Music, Missions, Medicine- Planning a DIY Post-Bac (Please help!)

[saxyotter]

Good morning/evening everyone! Long story short: I was a Jazz Studies Undergrad who graduated in 2019 and served 2 years overseas as a missionary. I found my calling to medicine in the midst of everything: creativity, flexibility, service, challenge, need, suffering, etc. I'm really stoked to jump in, and I'm grateful for this community. I have reenrolled for classes at my alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University, but I would appreciate some help designing a year-long course that will get me the correct pre-requisites for a med-school application. I have little/no math or science background.

Specifically, I'm wondering if I need to take any math i.e. Calculus and Physics. My reason for asking is that Agnes-Scott's Post Bacc program does not require any math or social science courses; however I have read from many credible sources that those subjects are addressed on the MCAT. What types of science classes should I take? I am trying to take as many classes as quickly as possible and I will not be working full-time, so that I can focus on getting what I need. Thank you so much in advance!

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[Bonne Nuit]

Good morning/evening everyone! Long story short: I was a Jazz Studies Undergrad who graduated in 2019 and served 2 years overseas as a missionary. I found my calling to medicine in the midst of everything: creativity, flexibility, service, challenge, need, suffering, etc. I'm really stoked to jump in, and I'm grateful for this community. I have reenrolled for classes at my alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University, but I would appreciate some help designing a year-long course that will get me the correct pre-requisites for a med-school application. I have little/no math or science background.

Specifically, I'm wondering if I need to take any math i.e. Calculus and Physics. My reason for asking is that Agnes-Scott's Post Bacc program does not require any math or social science courses; however I have read from many credible sources that those subjects are addressed on the MCAT. What types of science classes should I take? I am trying to take as many classes as quickly as possible and I will not be working full-time, so that I can focus on getting what I need. Thank you so much in advance!

If you have zero science or math background, it is going to take you at least 2 years, best case scenario, to complete your prerequisites - and that is if you take a full course load every semester including summers.

You will need, at minimum:

1 year General Chemistry with lab
1 year Organic Chemistry with lab
1 year Biology with lab
1 year Physics with lab
1 year English
1 semester Social Sciences

1 semester Biochemistry is a requirement for many medical schools and biochem is heavily tested on the MCAT, so you need to build that into your schedule as well.

Some schools require additional upper level science credits like Anatomy/Physiology, but that’s not universal.

There is no calculus on the MCAT, and calculus coursework is only a requirement at a small handful of medical schools. However, 2 semesters of calculus was required for me to enroll in physics at my school, so it is effectively a prerequisite for many premeds. You need to check into the math requirements for the physics series at your postbac school.

Remember, you will also need to factor in time to complete all your extracurricular requirements on top of your school work, as well as dedicating several months to MCAT prep after your coursework is complete.

As a first step, it would be a very good idea for you to subscribe to the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) database. This database contains all the specific prerequisite requirements for every MD program in the US. You need to make sure you are aware of the requirements at your state/target MD programs.

 

[saxyotter]

If you have zero science or math background, it is going to take you at least 2 years, best case scenario, to complete your prerequisites - and that is if you take a full course load every semester including summers.

You will need, at minimum:

1 year General Chemistry with lab
1 year Organic Chemistry with lab
1 year Biology with lab
1 year Physics with lab
1 year English
1 semester Social Sciences

1 semester Biochemistry is a requirement for many medical schools and biochem is heavily tested on the MCAT, so you need to build that into your schedule as well.

Some schools require additional upper level science credits like Anatomy/Physiology, but that’s not universal.

There is no calculus on the MCAT, and calculus coursework is only a requirement at a small handful of medical schools. However, 2 semesters of calculus was required for me to enroll in physics at my school, so it is effectively a prerequisite for many premeds. You need to check into the math requirements for the physics series at your postbac school.

Remember, you will also need to factor in time to complete all your extracurricular requirements on top of your school work, as well as dedicating several months to MCAT prep after your coursework is complete.

As a first step, it would be a very good idea for you to subscribe to the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) database. This database contains all the specific prerequisite requirements for every MD program in the US. You need to make sure you are aware of the requirements at your state/target MD programs.

Thank you so much! Your advice is very helpful to me. Do you have any advice on which of these classes pair well together? Or which ones to avoid taking at the same time?

