orgo content on recent MCATs

[tasiubao]

is it true that the number of orgo passages has been decreasing recently? can anyone who has taken the MCAT recently comment on this?

I'm thinking of skipping orgo prep or just reviewing it really really briefly...

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[TXKnight]

is it true that the number of orgo passages has been decreasing recently? can anyone who has taken the MCAT recently comment on this?

I'm thinking of skipping orgo prep or just reviewing it really really briefly...

Hi there,There's a couple of good friends of mine and one person i know from work that wrote the test on July/August of this year. They all told me that on their respective tests orgo was actually a big component. One of those friends has actually taken the MCAT 2 times and he said orgo was way more prominent on this test than the one he took 3 years ago. They all told me it comprised around a 35% of BS give or take. About full 3 passages and several free standing q's.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Hi there,There's a couple of good friends of mine and one person i know from work that wrote the test on July/August of this year. They all told me that on their respective tests orgo was actually a big component. One of those friends has actually taken the MCAT 2 times and he said orgo was way more prominent on this test than the one he took 3 years ago. They all told me it comprised around a 35% of BS give or take. About full 3 passages and several free standing q's.

Although the official MCAT threads say less nowadays, they often mention the split between the various subjects (%physics for instance). From what I read here, it seems like the amount of orgo is a crapshoot. Some tests it's three of seven passages and others it's one of the seven.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

is it true that the number of orgo passages has been decreasing recently? can anyone who has taken the MCAT recently comment on this?

I'm thinking of skipping orgo prep or just reviewing it really really briefly...

This question pops up time-to-time on SDN, and every one gets in a circle and convinces themselves that yes, there's less orgo, or less physics, or more genetics, and that becomes the conventional wisdom just long enough for a cohort to get their faces melted by four difficult orgo passages on an individual test. Then everybody shrugs and we go six months till it's time to lather-rinse-repeat. Just learn the material for Christ's sake. Success on the MCAT isn't some exercise in game theory. If you know the material, as indicated by your practice FL scores, you will do fine on the exam. If you decide to skip orgo prep, I would guess that your competition for acceptances will want to thank you.

 

[TXKnight]

this question pops up time-to-time on sdn, and every one gets in a circle and convinces themselves that yes, there's less orgo, or less physics, or more genetics, and that becomes the conventional wisdom just long enough for a cohort to get their faces melted by four difficult orgo passages on an individual test. Then everybody shrugs and we go six months till it's time to lather-rinse-repeat. Just learn the material for christ's sake. Success on the mcat isn't some exercise in game theory. If you know the material, as indicated by your practice fl scores, you will do fine on the exam. If you decide to skip orgo prep, i would guess that your competition for acceptances will want to thank you.

+1
sure skipping material does not make for a good plan in my book

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

This question pops up time-to-time on SDN, and every one gets in a circle and convinces themselves that yes, there's less orgo, or less physics, or more genetics, and that becomes the conventional wisdom just long enough for a cohort to get their faces melted by four difficult orgo passages on an individual test. Then everybody shrugs and we go six months till it's time to lather-rinse-repeat. Just learn the material for Christ's sake. Success on the MCAT isn't some exercise in game theory. If you know the material, as indicated by your practice FL scores, you will do fine on the exam. If you decide to skip orgo prep, I would guess that your competition for acceptances will want to thank you.

I completely agree with your statement, but I also concede that there must be a reason this question repeatedly pops up. In some cases, it's someone hoping to hear they'll have less topics to study (which is an ironic goal for someone aiming to enter medical school). In other cases, it's someone strategizing to allot their study time most advantageously. In the second case, I don't think there is enough useful information out there to build your schedule around. I know I might base my last week of cramming (after all of my exams are done) on that in part, along with emphasizing my weaknesses, but it's not an exact science.

