had cover those topics by the time i would take the MCAT.Basically i am a year behind.SO does this mean i would have to wait a year after i recive my BS to apply? WHAT can i do?

PS- I know I can take my MCAT without taking those course, but i want to well on my MCAT. thanks

 

[Prozach]

Okay ,my question is that i just finished my 2nd year of college. But i have only taken bio I and chm I, and from what i have seen in other threads is that most stundent take their MCAT their junior year. With all the subject in the MCAT i wont have had cover those topics by the time i would take the MCAT.Basically i am a year behind.SO does this mean i would have to wait a year after i recive my BS to apply? WHAT can i do?

PS- I know I can take my MCAT without taking those course, but i want to well on my MCAT. thanks

Why not take O-Chem and physucks next year? That's what I'm doing. 🙂

 

[Gutierrez001]

but dont i need all the require class in all the topic in order to do good or truly understand it

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

First question, how old are you? I am going to take a very high guess and say 30. Say you live another 50 years.....DO NOT RUSH the MCAT just so you don't have to wait around a year or whatever.


Take your classes, take your time, prepare for the MCAT and take it when you are ready.



Trust me, I rushed it and pulled an embarassing score the first time.
I am very happily finishing up my MPH right now ( I am 22) while other friends are finishing up their first year of med school. Pace yourself and dont conform with what everyone else is doing.

If you are a year behind, you are a year behind. Big deal.



Adrian

 

[Gutierrez001]

thanks for the info....But i am 19yrs, i am in no rush for the mcat. It was that i just didnt know what to do in my place(so i asked for help), also i dont mind being a year behind but i dont know if i should take it early and take the chance without all the proper subject for the tests (and a possible low score). Recently i have been posting about postbac and master program becuz i kind of firgure i will need an extra year due to being behind. THanks

PS~Did any take the review course for the MCAT, and was it helpful or waste of money?

 

[AlexRusso]

Im in my second year of med school now.

Took my MCAT in Junior yr. of college but I took a semester off so I took the test while i was taking orgo and physics and I had only had gen chem before that. I took bio in senior yr after having taken the MCAT. I read the Kaplan review materials and did a crapload of questions at the Kaplan center to prepare for the exam. I learn better when I teach myself the material as opposed to having learned it in class. (I didn't go to most of my med school lectures either and I did pretty well in all my courses so far)

If you're one of those people who can study well on your own go for it and take the exam next year. If you learn better from class then wait. Personally I didnt rememebr much from class anyway (esp. chem) and had to reteach myself the material. How much do you think you'll retain 2 yrs after having taken the course?

 

[nate2973]

Man, I wish I was in your shoes. Being only 19 you have tons of time on your hands. A few years behind your belt getting that much needed clinical work and shadowing will only benefit you in the long run. The MCAT will not go away so don't rush into it. Take your time.

 

[Gutierrez001]

thanks for the advise. The thing with me is that I like to plan a head about a year( i am weird like that). THe problem was that when i started college i had no clue what to do so i have been taking BS class, and after i got my EMT-b i knew what i wanted to do. Just wondering how long are MCat score vaild for?

 

[DaveinDallas]

MCAT guidelines say you need:

1 yr. biology, gen. chem, O Chem, and physics. Some of the schools in Texas indicate that in order to be 'successful' you really should have 14 hours of biology.

I'm taking the MCAT in August and haven't had physics in 20 years. It's rough, but hey, what's life without a little challenge.

If you haven't had at least those classes, I wouldn't push it. At 19, you've got all the time in the world. Heck, use this time while you're getting those classes to do some solid volunteer work at the local county hospital (lots of action), nail your classwork and be ready to go next year. If you don't take the MCAT seriously med schools may not take you seriously.

Again, YMMV, but you've got time. No like us old dudes who are starting in the applications process in their mid-40s.....

 

[OrthoFixation]

I'm taking the MCAT in August and haven't had physics in 20 years.

.....old dudes who are starting in the applications process in their mid-40s.....

I feel your pain. Physics in '86 - '87 for me. Major refresher required. I used Kaplan for last August test and did not score as well as expected. For this April, I used ExamKrackers study set, Audio Osmosis, EK 10 Week Home Study Plan, and AAMC tests 3R-6R online (subscription is for 2 test periods after you purchased it and I used it both times).

I was much better prepared this time. I studied 2-3 months each time, 20-30 hrs/wk.

Be prepared and do your best the first time around as some schools will average your test scores. All schools will want to see your testing history. I think a triple-double will get you in somewhere (10+ each section).

For us non-trads, ugrad grades can really drag you down compared to people who know they want medicine and maintain 3.6++ GPA. I was just damn glad to get out of engineering school with my paltry 3.2. Above a 3.5 was about 3% of MEs, that kind of GPA was really uncommon.

Some schools will adjust your GPA with minor compensation for institution or degree level of difficulty. Most I ever heard of was 0.25 bump.

Grades do matter, do your best. Fortunately, I had a 3.75 in engr grad school and 3.8 postbacc. That still didn't improve my lifetime cum though, just too many ugrad credits.


DaveinDallas, PM me if you are looking for some study materials at a discount.

Good luck to all those studying!

 

[DaveinDallas]

Ortho...

Did you get my PM? Forgot to ask about how much you wanted for the materials.....

 

[MoosePilot]

Took the MCAT this April for the 3rd time after 8 years out of school. I got a 32 the second time and I got a 37 on my latest TPR diagnostic test. So right now, I think test prep is very much worthwhile. What is $1400 when you're going to pay $100,000 for your education (and that's a low number). I'm looking at my money being worth a 5 point score increase after 8 years out of school. That's a darn good investment.

Of course, I don't have any idea how well the TPR diags correlate with the real thing at this point. I was pretty confident a month ago, but I've realized since then that while it was a real diag (AAMC 6R), TPR graded and curved it. So I'm absolutely confident that I did ok, but wait until I get my score back for me to make the absolutely most committed recommendation for test prep.

 

[MoosePilot]

thanks for the advise. The thing with me is that I like to plan a head about a year( i am weird like that). THe problem was that when i started college i had no clue what to do so i have been taking BS class, and after i got my EMT-b i knew what i wanted to do. Just wondering how long are MCat score vaild for?

Depends on the school. Look up the schools you're interested in. AAMC talks about 3 years ("Many schools may not accept MCAT scores if taken more than three years ago." http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/about/start.htm) and I haven't seen any schools that cut it off sooner than that (although I'm far from expert).