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thank you so much! Your advice is very helpful to me. Do you have any advice on which of these classes pair well together? Or which ones to avoid taking at the same time?

The order of your schedule is going to be largely based on whether your school requires you to take the chemistry classes in a certain order. Mine did, so my DIY path looked like this:

Postbac Year 1 Summer: Calculus I, shadowed physicians for a few weeks, did lots of clinical/nonclinical volunteering
Postbac Year 1 Autumn: Biology I/lab, General Chemistry I/lab, Calculus II
Postbac Year 1 Spring: Biology II/lab, General Chemistry II/lab, Statistics I
Postbac Year 2 Summer: Sociology, picked up extra hours at work and got lots of clinical volunteering hours
Postbac Year 2 Autumn: Organic Chemistry I/lab, Physics I/lab, Biochemistry I/lab
Postbac Year 2 Spring: Organic Chemistry II/lab, Physics II/lab, Biochemistry II/lab

Up until this point, I was working about 10 hours per week at a flexible job and doing clinical/nonclinical volunteering 1-2x per week, often on weekends.

Postbac Year 2 Summer until Postbac Year 3 Spring: Research fellowship, MCAT preparation, lots of extra working hours/volunteering hours/clinical hours/shadowing hours
Postbac Year 3 Spring: Took the MCAT, continued work/research/volunteering/clinical experience/shadowing
Postbac Year 3 Summer: Applied to medical school, transitioned to full-time work, and continued volunteering/research
Postbac Year 3 Autumn: Accepted to medical school, continued full-time work and volunteering/research until matriculating to medical school the following summer (Year 4 after starting the postbac process)

I had already completed my English requirements during my original degree.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: I don't think there's anything that you should avoid taking together, per se - but don't take more than 3 lab classes or 2 labs + math in a semester. I did 3 labs at a time while working an extremely flexible job and I was putting in 70-80 hour weeks altogether between employment + volunteering + studying. You really can't physically do more and maintain your sanity/GPA.

 

[saxyotter]

The order of your schedule is going to be largely based on whether your school requires you to take the chemistry classes in a certain order. Mine did, so my DIY path looked like this:

Postbac Year 1 Summer: Calculus I, shadowed physicians for a few weeks, did lots of clinical/nonclinical volunteering
Postbac Year 1 Autumn: Biology I/lab, General Chemistry I/lab, Calculus II
Postbac Year 1 Spring: Biology II/lab, General Chemistry II/lab, Statistics I
Postbac Year 2 Summer: Sociology, picked up extra hours at work and got lots of clinical volunteering hours
Postbac Year 2 Autumn: Organic Chemistry I/lab, Physics I/lab, Biochemistry I/lab
Postbac Year 2 Spring: Organic Chemistry II/lab, Physics II/lab, Biochemistry II/lab

Up until this point, I was working about 10 hours per week at a flexible job and doing clinical/nonclinical volunteering 1-2x per week, often on weekends.

Postbac Year 2 Summer until Postbac Year 3 Spring: Research fellowship, MCAT preparation, lots of extra working hours/volunteering hours/clinical hours/shadowing hours
Postbac Year 3 Spring: Took the MCAT, continued work/research/volunteering/clinical experience/shadowing
Postbac Year 3 Summer: Applied to medical school, transitioned to full-time work, and continued volunteering/research
Postbac Year 3 Autumn: Accepted to medical school, continued full-time work and volunteering/research until matriculating to medical school the following summer (Year 4 after starting the postbac process)

I had already completed my English requirements during my original degree.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: I don't think there's anything that you should avoid taking together, per se - but don't take more than 3 lab classes or 2 labs + math in a semester. I did 3 labs at a time while working an extremely flexible job and I was putting in 70-80 hour weeks altogether between employment + volunteering + studying. You really can't physically do more and maintain your sanity/GPA.

Thank you for this. I'm glad you mentioned how many hours you were putting in, that helps me think about what I will be able to personally manage given my own circumstances. What kind of job did you work? And what kind of volunteering did you do?

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thank you for this. I'm glad you mentioned how many hours you were putting in, that helps me think about what I will be able to personally manage given my own circumstances. What kind of job did you work? And what kind of volunteering did you do?

While taking a full course load, I was working at an on-campus office/administrative job that I was able to schedule around my classes.