• Safe plan:
  (1) Review everything listed in the AAMC guideline
  (2) Do tons and tons of practice passages AND thoroughly review them afterwards.
  (3) Take 10-15 full-length tests (depending on your test taking abilities--more tests if you aren't as good at multiple choice exams)
  (4) Review key points and make review notes the last week or two.

 

[Chrisebril1]

I completely agree with your statement, but I also concede that there must be a reason this question repeatedly pops up. In some cases, it's someone hoping to hear they'll have less topics to study (which is an ironic goal for someone aiming to enter medical school). In other cases, it's someone strategizing to allot their study time most advantageously. In the second case, I don't think there is enough useful information out there to build your schedule around. I know I might base my last week of cramming (after all of my exams are done) on that in part, along with emphasizing my weaknesses, but it's not an exact science.

• Safe plan:
  (1) Review everything listed in the AAMC guideline
  (2) Do tons and tons of practice passages AND thoroughly review them afterwards.
  (3) Take 10-15 full-length tests (depending on your test taking abilities--more tests if you aren't as good at multiple choice exams)
  (4) Review key points and make review notes the last week or two.

How should those 10-15 full-length tests be spaced in your opinion?

How many should we do before we cover all the material. How many a a month in the last month before the exam?

 

[apc]

Although the official MCAT threads say less nowadays, they often mention the split between the various subjects (%physics for instance). From what I read here, it seems like the amount of orgo is a crapshoot. Some tests it's three of seven passages and others it's one of the seven.

Hi BRT,
BR Ochem doesn't really emphasize on addition, Markovnikov, and other alkene reactions. I know the alkene section has been taken out, but since I still see other books (PR, EK 1001) bring up passages and stand-alone questions about alkenes, would you still recommend skipping these?
Are these books that outdated (compared to BR)?

 

[Techmed07]

I had three organic chemistry passages and a few discretes.. What I would have given to get one of those tests with only one organic chemisrty passage.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

I completely agree with your statement, but I also concede that there must be a reason this question repeatedly pops up. In some cases, it's someone hoping to hear they'll have less topics to study (which is an ironic goal for someone aiming to enter medical school). In other cases, it's someone strategizing to allot their study time most advantageously. In the second case, I don't think there is enough useful information out there to build your schedule around. I know I might base my last week of cramming (after all of my exams are done) on that in part, along with emphasizing my weaknesses, but it's not an exact science.

• Safe plan:
  (1) Review everything listed in the AAMC guideline
  (2) Do tons and tons of practice passages AND thoroughly review them afterwards.
  (3) Take 10-15 full-length tests (depending on your test taking abilities--more tests if you aren't as good at multiple choice exams)
  (4) Review key points and make review notes the last week or two.

I completely agree; my only caveat would be that the distribution is 99% your first type / 1% your second type. BR (and TPR and EK) does a great job of giving you the specific information you need to master. There aren't any secrets, and the variability of MCAT test makeup from exam to exam make it impossible to predict trends. It just seems that every time the SDN wisdom starts to become too conventional, along comes an exam sitting that brings it all crashing down. You don't want to be that "the MCAT doesn't test orgo anymore, I should really just focus on molecular genetics"-guy/gal that get's their ass handed to them.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Hi BRT,
BR Ochem doesn't really emphasize on addition, Markovnikov, and other alkene reactions. I know the alkene section has been taken out, but since I still see other books (PR, EK 1001) bring up passages and stand-alone questions about alkenes, would you still recommend skipping these?
Are these books that outdated (compared to BR)?

SKIP IT! There are a couple passages on 1,2-addition vs. 1,4-addition in the BR book which will expose you to what you need to know.

The AAMC officially removed alkene chemistry and benzene chemistry from the test seven years ago, and spent a year telling everyone in formal releases about their plans to do so, so I think it's safe to assume it won't be tested. Any prep books that still have some alkene chemistry lingering in them I assume is because we all had our doubts how they could remove such a major part of organic chem. A while back, I went through the official MCAT threads for several exams and couldn't find any mention of the topic, which I'd imagine would have been brought up by someone had appeared when it wasn't suppose to.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

How should those 10-15 full-length tests be spaced in your opinion?

