physical sciences

[every1blowz]

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[gujuDoc]

What I think is that you need to chill out and take your prereqs your first 2 years if possible and then worry about the MCAT after your sophomore year or during your junior year if you decide you still want to do medicine. And in the meanwhile you need to do something like volunteer and get some clinical experience.

And to answer your question, most people find the physical to be the harder of the 2 sciences but the verbal on the real MCAT is a killer for people whom haven't read a lot during their younger years, because most premeds don't really focus on philosophy and humanities so verbal becomes hard for them.

 

[Samus Aran]

does anyone have any good advice on how to handle the physical science section? i'm ok in the bio section and the verbal section for right now but for some reason i am finding that i'm failing at the ps section miserably. i didnt get a good foundation from my undergrad classes in physics or gen chem so i'm having to teach myself the basics which unfortunately i didnt learn well enough before. any advice on how to study best for and do well in this section?

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

Don't do anything. As you take prereqs, things will come to light, good and bad.

 

[Aladdin Sane]

does anyone have any good advice on how to handle the physical science section? i'm ok in the bio section and the verbal section for right now but for some reason i am finding that i'm failing at the ps section miserably. i didnt get a good foundation from my undergrad classes in physics or gen chem so i'm having to teach myself the basics which unfortunately i didnt learn well enough before. any advice on how to study best for and do well in this section?

i'm using the exam krackers book, (no prep course for me) which i highly suggest since they break down g.chem and physics simply and tell you exactly what you need to focus on. also try to pick up Schaum's General Chemistry and Physics, they are great review books with lots of problems you can do and they even have books that are just solved problems. Schaums is great because it explains concepts in more detail and is a good textbook substitute.

g.chem and physics when you get the hang of working problems is not that bad, when you're studying don't just try and learn enough so you can answer questions, really try and understand the concepts so you can work through problems with the passage sections that you may have no clue about what they are asking for and can make an educated guess.

 

[Nutmeg]

I'm 18, and a senior in high shcool. today one of my brothers friends came over, who is studying to take the MCAT. I went through his pretest books, and whatnot, and realized a few things...

verbal reasoning - this section was a complete joke and an insult to my intelligence.

You must remember that everyone with English as their primary language fels this way. Your score is not about how many questions you get right, it's how you did relative to everyone else. And since it is so easy, the curve on that exam is hard as hell. I had expected it to be my highest score, but it wasn't (although it wasn't particularly low either). If your an avid reader, try to remain an avid reader throughout your college years to stay sharp. And also it is important to note that though the questions seem easy, the VR section is the most time constrained, so you need to be quick. I finished this section with about 1 minute to spare, while I had a good 20 minutes or so left over on the BS section, and BS was my weakest subject (I got a 13 on both of these subtests, however).

biological sciences - i somehow knew a lot of the answers already, probably just from years of reading science and health related magazines/books. i don't see this being a problem four years from now.

physical sciences - the chemistry blew my mind. for the most part i just stared at the book like an idiot for hours on end. this is probably because i've never taken any chemistry related classes before, but still. it's scared me sh*tless. physics was insanely difficult, too.

my question is is this; when you guys take the MCAT, is the physical sciences the ones you study for the most? should i start brushing up on chemistry and physics right now, before i start taking prequisites at college in a couple of months? or do they start from the beginning and assume you don't know what the hell is going on?

i'm scared...

Firstly, relax. If you go psyching yourself out now, you'll be a miserable nervous wreck in a few years.

You really can't assess how difficult you'll find that test untill you have a chance to take the many prerequisite classes. And again, since the tests are curved, and since physical sciences are not as common as majors for premeds, the curve in this section is far more forgiving.

I would also caution that the study aide books aren't entirely indicative of the actual MCAT questions. The prep course companies focus on knowledge, because it is easier to teach knowledge, but the actual test is mostly comprehension. There are a great many questions that are of the form of explaining an experimental design, and asking you to either explain or predict the data. As such, I personally think that there is no better way to study for the test than to take a great many lab classes. If you're really worried, you might want to consider majoring in one of the physical sciences, since you're smart enough that you can learn the subject matter if you devote the required time for the major. Even if you love biology, majoring in chemistry or chemical engineering (my major) will give you some good exposure to biology, but will really strengthen you understanding of the physical sciences and laboratory techniques. You'll still have a chance to master the world of human biology once you get to med school.

And a final bit of advice: it is good in this day and age to spend some time writing by hand. People often get so accustomed to typing that they cannot write both quickly and legibly, or they become over-dependent on spell checkers, and it bites them in the butt on the WS.

Good luck.

 

[Thundrstorm]

First of all, you're in high school, which means that "MCAT" should not even be in your vocabulary right now. It's not nearly time for you to worry about it yet. The best thing you can do once you start college is to keep good notes from your intro classes to refer to when you need to brush up in a few years.

Secondly, everyone has to study different sections more depending on their own personal abilities, but for me, yes, physical sciences is the one I need to work on the most.

 

[every1blowz]

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