I was doing clinical volunteering in a hospital as well as "non-clinical" volunteering at a community organization that provided services for homeless people in my county.

Successful applicants to medical school will typically have several hundred hours each of clinical experience and nonclinical community service, so be cognizant of that when thinking about your classes and overall schedule. All in all, I had about 1000 hours of community/nonclinical volunteering (gained over 5 years), and 400 hours of clinical experience (gained over 3 years) when I applied.

I also had about 80 hours of shadowing physicians in various specialties. Shadowing is another requirement you should keep in mind when planning this all out.

 

[saxyotter]

While taking a full course load, I was working at an on-campus office/administrative job that I was able to schedule around my classes.

I was doing clinical volunteering in a hospital as well as "non-clinical" volunteering at a community organization that provided services for homeless people in my county.

Successful applicants to medical school will typically have several hundred hours each of clinical experience and nonclinical community service, so be cognizant of that when thinking about your classes and overall schedule. All in all, I had about 1000 hours of community/nonclinical volunteering (gained over 5 years), and 400 hours of clinical experience (gained over 3 years) when I applied.

I also had about 80 hours of shadowing physicians in various specialties. Shadowing is another requirement you should keep in mind when planning this all out.

Thank you so much! This is all really helpful to me. What are your thoughts on this: if a college doesn't require calculus in order to take their physics courses (i.e. a non-calculus based physics 1&2) is it worth it anyways to take at least Calc 1? How helpful was it for your MCAT and for admissions to Med Schools? I know that some schools require or strongly encourage it, but I'm curious on your personal opinion.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thank you so much! This is all really helpful to me. What are your thoughts on this: if a college doesn't require calculus in order to take their physics courses (i.e. a non-calculus based physics 1&2) is it worth it anyways to take at least Calc 1? How helpful was it for your MCAT and for admissions to Med Schools? I know that some schools require or strongly encourage it, but I'm curious on your personal opinion.

If calculus isn't required by your school, then it's absolutely not necessary to take it. It won't hurt or help you at all, so save yourself the trouble. If you are so inclined to take a math class, stats would actually be much more useful for a future medical career (and a few schools require it, I think - check the MSAR). I don't use anything beyond basic algebra/precalculus math in medical school and I didn't need anything beyond that for the MCAT.

I'd like to offer some unsolicited advice to you: if you are truly starting from zero - that is, no science prerequisites, no clinical experience, no physician shadowing, nothing - I strongly recommend getting in shadowing and clinical experience right away (like, start making those calls today), before you sink tons of money into a post bac.

You don't want to be in a situation where you've spent $20-30K on a random smattering of science classes only to find out that medicine isn't what you think it is. I've seen it happen with both undergraduate and post bac premeds. Premed coursework is pretty useless in transitioning into any other line of work, with the exception of maybe the PhD/academic route.

As an added benefit, if you spend some substantial time with physicians now and fall in love with medicine, that will help motivate you through the challenging slog of pre-med coursework. You'll know what it is you're sacrificing your weekends for.

 

[saxyotter]

If calculus isn't required by your school, then it's absolutely not necessary to take it. It won't hurt or help you at all, so save yourself the trouble. If you are so inclined to take a math class, stats would actually be much more useful for a future medical career (and a few schools require it, I think - check the MSAR). I don't use anything beyond basic algebra/precalculus math in medical school and I didn't need anything beyond that for the MCAT.

I'd like to offer some unsolicited advice to you: if you are truly starting from zero - that is, no science prerequisites, no clinical experience, no physician shadowing, nothing - I strongly recommend getting in shadowing and clinical experience right away (like, start making those calls today), before you sink tons of money into a post bac.

You don't want to be in a situation where you've spent $20-30K on a random smattering of science classes only to find out that medicine isn't what you think it is. I've seen it happen with both undergraduate and post bac premeds. Premed coursework is pretty useless in transitioning into any other line of work, with the exception of maybe the PhD/academic route.

As an added benefit, if you spend some substantial time with physicians now and fall in love with medicine, that will help motivate you through the challenging slog of pre-med coursework. You'll know what it is you're sacrificing your weekends for.

Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate your honesty. And that's great to know about the usefulness of stats!