How many should we do before we cover all the material. How many a a month in the last month before the exam?

Our suggestion is to do a pyramid, which means you should start 6 to 8 weeks before your exam, even if you have some reviewing to do still.

The most important thing is that you don't start too early, because exams are wasted that way and the scores don't tell you anything useful. But if you start too late, then you don't give yourself adequate time to review the exam in detail and grow from the experience. Find the balance between the two extremes. And keep in mind that everyone is different, so you should customize a plan to fit your needs and study preferences. The following is a good plan if you wish to do 12 exams in 6 weeks.

Week 1: 1 FL CBT
Week 2: 2 FL CBTs
Week 3: 3 FL CBTs
Week 4: 3 FL CBTs
Week 5: 2 FL CBTs
Week 6: 1 FL CBT

 

[apc]

SKIP IT! There are a couple passages on 1,2-addition vs. 1,4-addition in the BR book which will expose you to what you need to know.

The AAMC officially removed alkene chemistry and benzene chemistry from the test seven years ago, and spent a year telling everyone in formal releases about their plans to do so, so I think it's safe to assume it won't be tested. Any prep books that still have some alkene chemistry lingering in them I assume is because we all had our doubts how they could remove such a major part of organic chem. A while back, I went through the official MCAT threads for several exams and couldn't find any mention of the topic, which I'd imagine would have been brought up by someone had appeared when it wasn't suppose to.

As always, thanks for your reply.
BTW thanks for mentioning benzene chem, PR has some passages on aromaticity, I'll double check to see if any of them are useful.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

As always, thanks for your reply.
BTW thanks for mentioning benzene chem, PR has some passages on aromaticity, I'll double check to see if any of them are useful.

Aromaticity is a valid topic, but EAS of benzene is out of the mix.

 

[apc]

Aromaticity is a valid topic, but EAS of benzene is out of the mix.

Thanks.
Funniest thing happened today. I was trying to figure what the BR book means by their F*** glucose method, so I went ahead and searched the forum. I found a post where you tried to explain it, which actually clarified it for me. You said they can't print f**** glucose in order to stay politically correct. Well I guess things change with time.... so again thanks

 

[TwoPaddles]

I completely agree with your statement, but I also concede that there must be a reason this question repeatedly pops up. In some cases, it's someone hoping to hear they'll have less topics to study (which is an ironic goal for someone aiming to enter medical school). In other cases, it's someone strategizing to allot their study time most advantageously. In the second case, I don't think there is enough useful information out there to build your schedule around. I know I might base my last week of cramming (after all of my exams are done) on that in part, along with emphasizing my weaknesses, but it's not an exact science.

• Safe plan:
  (1) Review everything listed in the AAMC guideline
  (2) Do tons and tons of practice passages AND thoroughly review them afterwards.
  (3) Take 10-15 full-length tests (depending on your test taking abilities--more tests if you aren't as good at multiple choice exams)
  (4) Review key points and make review notes the last week or two.

Question on (3).
I'm not very good on multiple choice exams. Do you think taking 20 fl's is good? (aamc, tbr, and some gs)

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Question on (3).
I'm not very good on multiple choice exams. Do you think taking 20 fl's is good? (aamc, tbr, and some gs)

If you have the time to go over all of them in detail, and not just the facts and information, but the nuances of the questions and any tricks that could have helped to get the right answer faster, then by all means do as many as you can fit in. But if your plan is to take one a day for twenty-something days, I don't think that plan works for most people.

 

[TwoPaddles]

If you have the time to go over all of them in detail, and not just the facts and information, but the nuances of the questions and any tricks that could have helped to get the right answer faster, then by all means do as many as you can fit in. But if your plan is to take one a day for twenty-something days, I don't think that plan works for most people.

I was thinking about taking a FL every other day... so the day after the FL, I will be thoroughly reviewing it