Psych and Soc on 2015 MCAT

[futuredoc331]

How do you all feel about the psych and soc sections of the new test? Do you think it will be a boost for most people or will it hurt them?

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[Fedekz]

I'm a psych major so I don't mind

 

[Doctor W]

How is adding more material, and a lengthier exam a boost? In my opinion, its going to be harder to study for the exam.

 

[Porkloins]

Psych and Soc shouldn't be too difficult with sufficient studying. From what I've heard, the biochem section is gonna be a real killer though. Overall a longer test just means those are good/dedicated at studying will be rewarded.

 

[justadream]

I don't know about a "boost".

I scored 56% on the psych trial section which was top 25%. I didn't think it was that easy.

 

[prenses]

Hi,

I am a premed majoring in biology and minoring in medical anthropology. I have two questions regarding MCAT 2015: 1) I have not taken a Sociology class but I have taken medical anthropology classes. Do you think I still need to take a beginner sociology class, or can I handle it by reading Sociology books? Are there any books that you would suggest?

2)I have taken statistics when I was in 10th grade in high school. Since I got 5 from the AP test, I did not have to take it in college. It has been 4 years ago. Do you think I should take a statistics class?

 

[Doremonster]

Hi,

I am a premed majoring in biology and minoring in medical anthropology. I have two questions regarding MCAT 2015: 1) I have not taken a Sociology class but I have taken medical anthropology classes. Do you think I still need to take a beginner sociology class, or can I handle it by reading Sociology books? Are there any books that you would suggest?

2)I have taken statistics when I was in 10th grade in high school. Since I got 5 from the AP test, I did not have to take it in college. It has been 4 years ago. Do you think I should take a statistics class?

To be completely honest, do you feel that you really need 10-15 weeks sitting in a classroom, paying for tuition and have someone "teach" you sociology/psychology? Just pick up a review guide from Kaplan or TPR and go over that. Any material that sounds like foreign language you can supplement with a textbook or online. Statistics wise they are really going to emphasize research methodology and analysis. It is highly unlikely that they will ask you to calculate T-Test, Krushkal-Wallis Test, etc.. but rather can you interpret the results and understand the significance. I based this info off the MCAT guide that AAMCAS puts out and my interpretation of the material. Their content guide is available online if you want to check it out.

 

[NeuroMaster316]

^ I agree with the above. If there's one thing I learned from the MCAT it's that self studying is far more efficient and time saving than going to class to learn a subject. But of course you'll still need a good amount of time to master the material.
Concerning psychology and sociology, I found that section to be pretty easy on my trial; I scored 53% (top quarter) having guessed on more than half the Qs but that's only cause I never took the material. So yea hopefully this is gonna be a score booster.

 

[Gauss44]

^ I agree with the above. If there's one thing I learned from the MCAT it's that self studying is far more efficient and time saving than going to class to learn a subject. But of course you'll still need a good amount of time to master the material.
Concerning psychology and sociology, I found that section to be pretty easy on my trial; I scored 53% (top quarter) having guessed on more than half the Qs but that's only cause I never took the material. So yea hopefully this is gonna be a score booster.

I personally found the opposite. When I took the MCAT, the sciences came easily for me, but I admit that I initially got stuck on verbal reasoning. I worked my butt off on my own and made zero progress. I had no idea what was going wrong and why all of my effort was NOT leading to improvement. (I did everything recommended on this website and worked every passage in EK 101 and read every answer...) A tutor helped me to identify how to improve efficiently. Since then, I've scored a 12 in VR and am quite happy with myself.

While VR was my struggle, I am now a tutor and have students with science trouble. Just as I got nowhere with hours upon hours of studying VR, some of my students have worked very hard on physics or chemistry just to be back where they started (same bad scores).

Sometimes it takes a GOOD tutor to either get "unstuck" or to speed things along. (I definitely recommend trying out a tutor before committing to him or her. Because if you ARE better on your own, don't hire THAT tutor.)

In my case a tutor was able to provide moral support as well. As beat up as I felt when I initially hired a tutor, that made as much difference as the informational part.