So I feel like I actually have a really unique outlook because I've spent two years as missionary in South Asia. It was while serving here, especially during the pandemic, that I really felt the call to pursue medicine. I am constantly surrounded by the the immense need and obscene amounts of poverty and suffering every day. Last month I spent some time serving in a missionary hospital where I was actually able to help translate for some of the doctors and shadow a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a physical therapist, and two family practice doctors while also helping to translate for some nurses. I saw some amazing things that I probably would have never had the opportunity to see in an American hospital because of privacy laws. So that's a little about me! I've also always sort of dreamed of being an ER doc since my childhood; my dad is a pharmacist in an ER at a Trauma 1 in a big city so he always has some cool stories to tell.

 

[Goro]

The order of your schedule is going to be largely based on whether your school requires you to take the chemistry classes in a certain order. Mine did, so my DIY path looked like this:

Postbac Year 1 Summer: Calculus I, shadowed physicians for a few weeks, did lots of clinical/nonclinical volunteering
Postbac Year 1 Autumn: Biology I/lab, General Chemistry I/lab, Calculus II
Postbac Year 1 Spring: Biology II/lab, General Chemistry II/lab, Statistics I
Postbac Year 2 Summer: Sociology, picked up extra hours at work and got lots of clinical volunteering hours
Postbac Year 2 Autumn: Organic Chemistry I/lab, Physics I/lab, Biochemistry I/lab
Postbac Year 2 Spring: Organic Chemistry II/lab, Physics II/lab, Biochemistry II/lab

Up until this point, I was working about 10 hours per week at a flexible job and doing clinical/nonclinical volunteering 1-2x per week, often on weekends.

Postbac Year 2 Summer until Postbac Year 3 Spring: Research fellowship, MCAT preparation, lots of extra working hours/volunteering hours/clinical hours/shadowing hours
Postbac Year 3 Spring: Took the MCAT, continued work/research/volunteering/clinical experience/shadowing
Postbac Year 3 Summer: Applied to medical school, transitioned to full-time work, and continued volunteering/research
Postbac Year 3 Autumn: Accepted to medical school, continued full-time work and volunteering/research until matriculating to medical school the following summer (Year 4 after starting the postbac process)

I had already completed my English requirements during my original degree.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: I don't think there's anything that you should avoid taking together, per se - but don't take more than 3 lab classes or 2 labs + math in a semester. I did 3 labs at a time while working an extremely flexible job and I was putting in 70-80 hour weeks altogether between employment + volunteering + studying. You really can't physically do more and maintain your sanity/GPA.

I agree 100% with my young colleague.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate your honesty. And that's great to know about the usefulness of stats!

So I feel like I actually have a really unique outlook because I've spent two years as missionary in South Asia. It was while serving here, especially during the pandemic, that I really felt the call to pursue medicine. I am constantly surrounded by the the immense need and obscene amounts of poverty and suffering every day. Last month I spent some time serving in a missionary hospital where I was actually able to help translate for some of the doctors and shadow a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a physical therapist, and two family practice doctors while also helping to translate for some nurses. I saw some amazing things that I probably would have never had the opportunity to see in an American hospital because of privacy laws. So that's a little about me! I've also always sort of dreamed of being an ER doc since my childhood; my dad is a pharmacist in an ER at a Trauma 1 in a big city so he always has some cool stories to tell.

Sounds like it was a great, informative experience for you. Just make sure you get a good amount of US-based shadowing in as well before you apply - admissions committees will want to know that you've been exposed to the ins and outs of the American healthcare system prior to offering you admission.

Good luck!

 

[Dral]

Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate your honesty. And that's great to know about the usefulness of stats!

So I feel like I actually have a really unique outlook because I've spent two years as missionary in South Asia. It was while serving here, especially during the pandemic, that I really felt the call to pursue medicine. I am constantly surrounded by the the immense need and obscene amounts of poverty and suffering every day. Last month I spent some time serving in a missionary hospital where I was actually able to help translate for some of the doctors and shadow a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a physical therapist, and two family practice doctors while also helping to translate for some nurses. I saw some amazing things that I probably would have never had the opportunity to see in an American hospital because of privacy laws. So that's a little about me! I've also always sort of dreamed of being an ER doc since my childhood; my dad is a pharmacist in an ER at a Trauma 1 in a big city so he always has some cool stories to tell.

