MCAT without organic

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

rmj254

Illuminati Expert
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Messages
107
Reaction score
0
I will be taking the MCAT in August, but will not have had Organic when I take it. I have been told that there is not much of that on the MCAT. I did a search on the forums, but all of the threads regarding that topic were quite old. My question is if it is possible to score over 30 without having taken Organic chem? What are the most important/high yield things to know if I were to self-teach parts of it?

Thanks.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Sadly, no. My advisor (I know that they sometimes give faulty advice, and this may be one of them) says that there is not a lot of Orgo on the test. Also, almost every student at my school takes it without Orgo and says that it doesn't factor heavily on the test. Is this true? Can I still make a good score without it?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I'm in sort of a sticky situation because I'm sort of a non-trad. I quit work to take classes this summer, and then take the MCAT in August, so I'm a bit stuck with that. I'm just wondering now if that is a great idea. Wondering specifically if I study hard on the other sections if Orgo will kill my ability score in a decent (at least 30, but not necessarily mid-high 30's) range.
 

You two are in pretty different situations.

First off, you have O-chem 1. This alone makes a huge difference. O-chem 1 is usually the time when one learns the fundamentals behind O-chem (Acid, Based, Electro, Nucleo). Conversely, O-chem 2 typically revolves around learning reaction mechanisms (which can be figured out based on O-chem 1) and spec information (which is easy to pick up, at least for the detail required on the MCAT).

Secondly, you claimed that you HAD to take it. I'm hoping that's because of a BS/MD program and not some arbitrary time line you made up. The OP has not stated any such restrictions.




OP: Take O-chem before you take the MCAT. There is no reason to place yourself at such a disadvantage. Besides, you have to take O-chem anyway because it's a pre-req and that will be about a year's worth of school. Think of it as going into a basketball game with only 5 people and one of them is injured. Would that kill your chance at beating another 5 person team? No, but it doesn't put you in a good situation.
 
I am in a situation in which I must at least attempt it. If I don't do well on the test in August, I can always reapply next year. I'm just trying to get a feel for what a realistic expectation I should have for my score (e.g. a ceiling score without O-chem).
 
I am in a situation in which I must at least attempt it. If I don't do well on the test in August, I can always reapply next year. I'm just trying to get a feel for what a realistic expectation I should have for my score (e.g. a ceiling score without O-chem).

I think the probablility of pulingl a 10 on the BS is very low if you don't know O-chem. I think on average there has to be AT LEAST 10 questions on o-chem.

When I took the REAL MCAT i had only 1 o-chem passage (5 questions), and a BUNCH of o-chem discretes (5-8 questions)

and I had a friend who was weak (but had the basics) on O-chem, was scoring 13-15 in BS on practice tests, but then got a 10 on the real deal cuz he got screwed over and had half the BS section being O-chem...

but imagine, if you get ALL o-chem questions wrong (which would probably happen if you have NO ochem knowledge) then you must get EVERY BIO questions correct if you wanna pull a 10...wat r the chances of doing that? and if you CAN do that, then why not study O-chem so you can get a 15 in BS?

why must you attempt the MCAT this august? r u trying to rush things and finish early?
 
I don't want to rush things, I've just been told that O-chem doesn't factor heavily (though I certainly am not trying to discount what you're saying). I quit my job to pursue this, and I am okay with applying to DO or my state MD school only if my score is low (mid-high 20's). However, if O-chem is really going to ruin me, I will put it off.
 
You do NOT NOT NOT take the MCAT to get a "feel for it" or your score. That's what practice tests are for. Take it next year. Take the year off and do something interesting. Do not take the MCAT without OChem.
 
Absolutely not. You MUST have organic before attempting the MCAT. It's like taking the MCAT without physics. It's still an integral part of the test. Sure, there may be less, but it makes the difference between an 8 and a 12. Everyone needs to get all of the organic questions right because that's the money part of the test - the biology on the current MCAT is really hard and relies more on interpretation then facts. Do yourself a favor and take organic, it makes a huge difference.
 
so it's safe to say that if you know org chem 1 and physic 1 like the back of your hand then it'll be okay to take the mcat? without having org2 or physic two yet?. i'm thinking about taking it in jan. if that's the case
 
I don't want to rush things, I've just been told that O-chem doesn't factor heavily (though I certainly am not trying to discount what you're saying). I quit my job to pursue this, and I am okay with applying to DO or my state MD school only if my score is low (mid-high 20's). However, if O-chem is really going to ruin me, I will put it off.


