newbie premed with MCAT question

[drdream]

Hi all. I have a question for those who have some MCAT experience...I have undergrad GPA 3.3 and Master's Physical Therapy 3.3 - I also tend to be one of those"good" (sometimes annoying) standardized test takers - SAT and GREs in the 1350-1400 range. I am considering taking the MCAT in April 2003 - but I am preparing on my own with prep course books (oh, yeah - and I 've been out of graduate school for 7-8 years!). I feel I need to ace the MCAT to have a shot at admission, and I don't know if being a "good"standardized test taker will help me. In other words, yes I'm preparing, but do you guys find the test similar in feel to the other standardized tests I have mentioned?

Thanks alot - this is my first post ever!

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[DrMom]

No, the MCAT isn't really like the SAT or GRE at all. On the other hand, if you do prepare well, you should do fine. How long has it been since you have taken bio, chem, organic, & physics?

 

[drdream]

Thanks for your prompt response! I like your picture beneath your name ( maybe you can guess I'm a mom, too - my first passion! I've got three!) My BA in Biology was 1992 ( so my prereqs are 10 years old ) My M.P.T. was in 1995.I think I know that most schools want prereqs to be within 7. But I'm thinking that if I can do well on the MCAT....maybe it will show I've still got it?? Upon reviewing the material, I'm finding that most of it is coming back to me. I'd hate to have to retake the prereqs - but as an accepted med student , did you have any experience with this? Were your prereqs very recent?
Thanks again - right now, my "doctor" is still a "dream" ( I really do dream about it) Congrats on your medical school attendance - I'd love to hear more about how you handle it , as a mom as well.

 

[drdream]

Although this might not be the forum to discuss all that!

 

[DrMom]

My prereqs were also 10 years old when I took the MCAT. I decided to take a prep course to help me prepare and I thought it was very worthwhile (and worth the $$). If you want to stick to the independent prep books I'm sure you can do a search on the forums to get many opinions on each company's products.

Feel free to PM me anytime!

 

[STi555]

Originally posted by drdream
Hi all. I have a question for those who have some MCAT experience...I have undergrad GPA 3.3 and Master's Physical Therapy 3.3 - I also tend to be one of those"good" (sometimes annoying) standardized test takers - SAT and GREs in the 1350-1400 range. I am considering taking the MCAT in April 2003 - but I am preparing on my own with prep course books (oh, yeah - and I 've been out of graduate school for 7-8 years!). I feel I need to ace the MCAT to have a shot at admission, and I don't know if being a "good"standardized test taker will help me. In other words, yes I'm preparing, but do you guys find the test similar in feel to the other standardized tests I have mentioned?

Thanks alot - this is my first post ever!

Despite what many people on this forum say, some people can do well on the MCAT without much prep. I speak from experience. I have also always done well on stardardized tests. I studied ~15 hours total for the MCAT and I did quite well. So, a lot depends on the person and how well you can take the test. Take a practice test and see how you do and then go from there.

 

[siempre595]

I'd disagree that there is no correlation with SAT and MCAT. I think that's part of the reason med schools often ask for SAT scores, ACT scores, etc. I found the MCAT to have some similar aspects to other tests, and i do think that if you test well on something like the SAT you will tend to do better on the MCAT. However, being that you haven't done these tests in a little while, I'd be skeptical to rely to much on the good test taking factor. I'd go the traditional route, take a prep course or study a ton on your own. Also, I think it's great to see a mom heading for med school. As someone who's hoping to start their family during med school (and getting a lot of flak for it), it's good to see people out there doing the family thing and career thing!! Good luck!!

 

[AegisZero]

I went up 1-2 percentage points (percentile) from SAT to MCAT. There are definitely a ton of ppl who aced the SAT and didnt ace the MCAT, and tons of didnt ace the SAT and nailed the MCAT. People do mature, otherwise there would be no point in taking multiple tests at different levels of people's education.

 

[Mudd]

The MCAT s a standardized test, so being a good test taker will help. The difference between the SAT and MCAT is that you need an information base for the MCAT. You can definitely achieve this studying on your own, as long as you use materials designed for self study. MAKE SURE YOU DO TONS OF PASSAGES!!!

 

[DoubleDoctor]

I totally agree that the SAT and MCAT are vastly different but I think that people that have a history of doing very well on standardized tests have a slight advantage just because they usually don't suffer from test anxiety. I actually studied very little for the MCAT but I'm a fifth year senior with a major in
Biochem/Micro/Molecular so it was pretty much all review. I did review the A&P stuff because I hadn't had that since high school and then I boned up on optics and capacitors because our curriculum was a bit weak in those areas (the prof got behind and just basically hit the highlights in those areas). Everything else I did cold because it was stuff that I had learned several times and thus retained well. I was actually very surprised because I had O Chem and physics my freshman year and I pretty much remembered anything that I would need for the MCAT.

I would suggest taking some of the practice tests online and seeing where your weaknesses are because this is how I found out that I better look at optics and capacitors some more. I didn't do anything for the verbal or writing sections because my verbal scores were very high on the practice tests and I refused to change my writing style. I felt it had served me well as these years and I wasn't going to change just for the MCAT. Good luck with your studying and crush that test!!!!!!!!

 

[Mudd]

Originally posted by indo
Did you people actually study for the SAT? I just rolled out of bed and went and took it. But I wasn't trying to get into any good colleges, just the state school.

You act like rolling out of bed is so easy. I prepped for that by practicing getting out of bed every day for SAT Saturday for years. As for an SAT prep course, that has to be the biggest scam next to the GRE or GMAT prep course. Taking an SAT prep course is a sign your parents have too much money and you have no say in your life at sixteen years old.

 

[drdream]

Thanks again to all of you have rendered an opinion on my question. You've given me some interesting perspectives. I appreciate your help. Good luck to each of you !

 

[Mudd]

DRdream: I PMed you.