Just something to think about: The ER physician job market is not doing so hot right now...like really not well apparently. Things could very well change by the time you might reach that point.

Also I would not minimize anything you've done abroad, but just balance your application out and don't put all your eggs in one basket (stressing your missionary work as the big bang of your app). There are some who don't actually see missionary work or medical missionary work in a total positive way. Just an fyi.

 

[saxyotter]

Just something to think about: The ER physician job market is not doing so hot right now...like really not well apparently. Things could very well change by the time you might reach that point.

Also I would not minimize anything you've done abroad, but just balance your application out and don't put all your eggs in one basket (stressing your missionary work as the big bang of your app). There are some who don't actually see missionary work or medical missionary work in a total positive way. Just an fyi.

That's really interesting about the ER job market... In your opinion, what are some positions with a better job market?

 

[Dral]

The three that people here discuss as having bad job markets are Pathology, Rad Onc, and most recently EM. Others have varying opportunities that are typically at least better than those three...at least for now.

 

[operaman]

I’ll offer my rather unique experience with the caveat that it’s highly unconventional and could backfire massively. I knew I could do it so I did it this way, but it’s a lot. Basically I had no math or science background since sophomore year of high school. I also majored in music, worked as a musician for a long while, and took great pains in undergrad to check off the math and science Gen ed requirements without actually taking math and science classes.

In general, the chemistry sequence is the limiting factor. It’s usually done sequentially for a reason, but exceptions can be made if you talk to dept leadership and plead your case.

My sequence:

April: sign up for mcat
Maymester: biochem
(Applied to Med school)
Summer 1: Gen chem 1, calculus 1
Summer 2: Gen chem 2, calc 2
MCAT
Fall: orgo 1, microbiology, physiology, physics1, another calc
(Med school acceptance)
Spring: orgo 2, comparative anatomy, genetics, physics 2, biostats (best course ever)


So about 9 months total from starting to Med school acceptance. Lot of self study in there and lots of chances to have this blow up if I started failing classes or bombed the mcat. My initial idea was that I wouldn’t get in initially but my state school gave extra points to in state re-applicants, so I would have retaken the mcat and applied earlier in the next cycle and hopefully had a can’t miss app. But then I got in and that was (gulp) nearly 10 years ago now.

My other crazy thought in doing this was that if I couldn’t handle a full science load, I might not be able to handle Med school. Much cheaper to bomb the mcat and some pre reqs than a year of Med school! Kind of a dumb idea in retrospect but it made sense at the time. Med school workload was definitely higher though, so it was nice to feel a little more prepared than had I gone directly from music undergrad and sciences spaced over 4 years.

Don’t be stupid, but don’t be afraid to take calculated risks if you know you can do it. My bailout plan was to drop any classes I was struggling in and take W and just let those blend with the 20-25 Ws I had from my bachelors.

Overall this approach saved me 1-2+ years and was the right decision for me. sometimes I wonder if I could have gotten an even higher mcat and landed more scholarship money or a more prestigious school had I taken a more typical path, but then I’d still be a resident right now and the whole process already felt too long. If you’re coming right off a mission after college then you should be fine, but adding too many premed years at 30 just wasn’t something I wanted to do if at all possible. I think anyone would be hard pressed to compress the whole shebang more than I did!

 

[Shotapp]

I’ll offer my rather unique experience with the caveat that it’s highly unconventional and could backfire massively. I knew I could do it so I did it this way, but it’s a lot. Basically I had no math or science background since sophomore year of high school. I also majored in music, worked as a musician for a long while, and took great pains in undergrad to check off the math and science Gen ed requirements without actually taking math and science classes.

In general, the chemistry sequence is the limiting factor. It’s usually done sequentially for a reason, but exceptions can be made if you talk to dept leadership and plead your case.

My sequence:

April: sign up for mcat
Maymester: biochem
(Applied to Med school)
Summer 1: Gen chem 1, calculus 1
Summer 2: Gen chem 2, calc 2
MCAT
Fall: orgo 1, microbiology, physiology, physics1, another calc
(Med school acceptance)
Spring: orgo 2, comparative anatomy, genetics, physics 2, biostats (best course ever)


So about 9 months total from starting to Med school acceptance. Lot of self study in there and lots of chances to have this blow up if I started failing classes or bombed the mcat. My initial idea was that I wouldn’t get in initially but my state school gave extra points to in state re-applicants, so I would have retaken the mcat and applied earlier in the next cycle and hopefully had a can’t miss app. But then I got in and that was (gulp) nearly 10 years ago now.