I was sorta in the same boat... I tried to take the MCAT without orgo, and it seemed feasible on the practice tests (AAMC's). But when i sat down for the exam, it literally slapped me in the face. 4-5 passages on Orgo and MOST of the discretes were Orgo-Based. Not saying its always gonna happen, but it happened for me, so i thought I'd let you know :D !
 
so it's safe to say that if you know org chem 1 and physic 1 like the back of your hand then it'll be okay to take the mcat? without having org2 or physic two yet?. i'm thinking about taking it in jan. if that's the case

You should probably take Physics II at least. Electricity and magnetism seem kinda important to me.

The MCAT is a gamble. You never know what you're gonna get on test day. Months and months of studying boils down to just a few concepts being tested. But why guess at what those few concepts are when you can prepare for all?
 
You definitely need to know orgo...I just took the MCAT a couple of months ago and I had 4 passages on Ochem. You can learn most of it with one of the test prep packages, so you need not have taken the class but you need to be good at learning on your own. However, if you are incredibly good at teaching yourself it could be said that you don't need any of the prereqs to take the MCAT.
 
so it's safe to say that if you know org chem 1 and physic 1 like the back of your hand then it'll be okay to take the mcat? without having org2 or physic two yet?. i'm thinking about taking it in jan. if that's the case


You definitely need to know the physics II material. Ochem II typically builds on what is learned in Ochem I, physics II however is a lot of new material....important MCAT material.
 
I will be taking the MCAT in August, but will not have had Organic when I take it. I have been told that there is not much of that on the MCAT. I did a search on the forums, but all of the threads regarding that topic were quite old. My question is if it is possible to score over 30 without having taken Organic chem? What are the most important/high yield things to know if I were to self-teach parts of it?

Thanks.

Don't do it. :thumbdown:
 
You can definitely score above 30 without orgo. A lot of the basic orgo questions in the BS section can be answered with a solid understanding of general chemistry. But you will have to be very strong in the VR and PS sections to compensate.

I wrote the MCAT without orgo, but I self-taught myself the basics while studying (e.g. stereochemistry, H NMR, IR, SN1,2 and E1,2 mechanisms, carbohydrates, amino acids). All my practice AAMC exams were 30+, but the first one I wrote before studying orgo I had a 10 on BS, and I missed only 1 bio question. So you will definitely be handicapped, but it is possible. I never scored higher than a 12 in BS in practice due to orgo.

I was in the same boat as you -- needed to write this summer. However, if I had the choice, I would wait till I finished orgo. It's stressful knowing that your hands are tied in this section -- you're leaving a lot up to fate (e.g. the 4 passages mentioned above).

Good luck!

As for physics, I would NOT recommend writing without physics II. Not knowing that stuff like the back of your hand will cost you a lot more on the test than not mastering orgo I (and especially more than orgo II).
 
I wouldn't rush it and just wait until you've taken Ochem. You never know how many questions/passages you will get covering certain material. If there's one thing I've learned so far about this process, it's to go at your own speed and not to rush things. My GPA is a sad reminder to me of this lesson haha.
 
Organic CAN be self-taught, but it's extremely difficult. They say that ochem has killed more medical careers than malpractice...and there's a reason for that. It's a subject unlike any other in that it requires an abstract understand of some very basic ideas. ie Where are the electrons?

Here's a resource that I think is amazing. He was my teacher back in the day and puts ochem into layman's terms. Check out the "Rules of the Day" (or ROTD) and follow along with the class. This is Organic 1

http://iverson.cm.utexas.edu/courses/310M/
 
I don't mean to hijack the thread but I am in a very similar situation. I am planning to take the MCAT in January and have taken everything except ochem, which I am enrolled in now w/out the lab. I am doing the Kaplan classroom course in addition to the edge program in ochem and my current ochem1 class. Without taking ochem2 or any of the labs, should I be OK?
 
Having Ochem 1 is better than no Ochem at all. I think you'll be fine if you really nail down the fundamentals (like hybridization and substitution mechanisms) and work a lot of practice problems. Having said that, lab techniques definitely show up quite a bit on the MCAT. Knowledge of TLC, gas chromatography, IR, H-NMR (just to name a few) are essential to one's preparation for the organic portion. You can absolutely memorize the different techniques, but your best understanding of those topics comes from lab IMO.
 
i took the mcat over the summer w/o taking organic and did just fine. i think only 30% of the BS section is orgo.
 
Top