My other crazy thought in doing this was that if I couldn’t handle a full science load, I might not be able to handle Med school. Much cheaper to bomb the mcat and some pre reqs than a year of Med school! Kind of a dumb idea in retrospect but it made sense at the time. Med school workload was definitely higher though, so it was nice to feel a little more prepared than had I gone directly from music undergrad and sciences spaced over 4 years.

Don’t be stupid, but don’t be afraid to take calculated risks if you know you can do it. My bailout plan was to drop any classes I was struggling in and take W and just let those blend with the 20-25 Ws I had from my bachelors.

Overall this approach saved me 1-2+ years and was the right decision for me. sometimes I wonder if I could have gotten an even higher mcat and landed more scholarship money or a more prestigious school had I taken a more typical path, but then I’d still be a resident right now and the whole process already felt too long. If you’re coming right off a mission after college then you should be fine, but adding too many premed years at 30 just wasn’t something I wanted to do if at all possible. I think anyone would be hard pressed to compress the whole shebang more than I did!

When you were an applicant, did you take your MCAT at the end of July or beginning of August?

 

[operaman]

When you were an applicant, did you take your MCAT at the end of July or beginning of August?

It was late August or early/mid September. It was definitely pushing the limits of what would have let me apply that cycle.

ETA: September 15th sticks in my head for some reason. For all the anxiety associated with that date and my later step 1 date, it’s nice to know enough time has passed that I’ve forgotten when they were!

 

[saxyotter]

The three that people here discuss as having bad job markets are Pathology, Rad Onc, and most recently EM. Others have varying opportunities that are typically at least better than those three...at least for now.

Wow, that's really interesting. I appreciate your perspective, and I'll definitely take that into consideration.

 

[saxyotter]

I’ll offer my rather unique experience with the caveat that it’s highly unconventional and could backfire massively. I knew I could do it so I did it this way, but it’s a lot. Basically I had no math or science background since sophomore year of high school. I also majored in music, worked as a musician for a long while, and took great pains in undergrad to check off the math and science Gen ed requirements without actually taking math and science classes.

In general, the chemistry sequence is the limiting factor. It’s usually done sequentially for a reason, but exceptions can be made if you talk to dept leadership and plead your case.

My sequence:

April: sign up for mcat
Maymester: biochem
(Applied to Med school)
Summer 1: Gen chem 1, calculus 1
Summer 2: Gen chem 2, calc 2
MCAT
Fall: orgo 1, microbiology, physiology, physics1, another calc
(Med school acceptance)
Spring: orgo 2, comparative anatomy, genetics, physics 2, biostats (best course ever)


So about 9 months total from starting to Med school acceptance. Lot of self study in there and lots of chances to have this blow up if I started failing classes or bombed the mcat. My initial idea was that I wouldn’t get in initially but my state school gave extra points to in state re-applicants, so I would have retaken the mcat and applied earlier in the next cycle and hopefully had a can’t miss app. But then I got in and that was (gulp) nearly 10 years ago now.

My other crazy thought in doing this was that if I couldn’t handle a full science load, I might not be able to handle Med school. Much cheaper to bomb the mcat and some pre reqs than a year of Med school! Kind of a dumb idea in retrospect but it made sense at the time. Med school workload was definitely higher though, so it was nice to feel a little more prepared than had I gone directly from music undergrad and sciences spaced over 4 years.

Don’t be stupid, but don’t be afraid to take calculated risks if you know you can do it. My bailout plan was to drop any classes I was struggling in and take W and just let those blend with the 20-25 Ws I had from my bachelors.

Overall this approach saved me 1-2+ years and was the right decision for me. sometimes I wonder if I could have gotten an even higher mcat and landed more scholarship money or a more prestigious school had I taken a more typical path, but then I’d still be a resident right now and the whole process already felt too long. If you’re coming right off a mission after college then you should be fine, but adding too many premed years at 30 just wasn’t something I wanted to do if at all possible. I think anyone would be hard pressed to compress the whole shebang more than I did!

Thank you for your unique perspective. It's really encouraging to hear from another musician. And yeah, I hear you on taking calculated risk; that's a good word for life, thank you. Thanks for your transparency and honesty (In my undergrad I took great pains to avoid math and science as well; to focus on the music)! What was it like taking the MCAT with such little background in math/science? My school advisor is recommending me to take a lot more math/sciences before taking the exam.

 

[operaman]

Thank you for your unique perspective. It's really encouraging to hear from another musician. And yeah, I hear you on taking calculated risk; that's a good word for life, thank you. Thanks for your transparency and honesty (In my undergrad I took great pains to avoid math and science as well; to focus on the music)! What was it like taking the MCAT with such little background in math/science? My school advisor is recommending me to take a lot more math/sciences before taking the exam.

It was definitely a little scary but not too bad since you can take practice tests and have a good sense of where your performance lies. Your advisor is probably right and mine said the same thing, but then if you’re already scoring well on practice tests it’s a good bet you’ll do well on the real deal.

I didn’t find the math and science on the test to be that difficult as it’s all based on relatively intro level material. It’s a lot of information for someone who last wrote out a chemical reaction during the Clinton administration, but it’s not like you’re going to be facing upper level material like the math of physical chemistry or calculus based physics. It takes a lot of self study but i think it’s doable for a good test taker with enough time to prepare.

The one mistake I made in mcat prep was not practicing the verbal material. I aced that section in my first practice test so didnt practice it at all in order to focus on the science sections. In the end, verbal was my lowest section! So don’t forget to practice that too!

 

[Bonne Nuit]

It was definitely a little scary but not too bad since you can take practice tests and have a good sense of where your performance lies. Your advisor is probably right and mine said the same thing, but then if you’re already scoring well on practice tests it’s a good bet you’ll do well on the real deal.

I didn’t find the math and science on the test to be that difficult as it’s all based on relatively intro level material. It’s a lot of information for someone who last wrote out a chemical reaction during the Clinton administration, but it’s not like you’re going to be facing upper level material like the math of physical chemistry or calculus based physics. It takes a lot of self study but i think it’s doable for a good test taker with enough time to prepare.

The one mistake I made in mcat prep was not practicing the verbal material. I aced that section in my first practice test so didnt practice it at all in order to focus on the science sections. In the end, verbal was my lowest section! So don’t forget to practice that too!

You took the old version of the MCAT, though, correct?

 

[operaman]

You took the old version of the MCAT, though, correct?

Yeah this was back in like 2010 or something like that so definitely the old version.

If I were doing it all over again today my general sense is that most of the soft-science/verbal stuff would be doable for me with basic test taking skills and that I would still concentrate my focus on the sciences that at the time were by biggest weakness. I may be completely wrong on that assumption, but that's been my general experience with other standardized tests. I used to teach for Kaplan and had previously taken and scored highly on most other standardized tests out there; MCAT was always the odd one because of the knowledge base necessary for the science questions. Much harder to fake it on those!

 

[Bonne Nuit]

Yeah this was back in like 2010 or something like that so definitely the old version.

If I were doing it all over again today my general sense is that most of the soft-science/verbal stuff would be doable for me with basic test taking skills and that I would still concentrate my focus on the sciences that at the time were by biggest weakness. I may be completely wrong on that assumption, but that's been my general experience with other standardized tests. I used to teach for Kaplan and had previously taken and scored highly on most other standardized tests out there; MCAT was always the odd one because of the knowledge base necessary for the science questions. Much harder to fake it on those!

Thanks for clarifying - I don't think it's really possible (at least, I've never heard of it being done) to adequately prepare for the new MCAT without having taken most of the prerequisite coursework or coming at it with a significant background in science. The new MCAT biochem/biology sections rely heavily on research paper-style stems. There's a serious learning curve in simply comprehending the questions unless you've already had substantial exposure to high-level scientific concepts and scientific writing. On top of that, the new MCAT is like twice as long as the old version, so there's an endurance issue at play as well. Not saying it's impossible to prep without having taken all the coursework, but I think it could get tremendously difficult, time-consuming, and inefficient.

Your advice to take the exam only when you're scoring where you want to be on your practice tests is still very salient. That's really the major indicator of whether someone's ready to sit for the real thing.